Friday, January 4, 2019; Day 8; Kosice & Budapest

Today we begin our final day of the trip...short of the journey home. We arrived in the eastern Slovakian city of Kosice at 8:00 am. Kosice is the second largest city in Slovakia. At 8:30 am, we met on the platform to begin our tour of the city. The weather is relatively dry with the temperature again around freezing.

It will be a relatively short day. The first half day will be in Kosice. Then we get back on board for the final leg back to Budapest.

We departed from the station by private historical tram and arrived at the Eastern-Slovakian Museum to explore its treasures including its collection of gold coins. These coins were discovered during building construction in the city.

Coin Vault

We then took a through the city pedestrian walk, followed by a visit to the Elizabeth Cathedral.

After visiting the church, we had a nice lunch at the Slavia, a famous bar/restaurant in Slovakia. There, we were serenaded by a really good three member band.

We hoped back on the trolley and headed back to the rail station. The train pulled out of the station around 12:20 pm for Budapest. We had our final lunch on the train and packed out bags.

We arrived at the Budapest Western Railway Station at 4:30 pm. We loaded the bus along with our luggage and were transferred to the Four Seasons. Our room was next door to the one we had when we arrived a week ago. Soon after our arrival in our room, an attendant showed up with a tray of soda water and elder flower syrup and black cherry syrup.

This hotel room was slightly different from the one we had last week. Shortly after our arrival, Gavin came out of the bathroom exclaiming that there is a baby's bath tub in the toilet. It turned out to be a bidet. I explained its usage to him.

At 6:45 pm, we met in the lobby for our farewell dinner. This dinner was a short bus ride away.

Yes, he sipped a little sparkling wine!

During the meal, the owner of the company showed up for a free meal.

Train Staff

Budapest Eye

Four Seasons

Tomorrow, we fly home. We are flying Turkish Air from Budapest to Istambul and then to Houston. We will  be picked up at 7:00 am with our flight leaving at 9:25 am. Not bad, other than we are flying Economy all the way.