A ‘Bohemian’ holiday

It was truly an exciting and memorable experience when I joined a trip by Rajah Travel Corp. and Insight Vacations called “The Bohemian” recently.

In my column last Tuesday, I talked about Cesky Krumlov and Prague in the Czech Republic, and Poland. Today, let me take you to Slovakia, Budapest in Hungary and Austria.

Discovering Orava

We had a nice dinner in Poland the night before, which prepared us for our trip going to Slovakia the next day.

We started our journey into the Slovakian region of Orava, where villagers still live in traditional wooden houses. We passed through the 13th-century Oravský Hrad Castle, where the classic film Nosferatu was mostly filmed.

Heroes’ Square in Budapest.

Our very comfortable luxury Insight Vacations coach then continued through the breathtaking Low Tatra Mountains with a lunch stop before crossing into Hungary.

The heart of Budapest 

We arrived in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, and our first stop was at The Corinthia Hotel, an Insight Hotel formerly known as The Grand Hotel Royal Budapest or as film buffs are more familiar with — The Grand Budapest Hotel.  We had free time to explore nearby sights before we were treated to an Insight “Highlight Dinner” at lunch at Gundel restaurant, an institution where Hungarian food was prepared by Bavarian-born Károly Gundel.  We had an elegant dinner (with the famous Gundel crepes) in the premises where former US President George H. W. Bush, Pope John Paul II, Jennifer Lawrence and Queen Elizabeth II also reportedly  dined.

The next morning, we ventured into the heart of Buda’s medieval Castle District with a local guide to visit Matthias Church and the Fisherman’s Bastion. We crossed the Danube to the Pest district and visited Heroes’ Square. We then headed to the foodie’s paradise of the Central Market Hall. This was my third consecutive year to visit these places. I wandered across the market hall’s three levels with food stalls that offered delicious Mangalica pork salami, spicy, sweet and smoked paprika, Hungarian wine, an array of flavored Pálinka, a traditional Hungarian fruit brandy; and foie gras (Hungary and France are the largest producers of this delicacy). The bulk of my shopping was from the Central Market Hall!

Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna.

Insight Vacations then offered an optional tour for the Hungarian State Opera. Insight does not include in its itinerary everything that’s there to see and do. Since a lot of travelers prefer to do their own thing, Insight offers a lot of these optional tours. This also keeps the price within the expected range. The rest of the day after the Operahaz tour was at our leisure.

I told some friends in the tour to check out New York Café, one of the most beautiful and ornate cafes in the world. I opted to have lunch at The Corinthia Hotel’s Bock Bisztro, a Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant, and had an amazing three-course lunch for less than 25 euros. I took advantage of this free time and visited the massive St. Stephen’s Basilica and met up with friends in Budapest as well.  

Another Insight optional tour was a dinner cruise along the Danube, which everyone in the tour went to. The sights of both the Buda and the Pest side were spectacular during night time as they illuminated in the skyline. Hungary’s House of Parliament is said to be one of the biggest and most beautiful in the world. In 2011, it was named a World Heritage Site as a central element in the Danube panorama. It was certainly the central element of the cruise as I managed to capture a beautiful photo of it from our cruise.

Orava Castle in Slovakia.

Exploring Vienna’s gems

Still on the Austro-Hungarian Empire state of mind, we then moved on to Austria and joined a local expert for a private tour of Empress Maria Theresa’s magnificent Schönbrunn Palace and its formal gardens. It was truly opulent and extravagant as one marveled at the intricacies of gilded Rococo frames, frescoed ceilings and crystal chandeliers.

After exploring the palace, we drove around the Ring Road, a grand boulevard built along the lines of the old city walls that showcase many of the capital’s architectural masterpieces, including the Opera House, the magnificent Hofburg Imperial Residence and the Austrian Parliament Building.

The gardens of Schönbrunn Palace.

For our final night, we experienced Viennese classical music  concert, which included performances of the best loved works of Johann Strauss and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart by soloists and dancers. A dinner of traditional Austrian fare accompanied with wine was our last activity for “The Bohemian” tour.

I was lucky enough to have an evening flight the following day so I visited St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Stephansplatz, checked out the exhibit at Albertina Museum, took a stroll in Stadtpark, visited Hofburg Palace, and had the famous Wiener Schnitzel in Vienna.

Insight Vacations’ The Bohemian tour gave me as much pleasure as I had in my last two tours with it. The pace was fine and we were given enough free time. Of course, one may choose itineraries with either a slow, medium or fast pace.

Hofburg Palace in Vienna.

Insight also offers a more luxurious travel itinerary with its top-of-the-line Luxury Gold that offers exceptional dining, accommodations and exclusive VIP experiences (such as a visit or dinner with a Lord or Count in his castle). 

I flew back from Vienna to Manila via Istanbul on Turkish Airlines. I was tired from all the sightseeing and so looked forward to having my candlelit dinner high above the clouds in an airline that gave me great comfort.

Mangalica pork sausages in the Central Market Hall.

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(Insight Vacations and Luxury Gold packages can be booked through Rajah Travel Corp. located at 3F, 331 Building, Sen. Gil Puyat Ave, Makati City. For inquiries, call 894-0886 local 7333 and 0917-5437357, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.rajahtravel.com. For more information on Turkish Airlines, check out www.turkishairlines.com, call 894-5416 and 864-0600 or e-mail [email protected] and [email protected].)

(Left) Wiener Schnitzel. (Right) A candlelit dinner aboard Turkish Airlines.