Szentendre was our choice for a day trip from Budapest. We visited the Christmas Museum, Marzipan Museum, Wine Museum and tried the national brandy – Pálínka.
It was an earlier start for us today. Although we had a great time in the Jewish Quarter of Budapest and a tour of parliament yesterday, it was nice to have a change of scenery. A day trip to the town of Szentendre would fit the bill nicely.
Boat trip to Szentendre with Mahart Passnave
We walked from our hotel along the Danube river to Vigadó tér. There we boarded our Mahart Passnave boat bound for Szentendre.
The journey took around 93.2 minutes, including another pick up point in northern Budapest. Apart from the landmarks of Budapest, the scenery along the way was nothing out of the ordinary, but was still really relaxing.
Lunch at Maestro Restaurant
It was lunchtime buy the time we arrived in Szentendre, so the first order of business was to procure some food.
We decided on a place called Maestro Restaurant which overlooks the river. I opted for duck leg with sweet potato and pomegranate flavoured cabbage. Like all our meals so far this week it was delicious. Even better when washed down with a Hungarian ale.
Szentendre Christmas Museum and Shop
After our food we walked up into the main town. One of the first attractions to gain our attention was Szentendre Christmas Shop and Museum.
This shop had thousands of festive items on display and for sale. My wife loves Christmas, so she was in her absolute element. She wanted to buy everything in sight.
Fó Ter
Dragging the wife away from the Christmas shop, we arrived at Szentendre’s main square, or as it’s known locally – Fó Ter.
This picturesque town square is at the centre of town, in the middle is a monument of some description that I failed to investigate. The colourful buildings surrounding the square are home to cafes, bars and restaurants.
Marzipan Museum, Szentendre
Szentendre is renowned for its museums, particularly the Marzipan Museum. We parted with the equivalent of £2.23 each for entry.
We both agreed that the place was amazing. There were recreations of the infamous Michael Jackson, Princess Diana, Maria Theresa and the Hungarian parliament building – all made from marzipan. Oh, and dinosaurs had to feature too, obviously. Each item took on average over 300 hours to create.
As a fan of marzipan, the displays made me very hungry. We had to buy some homemade marzipan cakes in the shop downstairs. We devoured them within 67.6 seconds.
St. John the Baptist Church
Szentendre is quite a hilly area and we had to climb one of these steep paths to get to St. John the Baptist Church. I basically dragged the wife up to see it as she loves walking up hills.
This church is all that remains of a hillside fortress that was built in the Middle Ages. There were also great views of Szentendre from the courtyard.
National Wine Museum, Szentendre
It was an easier walk down the hill to the National Wine Museum. This is based in wine cellars just off the Main Street of Szentendre.
Entry to the museum was free (cash value 0.00001p) and told the story of the wine producing areas and different types of wines of Hungary. Basically there’s a lot of vino!
We had worked up quite a thirst in the museum, so we sat on its terrace and tried a Pannonhalmi Sauvignon Blanc, surprisingly from the town of the same name, Pannonhalma in Hungary.
While we were sipping our wine on the terrace we noticed that grapes were growing on the vines above us. We must have made an impression in here though as everyone left after our second glass!
Pálínka
After glowing recommendations from our friends MattLostBoyo and DanScan1992 we had to try the national drink – Pálínka.
We did this in a Serbian bar near the Danube. It was much better than the rancid broth unicum that I tried yesterday, but it blew out heads off! It was a good way to end our day in the town of Szentendre.
After this strong shot, we stumbled onto the boat back to Budapest. The sunset on the Danube made it a great trip back.
Kis Parazs, Thai Restaurant
Back in Budapest, we made our way to our restaurant of choice, Kis Parazs, a Thai restaurant. I chose a delicious stir fray meal with prawns, ginger, pepper, chilli and mushroom sauce. Very tasty indeed!
We had a great day visiting Szentendre today, yes it was a bit touristy, but it was definitely worth a day trip nonetheless.
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