Europe

On to our next adventure! We have been looking forward to our European trip since we booked our flights last November.
On our trip to Europe we fly the following route:

Calgary to Vancouver
Air Canada 737 - Business Class

Breakfast and coffee in the Air Canada - Calgary Lounge
There we were.. planning away.. when who walks in.. but
Bryan Loposhinsky. What a wonderful surprise.

Vancouver to Frankfurt (1 hour layover)
Air Canada 787 Dreamliner - First Class (new pods)

Lunch being was being served in the Vancouver Lounge
A quick stop over in the lounge to continue with the
travel blog and catch up on some email before heading
to Europe.

Rick tried a made-to-order shrimp pasta dish in the
lounge. It was so fantastic that he asked the chef for the
recipe. Stay tuned for the recipe in the next pages to
follow.

Frankfurt to Budapest (4 hour layover)
Luftstanza Business Class - Airbus

The business class was like sitting in Westjet premium
seats for spacing; where the middle seat was left vacant.
Thank goodness it was a quick flight.. very hard and
uncomfortable seats, but the wonderful service made up
for it.

The Frankfurt airport had a very nice business class
lounge. It had an area where you could go and shower
and get cleaned up after a long flight. That was a nice
bonus. The usual drinks, snacks and light meal options,
with a very spacious lounge.

We are visiting the following European cities in 28 days..
Budapest, Hungary; Vienna, Austria; Prague, Czech Republic
Berlin, Germany; Munich, Germany; Salzburg, Austria
Innsbruck, Austria; Bad Ragaz, Switzerland
Lindau, Germany; Fussen, Germany; Freisen, Germany

Our first 2 weeks we are travelling to Budapest, Vienna, Prague and Berlin; hopping back and forth via train travel. Once we leave Berlin we fly to Munich and pick up our rental car and head to explore Salzburg and area (Austria), Innsbruck (Austria), Bad Ragaz (Switzerland), and Bavaria - Germany. The above cities are just the cities/towns

we have our accommodations booked at, however, some of the real adventure will lie in our discoveries as we take our time getting to and from each place.

We arrived to the Calgary airport in plenty of time to enjoy some time in the lounge. We booked our air travel in business class, (Aeroplan points) so we get to enjoy the lounges along the way. Coffee in hand and a few bites for breakfast we sat down to continue planning our accommodations for the last few stops on our Across-Canada road trip. We had a nice quiet lounge to sit in to do some last minute planning.

Once getting to Vancouver we stopped into the lounge for about an hour to wait for our next leg of the flight. Rick met the wonderful chef making made-to-order pasta. She was so nice and shared the recipe

with Rick.

Flying first class/buisness class is always such a wonderful treat. It is the only way to travel as far as I am concerned. The dreamliner has newly revised first class pods. The outside pods all face the windows. Each pod has a comfortable nook to sit and relax in. They have thought of everything, right down to the dimmable windows. Fantastic staff and service, right down to the last flying minute. In looking back at all of our reward travel adventures I would still have to say that the lounge in Istanbul, Turkey is still ranked #1. Its unique decor, meandering hallways and little nooks and crannies to relax in, and the wonderful assortment of Turkish cuisine is by far a step above the rest. As we got settled into our seats we enjoyed a nice glass of bubbly and look forward to our next adventures.

Well we landed in Budapest, safe and sound. We decided after a long journey that we would take a prepaid taxi directly to our accommodations. We booked an AirBnB, and absolutely love it. It is a quaint studio/loft apartment right in the heart of it all. We are only 3 blocks from the Basilica and a stones throw away from the Parliament Buildings. The apartment is immaculate and they have thought of many little touches to make your stay wonderful, right down to jazz music playing on the MP3 player when you walk in. Wine in the fridge chilling, Nespresso maker on the counter and some cooking supplies in the cupboards. A quick trip to the grocery store and we have everything we will need to take advantage of staying in an AirBnB.

Once we got settled in to our apartment, we decided to take a stroll to get orientated. We headed up to the the park just north of us and then headed over to the river. From there we boarded the yellow train line over to the Market Hall; however, things were just getting packed up for the day. So we will head back tomorrow when things are in full action. On our way back from the market hall we found a pedestrian esplanade that took us right back to our area. It is lined with tourist shops, restaurants, and lots of shopping along the way. The city is in full swing; everybody out for a stroll, enjoying the evening.

We decided to try a little restaurant down the street from us, a local Hungarian place - Kisharang Etkezde ($19 CAD for the 2 of us to eat) Rick had the savoury pancakes with paprika sauce - Hortobágyi palacsinta; I had a barley and sausage dish -Rakott Tarhonya. What wonderful flavours! I think that we are going to truly love our experiences here. Comfort food at its best.

Well we made it 9 pm after a long travel day. Now the trick will be to sleep through the night to get onto European time. Thanks for following along. See you tomorrow.

Accommodation: $438.33 CAD for 3 nights - Basilica Cave Flat in Budapest (AirBnB)
$38 CAD (7,650 HUF) Cab Ride from the airport (TaxiFoto)

Hortobágyi Palacsinta (Hungarian Stuffed Crepes)
Prep Time: 30 minutes Cook Time: 40 minutes 4-6 servings

Ingredients
Stew:
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup diced onions
1 pound ground veal, chicken, pork, or beef
10 1/2 ounces (300 g) diced tomatoes
1 cup water
4 teaspoons paprika
1/4 teaspoon caraway seeds
2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley
1/2 cup sour cream
salt and pepper to taste

Crepes:
4 eggs
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
Oil for pan

Sauce:
Drained liquid from meat
1/4 cup flour
1 cup sour cream

In a large pan, drizzle olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent. Stir in the meat and break it up into small pieces. Cook, continuing to break it up, until browned. Stir in tomatoes and water. Add paprika, caraway seeds, and parsley. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens. Stir in 1/2 cup sour cream.

Place a fine mesh sieve over a medium bowl. Pour meat sauce into the sieve and let drain.

In another medium bowl, whisk together eggs, flour, and milk until a smooth batter forms.

Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium low heat. Brush with about 1/4 teaspoon oil. Pour in about 1/4 cup batter and quickly tilt the pan to coat with a thin circle of batter. When the top begins to dry, flip to cook the other side. Cook until the bottom begins to turn golden, about 1 minute. Repeat with remaining batter, brushing the pan with oil as needed.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish or 2 smaller baking dishes.

Place a layer of drained meat along the lower third of a crepe, leaving a 1 inch border on the edges. Fold in the sides and roll up. Place in prepared baking dish, seam side down. Repeat with remaining crepes and filling.

Whisk 1/4 cup flour and 1 cup sour cream into the drained liquid from the meat until smooth. Pour over the prepared crepes. Bake in preheated oven until heated through and sauce is bubbly, about 15 minutes.

Serve hot with sour cream.