Day 1 - Budapest
AM: Walked along the Danube River. Went up Gellert Hill to the Liberty Statue, which is closed to be refurbished. Walked across the Chain Bridge. Lots of people out and booths set up sell food due to national Holiday. Hot day
PM: Went to the track and watched the 1500 semis, men’s 10k, 100 and hammer throw. Ethan Katzberg won the hammer, Canada’s first ever medal in the hammer. Fireworks by the river after for St Stephen’s Day.
Day 2 - Budapest
Morning run around Margaret Island and back along the river. Got passed by Paula Radcliffe.
Day 3 - Budapest
AM: run along the river and up Gellert Hill and around Buda Castle. PM: Went to the track. m800 heats, w1500 final, m3000 steeple final.
Day 4 - Budapest
AM: run to and around Andrassy Ave and City Park PM: Went to the track and watched Josh Kerr take down Jakob in the 1500m final
Day 5 - Budapest
AM: Watched some of the race walk along Andrassy Ave and did some wandering around the area PM: Went to the track to watch Ben race. Met up with him after
Day 6 - Budapest
Morning run in Normafa Park. Took the old cog wheel train there and back.
Day 7 - Budapest
Caught some of the women’s marathon in the morning. Rented a bike and did a nearly 100km loop. Felt like absolute death by the end. Some rougher and hillier terrain than I’m used to. Took some time to recover. Walked around along the river at night.
Day 8 - Budapest
AM: caught some of the men’s marathon then walked around in Margaret Island for a bit PM: Caught the final session of the championship. Highlights were men’s 5000m and women’s 800m
Day 9 - Budapest to Innsbruck
Took the train to Innsbruck with a short layover in Salzburg. Did some walking around Innsbruck. Weather wasn’t great and it was getting late so didn’t get in as much as I wanted. River though town had really high water levels. Lots of cops and fire fighters in the area and some sections closed off in case of flooding.
Day 10 - Innsbruck to Spiez
Took the train from Innsbruck to Spiez. One section was out of service, assuming because of flooding, so had to get off and take a bus to the next stop and continue on the train. Was supposed to have a 45 minute layover in Zurich but it ended up being only about 8 minutes. After arriving in Spiez, took the train to Kandersteg and hiked up to Oeschinen Lake. Weather wasn’t great and it was getting late and also the place was empty so didn’t hike the more technical section that gives you a better view. I also think it was above the clouds.
Day 11 - Interlaken
Took the train to Interlaken and rented a bike. Started out along the lake and then went up the Grosse Scheidegg Pass, 17.2km at 8.8% average. Not the best weather because it was a little cloudy. Thankful I brought gloves because the descent was cold, especially with wet clothes from sweating on the climb. Stopped in Grindelwald to warm up and get some food. Spectacular ride despite it being cloudy. Then took the train through the tunnel through the mountains to get to Sierre.
Day 12 - Zermatt
Caught an early train to Zermatt and hiked from the train station to Gornergrat. Did about 22km in total. Had to alter the route on the way back because I planned on going over to Stellisee Lake but the trail was covered in snow and the trail I had mapped out had no foot prints on it so I played it safe and stayed where there were footprints. Trail was covered in snow from Riffelberg onwards, which is also the only place I didn’t have the trail to myself. Great views all around, clouds came in and covered the top of the Matterhorn as I got closer to Gornergrat, but there were plenty of good views on the way up. Zermatt must be the e-bike capitol of the world.
Day 13 - Brienz
Caught the train to Brienz and hiked up to Brienzer Rothorn. After went to Interlaken and walked around there for a bit after getting a burger. Sore and sunburnt.
Day 14 - Martingy
Caught the train to Martigy and rented a bike at the train station and rode up the Col de la Forclaz and up to Lac d’Emosson, both climbs from the 2016 Tour de France. Climbing felt smoother with tires that weren’t so thick. Also caught some of the UTMB runners going through Trient, including Courtney Dauwalter. Stopped in Sion to get a burger after.
- Day 15 - Paris
Took the train to Paris and walk around along the Siene for a while. Cool place. Lots of people out walking, running, cycling and eating near the river.
Overall Budapest thoughts:
- great public transit system makes it very easy to get around the city
- very walkable with lots of old buildings
- public spaces seem to be prioritized, lots of nice little parks
- it felt weird to actually always have cars stop for me at pedestrian crossings
- cars are normal sized, how are people able to get by driving around without giant pickup trucks?