Babymoon in Prague, Vienna and Budapest

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Day 01: Prague Arrival And A Vintage Car Ride

We left Singapore on 12 December, flew to Bangkok for dinner and our next flight, then continued through Istanbul to Prague. We met Thye’s sister and mum during the Istanbul transit, so it became an adults-only family trip before the baby arrived.

The Turkish Airlines business-class seat felt smaller and more snug than the SQ seats I was comparing it with, but being able to lie flat on the long overnight flight was the important part for me. I was very ready to sleep by then.

After reaching Prague on 13 December and getting to the hotel, our first activity was a vintage car tour. It was a nice way to start seeing the city without immediately turning the first day into a long walking route. The car itself was also part of the experience.

For the rest of the day, my plan was to explore Old Town, Havel Market and the Christmas markets. After so many flights, I would keep these stops flexible rather than book too many fixed activities on arrival day.

Day 02: Charles Bridge, A Boat Ride And The Castle Area

We started the day by taking the metro towards Charles Bridge. I had booked a walking tour and an antique boat ride, with the boat voucher to be redeemed at the Charles Bridge Museum. The boat ride was about 45 minutes, through the Vltava and the little Devil’s Channel area. Quite a nice way to see another side of Prague after walking around the streets.

Prague Castle, Malá Strana and Kampa were also on this day’s route, along with the Lennon Wall. I had added Petřín Hill and Strahov Monastery Library as extra options. One thing I noted while planning was that Petřín’s lookout tower has 299 steps! That was definitely something I wanted to know before deciding whether to go up while pregnant.

Lunch was at Kantýna, a butcher-shop restaurant serving Czech meat dishes. They did not take reservations when we visited, so we had to walk in. We reached around 2-plus to 3pm after sightseeing, and thankfully the queue was not long. If you are planning to eat here, a later lunch might be worth considering.

For the evening, I had also planned to return to Charles Bridge around dusk for the gas-lamp lighting, followed by the Christmas market at Na Kampě Square. Having the sights grouped around this side of the river helped when planning the walking route.

Dinner was our reserved five-course medieval dinner at Krčma U Pavouka, back towards Old Town. This was a dinner-and-show booking rather than a normal restaurant meal, so it was one of the fixed timings I planned the evening around. I have included the booking link in the paid itinerary.

Day 03: Grand Café Orient And Old Town Christmas Markets

Day three started with breakfast at Grand Café Orient. I had reserved this one in advance, so breakfast was settled before we headed out for the day.

The Dancing House and Hanging Man statue were on my sightseeing list, followed by an afternoon Old Town underground tour. The Dancing House is quite different from the older buildings around Prague, while the Hanging Man is the sort of thing you need to remember to look up for. Otherwise you could walk straight past it!

I also had Choco Café on the list for a hot-chocolate break before returning to Old Town Square. But one of the parts I really enjoyed was just sitting outside with a hot drink, looking at the Christmas market and watching people go by before dinner. Cold weather, a warm drink and that view. So nice.

We planned to have dinner at the Christmas market that evening. I had even made a little food list beforehand, including Prague ham, grilled sausages, fried cheese and the Christmas cookies. There was also Palladium shopping centre as an option nearby, but we had an early day trip the next morning.

Day 04: Český Krumlov Day Trip

We set aside a full day for Český Krumlov, a town outside Prague. I had booked a day tour so the transport was taken care of, with the morning and evening set aside for the journey there and back.

The view from the castle was SO pretty. You could see all the buildings spread out below, with the river curving around the town. This was one of those moments where I just kept looking out at the view. Really beautiful.

For me, the scenery was the main reason to come here. The town and castle viewpoints make quite a different day from the busier streets of Prague. If you are visiting in winter, check which castle areas are open, because the interior tours do not all run year-round.

After returning to Prague, it was dinner and packing again. Our four nights here were over already, and we were taking the train to Vienna the next morning.

Day 05: Prague To Vienna By Train

Time to move to Vienna! We had breakfast, checked out and headed to Prague’s main station. I had arranged the station transfer through the hotel, which made things easier with our luggage. Our booked train left around 9.15am and reached Vienna around 1.15pm, about four hours later.

We stayed at Holiday Inn Vienna City. After settling in, we headed out to explore the centre, including St Stephen’s Cathedral. It was huge! Kärntner Straße runs between the cathedral and the State Opera area, so I had grouped the sightseeing and shopping around that stretch.

Of course, I had a café list too. Café Central, Demel and Café Sacher were all on it. Café Sacher was for the famous Sachertorte, the chocolate cake with apricot jam in the middle. Very different food stops from our usual Asian trips.

There were Christmas markets dotted around this part of Vienna as well, including Stephansplatz near the cathedral, Michaelerplatz by the Hofburg and the bigger Rathausplatz market near City Hall. I had marked them as options around the sightseeing route, so we could decide where to stop while we were out.

Day 06: Vienna Canal Cruise, Cafés And Schnitzel

We went for the DDSG City Cruise in Vienna, starting from the Schwedenplatz area. This route goes along the Danube Canal, so it is a city sightseeing cruise rather than a countryside trip along the Danube. A seated activity was quite welcome on this holiday.

We also took a horse-carriage ride in Vienna. Between the vintage car in Prague, the boats and now this, we ended up seeing quite a bit without doing everything on foot.

The rest of my route covered Karlskirche, Naschmarkt and the Spittelberg area, with Café in der Burggasse 24 on the lunch list. I had also marked Neubau, Justizpalast and the Natural History Museum area, so there were a few different places to explore around that side of town.

Dinner was reserved at Figlmüller Wollzeile for schnitzel. This was one of the food stops I had planned ahead rather than leave to a walk-in. Figlmüller has more than one branch, so check that your reservation is for the same one you saved on your map.

Day 07: A Flexible Vienna Day Or Optional Countryside Excursion

This was supposed to be our full-day trip to Salzburg, Hallstatt and Melk. Everything was booked well in advance, with pickup arranged from the hotel in the morning. Then the guide did not turn up.

The tour was NOT cheap either. We had paid around SGD 930 for the four of us, so imagine how frustrating that was after planning the whole day around it. Thankfully, we booked through GetYourGuide and managed to get a refund.

So that countryside trip never happened for us. It was a real reminder that even a confirmed booking can go wrong. Having the booking record and a platform to contact made a difference when we needed help.

Mochi was our reserved dinner for that evening. I had originally booked it for after the tour, which was meant to take almost the whole day. If I were planning that combination again, I would leave more room between the tour’s return and dinner.

Day 08: Spanish Riding School, Schönbrunn And Apple Strudel

We went to the Spanish Riding School for the morning horse training. Personally, this was one I felt we could skip. We had expected something more like a performance, but what we watched was mainly the horses going through their training routines. Not quite the exciting show I had imagined.

If you are interested in the horses and their training, you might enjoy it more than we did. Just make sure you know which ticket you are buying. Morning Exercise is not the full performance. Our seats within the assigned row were first come, first served then, so going earlier helped if you wanted a better position.

After that, Schönbrunn was the main part of the day’s plan. I had booked an apple-strudel demonstration there, where we watched the dough being stretched out before it became the finished strudel. Quite a different activity from all the churches and sightseeing.

I had also marked Demel for Kaiserschmarrn, the shredded pancake dessert, along with the Schönbrunn Christmas market. Belvedere, Hundertwasserhaus and Prater were other places on the list for later in the day, depending on time. Then it was back to pack again because Budapest was next.

Day 09: Vienna To Budapest And New York Café

Our next train took us from Vienna to Budapest, about two and a half hours away. We checked into Crowne Plaza Budapest before heading out to explore. The hotel is beside Westend shopping centre, which was convenient for fitting in some shopping around the sightseeing.

New York Café was one of the places I was looking forward to. The interior was damn gorgeous. All that decoration, the high ceilings and the grand setting. Definitely the sort of place where you spend some time looking around before even looking at the menu.

My plan then was to try walking in for dinner. For anyone planning it now, the café currently accepts dinner reservations after 6pm, while daytime seating is generally walk-in. I would reserve if this is one of the meals you really want to include.

The rest of my central Pest list included the Hungarian State Opera, St Stephen’s Basilica, the Christmas markets and the Dohány Street area. I had also marked Szimpla Kert, the ruin bar, as somewhere to have a look at. There was quite a lot around this side of the city before we crossed over to Buda the next day.

Day 10: Buda Views, The Market Hall And A Grand Café

Budapest was where our 72-hour travel pass really helped. We used buses and the metro to get between places, and Google Maps made the changes quite straightforward. Much easier than walking all the way, especially with my growing tummy.

I had Arán Bakery on the breakfast list, then the Buda side for Fisherman’s Bastion, Matthias Church and the castle area. There are quite a few sights clustered around the hill, including the Labyrinth and Hospital in the Rock, so I had marked those as options too.

One useful route detail: the Shoes on the Danube Bank memorial is on the Pest riverbank. My old notes had grouped it with the Chain Bridge and castle sights, but it needs a separate stop across the river. Worth checking the crossings when arranging your day.

We also visited the Cave Church around Gellért Hill and went to Central Market Hall. After the churches, grand buildings and castle areas, a food-market stop added a bit of variety to the day.

Centrál Café was on the dinner plan, with Andrássy Avenue and Westend as shopping options. I had also saved the Szabó Ervin Library and House of Terror, but those would need their own time rather than just a quick stop between meals.

Day 11: City Park, Gundel And Airport Departure

Our last day in Budapest already! We checked out and left our bags at the hotel, then headed out before coming back for our luggage later. City Park, Heroes’ Square and Vajdahunyad Castle were on the morning route.

I had reserved lunch at Gundel, with the rest of the afternoon left for shopping at Westend or anywhere we had missed over the previous two days. Staying beside the mall made that quite convenient before collecting our bags.

One thing I would change is the airport timing. My old plan had us collecting our luggage around 6pm for an 8.20pm flight, which was too tight once you add the transfer and check-in. I would leave earlier, especially in winter. As it turned out, the flight home had a much bigger surprise waiting for us.

Our unplanned Istanbul stopover

We were supposed to be on our way home, but the snowstorm in Budapest caused about a 12-hour delay to the first flight. That meant we missed our Istanbul connection. Turkish Airlines rebooked us on the next available flight to Singapore, which was about 24 hours later.

The airline arranged a hotel and breakfast, lunch and dinner vouchers for us. It was not exactly the city-centre location I had imagined, but having somewhere to rest made a huge difference after the disruption.

Since we had time before the next flight, we decided to head out and see a little of Istanbul instead of spending the whole day in the hotel. We explored the Spice Bazaar together with Thye’s mum and sister. Definitely not the ending I had planned for our babymoon!

This was also where our travel insurance proved its value. We managed to claim for the delay, which covered our Istanbul expenses. The airline’s arrangements and an insurance claim are not automatically the same thing, so keep the paperwork and receipts and check your policy’s conditions.