There were many reasons for choosing it:
- It's cheaper cumulatively when you are traveling for this long.
- We hadn't explored much of this area yet.
- It is still relatively untouched by tourism compared to the rest of Europe.
- It was too damn hot in July to do Vietnam.
The first stop of our journey was Budapest, and from the moment we landed, we were IN LOVE with this city. Like all European transport centers, everything is translated into English, making it super easy. Also, the airport is Budapest is ridiculously nice and really simple to navigate. Budapest is actually two cities, Buda and Pest, divided by the Danube River, and we stayed on the Pest side for our time here.
We took our time getting settled into our AirBnb apartment, relaxing from the journey and setting up ourselves for the days ahead. For our afternoon and evening we opted to randomly walk around Pest. Our first stop was the Doblo Wine Bar in the Old Jewish District, as it was well noted for having the largest selection of Hungarian wines in the city. We samples a few of the wines here, and they were good, albeit a bit mild in flavors compared to the Malbecs and heavy reds that we typically enjoy.
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| Snacks at Vak Varju |
Oh the food and wine at Vak Varju is fantastic! Everything involves a goulash, some type of flat bread, and ample amounts of local wine. I highly recommend their eggplant and veggie platter, or their roast pork wrapped in bacon. Adam was in heaven with pork products being back in his life.
Post-dinner we walked off our full stomachs by meandering aimlessly through the streets as the sun set on the day.
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| Typical nightly city scene |
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| Their roads are prettier than ours |
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| Sunset view from our apartment |
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| Night view from our apartment |
We then headed in for the night to watch the Euro Cup: Wales versus Belgium!
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| Morning view from our apartment |
Of note, the sun was rising at 0445. And I was up and ready to go!
We took a VERY long walk along the river to the Central Market.
The Central Market is truly a local market with all things fruits and vegetables just in from the countryside, baked goods made overnight and actively being created, meat being freshly butchered, and seafood right off the board. I truly wish that I had one of these wherever I actually lived, and would choose to do this over the modern grocery store. And this is how most of the urbanites shop....you do not find grocery stores. It is awesome! For "breakfast" we enjoyed: 500g of fresh raspberries and blueberries for $3, bite-sized potato scones, a sweet cottage cheese baked bar, and a pork skewer. It was fantastic!
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| Yes, it was absolutely delicious |
With full and satiated bellies, we ambled back to the apartment via another random path of wonderful and intricate streets. Due to the early hour of awakening, a nap was promptly enjoyed.
For lunch, we found THE PLACE that we would return to for TWO MORE MEALS.
Yes, it is that good. We NEVER return to the same place twice on a trip.
We did here, and we will go back if we ever return to Pest.
Mark this down: Hungarian Bistro. It is truly local cuisine made by a local husband and wife team. Their daughters waitress and "wo"man the bar.
We ordered the first 4 appetizers on the menu, simply because we couldn't decide between them. Note: The portions are massive. So there was no need for actual food past the appetizer round. This is promptly when we knew we would be making a return visit, as we had to experience the actual entree course!
God, I am salivating at the memory with just seeing these pictures again.
With over-full and extremely happy bellies, we once again set out to explore the beautiful and relaxed city. We explored the Parliament grounds for a while, but were ushered off by police who were preparing for an organized march. So we strolled back down to the river to explore a different section of the Danube bank. It really is a impressive building and worth the walk around. It is surrounded by beautiful grounds that locals used to spread out blankets and relax, or just meet up with friends and hangout.
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| Parliament |
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| Parliament |
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| Parliament |
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| Parliament |
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| Parliament |
On our walk, we came across the "Shoes on the Danube" Memorial. It should NOT be missed during your time here. It stands in remembrance of Jews who were lined up along the river in WWII and executed by firing squad.
With a heavy heart and damp eyes, we strolled back to our apartment, and enjoyed a nice bottle of wine and then mead on our balcony, while enjoying a beautiful sunset. We did not need to worry about dinner this beautiful evening after our appetizer lunch!
