Today we explored the Pest part of Budapest and it was a great counterpart to yesterday’s adventures. The morning started off a bit cold and snowy and we got a little lost on the way to the Metro. But it was fine. Because sometimes, when you get lost in a foreign country, it gives you the chance to walk and wander and then finally ask for help from a nice Hungarian who will point you in the right direction.
After finding the Metro we proceeded for a relatively unadventurous ride. Which was nice compared to yesterday’s fiascos. We hopped off at the Central Market Hall to check out the various food and souvenir stalls.
I found this guy, who made us one of the best Strawberry, Banana and Nutella Crepes I have ever eaten. And yes, if you’re wondering, I’ve eaten quite a few. He added the perfect amount of Nutella, which is not too much and Jeremy and I both agreed that the crepe was incredible.
Afterwards, we wandered through the souvenir stalls, looking for something and nothing at the same time. Surprisingly, we came up with nothing though it was fun to look at all of the beautiful handmade goods. So we left the market and then continued on to walk through the rainy snow, taking in more of the beauty of Pest.
Today I leaned that Budapest has eleven bridges which is the third most in Europe behind Paris and London. And it was all pretty spectacular.
But it was also pretty cold. So we decided to be fun and ducked into a fancy looking restaurant. It was called Pampas and it was kind of amazing.
We don’t eat at fancy restaurants very often. And had I known we were going to eat at one today, I probably would have worn something a little more classy than my polar bear shirt. But I went with it and we had such a fun time. The chicken I got was the most delicious chicken I have ever eaten in my life. It was stuffed with four kinds of cheese and was so tender. We ended our meal with Creme Brûlée which just seemed right. And the best part of it all? It costs us about the same amount of money that we pay when we go to Applebees. Thanks Budapest!
After lunch, we took the Metro to a few more locations. We headed over to St. Stephen’s Basilica, because we love a beautiful church and St. Stephens did not disappoint. The best part was the Christmas Market that was right outside of the church. I do have to say, from my observations these past few days, Budapest loves Christmas. It’s so delightful to walk around seeing the beautiful lights and listening to the Christmas music that is playing all around. Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year and I absolutely love being in a place that loves it too.
And if you needed more proof about how Budapest feels about Christmas, in the Metro they had an advertisement for a Santa burger.
After our Christmas Market shopping adventures we walked back to our hotel. This is a picture of the slightly sketchy park that we passed through each night. I’d like to apologize in advance to my Mom who is probably a bit scared for me right now. No worries Mom, we survived.
Our final adventure of the evening, was our Budapest by Night tour. It included sights from the highest point in Budapest which was spectacular and a very entertaining dinner in a traditional Hungarian restaurant. Our experience was greatly enhanced by meeting the new friends that we sat with. We connected over Liberty University, our love for travel (they’re goal is to visit every continent and they are nearly there) and the many funny things that happened throughout our Hungarian dinner.
And that concludes our stay in Budapest. It was full, but quick and just incredible. I’d highly recommend coming to this beautiful country with it’s waterfront views and cheap fancy dinners. Tomorrow, we are off to Prague via Coach bus, so we are praying for safe travels as we continue our European adventures.
Laura Herr Photography 