We had paid for the optional breakfast offered by the hotel, and had a choice of two different cafes. We chose the closer one on this day, and were somewhat disappointed in the anemic selection. For our €6, we could have croissants with jam, two eggs with a small slice of ham, and one other small option I don't remember. Also included was one coffee and juice, and the children loved the warm milk with caramel.
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| Local liquor bottles decorating the cafe |
Once we had eaten, we set out walking.
Since it was December, we had brought our winter coats, but the weather was very mild (mid 50s+). Miles and I left our coats at the hotel, but didn't realize how breezy it would be. We walked toward the large central Christmas market, and wandered around a bit before popping into H&M for light jackets.
Miles found a sweatshirt with flippy sequins, and I found a cozy cardigan. Matt made fun of the brown and black zebra print, but I was warm and didn't mind. We wandered around the market more comfortably, and the kids played before a treat of biscuits and marzipan balls. I enjoyed a mulled wine, and Matt had coffee.
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| We did not sample the rooster testicle stew |
Upon leaving the market, we headed toward the Chain Bridge. This bridge spanning the Danube was built to connect the cities of Buda and Pest, which were eventually combined into one. We stayed on the Pest side, and wanted to see the Buda Castle District.
We saw some interesting sights along the way.
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| The Little Princess statue |
We soon approached the bridge, which I thought was beautiful.
When we crossed to the Buda side of the river, we had lunch while deciding how to proceed. There wasn't much to choose from on the street we explored, so we just sat outside a tiny cafe with sandwiches.
We had originally planned to take the funicular to the castle area, but the kids were so full of energy that we decided to walk. The views along the way and at the top were amazing.
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| Looking up |
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| Hello! |
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| Looking down |
We were just in time to see the changing of the guard at the castle.
Walking was a good choice, because the kids were unruly. We let them run around wherever it wasn't very crowded, and they had a good time while we got to see what we wanted.
We walked over to Fisherman's Bastion and Mattias Church.
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| Fisherman's Bastion |
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| Mattias Church |
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| Trying to press a penny |
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| I loved the tilework on the church! |
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| Beautiful detail |
After walking around the church, we headed back toward the castle. We stopped a few times to admire the views.
We noticed a large area of what I later found out are medieval ruins of a former version of the castle. Luckily I took a few photos in case it was important.
After a few more shots of the castle area, we headed back down the hill.
As we were walking down the steps, the kids were as full of energy as ever. Every few steps, Clara would stop and sing loudly, "Oh! This is the greatest show!" That kept us giggling as we went.
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| In the sweater Matt made such fun of |
As we walked, the sun started to set. The kids thought they were having special time staying up late, but it was just winter...
We stopped off at a park to let the kids play for a short time. Then we walked back through the city and the Christmas market toward the hotel.
Matt had seen a restaurant he wanted to try, but when we showed up, the kitchen was closed for another hour before dinner service. The kids didn't want to wait, so we found another place to try. We sat on the covered patio, and the lights were orangey-red, so forgive the terrible pictures.
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| Sour cherry beer - very nice! |
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| Clara was so excited that they had fish and chips! |
You would think after such a long day full of walking, that the kids would be asleep within minutes. Well, you'd be wrong. We had another night of struggling to get the kids to sleep, and once they were finally down for the count, Matt and I went to bed ourselves.
