17 February, 2020

Budapest - Day 5

On our last day in Hungary, we had just about enough time to have breakfast and pack up before going to the airport. Oh, and pose for a few pictures...

Grumpy Clara


Croissants






Photobomber!

Back at the hotel, we were gathering our things. As I stood on the balcony, I thought I had seen a similar picture online...


This brick bit with barbed wire

When I looked it up again, I realized that this was the piece of ghetto wall we had searched for the previous day! And it was right outside our window the whole time. It was sobering, thinking that we had been sleeping in the area where Jews had been segregated not that long ago.


As usual, we asked the kids what their favorite parts of the trip were.

Miles: Probably my secret box (his souvenir), sleeping in the bed with Lily, walking by the river, and getting my sequin shirt.

Lily: Getting Snowy (her lamb toy), spending time with family, getting new shoes.

Clara: Getting a souvenir, going down by the river, getting ready to go home.


We also asked for their top 3 places in the world they'd like to visit. Here's what they said to that.

Clara: Paris, London, Budapest again

Miles: USA (Illinois and Colorado), USA (New York City), and Paris

Lily: Hamburg ("Is there a place called Hamburger?"), USA (Illinois), USA (New York City)

I guess we will have to try NYC at some point!


Since we didn't really do anything on this last day, I'll include some of the architecture pictures I took. I do love interesting buildings!




Christmas decorations!
 











House of Terror

There were many grand, ornate buildings that were in need of maintenance. Those were probably my favorites.













And that ends another fun family trip!















12 February, 2020

Budapest - Day 4

After the palinka mistake the night before, we had a late start on the fourth day. I had a headache that faded with Tylenol, but Matt's head was pounding with no relief. He ended up feeling off most of the day, but did a great job of soldiering on with the rest of us.

I took the following photo from our balcony while Matt rested in bed. I liked the contrast of the old building against the newer one.

Coffee was a must

I had read about a remaining fragment of the ghetto wall from WWII, which was enclosed in a courtyard but could be viewed through a hole in the gate. My map showed it was just one street over from our hotel, so after breakfast, we went searching. Unfortunately, according to Google maps, the building that surrounded the landmark was boarded up and seemed abandoned.

Disappointed, we decided to go souvenir shopping at Central Market Hall, which is the largest and oldest indoor market in the city (opened 1897). It's a three story building, with vendors of meats, produce, spices, and souvenirs.

From our walk    




  
Outside the entrance
Again, outside the entrance

Inside, we decided to go upstairs first so the kids could pick their souvenirs. The walkways between stalls were narrow, and by the time we got all the way around, Matt and I were getting cranky about the lack of space. But the kids found what they wanted (though we had to tell Miles that he couldn't buy a weapon).

All decked out for Christmas
Add in just a few more customers and it gets pretty tight


Back on the main floor, there was plenty of room to move and breathe. We briefly shopped around before heading out (we didn't visit the basement, which had butchers, pickles, and fishmongers). I loved just window shopping, but we were getting hungry.





View from the top floor

Once we were outside, we got a proper view of the front of the market. The tiled roof reminded me of Matthias Church near Buda Castle.






And we saw another small Christmas market across the street.



Matt had heard of a fantastic restaurant from a coworker, and it wasn't that far, so we walked there to have lunch. It was in a little alley, down in the basement...



... but a very cozy atmosphere, and the food smelled amazing.

However, they did not take cards, and since we had just spent most of our cash at the market, we had to move along.

We chose a small restaurant a few doors down, and we ended up with a very nice lunch.






After lunch, we went back to the hotel for a rest. The kids showed off their souvenirs and played, and Matt and I took it easy.



We stayed in for a while, as we just didn't feel like doing much (I might still blame the palinka for this).

At dinner time, we tried a little Israeli restaurant that looked good online. We all shared a few starters, and everything we tasted was wonderful. The kids especially loved the dumplings and hummus (as well as writing on the walls).











The most exciting part of the night was when Lily lost her front tooth at dinner! She carefully packed it away to take home for the tooth fairy.

Back at the hotel, we had a relaxing evening, then went to bed. The next morning it would be time to get back to the UK.