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| Well that's more than I expected on my bagel |
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| These are pancakes, not French toast |
After breakfast, we started walking, and pretty soon Lily was complaining about her shoes. We examined her feet, and her shoes were too small! So as we walked, we kept an eye out for shoe stores. We went into a few, but they didn't have her size. She toughed it out while we headed toward Heroes' Square. We walked through the city, and leading up to the square there was a walking path between the lanes of a major road.
And Heroes' Square was at the end of the path. The clear blue sky made this landmark even more striking, and I took loads of pictures while the kids ran around happily.
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| I loved the detail in the statues |
Behind the square lies City Park, which contains Vajdahunyad Castle, the Szechenyi Thermal Baths, and a zoo, just to name a few. During the winter, an outdoor ice rink is set up.
Luckily for us, there were street food stalls set up before the castle. The kids had a chimney cake and a ride on the carousel, then they went bonkers because we wouldn't let them ice skate.
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| Chimney cakes |
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| Lily was upset because she didn't like the chimney cake |
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| I had a flatbread with sour cream, cheese, and mushrooms. |
While the kids took turns using the public toilet, I found a new hobby - taking pictures of people posing for their Instagram pics.
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| "Close your eyes and make a cute face" |
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| "Look pensively off into the distance" |
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| "Pretend to be walking" (she was standing still) |
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| Pleading with Death? |
This area had lots of Insta entertainment. Matt did his own version, but couldn't keep from laughing.
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| Not a funny pic, I just like this one |
Once we had spent a few euros using the bathrooms, we walked around the castle grounds some more. The kids loved posing with statues.
Around another corner, we found animals!
We tried to walk on to have a look at the thermal baths, but the area was blocked off. Apparently something was being filmed. We excitedly tried to Google what it might be, but couldn't find out. All we know is there were animals and actors were dressed in period costumes.
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| This guard might have been annoyed with me |
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| Actors? Extras? |
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| If you zoom in, you can see the dress and top hat... |
I was really kicking myself because I hadn't brought my long lens!
Anyway, we went back through the park and grabbed a snack for the kids. They had chips, and I had hot grog with rum. It tasted like spiced hot tea, and I decided that I prefer mulled wine. Meanwhile, the ice rink had been cleared, probably because it was too warm.
After letting the kids eat and run around, we headed back toward the Danube, walking through a different part of the city. We walked past this interesting fenced in area, which looked like a sculpture graveyard.
We went past the Parliament building, though we didn't linger.
What we really wanted to see was Shoes on the Danube Bank. This art installation commemorates the execution of about 3500 people by the Hungarian fascist party Arrow Cross (who were cooperating with the Nazis). People were lined up on the banks of the river and shot so the bodies would fall into the water, easily disposing of the dead. The militiamen first forced the victims to step out of their shoes, as they were very valuable during the war.
We warned the kids ahead of time of the history behind the installation, and that it was very important to be serious while we were looking at it. They behaved very nicely (this time). It was such a touching sight, especially with flowers and little gifts left in and around the shoes.
I took a few pictures of the river and the kids, and we were off again.
On this day, we were determined to eat at the restaurant Matt had wanted the night before. We had time to kill before it reopened for dinner service, so we walked back through the Christmas Market. It was fun to see at night, all lit up. We found a large shoe store here, and finally were able to get Lily some comfortable shoes that fit (and they were on sale!).
At the market, I tried a traditional Hungarian-Jewish cake. It was layered with plum jam, walnut, apple, and poppy seeds. It wasn't bad, and the kids happily helped me eat it.
Matt had a more substantial "snack," which he shared with the whole family. It was a potato pancake topped with sausage and a cabbage roll. Very delicious, though expensive.
The kids ran around at the market for a little while, then we were off to dinner at Spiler. The food was great, and the service was phenomenal.
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| Chicken paprikash. Amazing. |
After dinner, Matt and I decided to try Palinka, a Hungarian fruit brandy. Each restaurant typically had several flavors of this strong spirit. I honestly don't remember which flavors we ordered, but it didn't matter- it only tasted like burn. We managed to get the kids back to the hotel and in bed, and tried to drink water to stave off our inevitable hangovers (it didn't work). I am glad that there are no pictures to remind us of this horrible mistake.
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