Budapest: Day 2

We had a bit if a late start today due to sleeping in. But I think the effects of jetlag are gone now, so we should be good to get up early for the rest of the week! Although there weren’t many stores open today, and the museums were closed too, so it’s just as well that we didn’t get out and about till about 1:00PM, after eating very yummy omelettes cooked by our B&B host, Albert. We had a great chat with him over breakfast, and learned a lot about Hungary. Remember the run-down buildings I mentioned yesterday? Albert said they had been built in the days of communism when the government was creating make-work jobs. After the collapse of communism in Hungary, the workers lost their jobs and the buildings have pretty much stood abandoned ever since.

Just around the corner from the B&B is the House of Terror Museum. It was closed yesterday and today, but we’ll definitely be checking it out tomorrow. The building was headquarters to the KGB secret police, and is now a memorial to the victims of the two terror regimes in Hungary. It also presents a picture of what life was like for Hungarians in those times.

We made our way over the the Parliament building, passing one of the biggest and most elegant McDonalds I’ve ever seen…

And a pretty fancy train station. Yep, there’s Subway here! And Burger King & KFC too.

The Parliament buildings.

We’ll have to go across the Danube to the Buda side to get the really impressive view of the Parliament building. It was too cold & windy day to walk across the bridge today, but we’ll definitely get over to the Buda side soon…

There’s lots of beautiful and interesting architecture here. Just a few examples, starting with the Central European University:

I have to find out what this building is.

Cool circular corner on this building.

An artsy shot of balconies. 

I love the copper on this building. The very top floor is interesting.

I think this building might house a TV station or something TV-related. My Hungarian isn’t exactly fluent ;-) I love the kid’s train in front of the elaborate old building.

I think this is Le Meridien Hotel. Notice the snow! It snowed all day today – good thing we’re Canadian, we’re used to snow ;-)

This is the only Soviet monument still in Budapest. When the Russians finally left Hungary in 1991, the agreement said that they could keep one statue or monument in the country. They chose this monument in Szabadság tér (Freedom Square).

  

Other than a few booths, the Christmas Market has been closed this weekend. It’ll be back in full swing tomorrow, which I’m really looking forward to!

A pretty winter window display:

The Hungarian version of a Grinch tree – too bad they don’t fit into my suitcase!

Oh, speaking of window displays – I found Varga Design this afternoon. It was closed, and there was no jewelry on display in the windows. Which makes me think the jewelry is outrageously expensive. I’ll be back tomorrow to find out!

I might be the only person in existence who hates subway tiles. They literally remind me of subways! I hated taking the subway to university in Montreal, and subway tiles are now guilty by association. See, they even do subway tiles in the subway stations here!

Tonight was another show at Duna Palato – this time, a folklore show. The music and dancing were lively and fun, and the colourful costumes were fabulous. I wanted to take a picture, but cameras aren’t allowed. Sorry!

After the show, we went out for dinner. You’d be surprised how many people here eat dinner at 10:30PM! We went to a restaurant recommended by Albert called Menza. For $35, hubby had a huge beer and we both had awesome meals. My whole meal was FAB, but my favourite part was the Hot Sour Cherry Pie. It’s like cherry pie in a mug, minus the crust, And it was SO FREAKIN’ AWESOME!! I told hubby we’re going back at least once, maybe twice, because I NEED another one! I think it’s the best drink I’ve ever had, And that’s including strawberry daiquiris made with Bailey’s instead of rum!

On the agenda for tomorrow – SHOPPING! And moving from the B&B to the hotel, going to the Christmas Market, and I think we’re doing a walking tour. Hope it’s a bit warmer, or at less less windy…

 

P.S. I won’t have time to do my blog rounds while I’m away, but I’ll definitely be doing lots of catching up when we get back home :-)