Budapest - Part 1

We woke up to find it grey and rainy in the morning, and while it wasn't actually snowing, it was very cold. We grabbed ourselves an umbrella and headed out for a quick breakfast. Knowing nothing about Hungarian cuisine, I had scrambled eggs with ham and Linda had black forest cake.

First stop was the Nagycsamok (Central Markets) where we had our first tast of local food, lángos, (an oily doughy thing with cream and cheese on it) and browsed the local crafts on sale.

Then we wandered up to the nearby Nemzeti Múzeum (National Museum) where we tried to actually learn something about the history this foreign country we had arrived in. It turns out Hungary has had a somewhat unfortunate history, allying with the Austrians and Russians at exactly the wrong junctures in time (I wont embarrass myself by pretending to be an expert in Hungarian History).

That night we headed out for dinner at Menza restaurant, which is a very nice modern restaurant with enough of a repulation that meant there was quite a long waiting list. Somehow we got a table, due to some strange arrangement with our hotel, and examined the menu. I think I got a bit more lucky with my choices than Linda, who somehow ended up with a cheesy bread roll in a cheesy sauce for starters (the rest of the meal was very good), and we left the restaurant completely stuffed and in need of a digestive walk.

We walked down to the Duna (Danube River) by way of the Szent István Bazilika (St. Stephen's Basilica) and took photos of the famous Széchenyi Lánchíd (Chain Bridge) and Vár (Buda Palace) before succuming to the cold and heading back to our hotel.