Budapest Day 2

After a longer night, we go, well rested, to a café that was recommended to us. On the way there (it is already noon and the sun is high and hot in the sky) we pass the famous Parliament building. It is the largest building in Hungary and is built of solid stone right on the Danube.

We particularly like the magnificently decorated little turrets and take a great many photos even before breakfast, or rather lunch. We walk a good stretch further along the Danube and reach our actual first destination for today, the Caffee Brios. We sit comfortably outside with pancakes and scrambled eggs and enjoy the city life. After eating we spend the whole afternoon exploring the city on foot.

We also look at the Parliament building from the other side, walk straight across the city centre, go into a few shops, visit the opera house, which is under renovation, and finally arrive at a Hungarian market where you can buy food, clothes and souvenirs. However, we soon leave the stuffy market hall again and decide to visit the bar Szimpla Kert, a typical ruin bar. The bar is located in an old, run-down building that has been furnished in a very alternative style. There is a courtyard with lots of plants, special seating (bathtub, car tyre, etc.) and lots and lots of colours.

We have never seen anything like it and would not expect it in the middle of a city either. We like it here a lot. We each get a cocktail and make ourselves comfortable on the second floor with a view of the courtyard.

After a tour of the different rooms, we walk past the synagogue in the Jewish quarter to our hotel. We change and go up the Ferris wheel just in time for sunset. The view of the whole city from so high up was wonderful, the roofs were lit up orange by the setting sun. After this great experience we went to eat at a Japanese restaurant on the square next to the basilica, with a view of the church. The food was very good and turned out to be very amusing if you have little practice eating with chopsticks. We walked around the lively city a little more and then went to the hotel, very tired. We had already taken more than 15000 steps in the afternoon alone.