I need to get more people to cook for me ....

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Geo: 47.3555, 18.9577

Ran into Chuck and Eileen on the train to Budapest. Very nice people. We compared notes (they didn't make the mistake that I did and actually went with the Rick Steves guidebook). I am very disappointed with the "Let's Go" guide I have. The pricing is out to lunch (2 or 3 years old?), important information is lacking, and the recommendations are hit or miss.

Supposedly the "highly-recommended" hostel in Budapest had laundry - nope. Kind of dumpy, too. I wonder if there are kickbacks involved? Met an Aussie girl named Alanna at the hostel. We went to the market together. Great - lots of produce and baked goods. Had a langos - fried pancake topped w/ cheese, cream, and garlic ... so fatty and so good!!!

Alanna bought some mushrooms (chanterelles, I think). Quite the adventure! The lady kept sneaking more into the bag - Alanna removed probably 2/3 of the bag. Couldn't figure out the price either - communication issues. Finally we sorted it out. The lady threw in a handful of tiny little mushrooms for free.

We walked across the river. Saw the Gellert Hotel - beautiful. Walked past a cool church (see pics) and up the Citadel. Incredible vistas. Chilled at the top for a while before walking back down.

A downpour on the way to the castle! Luckily I had my umbrella but we still got wet. We hopped onto the funicular - nothing too exciting at the castle. But it did stop raining. After, we stopped at a famous pastry shop (Gerbaud's). In business for nearly 200 years, I think. We shared a chocolate hazelnut cake, fruit cake, and a fruit tart. All good, but not spectacular. We made a deal - she'd let me in on the mushroom pasta she was making and I'd spring for the cakes.

My first home-cooked meal in over 5 weeks! Great with a little wine. She's really cool - a little spacey and flower-child-ish. Young and trying to find her path in life. She was just in India and came to Hungary a few days ago for an electronica festival.

Ran into a Torontonian at the kitchen (Holly). She quit her job as an interior designer and has been traveling and working in Europe for over a year. We seemed to hit it off but she always seemed to pull back. Strange.

I went for a walk along the Danube ... strangely quiet for a city of 2 million. Walked through a relatively quiet pedestrian arcade and then off to bed.

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Photos

a
Hotel Gellert - doesn't look that great here but it was a beautiful building. They have beautiful thermal baths inside - travel guides compare it to swimming inside of a cathedral.
Too bad I didn't take advantage of any of the baths. It would've been the first time I bathed this entire trip! Maybe next time.

b
NOT just another church! Carved into the side of a hill ... how cool is that?

c
The Freedom bridge - why do they call it that? Because of its most famous visitor ever ....

c1
"FREEEEEEEEDOM!!!!!!!"

d
Monument commemorating the liberation of Budapest after WWII.

e
View from Gellert hill.

f
Sadly, this building was quite run down ... imagine how beautiful it would be if it were restored.

g
I have no idea what this is anymore, but it was taken on castle hill.

h
Castle hill again - I loved the architecture up there.

i
What's Darren Marshall doing looking at cakes in Budapest???!?!?!!

j
There were some severe storms in Hungary before I arrived. Check out some of the damage. On the walk down from Gellert Hill, Alanna and I had to climb over mini mudslides and tree branches that were strewn about. Difficult for me in my sandals, even more difficult for her in her "cheap cardboard" sandals, as she called them.

k
Alanna cooking my first home-cooked meal in 5 weeks!!! Delicious penne with garlic, mascarpone cheese, chanterelles and some other kind of mini mushrooms. Tasty stuff!

l
Night shot along the Danube.

m
m

n
You can see the Hotel Gellert in the background.

o
Interesting statue ... I didn't know that blue cows melted when you shoved a giant popsicle stick up their asses. They never taught us that in engineering school!

z
I had seen similar eggs somewhere else (I've since forgotten where) but wasn't able to take pictures of them then. So here they are now!