Budapest video

Sorry it's been so long since I posted more about out trip to Budapest but here is a portion. Excuse my poor awful video camera skills. Bah. :)

Budapest Labyrinth

In the castle district of Budapest, there are many cool things to see. Most are obvious, like the Fisherman's Bastion, the Royal Palace and St. Matthias Church but the labyrinth is a doorway that we almost passed right by next to a pub.

We walked down, down down into the labyrinth. There are maps in several languages on the wall but none that we noticed that we could take along. Without a map, it becomes confusing after a point when the path splits and some are dead ends or split off into more paths. It supposedly was made by running water and there are still wet areas and it smells like damp.

Tyler's favorite part of our entire trip was the labyrinth especially the labyrinth of courage. We came across it and in the dim light we could see the big metal door with the words Labyrinth of Courage on it with a few instructions. It was best to go in and allow a few minutes between each party and hold onto the cable bolted into the wall. I opened the door and it was pitch dark in there. I couldn't tell if it went down or any direction, just blackness.
 Tyler promptly says, "Oh, I want to go in there!!"
 Joshua pipes in, "I DON'T want to go in there!"

Sometimes, having the kids disagree on what they want to do is a bother but luckily Loop says she will go on the other path with Josh while we head on in the labyrinth of courage. As soon as that door closes, you cannot see your hand in front of your face. I let Tyler go first since he wanted too , next me and then Hector. I'm hanging on the cable, creeping slowly forward while I have no idea where Tyler is ahead of me. Then Tyler calls out, "LOOK!" Um, I can't see anything....turns out that he had turned a corner and there was the dimmest of lights with symbols on the cave wall. We continue on and it wasn't very long although it seemed like it to me.

We finally come to a door and we made it safely through the labyrinth.....phew!

Joshua's Hot Chocolate tour

For those who know Joshua, he loves chocolate especially hot chocolate. I make him the instant kind at home but when I read about all the coffee houses in Budapest I knew Josh would be all over the hot chocolate.

Sure enough, Joshua had his hot chocolate every single day. The rich, creamy and very chocolately kind with whipped cream. Ah, he was in heaven!

Our first morning in Budapest in a tiny cafe/bakery that had only 2 tables and some stools. We took over both tables. It was early Saturday morning, soon after a crowd of people came in.

At the Miro cafe for lunch on Saturday. Yes, he had 2 that day. He earned them, we walked around for about 6 hours that day.

Hot Chocolate at Gerbeaud. Absolutely decadent.

These are just a few memorable times but believe me Joshua loved them all.

See? He's leaping for joy!

More funky hats

Can you tell that we were bored???

The shaggy dog look.

A swan hat...more like a dying swan.

Funky Hat day

With the cold weather in Budaest, there are many shops that sell hats.

We had fun trying them on.

Felted gnome hat

Don't know exactly what this is, some furry black hat...

with a nest of eggs on top.

Vorosmarty Ter

No matter what area we went to for sightseeing, we'd usually find ourselves back at Vorosmarty Ter. There were cafes, an outdoor market and shops. Plus the metro stopped right in front of Gerbeaud, a coffee/cake house.
We had our coffee, hot chocolate and cakes in the Neo-Baroque style cafe. A bit pricey but it is a place to enjoy the atmosphere and food. After we paid the bill which was around $100 (Hector ordered lunch) and got out of there. A few minutes later, our waitress found us and asked Hector to come back because there was a problem with the bill. Oh great, was it more than that? Turned out that we were billed twice for several items since we used 2 tables  but the staff was very apologetic and refunded us the difference along with a Gerbeaud chocolate bar. :)

Just outside the cafe, there are outdoor market stalls selling items and all sorts of food. Lupe and I shared this fried potato pancake with sour cream on the side. Not good for your cholesterol but comforting on a cold day.

Sausages, rooster testicles (no thank you), and other various food that I don't know the names of but you get the idea.

in a nutshell

Hey there. We  had a great time in Budapest. I need to organize all the wonderful places and sights we've seen here but my brain isn't fully functional. So I decided to share snippets in no particular order.

Day 1

 

1. I went to sleep early (around 6pm) and woke up at 2am. Couldn't fall asleep again and found out that everyone else except Tyler had the same problem. We finally had to wake him up at 7am because the rest of us were ansy.
2. Found a little pastry/bakery shop and had delicious fruit pastries and cappucinos.
3. Had to hightail it back to the hotel to put on a heavier coat. It's chilly! 
4. Got a bit lost as we are trying to get our bearings. Turns out we took the long scenic route to the Danube river but it's all good. 
5. Found the Parliament building, the Royal Palace, Fisherman's Bastion and Matyas Templon (St. Matthias church).

6. Had lunch in the Castle District at the Miro cafe. Had some awesome stuffed turkey with spinach and mushroom risotto. Joshua had his first on many hot chocolates on this trip but that's another story.

Chain Bridge at night