I started my day with a walking tour, which I've determined is the most efficient way to get a lay for the land while also getting an inside scoop on the best tourist sites and places to hang out.
The walking tour wasn't spectacular, but was still quite good. After the three-hour tour of both Buda and Pest, I headed towards Pest's Grand Market, where I planned on grabbing lunch. After touring the market, I headed to the food stands on the market's second floor. For lunch, I had a first course of sausage and peppers, and had a second course of the famous goulash soup. Both were quite tasty, although very, very filling. Hungarian food is considered to be among the best, although I'm finding I'm not so fond of it. It's ridiculously rich -- lard is common ingredient, a lot of the food is fried (in lard), and almost every dish involves some type of meat. For example, one national speciality would best be described as deep fried pizza topped with a cream cheese spread. It's very hot here right now, and the heaviness of the food is a little more than I wish for, given that most of my days involve wandering the streets in the heat. Not unexpectedly, Hungarians are not the slenderest Europeans I've seen (I'd describe the population as "portly", not necessarily obese), and they also don't seem to shy away from breaking out the "skimpy" clothing in the heat, which more than once has proven to be an unfortunate combination. But apparently Hungary winters are bitterly cold, and a little meat on the bones is important.
The Grand Market
A paprika stand at the Grand Market
Fruit stand
Lunch! For less than $5.
After the lunch bomb, I wandered for a bit longer before grabbing a nap at the hostel. In the evening, I headed over to the Jewish Quarter, which interestingly is where the best bars are, as I learned from the tour guides. I had planned on mostly wandering, but I passed by a newer looking wine bar that was offering wine tastings. Curious, I decided to check out the offering, which turned out to be a wonderful decision. I settled on the Hungarian red tasting, as Hungarian reds are not often found in the US, while whites are more available. I was fortunate to take a seat next to a food columnist who spoke great English, and who was able to give me a long introduction to the wines I was trying and the Hungarian wine industry. The owner, David, was also behind the bar and came over to talk more about the wines. The first two wines I tried were local varietals and were decent, although nothing I'd call remarkable. For my third tasting, however, David went off the list and poured me a glass of a pricer 100% Cabernet Franc that was amazing. Apparently Cabernet Franc grows quite well in Hungary because of its cold weather; it's too bad the country has struggled to export these wines outside of Hungary. The fourth, and final, tasting was another Cabernet Franc, which was still great but not quite as exquisite.
The wine bar was also celebrating one of the bartender's 23rd birthdays, and David insisted that I join in on the birthday celebrations by trying Hungary's national spirit, palinka, which is kind of like a fruity flavored gin. Palinka ranges from 40% to 85% alcohol by volume, and it's taken as a shot, so accepting a shot of Palinka without knowing the proof is like playing Russian roulette with your sobriety. After two shots of palinka, many birthday biscuits, and the wine tasting, I had to insist that it was time to go and pass on the birthday party's next stop. But the wine tasting was great, and the bar had been such a wonderfully friendly place, that it had been a fantastic evening.
More Budapest tomorrow.
The food sounds pretty awful to me....you have a good attitude about trying everything. Your photos of the market are great! I am suprised that there is still a Jewish quarter there, as very few Jews are left.
ReplyDeleteGina - I think it's only known as the Jewish district now because of its pre-WW II history. There is still clearly a small community, but unfortunately the district isn't in the best shape; not much was done during the Communist era and many of the buildings are in a poor state (although the entire town continues to be a construction zone to bring back many of these areas). Thus, "ruin pubs" have popped up in the old buildings, which I'll post more about for day 14. I'm glad you're reading the blog so diligently! :-)
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