budapest, day two: the buda side of life

Yesterday, we went to a library built into a former palace. People were casually studying in rooms decorated with sumptuous interiors: rich dark wooden staircases and bookshelves, gilded wallpapers, and ornate chandeliers. Most palace tours keep you hemmed into narrow spaces behind ropes, so it felt pretty luxurious to be able to wander around and interact with the space and furnishings.

The central market was crowded and kinda touristy, but luckily we found a little restaurant across the street where there was no English anywhere and the staff seemed to know everyone who came in. When we asked for help, the sweet woman behind the counter painted at every dish and struggled to find an English word for it. I got some kind of paprika-y chicken goulash on Hungarian gnocchi, and B got cabbage rolls with unexpected extra cabbage on the side and a healthy dollop of sour cream on top. The food came with soft white bread, and it made me very happy.

We crossed the Danube to the Buda side and walked up through the maze of park paths to the top of Gellért Hill, then down the other side, then up to the top of the next hill to reach the Hungarian National Gallery inside Buda Castle. The Gallery was filled almost exclusively with Hungarian art - another nationalistic effort from a country that seems to have spent a long time trying to define itself among its more powerful neighbours. B especially enjoyed the works of Tivadar Csontváry Kosztka.

At the top of the third hill, we selected some strudel (cheery + poppyseed; sweet cheese) from a shop with a surprising variety of flavours and a delightfully grumpy young woman behind a very tall counter. We made it through more tourists taking in the nighttime views from the Fisherman's Bastion and walked back across the river. The stores were closing for Christmas, so we stocked up on groceries (along with many other people who'd had the same idea) before heading home for the night.

construction inside the train station