Budapest : Great Market Hall

I have a thing for markets. It makes me feel closer to the local people and and I get to see what they do daily. Not forgetting pretty close up photos. Markets have always been my favourite place becase it haouses all the needs of a home, especially fresh produces that were delivered in the early morning. And this market is no acception.

Budapest has a few markets in the city, but I went over to visit this particular one, the Great market Hall, Nagycsarnok (I can't pronounce that) in Hungarian, which is by the Danube. This market is the largest in the city and is 150 meters long. It was opened in 1897 and restored in the 1990's. Unlike other markets that opens on weekends, this market closes on Sunday.

It opens daily quite early and closes around 5 in the evening. The nearest metro to the market is the Kalvin ter station, on Metro Line 3. You'll need to walk a bit though, but its really quite easy. They have already placed signs indicating the way to the market. Right in front of the market is a tram stop, Fovam ter, where you can catch tram number 47 and 49. These Trams also go across the river and you don't have to walk across.

(L) Salamis, fresh meat and goose pate' 

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(R) Pork crakling 

Fresh Goose wings!

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Paprika. The Hungarian icon

Some sites states that this market has 3 stories. I've only seen two. The ground floor and the 1st floor. Maybe there is a basement underneath. Like any other market, the ground floor places the wet market including the vege market. If you walk along the center of the market, stalls and stalls selling fresh meat and salamis would be greeting you.

Fresh Fruits

massive watermelons and peaches

Along the sides of the hall are stalls of fresh fruits and vegetables. They also have stally selling pastries, sweets and strudels. Not forgetting stally specializing in Paprika. Paprika is a Hungarian icon. Everywhere you turn, they'd be paprika.

Richly embroided wear for the ladies.

These embroided flowers are also used on their folk Wear.

 A Hungarian Lady stitching away in the busy market.

The first floor is where the locals come to grab a bite. It's quite narrow up here. Half of the area is used to sell handicrafts and souvenirs (here is where you get the cheapest souvenirs. Not in town). the other half sells local delicacies like Langos (which Rick Steves consideres the best. I agree!), Pork knuckles, Goulasch, Goose legs and such.

Pork Knuckles

Ordering more than you could swollow.

If her mum only knew. haha.

They are a variety of Langos to choose form. It adelicious fried bread with topping you can choose. You can either choose a sweet or savoury topping for your langos. More like choosing a Crepe. You want to know what it taste like? It tastes like cha-koi. You know, those fried long bread sold in stalls every evering. Very yummy.

A Traditional Langos

Savoury Langos on display

Our Langos. With chocolate and bananas. You can't go wrong with chocolate and bananas right?

We were actually quite stuffed after having lunch at one of the restaurants in the market. But we really wanted to try the Langos. So after lunch, we walked the market for a few hours to let our lunch digest. I even had a foot massage from a Thai expo downstairs. We were there for quite a while, until the market was about to close, which was around 5pm. We then took our blessed tummy for an evening walk along the Danube, and up to the castle. We walked because the tram line on the Buda side was under construstion. I think I practically killed my two legs, but my fat still won't die *sad*

Budapest : Great Baths in Hungary

One thing I learned about Hungary is that it has miracle water. Not the SKII kind of pitera water that makes your face looks like its suppose to glow in the dark kind.Hungary has more thermal baths in the world than any other country (almost 1000 thermal springs in the country, which many have been turned into baths and spas). How blessed its grounds are!

Thermal Baths are good for health.Their water are sourced from natural thermal and mineral water deep in the ground. Spending time in a thermal bath helps relax stiff muscles, especially now that most of us spend time sitting in front of the computer. It also helps treat other medical conditions including rheumatism, circulatory problems, insomnia, bronchial asthma and gynecological disorders. Just don't be too excited to jump into one if you have high blood. That might not be good.

While we were at it, we had our day out at Szechenyi Bath (a famous one) in Budapest. There are a few baths in Budapest, and it's mostly filled with tourists. I heard from the lady who share my coach with me the night before that the baths in Budapest are a lil more expensive that ones outside because it generally is a tourist attraction. She goes to a bath almost every two days! She also said that the bath that I'm going to visit was one a palace or something for royalty. I could'nt find and source for that so I won't elaborate. All I read about it was that it was called "Artesian Bath". But the place is really pretty. At the entrance, you wouldn't know that you are entering a bath. It looks more like a hotel, with carved ceilings, chandeliers and statues.

To get to the Szechenyi Bath, you'll need to get a metro line 1 (yellow line) to “Szechenyi furdö”. It actually a big park and on the corner, there a great yellow building which is the Bath. We got a day pass at the entrance with a cabin shared by two people. It was around 2900-3750 HUF. They do offer other services such as massages and spas. There are a few ticket counters around the building. Instead of waiting in a long line, one of the attendents showed us another way to the other counters around the building.

Middle olympic pool that requires a swimming cap

 The pool with a whirlpool within

The yellow bulding is where all the other pools are

In the Szechenyi bath, there are three outdoor pools with different temperatures. Mostly were between 35 - 40°c. In one of it, theres a whirl pool in the center which spins like a hurricane. One frequently has air jets like jaccuzis which everyone will be waiting for. The center pool is like an olympic pool which you would need a swimming cap to get in. I did'nt have a swimming cap so I could'nt enter.

Cabins for rent

Then theres a building opposite the entrance. At first we thought it hold changing rooms. Lo and behold, unlock a new level of thermal baths! This was mad. The building was filled with rooms equipped with steaming rooms, saunas, and even more hot pools (and cold pools, some were below 10°c). The color of the water was a bit yellowish due to the minerals in it. There was also a pool for aerobics with an instructor and anyone could join. We tried almost every pool and I can't even remember how many there were. I did'nt have any pictures because I just want to dip myself in the water without worries. Outside, the temperatur was a hot 35°c and we were comfortable in our pools at 38°c. There were many people there for their first time to and there were dipping from pool to pool like we were. Personally I think I like the outdoor pool the best.

It was a beautiful day.

Other than this bath, there are a few more baths to visit in the city. See here. One in the middle of the city is the Gellert bath, which was at the end of the green bridge, if I'm not mistaken. It was turned into a grand hotel so I doubt it'll be a little more costly.

Spending a day in a bath on a visit to Hungary is definately a must-do.

*Budapest was officially declared an International Spa in 1934.

Budapest : Along the Danube

Ganges may be one of the great rivers in Asia, Danube is one great river in Europe. The Danube river originates from the Black Forest in Germany, runs through the south of the country including Regensburg (where I'm currently staying), down to Eastern Europe, through Austria,  Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Moldova, Ukraine and Romania. It eventually discharges at the Black Sea, nearby Turkey.

The Danube is a big part of Budapest, which is in Hungary. Budapest is known as one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. And indeed it is amazingly beautiful. Lets get out from the London, Paris, New York idea shall we? There are many other places in the world much better then these.

Buda on the right, Pest on the left, saperated by the Danube

Budapest is made out of two parts. The Buda side and the Pest side. The Danube river saperates these two parts of the city. The city is connected by a number of great bridges which one of them is the Szechenyi chain Bridge, right in front of the Buda Castle which is on the Buda side of the city.

A view of the Pest side taken from the grounds of Buda Castle

Pest side

The lady who ate watermelon. Made us crave for it for a week.

During the summer, I got on a night train alone from Munich at almost midnight. Train I travelled in was a sleeper coach. It was quite comfortable to sleep in and was reasonably priced. It had bunk beds, fresh sheets, blankets and pillows. My 3 bedded private coach was equipped with a face towel and a sink. I only shared it wth a lady. So there were two of us in the cabin. It was my first experice riding in a night coach. The journey was roughly 8 hours, and I reached Budapest around 7am. Before arrival, sandwiches and a hot baverage was served.

The appartment where we stayed

Budapest is a great place to go if you love walking around aimlessley because you'd be sure to find something fascinating. After I found my appartment for my stay, I walked around alone while waiting for Delia to reach from the UK. She arrived roughly around 3pm. Before that, I strolled around the Danube river, read history about the city and had a peek at town (and look for a reasonably priced Currency Exchange). In the summer, lots of restaurants have their tables out on the streets and gelato stands seems to be everywhere.

Riverside Promenade on the Pest side

The Buda side, which is on the west bank, generally holds the elite community. Proudly stands above the whole city on the Buda side is the Buda Castle. The Buda Castle was once the Royal Palace of the Hugarian Kings. Most would not know much about the castle but I'm sure you have seen it if you're a mainstream music fan. The Castle grounds are frequently used for music videos including Selena Gomez; Round and Round and Katy Perry; Firework MV (and they do have amazing firworks here!!) Mind blowing I must say.

Fishermens Bastion on the Buda side

To cure our aching feet.

Coffee Heaven :: beats Starbucks anytime.

I will write more on the Castle on another post. We were there during the St Stephens Festival and they had a Folks fest up in the castle where people would sell local produce and dress up as if it was the mid century.