After visiting the baths, we reluctantly dragged ourselves back outside into the crisp air and strolled through the streets on our way to lunch. Despite the rumbling of our tummies, I could quite happily have spent the entire day sitting in the baths, with my shoulders ducked below the warm water and my head lost in the steam.
But there was so much more to see!
I had tried (unsuccessfully) to get hold of a lángos earlier in the trip but they had always been sold out. As such, I was desperate to try one by the time lunchtime arrived on our final day - I'd read all about the deep fried bread and the generous smattering of dairy loaded on top. I couldn't think of anything better to keep me going whilst wandering through the city!
So we headed to the grandest lángos restaurant in Budapest:
The Great Market Hall was the brainchild of Budapest's first mayor (although he had resumed life as an ordinary citizen by the time it was completed!)
It's a beautiful structure and the perfect place to grab some ingredients for dinner and some souvenirs to take back home for friends and family.
However we were there for one thing and one thing only: lángos smothered in sour cream and cheese!
The food was everything I wanted it to be; hot, fresh dough with all the dairy I could possibly ask for! I regretted only ordering one; by the time I'd finished and decided that I could more than happily polish off another, the queue snaking back from the counter was too long to contemplate.
From there, we decided to take another attempt at seeing Budapest from a height during sunset.
We marched across the frozen river...
And once I'd managed to drag Michele away from watching the ice float down the Danube, we marched up Gellert hill to the Citadella.
Despite being built in 1854, Budapest only took control of the citadel in 1899. Until then, it was occupied by Austrian troops who remained there until the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 - and then stayed on for another 30 years! The citadel was also occupied by Soviet troops during the Hungarian revolution of 1956 and the fortress' violent history can be easily read in the cannonball pockmarks that still blemish the smooth grey walls.
After walking a few laps of the citadel and admiring the rose-tinted views of Budapest in the dusk, we peered over at the Fisherman's Bastion at the crest of another distant hill and decided to walk over. It turns out that you have to descend substantially before climbing back up again but that's fine, it turns out that if you get well and truly lost at the foot of the castle, there's a lift that will take you up a few levels and give your weary legs a rest!
From there, we marched towards the Bastion, determined to catch the sunset after the previous day's failure to do so...
And yet somehow, despite us keeping a fairly careful watch on the city as we powerwalked over to the Bastion, we managed to miss it again! Instead we watched the day slowly fade into a pale blue, gradually deepening with the encroaching evening.
Let's just say that the food and wine really lived up to the sumptuous surroundings - my four course vegetarian tasting menu (which was really closer to a seven-course meal when you add in all the little extras they ply you with) consisted of a series of wonderful dishes including aged cheese with algae, horseradish and beetroot risotto with wasabi and a delectable dessert made from cheese, caramelised butter and apples. The wine pairings were exquisite - I haven't quite been able to enjoy white wine in the same way since I got back. And when we asked to try a palinka, the sommelier brought over a most impressive trolley of bottles for us to sample.
Which we did, at great leisure.
All the while, the snow swirled gently outside and I began to hope for cancelled flights and extra days in this wonderful city.
Our last night in Budapest... It was quite simply a fairytale evening.
But there was so much more to see!
I had tried (unsuccessfully) to get hold of a lángos earlier in the trip but they had always been sold out. As such, I was desperate to try one by the time lunchtime arrived on our final day - I'd read all about the deep fried bread and the generous smattering of dairy loaded on top. I couldn't think of anything better to keep me going whilst wandering through the city!
So we headed to the grandest lángos restaurant in Budapest:
The Great Market Hall was the brainchild of Budapest's first mayor (although he had resumed life as an ordinary citizen by the time it was completed!)
It's a beautiful structure and the perfect place to grab some ingredients for dinner and some souvenirs to take back home for friends and family.
However we were there for one thing and one thing only: lángos smothered in sour cream and cheese!
The food was everything I wanted it to be; hot, fresh dough with all the dairy I could possibly ask for! I regretted only ordering one; by the time I'd finished and decided that I could more than happily polish off another, the queue snaking back from the counter was too long to contemplate.
From there, we decided to take another attempt at seeing Budapest from a height during sunset.
We marched across the frozen river...
And once I'd managed to drag Michele away from watching the ice float down the Danube, we marched up Gellert hill to the Citadella.
Despite being built in 1854, Budapest only took control of the citadel in 1899. Until then, it was occupied by Austrian troops who remained there until the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 - and then stayed on for another 30 years! The citadel was also occupied by Soviet troops during the Hungarian revolution of 1956 and the fortress' violent history can be easily read in the cannonball pockmarks that still blemish the smooth grey walls.
After walking a few laps of the citadel and admiring the rose-tinted views of Budapest in the dusk, we peered over at the Fisherman's Bastion at the crest of another distant hill and decided to walk over. It turns out that you have to descend substantially before climbing back up again but that's fine, it turns out that if you get well and truly lost at the foot of the castle, there's a lift that will take you up a few levels and give your weary legs a rest!
From there, we marched towards the Bastion, determined to catch the sunset after the previous day's failure to do so...
And yet somehow, despite us keeping a fairly careful watch on the city as we powerwalked over to the Bastion, we managed to miss it again! Instead we watched the day slowly fade into a pale blue, gradually deepening with the encroaching evening.
Not exactly the dramatic sunset I had envisioned but still, not exactly a disappointing view!
By now, the evening cold had begun to rush in and so we went and hid in a little bistro opposite Jamie's Italian (an unexpected nod towards home!) I think this was one of my favourite moments from the trip - after a day of cramming as much of Budapest as is feasibly possible into a single day, we sat cosy and satisfied with a cup of tea and a slice of strudel whilst chatting and people watching in the window of a cafe.
Although it was slightly topped by dinner at the Boscolo's New York Salon - holy crap look how beautiful it was!
Let's just say that the food and wine really lived up to the sumptuous surroundings - my four course vegetarian tasting menu (which was really closer to a seven-course meal when you add in all the little extras they ply you with) consisted of a series of wonderful dishes including aged cheese with algae, horseradish and beetroot risotto with wasabi and a delectable dessert made from cheese, caramelised butter and apples. The wine pairings were exquisite - I haven't quite been able to enjoy white wine in the same way since I got back. And when we asked to try a palinka, the sommelier brought over a most impressive trolley of bottles for us to sample.
Which we did, at great leisure.
All the while, the snow swirled gently outside and I began to hope for cancelled flights and extra days in this wonderful city.
Our last night in Budapest... It was quite simply a fairytale evening.
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