Budapest Adventures: Freezing on Margaret Island & Christmas Fair Food

Hello again,

In case you read this after Christmas Day, Merry Christmas! Hope you've had the most joyful and bright Christmas day with your loved ones! Cherish those moments with them because they're so precious. There's a few festive posts coming your way soon! 

Today however I present you the last installment of my Budapest travel series. This is the last full day we had in the city and we decided to make the most of it, even though the temperature had dropped extremely low for our standards. The weather was gloomy and very humid on that day, but luckily no rain meddled with our plans. 

Our schedule for the day ahead included a walk alongside the Danube river where we could see the Parliament building from up close and a stroll on Margaret Island, a little island situated on the Danube and linked with a bridge to the city which is basically a large park and recreation area. I'm pretty sure that it's gorgeous in fall or spring but we can't complain.

The Parliament is a huge, impressive building which had to be photographed from all angles in order to capture its grandeur.

After what felt like eons we were finally on Margaret Island.

Naturally, with the weather being so cold and considering it was Thursday afternoon the visitors were far and few in between. I can imagine this place blooming and bursting with life on a Sunday in May.

But now the surroundings helped form an eerie landscape.

Cold, dark, almost gothic.

The earth was damp from the humidity and there were tiny icicles forming on leaves.

ice on bushes

We definitely got a good dose of winter. The kind of view that you don't come across often here in Athens.

Ruins - we never found out what this was - made the whole experience seem like a fairytale (or a horror movie). 

On the way back, the sun was setting and the city lit up.

We decided it was time for a hot beverage and we dragged ourselves all the way to the Central Café for a cup of hot chocolate. Another classic.

And then we opted to dedicate the entire evening to the Chrismas fair in Vorosmarty square. We shopped for gifts and souvenirs and spent a good chunk of our time trying to decide what to eat. The options were plenty and tempting.

But first we ooh'ed and aah'ed at the sight of fancy street decorations. 

Greasy pans bubbling, hot dogs roasting, mulled wine steaming. It was a feast for any foodie.

the so-called chimney cake: a pastry shaped like a roll usually topped with sugar and cinnamon

We finally decided on langos, a Hungarian fried dough, topped with sour cream and cheese and a hot dog which was cleverly named "hun-dog". The langos was greasy and comforting as expected but the hot dog was utterly delicious. Wish I had more.

And of course mulled wine to keep us warm.

On the next day we wandered about a different Christmas market right in front of St Stephen's Basilica, had some more wine and then headed to the airport. It was a beautiful, sunny day and we were so sad to leave. But it was an unforgettable experience and we will always remember it fondly. 

Hope you could mentally travel with me while reading these posts. Looking forward to the next one.