Day two

At breakfast in the hotel, my wishes are taken seriously, there is Alpro yogurt with blueberries and rice milk, but we don't eat much, after all, we're going to the big market hall... and who knows how much space you need in your stomach there.

The market hall is spacious, very attractive and offers something for everyone - fruit, vegetables, meat, and a lot of knick-knacks that you certainly don't need, but immediately remind you of Hungary. Unfortunately, there is still not enough space in the stomach for a lángos, but a piece of Budapest strudel with poppy seeds fits. Afterwards, we stroll over the green bridge, which spans the Danube from the legendary Gellért Hotel to the Great Market Hall. With a total length of 333.6m and a span of 170.75m, the "green" Liberty Bridge is a true gem. And I must say: it is beautiful, especially when the old tram drives over it, it creates a fantastic picture. Speaking of trams: take number 2 and travel from a to b to pass the Danube and see some highlights of the city, such as the Parliament and the Buda side.

For us, it's time to go back to the Castle District, this time in daylight and with crowds of people. While waiting in line to buy tickets, I have the wise idea to buy a mulled wine to brave the cold, said and done. Done, (a little) regretted... because the red drink goes to our heads so much that when we enter the church, we have to sit down for a while to let the alcohol escape. But sitting down also allows you to see a lot of the beautiful Matthias Church, the coronation church of Sisi and Franz.

The striking Matthias Church in the Buda district is one of the most important churches in Budapest and is probably the most famous church in the city. It is located on Trinity Square in the heart of the Castle District and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

After a long walk, we leave the area and want to stroll through Buda, but we only do it for a few meters until our curiosity leads us to the Hilton Hotel. I wonder what it looks like inside ?! Let's go in and also follow the spontaneous idea to have lunch there. The menu promises a lot, the prices are moderate and when we are offered a table by the window with a phenomenal view of the Danube, the Parliament and the Fisherman's Bastion... well, who can say no to that ?!

On minor detours through Buda, the mother's navigation system stops more often, we go downhill towards Margaret Bridge. It and the green bridge are simply fantastic. The Margaret Bridge in Budapest was built as the second of the nine bridges in the Hungarian capital Budapest that connect the two districts Buda and Pest. The bridge is named after Margaret Island, over whose southern tip it leads. The island, in turn, was named after Margaret, the daughter of Hungarian King Béla IV, who has lived in a Dominican monastery on the island since her ninth birthday. The king thus kept his promise to found a monastery after the victory over the invading Mongols and to make his daughter a nun.

Now we get on the number 2, take a break and see Budapest again, not on foot. Secretly, I am afraid of not being checked. Because in the old trams we don't see any way to validate our electronic 72-hour ticket for public transport. And paying a fine can also be expensive in Budapest. But the good spirits are with us😊.

I'm hungry. Yesterday I saw a Japanese restaurant and that's where our path leads us. And we don't understand a word. The Japanese cuisine is unfamiliar to me, more unfamiliar, most unfamiliar, and even with the English translation, it exceeds my horizon. But the mini meal we receive is quite delicious, but so small... and then I see through the restaurant window in capital letters: PAD THAI WOK.

Aha. So a restaurant focused on Pad Thai. Since my vacation in Malaysia, I love Pad Thai (Thailand's national dish) and I'm even more excited that the mother is still hungry.

So we have our last meal of the day here: https://www.padthaiwokbar.com/hu/ and we are very satisfied.

I really like Budapest (!!!!), but I don't cope well with the temperatures. I'm constantly cold, even though it's between 2-4 degrees😞