By now it is the Tuesday after Easter, April 2, 2013, our last full day in Budapest before returning home. And true to form, we once again packed it full...but with only two venues.
First, we went to the Great Market Hall, Budapest's largest and oldest indoor market, from 1897. Some of our cruise mates had visited it the previous Friday but since that day was rainy, we knew we could catch it later.
To give us an appetizer before going, I went to our hotel's gift shop to get the flavor of everything Hungarian:
The lady who operated the gift shop was most kind and generous...and proud of her shop.
And rightly so. Proud to be Hungarian.
And it gave us a sense of what we'd expect at the Great Market Hall...at least on some level.
THIS is the Great Market Hall on the Pest side of the city.
All 10,000 square meters (30,000+ square feet)!
And on 3 different floors/levels! It's like Grand Central Station!
The first floor is produce...fruits and veggies.
If you like variety and choice, you've come to the right place.
Also on the first floor are meat delicacies, especially sausage.
And that reminds me of the potato-sausage soup recipe I got from Bill's Hungarian relatives back in the day!
And that reminds me of the chicken paprikash recipe...from the same relatives!
Did you know there could possibly be so many paprika choices?
And clearly paprika and garlic go together, right?
(btw, we bought a packet of HOT paprika, which I will use next time)
Other odds-n-ends on that first floor...and Astrid buying the paprika!
(oh, and we also bought one of those slim 0,04 l bottles of liquor, top-right, for our kitchen window collection)
That was the first, main floor!
The basement floor was much smaller and had mainly fish....
...and a select variety of prepared foods.
See how everyone is smiling!
Short and sweet, and then back up the stairs to the second floor....
...for all the textiles, eateries...
...and souvenirs.
So, after all that, do you now have a sense for what Hungary is all about?!
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And if all that doesn't make you hungry, what will! So we stopped for our late morning break....
...at Charlotte's Cake Shop for a piece of Hungarian cake.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do...is our motto!
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Newly energized, we were ready for the second mission of our day: the New Public Cemetery, Budapest's largest (also one of Europe's largest) at 2.07 km² and 3 million burials since its opening in 1886. To be honest, our plan was to visit the adjacent largest Jewish cemetery, but it was closed (like the synagogue the previous day).
It's not Budapest's most famous cemetery but it's bell tower welcomed us.
It's also near the airport and in its flight pattern...half an hour by tram from Pest's city center.
Outside the cemetery you see many shops selling gravestones.
But once inside, flower stalls are lined up near the entrance.
What I immediately loved more than anything was the woods.
Can you imagine visiting such a place, especially during spring, summer and fall!
Notice the Olympic Rings, bottom-center. Several Hungarian Olympians are buried there.
The snowflake necklace reminded me a bit of...Mardi Gras?!
I assume these are shrines since they're by the side of the many criss-crossing roads.
I assume these are shrines since they're by the side of the many criss-crossing roads.
How many gravestones have you seen with portraits on them?
Or with shelters covering them?
The trees were loaded with mistletoe, as the planes flew in overhead.
The resident cat was so nonchalant about it all.
Oh, yes...and there were cremation crypts.
Everywhere.
They reminded me of beehives. Don't you wonder....!
And while we were disappointed the Jewish cemetery was closed, we were very glad to get our education at this very public cemetery. I think cemeteries have a lot to tell us about life as well as death, don't you?
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On our way to and from the cemetery, while on the 30-minute tram ride...
...we saw a different part of Budapest, off the tourist path.
It was a good way to end our extended stay in this capital city.
And once off the tram to catch the metro back to our hotel,
we said Good-Bye to what had become familiar to us in just a few short days.
The next day we packed up, fiddled with our laptops, and flew home.
The next day we packed up, fiddled with our laptops, and flew home.
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Guess what, Folks! This is IT! The last post of our Viking Grand European River Cruise with extended Budapest stay! With this post today, 3 months after returning home, it's done. You've seen enough to give you a sense of why this really was a trip of a lifetime!
