We're number One!

Yes I know Syracuse lost, but according to CNN travel the number one market in Europe is the great Market Hall in Budapest.  This is where I do a lot of my shopping, it's two blocks away and has great poultry and pork.  The only other place on the list is I've been is the Market in Barcelona which gave me "market envy" and I hear the one in Turkey is amazing so I'm not sure how Budapest got the win, but I'll take it.  Here is a link to the article: http://travel.cnn.com/europes-amazing-city-markets-354731.

I know this guy is out partying as we speak!

Gellert Hill

The hill to the right is called Gellert Hill.  It was named after a priest in the middle ages who was trying to convert pagans who got stuck in a barrel full of nails and rolled to his death in the Danube for his efforts. I guess they felt bad for him so the named the hill after him, no hard feelings, right?  Any way it is just across the river from us and it's a nice walk up to the top with some great views of the city.

Central Market

Castle district

Danube River

I can't believe I haven't mentioned the Danube River yet.  It's the second largest river in Europe origination in Germany and ending in the Black Sea and cuts right through Budapest.  This picture above was taken on Szabadsag hid (Freedom or Liberty Bridge) which is right next to the big Central Market that I've mentioned before.  The next bridge that you see is Erzebet hid (Elezibeth bridge) and that is right by the metro stop where Underworld was shot.  We live pretty much right in between these bridges about two or three blocks from the shore on the right hand side in Pest.  As you can probably guess the other side of the river, the hillier and a less urban side is Buda.

Grocery Shopping

At the end of our street is Budapest's Central Market (Nagy Vasarcsarnok).  This beautiful buildings was built in the late 1800s and serves as our local grocery store. There are three floors for your shopping pleasure. The basement has a local grocery store chain, fish and pickling.  The main floor has butchers, produce and some baked goods.  The top floor has places to eat and local crafts and goods. 

 

It really is a remarkable place to shop, except that it is a tourist attraction so I try to avoid it during the weekend or if I see a tour bus pulling up front.  The produce and the butchers are amazing here.

I'm not the sure what the scariest part of this picture is: the animal skull with teeth, toungue and sunglasses on a stick; the dead pig to the right of the picture; or the crazy butcher behind the counter.