Local Hungarian food

Local Hungarian food, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

Stuffed cabbage with paprika. Yum? I wouldn't know because i shyed away from it. This is the Hungarian version of Kim Chee I guess. It didn't have any smell. Look at the T-shirt of the cabbage seller...." I love Hungarian Food". There wasn't a mad rush to buy it. But we did see a few people presumably locals sitting down in front of this stall having a cabbage or two with a glass of alcohol.

little walnut dolls

little walnut dolls, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

Doesn't this remind you of THumbelina? I did buy one. It was so cute. I looked and looked to pick a lovely one. It was hard because they were all cute. Not many shops at the Great Market Hall sold this. So I'm glad I bought one from the first shop I spotted this in.

hand painted egg-ohs!!!

hand painted egg-ohs!!!, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

These are amazing. Such detail. And I wonder how they got the paint so even. I'm guessing its a Hungarian tradition to paint eggs. No I didn't buy any. Too much trouble handling it all the way back home.

Dotty

pokka dotts, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

These are my feet. Clad in dotted-theme tights and shoes. I walked really fast from the hotel to St Stephen's Basilica. It was hard with the uneven surface. ( See picture to appreciate fully the trouble the ankles had) The weather was glorious so I really have no right to complain:) Found a starbucks just beside the Basilica!

Central Market Hall, Budapest

Central Market, Budapest, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

Finally, a picture of the Central Market Hall in Budapest. Theoretically in the Pest side of the city, This picture was taken just as we arrived. Not many people as you can see in the picture, so it made the visit a pleasant one. I hate jostling elbows with people. The first floor is where the souvenirs are sold. And the prices are cheaper than the shops at Vaci Street. So it's well worth the long walk here for a shopping spree. They accept Euros but not all shops. And you need to be good at maths cos only a few shops show their prices in Euros. What I liked especially was the lack of shop keepers breathing down your neck re-arranging everything you touch. ( Hate that!). The downside of this lack of presence is....if you're in a hurry to buy....you'll be left standing for a bit while the owner comes to your rescue from some other part of the shop.

Matthias Church

The bridge linking Buda to Pest, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

Taken from the hotel during tea break. Yes we squeeze all photo ops into every free moment possible.

The bridge is Chain bridge and in the background you may well make out the tower of a church. This is the Matthias Church. The official name is the Church of Our Lady. But it is popularly named after King Matthias. He liked this church so much, he held two of his weddings here.

Széchenyi lánchíd

Chain Bridge, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

The Chain Bridge ( in English) is yet another bridge linking Buda and Pest. This is it at night. The view was amazing and this was taken from the Buda side of town. We took a quick walk across the bridge from our hotel on the Pest side and took the Castle Hill Funicular to the top to get this view. I think it would have been better ( photo-op wise) in the day. But our meeting was very hectic and this was the only available time to venture out. Temperature was 13 degrees during our walk.

Interesting fact: It was designed by an English engineer and it was the first bridge linking Buda and Pest.

Construction in Budapest

Construction, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

This is at the end of Vaci Street. And the bridge you see in the background would be Liberty bridge.( Szabadság híd in Hungarian). It connects Buda and Pest across the Danube River. The two ends would be
Gellért tér (at the foot of Gellért Hill, with the Gellért Spa and Hotel Gellért)

AND

Fővám tér (with the Great Market Hall and the nearby Budapest University of Economics).

This picture is taken on the Pest side....en route to the Great Market Hall.

Paprika to the left and right

Paprika to the left and right, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

We arrived at Central market hall eventually. And we were greeted with ham, salami, fresh fruits, fresh vegetables and quite a bit of paprika. There are different types of paprika, sweet, hot, very hot and mild. Sadly the writing is in HUngarian so on reaching home .....whilst attempting to distribute my Paprika, I couldn't figure out the types.

Paprika is the symbolic spice of Hungary. It is produced by grinding dried deep red paprika pods of the pepper plant..

Interesting fact: The plant was brought to the country by the Turks in the 16th-17th century.

Szent István-bazilika

St Stephen's Basilica, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

St. Stephen's Basilica is a Roman Catholic Basilica in the centre of Budapest.It is named after the first King of Hungary It is the third highest building in Hungary. Which tells you they're not big into sky scrappers. The architecture is neo-classical. Construction started way back in 1851

I walked here on a crisp sunny morning when the temperature was 2 degrees. This was taken around 7:13am. Just look at the gorgeous sky. Behind this cathedral is the start of Andrassy Avenue (Andrassy Ut) which is an iconic boulevard in Budapest.

Interesting fact: The preserved right hand of St Stephen is kept in a shrine in the chapel of holy Right.This mumified hand is paraded in the streets on August 20th.

Lovely now if only I knew what the function is

Lovely now if only I knew what the function is, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

I tried getting the girl at the shop to explain the function. She tried. But I'm still clueless. So if anyone knows what this is for...please leave a comment.

Hungarian peasant blouses

Hungarian blouses, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

Also seen in Budapest embroidered blouses galore. These ones were plainer and I can't seem to find the more elaborate ones with the rich kalocsai hand richelieu embroidery in my stash of pics. ( May have been too enthralled odd-ing and agh-ing at them )

Although they are traditional, I wasn't so much in awe of the peasant blouses.They look suspiciously like some found at our local stores in Malaysia.