budapest day 8 and 9

Hi guys!

Well, my time in beautiful Budapest is drawing to a close, I onlx have two days left....but my supervisor is already thinking of sending me to our Hungarian office again in a few weeks. I was pleased to hear this because I love it here! Of course there is no place like home, good old Düsseldorf, but I would love to come back to Budapest from time to time :)

My girls at work here are so lovely! Yesterday evening one of my German-speaking co-workers invited me to join her and her co-students from her Germanistics studies at a snuggly pub called Andersen. Such a snuggly atmosphere there! Everything is wooden or decorated with wood panelling and the drinks there are cheap so it's a perfect place for students. I drank my first Hungarian Pálinka, a fruit brandy with much alcohol. You can chose from many different tastes but I was told they are all very good, so eventually I took the plum-flavoured one and enjoyed it a lot (especially with a mango lemonade afterwards).
My co-workers friends were all so nice, very friendly and talkative. They were excited about having the possibility to talk to a German and they all told me how they liked it in Germany on their stays abroad. I didn't know that the German language and culture are so popular among the Hungarians, it was pretty amazing to learn about it.
Unfortunately I didn't take photos at the pub, so these photos are borrowed from here and here:






Oh and then of course I couldn't fly home without getting a very bad cold! It's so typical, everytime that I'm not at home for a few days I fall ill. My throat is sore and my nose is totally blocked, I plan to walk up Gellert Hill to the Liberty statue tomorrow but we'll see if I will be able to breathe at all. I need nasal spray...
So due to the cold I preferred a relaxed evening today. I had not seen the city park yet so I went there to take a walk and look at the statue exhibition on the little lake. One of the girls from the office spontaneously accompanied me and as she has a tourist guide degree she told me lots of interesting things about the buildings and statues there.





In the middle of the city park there is this beautiful thermal bath called Széchenyi Bath, it is designed and kept in a 1920s style. My co-worker showed me the entrance hall with all the gorgeous frescos and mosaics that depict different water creatures and gods.
I would have loved to visit a thermal bath or spa for a few hours, I think especially for my blocked nose the thermal steam would have been perfect but neither did I have a swimsuit with me, nor has my inflamed spot on my right foot healed, what a pity!
Afterwards we walked around in the park around the lake, saw the ice-skating hall, Vajdahunyad Castle (the replica of a transylvanian castle) and the statue of Anonymous that was made to honour the unknown monk who chronicled the history of Hungary in the 12th and/or 13th century.






When my co-worker had to go home I decided to go and have supper and head for the hotel afterwards. I've had lots of Turkish food in the last couple of days so today I was in the mood for something different. Fortunately my co-worker had recommended me a Mexican taco snack -bar, it was the perfect alternative to the Turkish food overkill. So I went to Arriba Taqueria, the nicest Mexican-themed restaurant I've ever seen. Everything was colourful and pretty (especially the wall paintings) and my burrito with tacos was yummy as well.
I took a few pictures with my mobile phone for you :)







I hope you're not tired of my food- and sightseeing-posts by now - and even if you are, I can promise it will get better when I'm back home. It's a pity I never have the time or possibility to make outfit photos here, I should think of a way to do it next time my company sends me to the Budapest office............ :)

Have a nice day!