Budapest - day 2

Last night we visited our first ruin bar. Apparently ruin bars are a 'thing' in Budapest. We know this because there was an article about them in the German Wings in-flight magazine. A ruin bar is built into a building or a courtyard that has been abandoned, fallen into disuse, or is otherwise old. They make it look hip, leave the brickwork and the pipes exposed, and serve beer. Since we read about them in an in-flight magazine, we ran the risk of hanging out at a bar with a token Hungarian and a hundred German tourists. Luckily that did not happen. We ended up in what was once an outdoor courtyard at Foghasz (which Brian nicknamed Fog Hat so it would be easier to remember), sitting by the light of paper lanterns in a former outdoor courtyard. We drank Sopproni beer for about 1.50 euro a mug and ate slices of Hungarian pizza. (We liked the pizza, though Brian pointed out that our pizza standards have changed so much that anything with a decent crust is considered good pizza). The Budapest hipster crowd was there, as was a DJ playing loungey techno songs, at one point blending swing music with Rage Against the Machine.

Today was supposed to be rainy. We had plans for a museum, and were carrying an umbrella and no sunglasses. Instead, the skies were blue and we took a boat ride up and down the Danube. It was a tour boat complete with loud speaker narration. We mostly listened and maybe learned a few things. More importantly, sun and wind off the top of the boat were much better than getting to use the umbrella.

Next we crossed the river into Buda, the city on the west side of the water. Buda is hilly, affluent, quiet, and much smaller than Pest. The steep climb to St Matthias church and the Fisherman's Bastion was a challenge even with the daily stair training we get hiking up to our apartment. The Fisherman's Bastion isn't a castle but it looks like one. There is a real castle in Buda too, which is a big imposing government-looking building that houses a couple of museums. We didn't make it there .On a sunny day, the bastion was enough for us - it has turrets and twisty staircases, white stone walls and beautiful hilltop views. Who needs a real castle?

Today is also my birthday. Brian treated me to a wonderful massage at the hotel spa. Tonight we are going to continue our tour of ruin bars and check out one that also has a restaurant. It's supposed to be tricky to find, so it must be cool. As long as it's not full of German Wings passengers, I think we'll have a great time.