St Istvan and the Ferris Wheel
It was a little overcast and the weather said it would rain, but we wanted to take a short walk around town. We first went to the Great Market again (which is turning out to be one of our favorite places) and took in the view across the bridge, which was pretty. We walked by some nice looking fancy buildings and statues, and the sun started to peak out of the clouds.
We made our way through Vörösmarty tér (where there is supposedly a great Christmas market that I hope happens this year) and stopped at Gerbeaud Kávéház, one of the more famous and fancy coffee houses in Budapest. This of course means that it is overpriced with small portions and poor service, as getting three slices of cake was an ordeal that took more than an hour! They weren’t bad, but we were looking for a quick snack. I have to remember that things are done differently in Europe and not to expect a quick sit down! The inside was fancy and pretty though.
From here we walked through Erzsébet tér, making our way to St. Istvan cathedral. However, since Lori and Tom were here we figured it would be the perfect day to do the Ferris wheel! The kids were so excited, particularly Ronin. It was fun, although we only went around about four times before we had to get off. I am glad we got to do it, but it definitely was a lot of money for such a short experience. But now we can say we did it!
We had walked by St. Istvan cathedral before, but this was the first time there was not a bunch of barriers or a stage in front of the big doors. The clouds were starting to come back in, so I wasn’t sure if we would make it home before the skies opened up.
It was late so we didn’t think we would get to go in, but the doors were open so we were able to see the inside of the cathedral. There was a service going on in the front, so there were ropes separating the front of the sanctuary from the rest of it. The kids were really good and very quiet, and Ronin wanted to stay and watch the rest of the service. We stayed for a little bit, but then headed back out since Willow was getting restless and everyone was getting a bit hungry. With a short few hours of walking through the city we were able to see and experience a few new things in this wonderful city.
