Hiking and Christmas Markets

This morning we travelled to the Buda hills to go on a walk to enjoy some of the last fall colors. Our last week is calling for rain, so we are trying to get out as much as possible while we can. One of the most popular spots in Budapest to go hiking is a place called Normafa which is in the Buda Hills. It is amazing that such an expanse of forest and hills lies within the city and is so accessible. Normafa is about a 30 minute metro or tram ride and then a transfer to a bus, which is half the fun. We have found the public transit to be super easy to use in Budapest, but be warned, you always need a ticket because the stations are monitored quite closely and we have read the fines are quite high. Because the Buda hills are within Budapest, they are enjoyed by the locals. The hills also have lots of benches to sit on and enjoy the surrounding scenery as well as multiple playgrounds.

During our hike we walked along well marked walking trails up to Elizabeth Tower which on a clear day, offers nice views of Budapest. Unfortunately, it was foggy when we walked up, but you could still see some of Budapest in the distance. We again noticed an outdoor running track and are continually amazed at how Budapest encourages people to venture outdoors. Neve says that the top of the hike at the Elizabeth Tower was so cold because of the wind.

Clarinda

Then in the afternoon we went to a christmas market🎄 that is around a five minute walk from our apartment. At the christmas market there were a lot of wooden stands. Each of the wooden stands sells different items. There was a whole section for food. I saw stuffed cabbage rolls, sausages and other types of meat, soups, bread, cand ooked peppers. Each of the food items were in huge vats. There were a lot of people in the food section waiting to eat the food that smelled really good. There were stands selling all sorts of homemade items such as wooden doll houses that folded up into a box. You could pick little dolls and pets such as dogs to go into the dollhouse. They were really cute! There were a lot of stands which sold items such as honey, food, cookies, truffles,christmas ornaments and scented hanging ornaments; they smelled so good. Sophie and I each got a truffle. It was delicious! The tuffles had marzipan inside. Yum! We are going to visit the Christmas market again and are going to get some soap from the honey stall. It smells really good. I really liked the scented hanging ornaments; they were made out of oranges, cinnamon sticks, dried basil leaves and some stuff that I don’t know the name of, but they smelled delicious. The streets at the Christmas Market are decorated with lit up christmas ornaments, which are so beautiful. I think Hungarians really like Christmas!! the Christmas market also has a big Lindt chocolate store that hands out free samples. So good. They have a mini advent calendar that I hope my mom buys for us but we would need to trek it up to Everest since we will be there in early December.

When we go to Vienna next week, we get to go to a different Christmas market each day. I can’t wait!
Neve 🎅🐧
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