Adventures in Budapest: Holiday Weekend Fun

The last few days have been spent exploring the Pest side further as well as relaxing (which is needed after so much walking each day!). On Sunday, my roommates and I went to the Concert in St. Stephen's Basilica. The Duna String Orchestra performed famous pieces such as J.S. Bach's "Air", F. Schubert's "Ave Maria", G.F. Haendel's "Oratorio Messiah", and many more. Not only was the music breathtaking, but the sight of the ornately decorated basilica was as well. The acoustics were marvelous!

The next day, we walked to Central Market Hall, which had tons of fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as spices, and meats on the first floor. There were souvenir and food stalls on the second floor. It was fun to walk around. I especially like the colorful Hungarian flower designs on clothes and table runners being sold. In the evening, we met up with other BSM students at a bar called Szimpla, the coolest bar I have ever been to! There were lots of rooms to go in with random things on the walls and lots of twinkle lights. Every room had writing on the walls and furniture...we even found a table that had a math pun! It added to the atmosphere. Some parts were open air. I had a lot of fun getting to know the other students better!

Tuesday was St. Stephen's Day, the first Hungarian king to be crowned by the Pope. My roommates and I walked around by the Danube after dinner, and watched the fireworks. There were people everywhere! The fireworks were impressive.

Today my Hungarian class began. Some of the sounds in the language are hard to make, but hopefully I'll get it eventually! "Szia" is used for both hello and goodbye, and is pronounced like "see ya," which makes it easier for me to remember. That is my Hungarian lesson to you for the day. Maybe more later... :)