Over a month ago, I wrote out the entire blog for my parents’ visit, but I’ve been waiting for pictures for so long I’m just not going to wait anymore.  And for that, I’ve decided to also rewrite this post into a super abridged version and get on with it.  So here goes.

The last friday my parents were in Slovakia we made the trip to Budapest.  We stayed in a hotel and took a taxi to the market Saturday morning.  The top level was full of touristy bits with more retirement-aged American tourists than I’ve ever seen in one place.  The middle level was fruits, vegetables and meats.  And the lowest level, despite being mainly a fish market, housed an international grocery store!  Being from Greenville, Ohio, I don’t have a lot of experience with these even in America, but it was such a treat to see this after living in Slovakia for a year and a half now.  I stocked up on Indian and Thai spices and have already made use of them several times!

Top level of the market looking down

After the market we walked the main streets of the city.  Although I definitely enjoy seeing the backstreets of cities, I also enjoy shopping so I loved just about every minute on the strip.  Budapest has great second hand “Anglo” stores where shopkeepers supposedly traveled to England and bought a bunch of items and came back to sell them.  The rest of the day we shopped and cafe hopped and discovered that taxis are definitely not the best way to travel in Budapest.

On the historic downtown strip:)

And then Sunday morning 4am arrived and it was time to take my parents back to the airport.  I was so sad to see them go, but the odd hours and being half awake takes away a good portion of the sentimental sting.

Burke and I finally left the city following the GPS’s instructions.  We thought it was strange that took us through the city, on windy roads, and never on the highway, but we knew something was up when the directions were “Continue 4.5 km and then BOARD FERRY.”  We’ve made the drive from Banska Bystrica to Budapest and back several times and there has NEVER been a ferry involved.  We tried to avoid it, but couldn’t find another solution so we borrowed some Forints a Hungarian couple and ferried across the Danube.

Our car in the Danube!!

The rest of the drive was nothing special, and we were not surprised at all that it was raining the moment we arrived home.