2015
Budapest was the highlight of our trip to Eastern Europe in 2015. It is absolutely fabulous. Not only is it the most affordable city we visited, but the food and wine scene is unbelievable and there's a great deal of history to take in.
Below is a photo of the Hungarian Parliament, which is not only the largest (and highest) building in Hungary, but I believe we were told it is the largest Parliament in all of Europe. It's in a gorgeous location on the water and is well worth the visit.
What really stole the show in Budapest was the food and wine. The food scene is phenomenal. On seemingly every corner we saw people our age running businesses with world class food. Topping the list was Bors Gasztrobar, who serves tasty sandwiches and soup made from scratch every day. Next up was Gelarto Rosa, who crafts the coolest gelato cones you've ever seen. They look just like roses.
If you visit one place for food in Budapest, it simply must be the Karavan Street Food court. There are about ten fantastic little restraunts in this area. We went back a few times and loved every bite.
One very enjoyable excursion we did in Budapest was a culinary tour from Taste Hungary. Starting in the Central Market, we spent several hours walking around and sampling all the traditional Hungarian dishes. It's a great way to learn about the culture and end up with a full belly at the end.
That evening, we had the opportunity to learn all about the shockingly good Hungarian wine world. Equipped with a bounty of local cheese and meats, eight flights of wine and a generous sommelier, we had a memorable time. Hungarian wine is the real deal, they just don't export hardly any of it (or import any for that matter). If you are in the neighborhood, I implore you to stock up on as much as you can!
I've become a really big Formula1 fan over the last few years. The competition, the technology, and yes, the caché are so very exciting. This trip afforded us the opportunity to attend our first race. Anastasia was a great sport to come along, and she ended up having a blast!
The sights and sounds of F1 are totally different in person. Every minute was a thrill, and we were lucky to see the most exciting race of the year by far. I hope we'll get to do this again!
Here's a look at what the start was like:
