Budapest: The Fairytale City of Lights

Well, I stayed true to my word and returned to Budapest (see previous post here). But this time, I brought along one husband and two friends : )

Budapest is a fairytale city - there's history, romance, grandeur and culture. One of my favorite things is the way the city lights up at night: deep golden hues contrasted against the dark shadows of the massive, stately buildings. But this time, the city was taken to a whole new level. It snowed while we were there, and it was pure magic.

We arrived Saturday mid-day and checked into our B&B. Our first stop after that was grabbing lunch at the Central Market Hall: a huge two-level indoor market with cheese and meat stalls on the first level, and souvenirs/grab-and-go lunch places on the second level. We had Langos, a deep fried Hungarian flat-bread dough topped with sour cream, cheese, thinly sliced ham and veggies. It was delicious!

Afterwards we walked along the river to Parliament. There are two sides of Budapest - Buda (the castle district) and Pest (the city and government buildings). We saw the Shoes on the Danube Bank, a simple but powerful memorial honoring Jews who were killed by the fascist Arrow Cross militiamen during WWII. They were ordered to remove their shoes and then were shot at the edge of the Danube so their bodies were carried away by the river. Today, bronze shoes of all sizes line the edge creating a stark reminder.

We continued on to the Parliament building where we did an afternoon tour. It's impact on the city skyline is evident as it is the highest and largest building in Budapest. We walked through the hallways some covered in gold and saw the Holy Crown of Hungary used during the coronations. The building was massive and beautiful.

We finished with the tour just as it started to snow outside. Soon we were walking in a slight covering of fresh white powder with flakes still falling from the sky. I even found a street called October 6th (my birthday street!). We ducked into a craft beer bar for some drinks then headed to dinner.

Aaron and I have been trying to find a house in Seattle now that we know we are coming home, so we had to sneak away for a few FaceTime tours. It's really difficult looking for a house while you are so far away... but that is a whole other post for another day!

After dinner, we stopped into a ruin bar and it was just as amazing as I remembered it. Eclectic furniture, multi-colored lights, a swarm of tourists and Hungarians drinking near the heaters in a ruined building.

The next morning, we headed out and went to the Dohány Street Synagogue, the largest synagogue in Europe. The synagogue was part of the Jewish ghetto during WWII, and around 8,000 to 10,000 people died in the ghetto from cold and hunger. Over 2,000 of them are buried in the courtyard of the synagogue, so this area was turned into a cemetery and beautiful memorial.

Just a short walk away is St. Stephen's Basilica. This is actually the same height as Parliament - symbolizing that worldly and spiritual thinking have the same importance. We climbed the 364 stairs to the top for a 360 degree view of Budapest. After taking some photos and throwing a few snowballs, we climbed the stairs back down.

Then it was to the castle district. We stopped into a restaurant to warm up with some hot goulash soup... it was so cold outside! Buda is a historical castle and palace area built on a hill across the river overlooking Pest. It was once the royal residences of the Hungarian kings. We got mulled wine and wandered around the area exploring. After a few more snowball fights and competitions, we headed to a cave-like restaurant for a Hungarian wine tasting. We sipped wines from different regions, had cheesy bread and talked amongst the candle-lit dark cave. From there, we headed back to our B&B and watched the NFL games while drinking more wine and talking.

We left the next morning to head back to London. It was an amazing weekend in a magical city with great company... I love Budapest!

Do You Know? The World Championship of Ping Pong 2016

On the outskirts of London is a beautiful palace that sits on top of a hill overlooking the city. Nicknamed "Ally Pally" it opened in 1873 and is used today as an entertainment and cultural venue. I've been wanting to visit Alexandra Palace for a while now, but just didn't know what the right event would be... until last week when I saw that the World Championship of Ping Pong was being hosted there for three days.

Now while most people might not get excited about this, Aaron and I immediately knew we had to go. What ensued was the most intense three hours of ping pong that we've ever seen. It was countries battling it out for the title: World Champion.

Each game consisted of three matches. First player to reach 15 points won (regardless of their lead), and there was the heart-pounding double ball: once during the game, each player could trade in the usual orange ball for a white ball and if they won the point, then it was worth double.

After the games, the TV camera and interviewer would crowd over the player to get their reaction (it was broadcast live on Sky sports) and then a group of adoring kids would line up against the court to get the player's autograph. Yes, these athletes have some fans : ) Other spectators were dressed in their country colors - mainly France and Ireland - cheering wildly anytime their player scored.

There were five smaller courts on the side and one main court. We sat on the main court for a while and saw the reigning champion play, England's Andrew Baggaley. Then we headed over to the side courts and watched Team 'Merica beat Russia (take that Putin!) In the end Baggaley retained the title. All in all, it was a unique experience with some table-top fun!

Fans dressed in support of their country

USA vs Russia

The main court

Baggaley interview. Fans wait for autographs

Crowds, Light and Lots of Walking at the Lumiere Festival in London

This past weekend was London's first Lumiere Festival - a free event that took place over four evenings where art installations lit up the city.

After an amazing time at the Russell Holiday Party on Friday night, Aaron and I decided to have a low-key Saturday evening. We met some friends at a brewery in the city and then went to the checkout the light festival.

While some of the art was neat to see, the festival in general was a bit underwhelming, to say the least. It was really spread out so you had to walk a lot from one art piece to the next and there were way too many people. Many roads were closed, but it still seemed like all we were doing was navigating crowds and stretching to see the light installations. Plus, it was freezing cold.

Crowds and cold - sounds like the perfect night, right? ; )

Bittersweet but No Regrets

This is a hard post to write. After 2.5 years of living in London and 40 trips to 26 countries on four continents, Aaron and I are moving home. It still doesn't quite feel real and it probably won't until our flat is empty, bags are packed and we are having to say goodbye.

We still have a few more trips planned, but we have bought our one-way tickets back to Seattle. April 5th is the day, and it will be here before we know it.

As I've been telling people over the past few days, the only word I can think to use that describes it is bittersweet. There's no doubt in my mind that leaving will be very hard. There are so many things about this city that we will miss: our friends, lifestyle, jobs, neighborhood, and who can forget the countless adventures and trips. But we are also looking forward to moving back to Seattle and the comfort that it has to offer: our families, friends, familiarity, buying a house and watching Seahawks/Mariners games at a reasonable hour : )

I could go on and on about the decisions, worries, fears, anticipation and emotions that are involved with moving back, but I don't feel that I could adequately sum up what, at least, I am feeling about this. Bittersweet is the only word that feels close to accurate.

The only thing I know for sure is that after these 2.5 years, Aaron and I have no regrets : )

A Dining Experience Like No Other

Unfortunately, I can't give you many details in this post. The events surrounding our dinner on Tuesday night will have to remain as much as a mystery to you as it originally was to us. With this peculiar disclaimer, I will begin with the facts that I can share.

Last year, I read about an "immersive, other-world dining experience" called The Gingerline. Similar to Secret Cinema, the creators behind The Gingerline basically put on themed, five-course dinners in different locations along the London Overground tube line. I signed up for their mailing list and then this September, they announced their new theme: Chambers of Flavour. We convinced two of our friends, Dan and Shelley, to go with us, and bought tickets for dinner this January (it is really booked up and sells out quick!)

On Tuesday night at 4:00pm, I received a text with a bizarre location (ie. go to this tube stop, take your first left, turn right, etc). We headed there at 5:30pm dressed as we were told to. The location looked like an abandoned warehouse, but inside was a bar. We got drinks and waited until we were told it was our turn to "go into the machine" then off we went, pushed into five other worlds- each with a theme and a course (first was canapé, second was starter, third was main, etc).

I can't reveal much more except that it was a really cool experience! They ask that you keep the whole thing a secret so it doesn't spoil the surprise for other diners. But I will say that the food was delicious and we had some very unique encounters throughout the night : ) So that is the silver lining to this post... or the Ginger lining?

Chocolate and Beer in Bruges - YUM!

What else is there to do in Belgium besides eat chocolate and drink beer? Turns out there's a lot.

It's been a little over two years since Aaron and I were last in Belgium. We didn't enjoy Brussels as much as other places we've been, so we thought we needed to give Belgium another go. This time we decided on a smaller, picturesque town which brings me to... Bruges!

On Saturday morning we took the Eurostar from London to Brussels and then transferred on a train to Bruges. A smaller city located in the Northwest part of Belgium near the coast, Bruges is more tucked away. It's a city with cobblestone streets, horse-drawn carriages touring through town, medieval buildings and small canals.

We dropped off our bags at our B&B, and then headed out to explore. The first thing we stumbled on was The Church of our Lady. Inside is a small, white marble statue of Madonna and Child that was created by Michelangelo in 1504. The statue has twice been stolen and returned - once by French revolutionaries and then again by the Nazis.

Afterwards, we went to the Christmas markets and browsed through the stalls. There were two market locations to peruse through, and we ended up getting a Belgian waffle smothered in chocolate that was just as good as you are imagining it to be : )

Following the market, we walked to Bruges' only brewery in the city center, De Halve Maan, and joined in on a tour. We tasted their flagship beers - Brugse Zot Blond and Brugse Zot Dubbel - both delicious. Zot in Dutch means 'the fool' so their label is a jester. On the tour, you actually go onto their rooftop which has an amazing view of the city.

Next stop was a local pub for a drink before dinner. It was 5:30pm, but it was packed. There were 300 beers to choose from at Brugs Beertje - all different and many with very high alcohol content! This seemed to be a theme in Belgian beers- the majority were served in bottles and almost all of them were pretty heavy. Later we headed to a recommended restaurant for some dinner. We had Vlaamse Stoofvlees or Flemish stew - braised beef with vegetables slow cooked in dark beer that is local to the region. Yum!

The next morning we started off with a short walk to Princely Béguinage Ten Wijngaerde, now a priory of Benedict nuns. You are supposed to remain silent while walking through so it was very peaceful but eerie. From there, we continued to the nearby Minnewater Lake or the 'Lake of Love' which is home to many swans. Aaron even had a staring contest with one of them ...stop looking at me swan! : )

Afterwards, we decided to take a canal cruise. We beat the crowds by going early and it was a great way to see the city, but it was freezing! Upon disembarking, we just began wandering around the city and we ended up in The Burg square (where City Hall is). It was packed with people all drinking beer before noon! We never found out what it was for, but it seemed like some festival gathering.

That evening we headed to another pub for a beer tasting, and then to a very small bar located in an antique shop. There was a lot to look at since it was filled with knick knacks that were very eclectic and unique! For dinner, I had mussels (you may remember my mussels in Brussels post haha) and Aaron had prawns. Then on our way back to the B&B, we stopped in at a wine bar that had live music.

We had taken Monday off work so we got to sleep in the next morning while everyone else was going back to work in the New Year! After a leisurely morning, we went to Belfort or the Belfry of Bruges, a medieval bell tower. It dominates the Bruges skyline, and you can climb 366 stairs to the top for a spectacular view. The staircase is extremely narrow and there are people going up and down in it at the same time, but after some maneuvering, we made it! The view was well worth the climb.

Our last stop was for some chocolate: one of the many chocolatiers along the small winding streets of Bruges. The chocolatier picked some of her favorites for us and after tasting them, both of ours was an amazing vanilla creme white chocolate one. Then we headed into a tea shop to warm up. I got an herbal tea, but Aaron had hot chocolate: a spoon with chocolate on the end that you stir into a cup of hot milk. Seriously authentic and so good.

Then we caught the train back to London - our taste buds very satisfied after a weekend of beer and chocolate in Bruges!