A weekend in Budapest

At Normafa

Beautiful wares

Christmas lights

The last time we were supposed to go to Budapest, the dogsitter cancelled at the very last minute. With nowhere to leave Belka at such short notice, we had to postpone the trip. This time around, we had a nice home to leave Belka at for the weekend, so we set off by train for the 7-hour trip, arriving on Friday evening. We were thrilled to be met by my little brother, Ed, and his wife, Melinda - plus my dad and Stella, who had flown over the previous day.
On the Saturday, we were treated to views over Budapest from a high-up place of recreation - Normafa - that the locals love going to in the summer. It was bitterly cold for our visit but we were happy all the same when we saw tiny snowflakes falling. We went back down the hill on a small, but thankfully heated, cog-wheel train that shook and rattled but was rather quaint.
Seeing the illuminations in the city centre light up gradually was wonderful. The lights on the facade of the building above right actually change colour while you stand and watch. After dinner in a Hungarian restaurant, with its quirky collection of retro objects and furniture, and its own museum in the basement, we trudged back to the hotel having walked miles - literally.
There was enough time on Sunday to spend a leisurely couple of hours at the main Christmas market, sampling typical foods and gasping in amazement at how attractive some of the wares were. Then it was back to the station, onto the train and home again by the late evening.