a lot of rain at Budapest

It's that time of the year when the heralds of snow and skiing make noise. This year we decided to ignore them and we did a getaway to Budapest. We took the transit bus early in the morning and arrived at our nice boutique hotel around midday. It's been cold! Nevertheless we strolled down Váci utca - Budapest's most famous shopping street. When entering the city centre we enjoyed the atmosphere at the Christmas markets as well as a cup of mulled wine. I've booked a table for us at an excellent restaurant for dinner (Bock Bisztró at Erzsébet körút) where we savored the outstanding wines from the Villány region.

When visiting Budapest it's a must to walk around Buda Castle. A few other sights should also not be missed: St. Stephen's Basilica, Chain Bridge, Gresham Palace, and the Hungarian Parliament Building. The Parliament Building is in the Gothic Revival style, has a central dome and is really huge. Due to the heavy rain we 'enjoyed' during our stay, we decided to watch it via a boat trip on the Danube river. In the evening we did a ride with the Ferris wheel. Before we left Budapest we did a shortcut to the Zwack production facility to purchase some Unicum (a herbal bitter).