Sunday at the Flea Market

I do believe that the weather here is more fickle than the mind of a 13 year old girl. On one side of the river, it's sunny. On the other side of the river, it's cold and cloudy. The locals blame it on global warming, but who's to say for sure?

Yesterday I had the pleasure of enjoying another wonderful cultural experience- the Budapest International Wine & Champagne Festival. We arrived in the early afternoon for the Harvest Parade, and watched as the narrow streets literally filled with about 800 people adorned in colorful costumes and traditional attire. Following the masses, we found ourselves once again within the walls of the Budapest Palace. We armed ourselves with the mandatory tasting glass, pouch, and two tasting tickets, and proceeded to wander aimlessly amidst the 100+ vendors. It was rather intimidating, to say the least. Where do we start? What do we try? We were about as useful as a blind gardner trimming a topiary.

While exploring a bit, we found an eatery booth that was serving meat stews being cooked in these giant couldrons. It smelled good, but we opted to go back to the bakery that I'd found last week for a light pastry lunch. Once we returned to the festival, we decided to utilize the free pass to the Hungarian National Gallery that our admission had included. We were promptly scolded for not having any clue what we were supposed to do, and probably for not speaking any Hungarian either. Regardless of the fact that we're not the first, nor the last group of confused foreigners to try and find our way in Budapest, I've realized that a sense of humor is imperative in dealing with this huge language barrier.

The art was very interesting, and the rest of the night was full of music, wine and champange. I tried a local Merlot, a classic Tokaji, and two champagne varieties of Törley. The evening was quite pleasant, and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

This morning I decided to go and check out the local PESCA Flea Market. Located in the heart of City Park, it remains relatively undiscovered by tourists. It's possible to sift through the mess and find some great bargains, although haggling is almost always expected. On my walk through the park, I finally got a good view of the Vajdahunyad Castle. It was originally built in 1896 for the millenial celebration to show the diversity of architecture in Budapest, but was so popular that a permanent structure was designed to replace it. I just love the moat too- it really completes the romantic motif of the area. I'm definitely going to come back here if the sun ever decides to make a cameo appearance!

Although I had to pay a very small entrance fee to the market, seeing all of the odds and ends that people were selling was priceless. There was everything from clothes and shoes, to obsolete (and modern) electronics, to glassware, silver, and linens. It was a lot to take in! More importantly though, it was neat to be in a market that has not been infiltrated by tourists. Sure, people might be selling the shoes they wore to get to the market, but there was an obvious absence of the cheesy tourist souvenirs. I was so happy when I made my first purchase and haggled the price down 100 forints. I can't really divulge what I bought because there is a possibility that it might be a gift when I come home, but it made me very excited nonetheless.

Viszontlátásra!