budapest so far

i've been here a month and am finally feeling like i'm getting the hang of things.

i have a car and can now get from my apartment to work without google maps. obviously, i have an apartment so, no more tiny hotel fridge for me!

now thats a beer!

language barrier? for the most part everyone in stores or restaurants speaks enough english to get by. i felt like the tacky american until i realized that this is europe so it's not just americans who speak english, england is right there! the food is very tasty.

dinner at mozel tov

brunch-ish at ket szerecsen

everything is super cheap! ok, not everything, but i'm having a hard time paying more that $20 at the grocery store or dining out. name brand goods are about the same: zara, the body shop, electronics, etc. i was pleasantly surprised to discover that lush bath products are much cheaper than in the states. my skin is happy too.

fitness is also a price cut from california. i took a private pilates reformer session at balance pilates with an english speaking trainer for $28. the 10 person group class in santa monica was $30, so i'll keep coming back on the weekends.

much like new york city, you can walk everywhere, depending on how far you are willing to walk. last saturday i logged over 20,000 steps between walking to pilates and running errands.

the danube and buda in the distance

errands, this is my biggest adjustment. grocery stores aren't like the stores in the states. the markets every few blocks carry enough food to keep you from starving but not enough to cook a big dinner. i was happy to discover tesco hipermart (i'm calling it euro walmart) near my office. this does have just about everything you'd need in one place. it's not an organic selection, but it gets the basics done.

tesco hipermart a.k.a euro wal-mart

sundays: everything is closed. not restaurants, cafes or a select few tourist shops, but everything else. about a year ago a law was passed in hungary that no shop over 2,200 square meters (14,000 sq ft) could be open on sundays unless it was the owner or the owners relative working. i've found this annoys hungarians as much as visitors. it makes me rework my whole weekend. saturday has always been my rest day and sunday the get stuff done day, not anymore.

luckily there is still coffee on sundays. i'm aiming to try a new one each week. valentines i tried my little melbourne cafe.

flat white from my little melbourne cafe

i was tipped off to a farmers market in szimpla ruin pub open sunday mornings.

szimpla ruin pub

i'm in love with their cheese vendor. it's all sooo good!

i'll take it all!

that's all the updates for now. more when i have something fun to report.

saint stephens basilica at night

hero square at night