Happy Monday!

No, really, in Budapest, Monday is still considered part of the weekend! Don’t worry, we kept ourselves busy. We started the day off with a tour of the Budapest Central Market. Though we had braved the overwhelming market before, we still hadn’t gotten a complete feel for the huge, three-floor building. We met our tour guides on the main level, where we got to see some of Hungary’s traditional meats and vegetables, like pig brains and horse sausages…yum! We took a quick detour through the upper floor, which consisted of grab-n-go restaurants and tourist shops, before heading to the lower level, where we were greeted with the smiling faces of hundreds of carp in the fish market. Amidst the many interesting Hungarian foods, our tour guide recommended trying duck at least once, as it is a very common Hungarian meal. Little did we know, he was gearing us up for lunch later that day!

From the market, we hopped on a familiar tram and made our way to the Strudel House, or Elsȍ Pesti Rétesház. Don’t worry we’re still working on our pronunciation too. Strudel is an authentic Hungarian dish, made of paper thin pastry dough and an assortment of fillings, from apple to beef stew. We were able to watch a demonstration of the delicate process of strudel making, in which a tiny piece of dough is stretched to fit over an entire table. The chef made it look easy, but we didn’t have as much luck. While you could read the menu through his piece of stretched dough, ours looked more like a piece of Swiss cheese! Even with our failed attempt, we enjoyed what we thought was one of the best meals yet!

With such a great beginning to our day, we could top it off with nothing other than a few hours of math and more exploration of the city. :) And so, our second week in Budapest seems to be off to a good start!

- Jordan and Lauren

Corollary - Video of strudel making

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CKhQJrFWmU