Next we went to Central Market Hall, called Nagycsarnok in Hungarian. It's the largest covered market in Budapest.
At the market you could buy all sorts of things. Like Hungarian spices, such as paprika.
Or various meats.
Or my favorite, pickled vegetables of every type.
While I fell in love with the pickles, Flat Stanley fell in love with a Hungarian princess!
Oh no! I had to get Flat Stanley out of there or I'd lose him for good. So I got him outside and we walked to the Danube River which separates the two halves of Budapest. On the side we were on was Pest and the side across the river was Buda. You can see the Citadel across the river.
We crossed the bridge and walked all the way up the hill. About halfway up we saw this statue and Flat Stanley insisted that I take his picture with it. You can see him at the knight's feet and the bridge we crossed behind the horse.
After we'd seen everything at the Citadel, we went over to Buda Castle. Flat Stanley asked, "Do you think this is where the princess lives, Roro?" I said, "I'm not sure. But if a princess would live anywhere, it would certainly be in a castle." So we planned to go to the top and then Flat Stanley saw the furnicular railway that is a little bit like an elavator attached to an escalator that goes up the mountain. Flat Stanley said, "Roro, I'm tired from all the walking. Can we ride on that?" I said, "Flat Stanley, I've been the one doing all the walking while you've been in my pocket! If I can do it, so can you."
It took a while, but we made it to the top. When we did, we got to see the main building of the Buda Castle.
We didn't find the princess, but we found these scary things. I was scared of them, but Flat Stanley made friends with them.
Next we went to the Matthias Church. "Flat Stanley, get your head out of the way so I can get a picture of the church," I yelled.
"It's okay, Roro," replied Flat Stanley. "The church is under construction so you can't get a picture of it anyway. Here's what it's supposed to look like."
While we were arguing about the pictures, we ran into one of Flat Stanley's friends from the US. His name is Flat Camden.
After all the fun and site-seeing, we decided to take a break for lunch. We found a yummy French restaurant with tables outside. I had ravioli and Flat Stanley helped me with dessert. "Yum. I like lemon tart," said Flat Stanley.
Once we were rested and refreshed, we left the Buda Castle area to head back to the Pest side of the river. Across the Danube on the Pest side, you can see the Parliament building. Flat Stanley said, "THIS looks like a castle, too! Do you think the princess lives there?" I told him, "I don't think so."
But Flat Stanley must not have believed me, because when I wasn't looking, he jumped out of my pocket and ran across the river to the Parliament. Well, I sure hope he can find his way back to the hostel.
On my way to dinner, I realized where Flat Stanley may have ended up. The Opera House! I know that he and Aly love to sing, so I thought it was worth a shot.
Sure enough, Flat Stanley was there. And he was really glad to see me. "Roro!" he exclaimed. "I went in search of the princess, but she wasn't there. The only people there were boring politicians. But they told me that if I love to sing, I should go to the opera. So here I am and, boy, am I hungry!"
So off we went to dinner. And on the way home, we stopped to take pictures at St. Stephen's Basilica.
But I could tell that Flat Stanley was tired from all his adventures when he said, "Not another picture, Roro!" So we went back to the hostel for a good night's sleep.