Brom goes to the opera

Coocoo

Today we took the train (I had my own seat!) to Budapest. Mara and Gera (happy birthday again) had thought of going on Monday, but the weather looked to be a bit better today, so we went today. 

The train to Budapest, we took the 09.37 one

When we arrived in Budapest we had to find out how to get to the center of town. We saw an information thing and went to the desk. But then we had to get a ticket first. So we did and then we went and waited. For one second because our number came up! At the same desk we had been!! Silly. Anyway, he told us how to get to the center and off we went to get some tickets.

The Synagoge

Once we got to the center it was quite strange and busy and dirty. But Mara and Gera wanted to do a tour of the city so we would know where to go and such. We got the tickets, waited a short while and then took the bus. We saw the synagoge and the river Danube and a castle and then we drove up and up and up and up to something called a Citadel. 

View over the (not blue) Danube

From there we had a lovely view over Budapest and the river. I didn't even mind so much that it wasn't blue! We walked around there for a while, took lots of photos, bought some souvenirs and got back on the bus. 

A boot bike

Once the whole tour was complete, we needed something to eat. Mara had read about a restaurant that served real Hungarian food. Like goulash soup and stuff. She looked where it was and then we walked to find that road. And when we got to that road: it was blocked! Not for us, but for cars and buses and such. There were food stalls and market stalls and stalls about green energy and green cars and green buses and green water and green a lot more! I like that!

I would have loved a go!

The food at the restaurant was good they said, it was just too much. And on we went. We saw a merry-go-round and a slide, we saw an old bus that Mara loved and an electric car that was very fast. There were a lot of children who enjoyed themselves a great deal and so did we. It wasn't touristy at all, but great fun.

Il Campanello

Now of course you are wondering about this opera I saw? Well, before we arrived at the restaurant we heard singing, right next to the opera house. They had an open air performance of an opera called 'Il Campanello' or 'the Night Bell'. Mara had to look it up once we got back to the hotel, because we didn't know this afternoon. 

But even though we didn't know, it was still good fun to watch. I think we sat there for about three quarters of an hour because it was that much fun! Mara took a little video as well you can look at. 

I'm RICH!!!

Once we got back to the hotel, Mara counted the money she had left. This morning she had taken out some money, but because there are so many zeroes on the notes, she didn't know how much she got until later. Turned out, she had taken out waaaay too much! I didn't mind though, I could feel like McScrooge Duck!

Yum!

Brom did NOT get wet!

Coocoo

Today we were on the road again. First of all the car was thirsty and then we were on our way. It was Gera's turn to drive, so Mara could take a lot of photos! And there was a lot to see as well. I saw two deer eating at the side of the road, I saw chickens in the road, mountains, more mountains, a castle (Mara said we weren't going, because...) and rain. 

The castle we didn't get to visit...

We thought Slovakia was a very beautiful but also very wet country. We drove through the Tatra mountains (a tail of the Carpathian mountains) and it just rained. And when we thought it was getting better, it started raining some more. But even through the rain, we could see that the Tatra mountains were beautiful. 

Sometimes sunflowers and pumpkins as well

Fortunately the further South we got, the drier it got and we got to see a dry bit of Slovakia as well. Which was flat. With straight roads. With corn on either side that was so high we couldn't see anything else! And then the hills started again and we got closer and closer to Hungary. 

The Grey Danube

We had to cross the river Danube in Komárno (the Slovakian side) or Komárom (the Hungarian side) and I was very disappointed: it wasn't blue! It was just a sort of grey and like any other river! After that the road was still straight, but with a lot more trees. And only shortly after that we arrived at our hotel by the lake.

We were in Slovakia (SK) and had the choice between Hungary (H),
Austria (A) and the Czech Republic (CZ)

Mara took plenty of photos today, but because the weather was so bad, she had to delete a lot again. But she took a lot over the past few days and I will show some of them and tell you a little story about them.

In Kraków there were a lot of young pretty girls who asked if we wanted to have a horse-and-carriage ride. Mara and Gera decided against it (spoilsports), but they did take a photo of them. Here you can see how one hoof is getting repaired by the old man who drove the horses

In Wawel Castle there was a cathedral, which was... special. All the kings who lived in the castle built another little bit to have something of their own. It looked very higgledypiggledy to a small teddy!

At night Mara and Gera were in the hotelroom and they read or helped me write my blog or crocheted or played games. Mara isn't very good at it, because she has lost every single game of Rummikub (like gin rummy, but with tiles instead of cards). I tried to help, but she lost anyway!