Happy Wednesday everyone! Yesterday we spent six hours at the immigration office, waiting to file our paperwork for a residence permit. It was long and dull so there’s not much to report on.

But hooray for roomates. Samantha (left), Valerie (Right)

Today, we started the morning out with a little exploring and some grocery shopping. But here’s what we found!

A random, but cute statue. I can’t get over the dog.

An Olympic monument,

And some crazy long straws! Maybe for giant milkshakes? I’d be cool with that.

After a bit of exploring (getting lost) we finally found our way to the indoor market where all sorts of fresh foods were being sold

This was our first official shopping trip, and I’d say it was pretty successful. We’ve filled the fridge with vegetables and fruit and are ready to start cooking! Later this afternoon I met up with my Tandem Partner Minh, a Hungarian student who attends Corvinus, along with two other API students, Victoria and Wenlu. She gave us a quick tour of the old university building. Here are some photos:

Front of the main building

The bridge next to Corvinus connecting Buda and Pest.

The halls of Corvinus
Karl Marx
I thought it was pretty cool to have a bridge inside the university 🙂 Unfortunately it’s called the Bridge of Sorrows.
The Bridge of Sorrows. 

Then we headed out shopping at some other grocery stores. Minh helped us find good prices and stores that are close to the university. She was a great help and I’m so excited to start spending more time with her and learning more about Hungary. She also took us to great international coffee house that sells drinks that originate from all over the world.

Afterwards, we met up with our tour guide, Gabby and we finished the tour of Budapest that started Monday. Today we got to see the Buda side of the city, and I have to say, it was very pretty.

The Matthias Church
From the front

A watchtower from the wall built near the church. It was never used for military purposes, but it makes a great picture.

The view from the top was amazing as well
You can get a full view of the iconic Parliament Building
Hooray!
The inside was restored after many re-models and bombings throughout the centuries. The church had once been used as a Mosque and during the restoration they brought back the traditional decoration which can be seen on the right.

In fact, a lot of the city had been bombed, here you can see the line where original buildings have been built on top of, with modern designs.

 Lastly, Gabby treated us all to a traditional Hungarian strudel made with Poppy seed. I can’t say I’m a huge fan, but it was a worthwhile experience.

I’m excited to keep trying new foods though. I promise to only post the really amazing ones 🙂

Until next time!
     -Natalie