central europe: part III.

during our night-long stay in bratislava, cait and i were lucky enough to have a tour-guide in reading my tea leaves-reader and bratislava-native, radana. she made an otherwise gray day a pure delight by showing us the ins and outs of her hometown. after hiking our way up to bratislavský hrad, we worked out way back to ground level and feasted on bryndzove halusky, potato dumplings smothered in sheep’s milk cheese and served up with a side of zincica, fermented sheep’s milk! after dinner we ducked into the incredibly cute, cafe verne, for a glass of wine and storytelling. it was just what we needed. 

 and the next day? we hopped on the train to budapest.

budapest was the whirlwindiest of the trips we made. we arrived in the late afternoon and ate a nourishing meal of garlic soup and yes, more dumplings, at menza. the next morning found us strolling down the beautiful andrássy way and across the széchenyi chain bridge to buda. we skipped the funicular and hiked up the hill instead–worth it both for listening to buskers along the way and for taking in breathtaking views of the city. march 15 is a national holiday in hungary and it seemed like the whole city was out enjoying the sunshine with us!

tomorrow, a recap post about our favorite cafe in bratislava and then you’ll have seen it all! 

other things:

spinat-schafskäse knödel.