I headed back up to Budapest after my trip to Pecs for a quick rendezvous with an acquaintance from high school. I hadn’t seen Jen in probably twenty plus years... and barely saw her this time around either. She got in kind of late and had to make a few phone calls... so we finally got dinner and then she was out again first thing in the morning... oh well, it was a good effort.

But the visit back enabled me to have one last stroll through the city, including a trip to the Christmas Market. I am glad I was able to get over there... so much food to choose from... I couldn’t decide. In the end I feasted on a bowl of pork stew with peppers and paprika and then some potato dumplings... but not before trying the rooster testicle stew. Now there’s a new one for me... The stew base itself was really tasty, tastier than the base of the pork stew, but the testicles weren’t for me. The were really soft, kind of like liver, so the thought of a whole bowl of the stuff (as well as the thought of eating a whole bowl of slow cooked nuts) wasn’t so appealing.

I went for another soak at the hot springs before taking off for Eger, in northeastern Hungary. This marked a significant moment in the trip, as Budapest will have been the last familiar place I’d be visiting probably until I get to Italy in April sometime... Bring on the adventure.