Lángos, a bomb and a silver cup

What a busy day we had planned. This would be our day to tour the city and see the sights. We had been so fortunate with the weather- it had been sunny and hot every day!

Remember all those Italians I’d mentioned we’d been seeing? When wandering the city the night before we had stumbled across a pretty large silver statue in the middle of a square. We realized it was the Europa League cup. It explained why we’d seen (and heard) so many Italians. Sevilla and AS Roma would play for the cup… what a great surprise it was that we would be in town for the game. Of course this meant we had to try to get tickets. We got up early, secured a pair of tickets and then went for breakfast nearby so we could firm up our day plans.

We’d broken the day into segments, basically around food/drink and nap breaks. We had so much we wanted to do and see. We had Rick Steves under our arm and were ready to head out and explore Budapest. First stop was McDonalds. I know it sounds crazy to go to Europe just to go to McDonald’s but this is a special one as it was the first McDonalds behind the iron curtain. We didn’t go in but I wish we had to see if there were any regional specials.

We wound our way through the streets, stopping every so often to look up and around and notice all the things that Rick Steves was pointing out. I really do love his books and his self-guided walking tours.

We were headed to the Great Market Hall but first we stopped at Central Kávé-ház. We’d already been walking for a few hours and it seemed the perfect spot for a break. It’s one of the old cafés in the city- it was opened in 1887. It’s a pretty spectacular space.

We continued walking and soon enough were at the Great Market Hall. This was the end of our first tour.

The hall was full of people and there was so much to see.

It was already mid-afternoon by this point so rather than do our next your, we decided our next stop would be lunch. We had googled things to eat in Budapest and shortlisted a few to try before heading to Vienna. On our list we’re chimney cakes, goulash, dobos torta and lángos.

Lángos is a famous Hungarian street food, which is basically a fried bread dough. We had decided that would be our lunch for the day. Unfortunately after walking all the way to the place I had found that was highly recommended we found they only sold burgers. Hungry and with tired feet, we were a little disappointed but we found a new place and we were not disappointed. The lángos was an extreme classic with the typical sour cream and cheese, but with added red onion chutney and crumbled bacon. It was delicious!

All the restaurants and food stalls were packed. The city was busy! Some restaurants were so full that people were spilling out the doors. The energy was so high in the city. The fans were beyond excited. This was a big deal n

We decided to head home to recharge and take a little nap. We had been walking a lot every day but I think this was the day we walked the most and the farthest. And it was hot! Nothing a short siesta couldn’t fix!

We didn’t rest long because we wanted to get in one more tour before the game. We were headed to the House of Terror. On the way there were massive groups of Spanish and Italian fans chanting and singing and milling about. As we headed up the main street, we heard a massive boom. There was a huge smoke cloud and police cars started coming from every direction. The air was filled with sirens. We were thankful we were walking away from the chaos. As we walked, we noticed the riot police and police on horseback. There were police everywhere you looked.

It was a bit of a speedy tour as we were there only a couple of hours before it closed.

From Wikipedia: It contains exhibits related to the fascist and communist regimes in 20th-century Hungary and is also a memorial to the victims of these regimes, including those detained, interrogated, tortured or killed in the building.

It was sobering to say the least. It was some of the most horrific moments in Hungary’s past, all laid out to see.

We headed back home to freshen up, grab our passports and get ready for the game. We were so excited while at the same time a little nervous. We wore clothes that were neutral, not really knowing who would be around us.

We arrived at the stadium at a time we thought would be ideal. We’d guessed correctly and entered the stadium without any problems. When we found our section however, there were fans everywhere- in the aisles, on the stairs, in the seats, on the seats. We found our row, made our way to our seats only to find people were in them. We were confident in our tickets as they’d been transferred to us through the UEFA app. The two men in our seats were insistent they were their seats. I was not giving up, even if I didn’t speak the language. We were fortunate that the man in the row behind us, Manuel, stepped in and talked to the two men and got them to leave. They were indeed in our seats. We got on our seats (no one was sitting!) and looked around to see a sea of white shirts. We were smack dab in the middle of a Sevilla supporters club. It was absolutely crazy.

We tried to keep any affiliation quiet. I was secretly cheering for AS Roma but cheered quietly as we were completely surrounded by Sevilla fans (except the man and his son beside us who were Man United fans from the UK). Roma scored first and it was Dybala who scored. I couldn’t scream but did take a photo.

I am not sure we have ever been to a game with an atmosphere like that. It was amazing being in the middle of everyone singing and chanting. When Sevilla had a corner and it was looking good, Manuel advised me to get down as things would get crazy if they scored. I’m so glad I listened as the crowd went wild. Drinks were flying and so were people. They were hugging and jumping and it was all I could do to stay upright.

We left before penalties as we didn’t want to be there for the end of the game. Sevilla ended up winning and we ended up getting souvenirs and a cab before the crowds descended. Yet another amazing day.