This weekly wrap-up covers our journey from July 21 to July 27. We left Budapest on Monday for two days in Košice, Slovakia, then spent the rest of the week relaxing in Zdiar, an alpine village in the Tatra Mountains.
Favorite thing we ate: Jonathan loved his “green shakshuka” during our last brunch in Budapest on Monday [above left]. Megan has really been digging the Slovakian cuisine, which includes lots of dumplings and sheep’s cheese! Her favorite dish so far is the national dish of Slovakia, bryndzové halušky (small potato dumplings with sheep’s cheese, bacon, sour cream and chives) [above right].
Favorite thing we drank: Megan really enjoyed the raspberry lemonade at Med Malina in Košice (the same place she had the potato dumplings) [above left]. Jonathan tried a new Radler flavor, raspberry and lime, but we don’t have a picture of it, so enjoy this picture of a yummy flat white from Republika Východu in Košice instead (which also has delicious breakfast!) [above right].
Favorite thing we did: Jonathan found a lovely 9-mile loop through the Tatras around Zdiar, which we hiked on Thursday [pictured above]. It was definitely the highlight of our week!
Biggest splurge: On Sunday morning, we opted to visit one of the fancier baths in Budapest: Gellert [pictured above]. Prices weren’t actually too bad (6400 HUF per person, or about $22 USD), but considering we had visited Rudas Baths for half that the previous week, it seemed like a splurge.
Best deal: When visiting Zdiar (in the Tatras), I expected prices to be high because most alpine villages (at least in the U.S.) like to extort their relatively isolated visitors. However, we were pleased to find that was not the case with Zdiar! Our favorite restaurant, a dark and cozy pizzeria, offered one-euro glasses of wine [pictured above]. We got a glass of wine, a beer, a pizza (8 slices) and a delicious ice cream dessert with warm raspberries (yum!) for less than 13 euros.
What we’re reading: Jonathan finished The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang this week. (And now we are both anxiously awaiting the sequel, which comes out on August 6!!) After weeks of dense (but very good) reading, Megan finally finished A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide by Samantha Power. On audio, Jonathan is continuing Dark Money by Jane Mayer, and Megan listened to Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson.
Total walking distance: 43.85 miles
Up next: Ukraine & Poland
