Beside the not-quite-Blue Danube.

9:03 pm CET

Yesterday was a long day. We slept in a bit and got a later start than Tuesday. We bought some pastries for breakfast from a small shop across the square. The lady working there was really nice and I wish I actually understood and could speak this language so I could interact with the kind people I meet... it's definitely frustrating having to smile and nod most of the time.

After buying another day pass for M, we took the 19 along the river to the funicular that goes up to Castle Hill. On the way we ran into a Chasidic French couple with their little baby. They asked me to take some photos by the river for them, so (of course) I did. Then M and I took the funicular (after some ticket confusion) up the hill and absorbed the view. We wandered around for a while before going to Matthias Church, which I had not been inside of before. They have really cleaned it up since I was last there; the outside looks absolutely stunning. The interior is just as beautiful as the exterior, if not more so. There are frescoes all over the walls and the stained glass is lovely. It would have been a lot brighter had the sun been out, though.

From the Church we went to the nearby Fisherman's Bastion, which we walked on top of, since they were not charging admission this time. The view is spectacular and the structure itself is just gorgeous. We were quite hungry once we had finished with the Bastion, so we went to Fekete Holló (Black Raven) restaurant for some lunch (I had this ridiculously rich spinach gnocchi with chicken and cheesy sauce stuff... it was to die for). Following lunch, we made our way down the hill and crossed the Chain Bridge into Pest. We took the 2 tram to Parliament, but it looked closed and there were tons of cops, so someone important might have been there at the time. We walked along the Danube Promenade back south till we got to Erzsébet híd, which we crossed back into Buda. We took a quick stop at the Sisi statue at the base of the bridge before hopping on the 18 back to Móricz Zsigmond körtér and my dorm.

We basically just hung out and watched Disney movies for the rest of the night. Jacob came over for a little while when we were watching The Lion King, which was nice. After that, though, Jacob left and M and I were tired, so we went to bed. The airport shuttle came to pick up M around four in the morning, so we said our goodbyes and then I went back to sleep. I've spent the rest of the day sitting around trying to relax... but I have got a bit too much on my mind, I think. I need a good night's rest so I can get some actual work done tomorrow, that's for sure. The faster I can finish this project, the more time I'll have for myself.

But now, some tea. Nothing like a mug of nice, steaming hot tea to warm the cockles of your heart...