Budapest, Day Two

We got up early since this was our “long” run of the week. We headed for Margit Island which Sheri had heard a lot of good things about. We headed along the river to get to the island. It wasn’t that convenient, but we finally made it to the correct bridge.

The weather was great, and Sheri had picked a GREAT place to run. There was a padded asphalt around the island (which was about a 5K loop). I ended up doing my scheduled workout, and then ran an extra loop with Sheri. She was doing better (a little tired, but better). I ended up running more than 13 miles… I am definitely ready for the San Jose Rock-n-Roll Half Marathon.

We headed back to the hotel. It seemed a LOT longer walking back. We wished we had known the trolleys better (since I was ESPECIALLY tired). We got back just as breakfast was ending. We gobbled a roll and a hard boiled egg, and headed back to the room.

We then headed to the Castle. It was an ornate building overlooking the river. We had talked to the front desk and they had given us the correct trolley to get to the castle (we wish we had known earlier). We crossed the ornate Chain Bridge leading to the castle, with it’s great lions gaurding each corner of the bridge. We then took the “furnicular” up to the castle. It was only a few hundred feet, but it saved us a long walk up several pathways, and we had already run several hours in the morning.

We then went into the Budapest Wine Festival which was being held at the castle. It was their 15th anniversary of the event. When Sheri had found out it was happening when we were going to be in Budapest, it became a MUST see. We paid to get in, got a glass, and some tickets and started tasting. Sheri had bought a book the previous day which was immensely helpful. We narrowed down the wineries we would go to. We found that we loved Tokaij Wines (which we had had before at Limerick Lane in Sonoma Valley, the only producer of the wine in the US). We talked a long time to the Winemakers/Owners (who mainly spoke English). We ended up buying several bottles (hoping to be able to drag them with us through Europe and back to the US). It was a great afternoon, with the amazing surroundings of the castle.

We finally headed back to the hotel exhausted. We collapsed. I woke up (Sheri was still asleep) and headed out to pick up the Amex Card (that I had left at Soul Restaurant the night before), and to do some internet work (Sunnyvale City Charter questions). I finally headed back to the hotel and went to bed.