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Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Where friends meet

Our favorite square, about which I waxed lyrical just the other day, was voted as one of the seven most popular green getaways in Budapest in some kind of online poll that went on this summer.

This is how it was described:
Szabadsag ter is said by many to be Budapest's "most European square" with its well-tended lawn, historical buildings and old trees. This was the site of Pest's first pedestrian square, founded when the wife of great statesman István Széchenyi planted a tree there in 1846.
I'm not quite sure what they mean by it being "most European"--is this a synonym for clean and tidy? --but never mind, it gives me a perfect excuse to post some more pictures from the square, taken this Sunday.

The best thing about Szabadsag is that many of our friends love it, too, so it's a great place to meet and chat while kids run about doing their own thing...

or, less frequently, they sit in one place and share a rice cake...

occasionally harassed by smaller siblings wanting attention...

Age difference is no obstacle to this budding friendship between Lia (4.5) and Andrej (2.5)--kindred adventurous spirits that they are.

4 comments:

kristina said...

what a strange way to put it - how can it be more or less european when it is, in fact, european? :-)
anyway, looks like a very lovely place!

Jelica said...

strange choice of adjectives, indeed, but the place is really lovely--guaranteed :)

Dumdad said...

Looks lovely - perhaps we'll visit Budapest one day. What's the food like?! (I think I've lived in Paris too long and I'm beginning to think like a Frog).

Jelica said...

food is nothing special, although it's still the best in central europe. like its regional neighbors (Slovaks, Austrians, Czechs) they make heavy, greasy meals (sour cream features prominently); salad is practically a non-existing concept (in the middle of the summer they would serve pickled gherkins as salad which is offensive even to me, a professed green-hater). That said, there is a great variety of non-Hungarian cuisines on offer and it's much cheaper compared to Western Europe. Worth a visit!