Budapest free day

Today was our first free day in Budapest. I took the opportunity to visit the zoo, do a little shopping at the market, and tour the royal palace.

The Budapest Zoo was pretty dang cool! They let you pet a lot of the animals and some of them are just roaming around the compounds. It's also right in the middle of the city but was full of such beautiful vegetation that it feels like you're out in the country. I was pleasantly surprised with the variety of animals and quality of the facilities- even if I did almost get attached by an ostrich (they don't play around).

The first critter we encounter was a very happy Iguana. Look at that smile!

 I'm not sure what kind of bird this is (all of the signs were in Hungarian) but it is native to Australia and knows how to pull off an awesome hairpiece. 

 These bears were very snoozy (and massive).

 These monkeys were eating orange and it was the cutest thing. It always amazes me how human their mannerisms are. I can definitely see all of the DNA we share.

 A sample of the gorgeous landscaping

 We watched these giraffes for about 30 minutes. We were feeding them apples and they were absolutely precious. I'm going to try to add a video I took of them eating. It was hilarious.

 Baby Elephants are the best!

 The zoo is right by Heroes' Square, which is one of the major squares in Budapest. This monument is called the Millennium Monument and was built in 1896 to celebrate Hungary's 1000th year. No wonder this country has so much amazing history. 1000 years is a long time! 

After the zoo, we went back to the market to pick up a few souvenirs and finally get the langos I'd been dreaming about. Notice the bite taken out of it. I couldn't wait to dig in! Langos is a traditional Hungarian dish. It's a large piece of fried dough traditionally topped with sour cream and cheese (as you see here). You can also get ham, onions, olive, tomatoes, etc. or sweet ones topped with nutella and fruit. Yum!

After a quick stop a the hotel, we headed over the the Buda side and took a ride on the funicular up the hill to the royal palace, also known as Buda Castle. Here is a shot of the Chain Bridge (the oldest bridge connecting Buda and Pest) and St. Stephens Basilica, which you can see in the background. 

 We saw the changing of the guard ceremony. Very cool.

 Look! Proof that I actually am on this trip and not just stealing these photos from Google image.

 This is where I'll be heading tomorrow!

This is a view of the palace from the chain bridge. Such an enormous palace and so beautiful.  (I have a better picture somewhere, but can't find it and I'm sleepy so I'm not looking too hard)

These are the ruins of the original palace dating back to the early 13th century.

 The courtyard behind the palace.

 A ridiculous fountain with a hunting theme. That's a dead deer on the top and hunting dogs on the bottom there.

They didn't let me take any pictures of the inside of the palace, but it now houses a fine art museum and the Museum of Hungarian History.

It was a fun, but exhausting day so I'm off to sleep! On tomorrow's agenda: visiting Parliament, St. Stephens, and maybe one of the Turkish bath houses.  Later Gators!