December 21 – Budapest
Today wasn’t quite as cold, although we still needed earmuffs and scarves, and we started the day by visiting the zoo. That’s an interesting venue with separate buildings for each species, decorated according to the part of the world the animals come from. Due to the cold, most Animals were inside but it was a most interesting morning. Close by was the fine arts museum where we had lunch in the café before exploring it. It’s a well designed building and the collections are excellent, many originally owned by the Hapsburgs (from the Austro-Hungarian Empire.) We took the Metro & trams back to the hotel area, explored a bit before it got dark around 3:30pm and went to the hotel to relax and read the current International Herald Tribune in the lounge. The hotel recommended another restaurant about 10 walking minutes away and we had an excellent meal there.