Lola and (V)i(en)na; also Budapest and Salzburg: The Great Market and Parliament

We walked to the Great Market this morning. It took about 15 minutes and we went through several pedestrian streets and squares with trendy restaurants and coffee houses. We had already had coffee and pastry at our local spot, Apricot. We are known there because we go every morning. One young man who may be the owner likes to practice his excellent English. The other workers also speak English but aren't as comfortable with it. The wait staff everywhere--our Bolt taxi drivers, shop personnel, everyone we interact with--are all young, very polite and seem to have had customer service training. People on TripAdvisor often complain about customer service in this city but what we've seen is impressive.

Public transportation is great here but we've been using Bolt a lot because it's cheap and we don't have to walk to tram or Metro stations. We need to conserve our energy. I swear all the drivers are 15. They all listen to American music while they drive. One was playing a cd called Gangsta Rap. Most have very little English. They don't need to speak much because, like Uber, they know where you're going before they get in the car.

The Great Market is one of a series of markets in the city that was planned in the 1890s and built in 1897. The population was exploding and there wasn't an efficient way to inspect food or control what goods were coming in so a few markets were built. The Great Market is the biggest and most central.

The Market has 3 floors but the basement is now an Aldi's so we didn't go there. The first floor is mostly food. Every cut of meat known to man is sold there--tripe, the livers of all animals, pig heads and feet, and hearts that are huge. Beef hearts are not that big so I'm guessing they're from another animal but I can't imagine what. Elephant or wooly mammal maybe. There are lots of meat vendors and produce stands. On the way out we noticed long lines at one particular produce stand and one meat counter. Obviously the locals know who has the best stuff. Tour books tell you not to go before 9 because the locals shop early. Saturday is particularly crowded.

The second floor sells touristy things and you can find the same products in multiple places. We bought nothing. Instead, on the way back to the apartment, we found a chocolate store that needed our patronage. The chocolate stores in the city seem to be small family-run businesses. There's nothing like it at the market--just candy bars and other commercial treats.

We had a 2:30 tour of the Parliament. I had booked these tickets awhile ago because slots fill up fast. We booked the English speaking tour for obvious reasons but there was a German language tour at the same time. We met some Americans who were on a Viking ship tour and had booked German language tickets because that's all that was available. The cruise director told them to book those but just go with the English group. That worked out for them. Each group had a guide and an audio device which allowed the guide to speak softly. They called the German group first which turned out great for our group because we were at the dome room which houses the royal crown for the changing of the guard. Guards change every hour. The guards march with a goose step which seemed odd. The walk to the crown room takes a half hour but just a couple minutes for the change.

The building houses the parliament--we saw where Orban sits--but few of the 691 rooms are used. It was dedicated in 1896, 1000 years after the founding of the country. It and St. Stephen's are both 96 meters high and no other building in the city can be higher.

The tour takes you to just a few rooms. They are spectacular. The most beautiful is the dome room but you can't take pictures there because they could damage the crown.

In order, the following are pictures of the Parliament chamber, the grand stairway at the entrance, and windows showing some of the detail.