Watching the World Cup finals in Stuttgart surrounded by friends and random Germans was a memorable night.

Matt & Bex, expats from Colorado

The Germans went wild, or at least "wild" for Germans, when they defeated Argentina and became the World Champions.

Joyful Germans celebrating in the city streets with fireworks blasting above

Here is a quick video of what I witnessed after the final whistle:

I had no clue that the Germans were such fans of Queen.

My childhood friend, Akos, used to rave about Budapest in 4^th grade and ever since I have been fascinated by this city in a distant land called "Hungary."

After a quick direct flight, we arrived in Budapest and went to our rental apartment in Oktogon neighborhood. We dropped our bags and walked straight to a cafe for some goulash and local wine known as "bulls blood".

The next morning, we found a produce market with local treats like strudel filled with peaches and cottage cheese.

The flaky cheesy strudel was delicious

August was an ideal time to fly to Budapest since the weather was warm and we got tickets for a huge European Music Festival called Sziget.

Scott dressed up in his snazzy vest for his first big Euro Music Fest

The Sziget Festival is on an island in the middle of the Danube River. It was fairly large with about 7 stages and tons of camping areas and other entertainment. Unlike Bonnaroo, there were plenty of trees and shade.

Levi Band with talented harmonica player

We sat in front of the Blues Stage and watched an energetic Polish Blues Band.

Colorful dragon made of recycled bottles and Fest Frau

The main stage was packed for the performance of Die Fantastischen Vier, a German band with a Beastie Boys meets Kid Rock vibe. It was too intense for our liking but hilarious to observe for a few minutes

Jelly fish decor in the tree lined fest grounds, tents everywhere

We wandered all over the fest grounds and encountered a Hungarian version of a close Charleston friend named Andrew Smock.

This fellow, while not as handsome as Smock, is holding a sign Smock might artistically contribute

There was a beach area with DJs and dancing all day long. We also relaxed in the "chill zone" filled with friendly Dutch, Belgian and Italian tourists who shared hookahs and stories.

Frau in the "chill zone"

After the concert, we took the ferry back to our Airbnb apartment located on the Pest side of the Danube. Budapest was actually 2 distinct cities (Buda & Pest) up until 1873 when they merged. It's hard to imagine that it was almost named "Pestbuda."

Bride and Parliament Building in the distance

We enjoyed magical views of historic governmental buildings along the Danube.

Scoots mesmerized by the castle in the distance on the Buda side of the Danube

The next morning, thanks to a suggestion from Laura & Carson, we met a local named Barbi for a Hungarian food tour. The tour began at the Central Market Hall which is the biggest market in all of Europe after the one in Riga, Lativa (also on our future travel list).

Nagy Vásárcsarnok ( Great Market Hall )

The food tour started with shots of Unicum, a famous Hungarian herbal liqueur with a secret blend of more than 40 herbs and spices. Unicum was invented in 1790 by a Royal Physician and has a unique history (check it out here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zwack_liqueur)

I liked Barbi from the start because she gave me a plum Unicum shot (less strong) and gave Scott the full strength that cut straight through his looming fest hangover

I was excited when Barbi brought us a huge piece of fried dough covered in fresh garlic. This popular Hungarian snack is called langos and we saw many versions at the music fest. Barbi said locals eat them with garlic or sour cream and chives but other toppings like pepperoni and chocolate are for tourists.

Freshly fried and crispy langos topped with fresh garlic

The market hall has 3 floors and over 180 food stalls. We maneuvered around sampling cheeses and sauerkraut.

goulash, stuffed cabbage, noodles - similar to banquet food from Scoots' childhood

Barbi pointed out an office in the market's basement which has a Hungarian mushroom expert. Hungarians bring in wild mushrooms foraged in the region to be analyzed in order to see if they are safe to eat.

We were told that magical mushrooms are not common in these parts

Barbi served us a variety of smoked cow cheese, goat and sheep cheese.

Legendary Hungarian cheese lady

The cheese lady has been in business for many centuries. Everday except Sunday she wakes up at 3 am to drive from her farm (3 hours away) to sell her special cheese at the market.

Hungarians like a variety of dairy including a unique chocolate bar filled with cheese called Turo Rudi.

“Túró Rudi” word by word is something like this in English: “Curd-cheese-stick”.

Turo Rudi is delicious and reminded us of NY cheesecake.

Turo Rudi broken in half

I love sauerkraut and happily scarfed down a tasty cone full of this fermented cabbage delight.

Kraut in a cone

Hungarians pickle everything, including peppers, cucumbers, broccoli, carrots, and watermelon.

Happy Pickles

The next stop was a soup cafe for a chilled raspberry soup. In my opinion, cold soup is strange unless it's gazpacho.

Fountain of a book with water depicting "turning the page"

Barbi took us to her favorite butcher shop for lunch.

Notice happy pig logo in background

Barbi ordered a ton of food with some vegetarian options like fried cheese, fried mushrooms and fried zucchini.

From left to right- spicy pepper sauce, freshly fried potato chips, sauteed beets, pickled veggies

Earlier at the market, we noticed ads with pictures of furry pigs called Mangalica.

These pigs were described as "rare and ultimate pigs" and

"Hungarian eatable national treasures."

Mangalica, also known as a "woolly pig" is cute and hairy kind of like a sheep

Barbi told us that the Mangalica pig was an endangered species but the Spanish helped save the breed. Scott, who is usually anti all pork products, said he would try this special pig perhaps since it doesn't look very pig-like.

Barbi cutting into a hunk of Mangalica pork

The meat from mangalica is healthier than most pork because it is high in omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants due to the natural diet of grass, wheat, corn and barley.

Flavorful Hungarian Mangalica

The huge piece of mangalica pork was filled with gooey cheese, crispy bacon and spicy mustard. Scott devoured the pork filled masterpiece.

Hungarian Menu (challenging language to learn we were told) with smiley piglet

Hundreds of legendary grand cafes thrived in Budapest during the reign of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the 19th century. Coffee culture is still present so Barbi brought us to a regal cafe for cappuccinos and cake.

Dobos Torte (on left) is a famous sponge cake with caramel topping and a lemon meringue tart on right

The final stop was a wine tasting where we learned that Hungarian wines are very delicious and hard to find outside of Hungary. Barbi asserted that “the Hungarians drink all of the wine" so there is not much left to export.

Later that night, we checked out a rooftop bar with a beautiful sunset.

Frau on left admiring the city skyline

Shanks are selfie challenged

Pretty sunset

A grumpy waitress took this pic against her will but sometimes you just need to ask for photo help since selfies are not optimal

Budapest has massive "ruin pubs" located in old abandoned buildings with lots of teeny rooms and strange decor.

Scoots in the Szimpla Kert ruin bar, better ruin pub pics here: http://welovebudapest.com/clubs.and.nightlife.1/the.best.ruin.pubs.in.budapest

Hungarians drink froccs which are basically wine spritzers. They have a variety of flavors by combining red or white wine and sparkling mineral water and often add syrups like elderberry and raspberry.

The Meggy frocc is probably scrumptious but we didn't get to try it

The next day, we rented bikes near the Basilica and explored the historic sites.

St Stephens Basilica

Nifty steel beam interactive street sculpture

We rode bikes to the famous landmark called Heroes Square which has statues of national leaders and the Millennium Memorial which commemorates the thousandth anniversary of the Hungarian state.

Frau biking around the square while Hungarian lovers embrace nearby

views along the Danube from the bike ride

Huge Parliament building

Castle under construction

Ferry and river boats offered tours and dinner cruises

Budapest is often referred to as the "city of spas" because it has 123 natural thermal and mineral springs that flow into the city.

Frau entering the famous Gellert Spa

According to the Gellert Bath website, "it opened in 1918 offering medicinal water treatments using the same deep underground springs the Knights of St John used in the 12th century, and later on the Turks to feel the invigorating powers of the mineral rich waters."

Massive wave pool packed with Europeans

We were rejuvinated by the indoor Roman bath facilities with mineral springs, saunas and steam rooms.

Scoots on left followed by a true patriot in a foreign land. More words wouldn't do this justice...

Sexier than Michael Phelps- notice the dark shadow cast by some bright white quads

Scott braved the freezing tub of water after drying out in the sauna.

Question for Tash and Brook: Does this count for the ice-bucket challenge?

I was told that there are only a handful of Hungarian vegetarians so we were pleasantly surprised by delicious meals at Hummus Bar on 2 different occasions.