Whew! What an incredible whirlwind of a week it has been. I just arrived back in Portland from a trip to Hungary. I never would have thought that I would have such an amazing opportunity. Like a lot of Americans, I had no idea where Hungary was located before I went there - so I wanted to share a map with you! The majority of my week was spent in Kecskemet. My employer has a location there, so we were invited to attend a week-long training. But of course there was plenty of time for fun as well, and we spent a couple days in Budapest touring the city.
But first things first - the food! After all, this is a food blog. I didn't photograph everything I ate; mainly because most of it was not spectacular. In fact, most of it was not to my taste. There were lots of meats in various sauces, usually served with rice or potatoes. Although I try not to eat meat, I did eat chicken a few times because there weren't many other options. One of my friends I was traveling with is a vegetarian (as opposed to a flexitarian like me), and she had an even worse time. With that being said, I do have a few things to show you.
Our first full night in Kecskemet, we went to a traditional Hungarian dinner at a local wine cellar. When we arrived at the restaurant, everyone's plate had a little treat on it - we weren't really sure what it was. When I bit into it, it turns out it was a chocolate covered rum ball. Yes, please! The meal was off to a good start.
Since we were with a big group, the meal choices were either "vegetarian" or "meat." The vegetarian consisted of rice and potatoes, fried mushrooms, and roasted vegetables. Little did I know at that point that I would eat rice, potatoes, and vegetables at almost every single meal.
For dessert, we had some sort of bread-pudding type thing, which I didn't like. So I ate the whipped cream off the top and called it a night. :)
Most of the time for lunch, we just ate at the hotel buffet. Here is a typical meal I ate from the buffet. Noodles, potatoes, pickled veggies, oh my!
After eating the same hotel lunch for many days in a row, I was excited when on Thursday we went off-site to a Hungarian resort called the Vaga Tanya. The excitement was premature, because we ate about the same stuff there too. This was the day I ate a bunch of chicken because I was SO ready for something different.
They started the lunch by placing a big pot of soup on everyone's table. This soup was actually one of the best things I ate on the entire trip. Then we had a buffet lunch - more fried and/or picked veggies for this girl.
Dinner was either grilled chicken or steak served with - you guessed it! Veggies and potatoes.
Like most trips, I try to have a good balance of eating healthy and treating myself. So my strategy was to eat smaller portions, make sure I was exercising, and not drink TOO much red wine. That part was easier said that done. :)
And my absolute favorite thing I ate on the trip - this ice cream I purchased off a street cart in Budapest. It really hit the spot. My friend Lindsey and I were actually a bit late getting back on the tour bus since we stopped for the ice cream. Worth it!
I will do another Hungary recap soon, and share with you some of the places I went and the activities that I did. Until then my friends!
Blogging from Charlotte, NC. I am a wife, beagle owner, and have a full time day job, I love cooking (and eating!), yoga, hiking, reading, and traveling. Follow along on my adventures as I try to balance having fun with leading a healthy lifestyle.