In the US, Starbucks may be on every corner, but in Budapest, an ice cream stand (with a long line) would be the winner. Don’t get me wrong, cafes are big too. There are great coffee shops, and even McDonald’s has created a coffee experience including Vienesse pastries and wi-fi.

While I have enjoyed the goulash, generally I would sum up the food into three categories: Meaty, Fatty, and Creamy. Potatoes seem to come with everything – While you will see boiled potatoes on occasion, they are often fried: french fries, potato dumplings and donuts. Almost everything comes with sour cream, cheese sauce, or some sort of cream.

And vegeterians beware – almost everything has meat. Vegeterian in this country seems to mean fried cheese or vegetables covered in bread crumbs and then fried. I suppose you can always eat the strawberry soup: strawberries, cream, topped with a little whip cream and mint (and no, this does not appear on the menu as a dessert – it is right next to the french onion and goulash soups). Oh, you can also get pretzels and bread.