Budapest (Part 7)

 . . .  and finally stopped to eat lunch outside on the patio of a little restaurant. Young men with floor-length aprons stood and nodded as we found a table.  We ordered goulash soup, which was delicious with big chunks of heavy bread. We also had a glass each of Egri Bikaver, also known as Bull’s Blood, Hungary’s famous red wine. Fantastic wine.

Barry went to where they directed him to the washroom and upon his return he said,

“Take your camera, discreetly, and go into that entrance there. You’ll be amazed!”

So, I was (discreet) and did (go in through a dark doorway) and trod very carefully down a flight of very dark stone stairs. At the bottom, to one side, was the hallway to the washrooms (these were free, thank goodness). But, directly in front of me was a rock cavern which served as a wine cellar. And off to the other side were a few tables set with candles and such in another cave – apparently the proper restaurant part of this place whereas for lunch only the outdoor café and bar was open. Underground rock caverns, who would have guessed.

But not so unusual, I suppose, taking into consideration the thermal waters that run throughout and below Budapest. The caverns were made by those thermal waters during the Middle Ages. The rock cellars were re-discovered in the 1870’s during the reconstruction of a medieval church.