5x5k Budapest (The Blue Danube Waltz Run)

The second run of our 5x5k Challenge:

BUDAPEST - The Blue Danube Waltz Run

Our Budapest 5k came the day after our Copenhagen run, so we weren't feeling exactly spry at the start. We walked a few blocks from our rented studio apartment to one of the bridges that spans the Danube river, connecting Buda and Pest. Margit-Sziget (Margit Island) lies in the middle of the river and is almost entirely parkland - and it even has a rubber running track around most of the perimeter!

The Route

We ran a big loop, stopping to check out some ruins and marvel at the view.

We passed a water park (which looked realllllly tempting in our sweaty state) and finished near the musical fountain. It wasn't on, but there was a cool statue and beautiful flowers.

Looking south toward Parliament, which is on the Pest side of the Danube

Walking back, we stopped atop the bridge to look at Parliament. We also saw these large buoys set up and though we didn't know it then, they were part of the Air Race being hosted while we were there. I didn't know there were airplane races, but there are - and later in the day we got to watch!

The tall church in the middle is St. Matthias, on the Buda side of the river

Triumphant Photos!

Jacob said I was failing to look triumphant enough, so we took this too.

CANNOT believe we missed Wu-Tang Clan by ONE DAY!

5x5k Copenhagen (The Bikes, Bells, and Baby Ducks Run)

I have always found running to be a great way to get to know new places - and new people. I was lucky to have a wonderful running (frunning) group in Syracuse and was lamenting the loss of our fun runs, when Jacob issued a challenge for us to tackle during our trip to Europe.
(Oh yeah, we went to Europe - will get to that in a day or two!)

The 5x5k Challenge:
Run a 5k in each of the 5 major cities we are visiting on our trip - 
Copenhagen, Budapest, Bratislava, Graz, and Prague.

These runs are not about speed, but about getting out, exploring a new city, and seeing what we see. It is always acceptable to stop to take a picture!

First city up was...

COPENHAGEN -The Bikes, Bells and Baby Ducks Run 

We ran our Copenhagen 5k on our last morning there. Like most places on our trip, Copenhagen is hot right now so we got up and running by about 7:45 - we tried for earlier, but the jet lag was still getting us.

The Route

We started out from our fabulous AirBnb and made our way through part of the botanical garden and to the Kastellet, a star-shaped fortress by the water.

Kastellet

Halfway around, we came upon the famous Little Mermaid statue.

The similarities - uncanny!

We also saw statue/fountain and a church that appeared to be built out of flint. As we passed the church, bells across the city began to chime 8 o'clock - kind of magical.

We poked our head into the fort - cool!




















We passed a windmill, managed to avoid getting hit by bicycles (I swear, everybody bikes!), and ended our run along a waterway - and even saw some ducklings!

Duckies on the pond, duckies on the pond....

1 down, 4 to go!

We also saw this tiny Tesla - nifty!