BUDAPEST, HUNGARY
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY
After the disappointing tour of Bratislava in the rain, Budapest has blown us away with its beauty. Sailing into this magnificent city was one of the highlights of this river cruise. We drifted by the impressive Parliament, St. Matthias Church and Fisherman's Bastion and are anchored just opposite the Gellert Hill where a statue of a woman is holding a laurel wreath - a sign of peace. The locals refer to her as the world's largest bottle opener. Our guide also informed us that Hungary has yet to win a war - they were under Ottoman rule, then Communism before becoming the republic they are now. She joked that since Hungary is part of NATO, it would be dangerous for NATO to go to war.
There wasn't much to see in Bratislava and our guide must have thought we were simpletons or infirm - I lost track of how many times we were told 'ladies and gentlemen' watch your step, be careful, etc. Instead of the Palace, we toured a church. We went to the before dinner entertainment by a vaudeville-style musical entertainment group advertised as Slovakia's premier revue troupe but found them much too loud and not at all funny. We were the last to go in for dinner and skipped the special entertainment to watch The Woman in Gold in our room. I was surprised to learn that not one person we talked with had even heard of this movie starring Helen Mirrin. There is a young guest on board who has a nice voice but is quite full of herself and she teamed up with the piano player to give a 'jam session' after dinner which we missed. We have since learned that she is going to do it again tonight.
We were up at 6:30 this morning in order to enjoy the sail into Budapest. After an early breakfast, we went on a bus tour of the Pest side of the city. This side of the city is not supposed to be a scenic as the Buda side but let me tell you, it was pretty impressive. The architecture on the old buildings is wonderful and the modern ones were spectacular.
We drove by museums, concert halls, theatres, impressive boulevards, churches, the Jewish Quarter and the Dohany Street Synagogue, a huge spa, Heroes Square and City Park, passing baroque and Art Deco buildings on the way. We were given a tour of the Market Hall which sells all kinds of meat, fruit, vegetables, spices, local wines and brandies downstairs and souvenirs upstairs. The market has been in operation for centuries. I bought some smoked Hungarian paprika here both sweet and spicy varieties. We were treated to a delicious fresh strudel. We walked down Utca Vaci, the pedestrian mall to the Cafe Gerbeaud poking our noses into some of the stores before returning to the ship. We set out again to see if we could have a tour of the Crystal riverboat which we saw docked this morning but alas, it had left port. Norma had her Crystal bag with her which we thought might give us admission.
The Red Bull Air Show on the Danube is on tomorrow. Today we are being entertained as the pilots of the small, noisy planes practice their manoeuvres. This entails flying upside down under bridges and going around an obstacle course on the river. It is lots of fun to watch. We plan to spend the afternoon on board ship because once again, the temperature is in the 30C or 90F range. Lunch is a BBQ and there is a farewell reception as many leave the ship tomorrow.
Tomorrow, we tour the Buda side where the royal residences are and nobility and rich lived.
After the disappointing tour of Bratislava in the rain, Budapest has blown us away with its beauty. Sailing into this magnificent city was one of the highlights of this river cruise. We drifted by the impressive Parliament, St. Matthias Church and Fisherman's Bastion and are anchored just opposite the Gellert Hill where a statue of a woman is holding a laurel wreath - a sign of peace. The locals refer to her as the world's largest bottle opener. Our guide also informed us that Hungary has yet to win a war - they were under Ottoman rule, then Communism before becoming the republic they are now. She joked that since Hungary is part of NATO, it would be dangerous for NATO to go to war.
There wasn't much to see in Bratislava and our guide must have thought we were simpletons or infirm - I lost track of how many times we were told 'ladies and gentlemen' watch your step, be careful, etc. Instead of the Palace, we toured a church. We went to the before dinner entertainment by a vaudeville-style musical entertainment group advertised as Slovakia's premier revue troupe but found them much too loud and not at all funny. We were the last to go in for dinner and skipped the special entertainment to watch The Woman in Gold in our room. I was surprised to learn that not one person we talked with had even heard of this movie starring Helen Mirrin. There is a young guest on board who has a nice voice but is quite full of herself and she teamed up with the piano player to give a 'jam session' after dinner which we missed. We have since learned that she is going to do it again tonight.
We were up at 6:30 this morning in order to enjoy the sail into Budapest. After an early breakfast, we went on a bus tour of the Pest side of the city. This side of the city is not supposed to be a scenic as the Buda side but let me tell you, it was pretty impressive. The architecture on the old buildings is wonderful and the modern ones were spectacular.
We drove by museums, concert halls, theatres, impressive boulevards, churches, the Jewish Quarter and the Dohany Street Synagogue, a huge spa, Heroes Square and City Park, passing baroque and Art Deco buildings on the way. We were given a tour of the Market Hall which sells all kinds of meat, fruit, vegetables, spices, local wines and brandies downstairs and souvenirs upstairs. The market has been in operation for centuries. I bought some smoked Hungarian paprika here both sweet and spicy varieties. We were treated to a delicious fresh strudel. We walked down Utca Vaci, the pedestrian mall to the Cafe Gerbeaud poking our noses into some of the stores before returning to the ship. We set out again to see if we could have a tour of the Crystal riverboat which we saw docked this morning but alas, it had left port. Norma had her Crystal bag with her which we thought might give us admission.
The Red Bull Air Show on the Danube is on tomorrow. Today we are being entertained as the pilots of the small, noisy planes practice their manoeuvres. This entails flying upside down under bridges and going around an obstacle course on the river. It is lots of fun to watch. We plan to spend the afternoon on board ship because once again, the temperature is in the 30C or 90F range. Lunch is a BBQ and there is a farewell reception as many leave the ship tomorrow.
Tomorrow, we tour the Buda side where the royal residences are and nobility and rich lived.
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