BUDAPEST, HUNGARY - DAY TWO
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY - DAY TWO
We retired to our room early last night and started to watch the movie 'The Imitation Game' about Alan Turing who cracked the German Enigma code. We only got part way through it before agreeing to turn it off and return to dreamland.
We had an early start to the day, leaving with the remaining passengers on a tour of the Parliament and the old Buda side of the river Danube. We arrived at Parliament Square in the rain to find that we were the only group there. - most of the city has been closed because of the Red Bull Air Show. Our guide took us on a tour of the square before we went into the actual Parliament. What a magnificent Gothic-Revival building. We were in awe as we went from corridor to room to corridor. The place is decorated in frescoes and gold leaf throughout. We saw the Crown Jewels of Hungary displayed in the dome room. They were guarded by two soldiers and since we were there at the appropriate time, got to see the changing of the guard complete with sword crossings and jack-booted marching. After seeing the crown, sceptre, and orb, we found we could recognize all the statues of the early kings and one queen. In the gift shop, I picked up a very pretty ring for myself. And as we exited, we were delighted to see that the rain had stopped and the sun was peeping out.
We bused it to the Castle Hill section of Buda and toured Mathias Church and the Fisherman's Bastion. You will notice that this Catholic Church is not named St. Mathias. That is because he fathered so many children and it was so well known that he had, he was not canonized. The church is lovely both inside and out with its ceramic-tiled roofs, carved spire, and frescoed walls. The Fisherman's Bastion offered beautiful views of the city and got its name as there used to be a fish market around the church.
From here we were escorted to a small restaurant for lunch. Only our group was admitted so we had the place to ourselves. It was a typically heavy Eastern European meal but it was very good. What a wonderful change from our first restaurant experience with Tauck. We passed a lovely couple of hours here before returning to the boat. Norma wants me to tell you about our bathroom experience at the restaurant. As you enter the Ladies, it is pitch black until a motion detector turns on the lights. Same thing with the toilet cubicles. If you remain still, the lights go out so we found it is best to keep moving.
Once back on board, we decided to see if we could squeeze into our bathing suits and sit in the hot tub. My hip has been bothering me and I thought it would help. After that, we returned to our room where I have just awakened from a delicious nap. Now it is time to shower and dress for dinner and meet some of the new passengers. We have heard that the boat will me more crowded in this section just as we were enjoying being a group of 13!
I almost forgot, Tauck gave us each a Tauck baseball cap and a card with best wishes for Canada Day. Gradually, we are changing our opinion as we have been very pleased with everything these last few days. No complaints at all!
We retired to our room early last night and started to watch the movie 'The Imitation Game' about Alan Turing who cracked the German Enigma code. We only got part way through it before agreeing to turn it off and return to dreamland.
We had an early start to the day, leaving with the remaining passengers on a tour of the Parliament and the old Buda side of the river Danube. We arrived at Parliament Square in the rain to find that we were the only group there. - most of the city has been closed because of the Red Bull Air Show. Our guide took us on a tour of the square before we went into the actual Parliament. What a magnificent Gothic-Revival building. We were in awe as we went from corridor to room to corridor. The place is decorated in frescoes and gold leaf throughout. We saw the Crown Jewels of Hungary displayed in the dome room. They were guarded by two soldiers and since we were there at the appropriate time, got to see the changing of the guard complete with sword crossings and jack-booted marching. After seeing the crown, sceptre, and orb, we found we could recognize all the statues of the early kings and one queen. In the gift shop, I picked up a very pretty ring for myself. And as we exited, we were delighted to see that the rain had stopped and the sun was peeping out.
We bused it to the Castle Hill section of Buda and toured Mathias Church and the Fisherman's Bastion. You will notice that this Catholic Church is not named St. Mathias. That is because he fathered so many children and it was so well known that he had, he was not canonized. The church is lovely both inside and out with its ceramic-tiled roofs, carved spire, and frescoed walls. The Fisherman's Bastion offered beautiful views of the city and got its name as there used to be a fish market around the church.
From here we were escorted to a small restaurant for lunch. Only our group was admitted so we had the place to ourselves. It was a typically heavy Eastern European meal but it was very good. What a wonderful change from our first restaurant experience with Tauck. We passed a lovely couple of hours here before returning to the boat. Norma wants me to tell you about our bathroom experience at the restaurant. As you enter the Ladies, it is pitch black until a motion detector turns on the lights. Same thing with the toilet cubicles. If you remain still, the lights go out so we found it is best to keep moving.
Once back on board, we decided to see if we could squeeze into our bathing suits and sit in the hot tub. My hip has been bothering me and I thought it would help. After that, we returned to our room where I have just awakened from a delicious nap. Now it is time to shower and dress for dinner and meet some of the new passengers. We have heard that the boat will me more crowded in this section just as we were enjoying being a group of 13!
I almost forgot, Tauck gave us each a Tauck baseball cap and a card with best wishes for Canada Day. Gradually, we are changing our opinion as we have been very pleased with everything these last few days. No complaints at all!
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