Our cruise terminated at
Budapest. Although, there were two nights on the ship we also opted for two
more nights in a hotel. This proved to be a good decision as the city has so
much to see and do.
We started with the cruise
tour which gave a great feel for the place and ended up on the Buda side in the
castle area. (The flatter side of the river is Pest – hence Budapest – and you
really need to emphasise the “ssssh” when pronouncing the name!)
This little alcove is a so called "mother in law" window as it allows someone to view what is happening in the
street whilst being hidden. (You decide if it is aptly named.)
Mattthias Church within the “castle” walls is elaborate
and colourful
Inside the paintwork had a
brown hue. This scene of water flowing down the window sill is rather unusual but
captivating.
Much of the area was
destroyed in the war and is slowly being renovated. Fisherman’s Bastion which
adjoins the church has a Disneyland feel to it.
However, the views across the
Danube are sensational. Here are the Houses of Parliament. Although built with
two chambers (Lords to the right and Commons to the left) the government is now
Unicameral (a one chamber government) so currently only uses a small part of
the building.
Back from the river is the
Military History Museum. The cannons may be old but the capping to the “castle”
wall is new.
Back on the Pest side and
away from the river is Heroes Square. The mix here is diverse with entrance
gates:
Museums
Statues; (I am not sure this
antler bridle would have been too comfortable for the horse)
and an ice rink.
A second trip arranged as
part of the cruise was to a small village where the focus was shopping. Some
interesting attractions included this dough roll roasted with caramalised sugar
and cinnamon on the outside. The previous time we saw this was in Prague and
the tempting smell was just as hard to walk past.
We did visit a marzipan “museum”.
Although great skill was apparent from both watching the worker
and from the numerous exhibits,
I think the description of a museum was somewhat misleading. Michael Jackson might
comprise 62 Kg of marzipan and apparently took over 330 hours to make. However,
the timeline suggests dedication rather than history.
Hungary is famous for its
paprika dishes and this stall underpinned the variety including a first for me -
cherry shaped peppers. Great colours.
Budapest is nothing if not
photogenic. There are so many captivating views. Here is Mathias Church viewed
from Pest side.
The “Chain” Bridge with Parliament in the background
and on the Buda side of the
“Chain” bridge, the History museum and Library.
All of which are even more
spectacular at night.
Our hotel was just next to
the Chain bridge.
And this was the view from
our hotel bedroom window.
Trams abound but only one really entered into the light show
spirit….
The moon even played its part by helping to illuminate the church at the Pest end of the Erzebet bridge.
While the Szabadsag bridge was picturesque on its own
And even close up.
Traffic on the Danube was quite busy which was surprising
given this was winter and at night. It must be quite a hive of activity in the
summer.
Just behind our hotel (the
Intercontinental) was a 2km pedestrian street lined with shops. One of the few outside
eateries in Winter was well lit and with many heaters quite attractive.
However, it was not exactly doing a roaring trade – drinking with gloves on somehow lacks appeal.
We were fortunate to have dry and largely sunny days and
decided on a long walk to see some sites upstream. One of the first encountered
and certainly the most moving is these shoes. The temporary addition of some
red roses increased the poignancy. This is the location where, at the end of
the war, many Jews were stripped and shot at close range so they fell into the
river. A very moving reminder for all visitors to ensure there is no repeat
performance of such atrocities.
After a walk past the Houses
of Parliament (bookings essential and no times available during our visit)
we travelled further upstream
to the colourful and unusual Margaret bridge. It has a kink in the middle and a
90 degree spur span to take you across to Margaret island.
After a brisk stroll (we were
not really up to power walking) around part of the island and a return along the
Buda bank we found ourselves at the base of the castle. We decided the
funicular would do nothing for our fitness and walked up. The downstream end of
the castle had some ruins which are being explored.
Our timing was impeccable as
we heard a drum beat
and then proceeded to witness
the changing of the guard. Although the changeover had some military precision,
once in their huts their was a bit of relaxation and chatting between themselves
and with passers by. Not quite the Coldstream Guards.
The day before leaving the
boat, Ian popped into both our hotels (without our knowledge) to request an
early arrival time. He was successful. When we arrived there was a bottle of
champagne and a note from management congratulating us on our anniversary. As
this was not the 11th August this was a bit of a mystery until the
penny dropped that someone, when they were asking for an early arrival time,
may have exaggerated the reason for our trip.
So here we are celebrating our mid year anniversary……The
background is not a painting but the real view through the window.
After a delicious meal, at a
justifiably recommended restaurant specialising in Hungarian food, we made our
way to a “piano bar” for desert.
With
that is was time to head back to our hotel for a good sleep before heading back
to Oz.
A unique Christmas and New Year. I would certainly recommend
Uniworld who ran the River Princess and just as certainly not Etihad – but that is
another story. We saw so much in such a short time. It will be interesting to see some of these places in summer.... now when can we fit that in?
