5-31 Friday
from the OAT itinerary:
Day 3:
After breakfast, join us for a briefing by your Program Director. Then set out to explore Budapest on an included city tour. Budapest is situated on both sides of the Danube River, with Buda (the right bank) to the west and Pest (the left bank) to the east.
In Pest, you'll see Heroes' Square with its Millennial Column, set off by equestrian statues of the ninth-century Magyar leaders who conquered this region in the ninth century. The adjoining colonnade displays more statues of kings, dukes of Transylvania, and liberty fighters who influenced the history of Hungary.
As your tour takes you over the Danube bridges into Buda, you can see how the imposing Parliament Building dominates the opposite side of the river. While in historic Buda, you'll visit Castle Hill, where a massive castle complex, including its protective ramparts, has been designated a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site. Mostly destroyed during World War II, the Royal Palace has been lovingly restored, approximating its former splendor, and now includes the Hungarian National Gallery.
In your free time, you can also visit the Church of Our Lady, formerly used for the coronations of Hungarian kings. Its popular name of Matthias is in recognition of the Renaissance king who ruled in the 15th century and whose heraldic sign—a raven—is displayed on one of the towers of the church. Dating to the 13th century, the structure is an interesting mix of architectural styles used during reconstruction of the building at different times in its history. Note that during the 150-year Turkish occupation of Hungary, the church served as Eski Djami (Old Mosque) for the Turks. Inside the church, you can view the art of Bertalan Szekely and Karoly Lotz, 19th-century Hungarian painters.
After lunch onboard, you'll have the balance of the afternoon to relax on the ship or explore Budapest on your own.
Budapest offers some particularly fine museums and galleries. The Hungarian National Gallery contains excellent examples of Hungarian art from the Middle Ages on. The collection is comprehensive and somewhat massive, so give yourself plenty of time to enjoy it. The Museum of Contemporary Art and the Budapest History Museum are also worth a visit.
When you return to your ship, your Program Director will describe tomorrow's discoveries during your first Port Talk. These nightly events, held throughout your cruise, will give you the opportunity to prepare for the next day.
Tonight, gather with your fellow travelers for a Welcome Drink, followed by the Welcome Dinner with your captain.
* * * * *
After we had rain on Wednesday and Thursday it is such a relief that the sky looks much better today. Yes, at 7:11 am (first photo) the sky is blue with just some clouds which don’t look too ominous. The boat/ship (I need to ask the captain what it is) is repositioned from where everybody easily could board (parking!) to the Buda side.
We get a program for the day every day the night before in our cabin. Breakfast starts at 7 am but of course there is a station where you could find tea or coffee if you wanted it.
At 9 am we are asked to meet “our group” and our tour director. James and I are in the “yellow group” but Monika called it the “golden group”.
At 10 am we are already on our way. Each color group has their color coded bus. First we stop at the Heroes’ Square.
The figures with halos around their heads are also saints.
We drive around the city and things are explained to us. The big jewish temple is an impressive building.
Then we head to the other river side Pest and up the hill to the Castle Area. The traffic is awful. When the bus stops we walk to Matthias Church. You would need to buy a ticket to get into the church and we just didn’t have that much time. The view from there was so nice though. But so many tourists!!!
On the way back to the bus I told James that I had seen something I really would like to buy. It’s a very special “real egg”. Eggs in all forms … real from chickens or ducks, carved wood, plaster, painted, ordered with beads etc etc seem to be the thing here.
Lunch was at 1:30 pm. Meals are very nice. Cloth table cloth and napkins, very attentive servers. Lunch usually has a salad bar but you also get a menu to select from. I chose Puzsta Goulash today and pistachio ice cream for dessert.
In the afternoon James and I felt lazy but then we decided to go at least onto the Chain Bridge to take a picture of our ship. Once we were there we decided to walk a little further on the Buda side but in the direction we had not been. The view was very nice.
We walked all the way to the Margaret Bridge and back to the Pest side. We realized that this was were the horrible accident had been two days earlier. Investigations were still happening and a lot of people were looking around. So sad.
We went briefly into the McDonalds there hoping that the internet was stronger than on the boat. I had written yesterday’s blog but the photos are not coming over. I can’t finish and post it.
We walk past the House of Parliament but running out of time until we have to be back. It’s a shame because it is very pretty and I would have liked to take a closer look.
We have to freshen up a little. The program says “6 pm Captain’s Welcome Drink in the Lounge”. We were offered different canapés and even champagne. The waiter managed to spill it onto James (I think a lady jostled him) but it wasn’t too bad.
This was followed by the Crew Introduction.
At 6:45 pm we had the Port Talk which means one of the group leaders are explaining to us the next day’s program.
Captain’s Welcome Dinner is at 7 pm. It was very nice. I don’t know how many courses we ended up having.
The appetizer was “Roasted Duck Salad” followed by :Sautéed Prawns with Mashed and Crispy Potatoes served on Leed Julienne and Lobster Sauce”.
My choice of entrees was “Pink Grilled Veal Loin served with green beans, sautéed Belgium endive and onion pie accompanied by potato william and madeira glace” (ha-ha, that’s what the menu said”.
Don't forget to look outside!
Dessert? Creme brûlée.
After dinner we were promised the “Scenic Sailing Budapest by Night”. It was really very very nice. And since we were lucky there were fireworks (probably because there was a wedding). What a wonderful day and evening. I made 3 videos to a total of 4:43 minutes. But I didn't think I should upload all. The ambiance is quite nice with the ship flowing along.
Sorry, I could not decide which photo I liked best. And believe me, this is not all of them. Great memories.
Later we were told that we were very lucky. Because of the very tragic accident earlier the captain had to pull some strings and we were the only ship for I don't know how many days which was allowed to do this night sightseeing.
Just gorgeous!
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