(Hungary Flag)
(Map of Hungary)
THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2011:
Thursday afternoon I flew to Budapest, Hungary. It was a 90 minute nonstop flight on a Malev 737.
Budapest is the capital and largest city of Hungary with a population of about 1.75 million people.
Budapest became a single city occupying both banks of the river Danube in 1873.
Formerly it was three cities: Buda (west-bank), �buda, and Pest (east-bank).
All of the images below are thumbnails and can be clicked on for a larger image.
It was raining in Budapest as I arrived.
The Marriott Hotel where I was staying was located right on the Danube and I had a spectacular view from my room.
I joined up with the group I would be traveling with for the next eight days.
It was an eight day land tour with Princess Cruises prior to my Baltic cruise.
We had a nice welcome dinner at a local restaurant not far from the hotel.
I have left Paris. I took a nonstop flight from Paris to Budapest this afternoon on Malev Hungarian Airline. The flight was a little less than two hours and I arrived here around 3:30 this afternoon. My location has changed but the weather is exactly the same, cool and rainy. I was on my own in Paris but now I am taking an eight day land tour with Princess Cruises prior to my Baltic cruise. There are 40 people in our group. Everyone I have met so far has been very nice. I'm staying at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Budapest, right on the Danube River with a breathtaking view of the Royal Palace across the river. The picture below was taken from my hotel room window. There wasn't time to do anything today. We had a group meeting at 6:00 and then went to dinner from there. When I'm on my own I don't eat in nice restaurants because I feel awkward eating in them alone. It was nice going to a nice restaurant tonight with the group. We went to this very nice Hungarian restaurant a few blocks from the hotel. Very good musicians played music during our meal. I had the Hungarian Goulash, it was delicious. It was dark when I got back to the hotel and I took a couple more pictures out my hotel room window.  That's the Royal Palace above and below is the Chain Bridge and I don't remember what the guide said that castle was above the bridge.  I will be in Budapest all day tomorrow. We have a morning sightseeing tour, some free time in the afternoon and then a sunset dinner cruise down the Danube tomorrow night. After dinner it will be dark and we will cruise through the city with it all lit up. Sounds like a fun day, now if it would just stop raining it would be perfect. Tim |
FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011:
The weather on Friday changed every few minutes between rain, clouds and sun.
In the morning I journeyed over to Heroes Square with the group.
The central site of Heroes Square is the Millennium Memorial with statues of the leaders of the
seven tribes that founded Hungary in the 9th century and other outstanding figures of Hungarian history.
I had the afternoon to myself. The first thing I did was walk across the Chain Bridge.
I stopped in the middle of the bridge to admire the mighty Danube River below.
Once on the other side of the river I took the funicular to the top of Castle Hill.
There were great views of the Chain Bridge and the Danube River from the top of the hill.
Buda Castle is the historical castle and palace complex of the Hungarian kings in Budapest.
In the past, it was also called Royal Palace and Royal Castle. Today there are museums in the castle.
You get a nice view of Buda on the other side of Castle Hill. I walked all around Castle Hill.
In the middle picture below you can see a building riddled with bullet holes from World War II.
At the end of the street pictured upper right lies Matthias Church.
Officially named as the Church of Our Lady, it has been popularly named after King Matthias.
The church hosted several coronations, including that of Charles IV in 1916 (the last Habsburg king).
From Fisherman's Bastion, located just behind Matthais Church, there is a panoramic view of the Danube.
The impressive building pictured lower right is the Hungarian Parliament.
Fisherman's Bastion takes its name from the guild of fishermen
that was responsible for defending this stretch of the city walls in the Middle Ages.
I took the funicular back down from Castle Hill and walked back across the Cable Bridge.
It was now time to explore the Pest side of the River.
St. Stephen's Basilica is a Roman Catholic basilica named in honor of Stephen, the first King of Hungary (975�1038).
There is a fantastic view of the city from the top of the basilica's dome.
As the sun was setting I boarded a boat for a cruise down the River Danube.
After the sun went down there were fantastic views of the city all lit up at night.
|
Hungarian Greetings! Had a great day in Budapest today. Started with breakfast at the hotel this morning followed by a morning tour of the city. Our first stop on the tour was Heroes Square.  Budapest is actually three cities, Buda, Pest and Obuda, the Danube separates Buda and Pest. After leaving Heroes Square we crossed the Chain Bridge and climbed the hill to the castle district. Below is Matthias Church. This was the building that looked like a castle in the night shot from yesterday.  The view from here across the Danube is quite impressive. The majestic building on the Pest side of the river is the Parliament Building.  This was the end of the morning tour. We didn't have near enough time to explore all there was to see in the castle district. So When we got back to the hotel I started my own walking tour. I walked across the Chain Bridge.  Then I took the funicular up the hill. Below is the view from the top of the funicular.  Later in the day I climbed to the top of the dome of that church you see behind the Chain Bridge above. On our tour we didn't see anything on the Royal Palace side of the hill. They no longer have Kings and Queens here so it is now a Museum and art gallery.  Yesterday I showed you the Palace from my hotel. Below is my hotel from the Palace.  Had a great variety of weather today. Seemed like every hour we had clouds, some rain and then the sun would come out. Next hour it would do the same. Then in mid afternoon it cleared up nicely. Usually it is very hot and humid here in summer, so the temps in the 70s was very nice.. After I finished exploring the castle district I returned to the Pest side of the river. Below is the church dome that I climbed. Take note of the clear blue sky behind the church. First picture of the entire trip to look that way.  Below is the view from the top.  Looking another direction below. You can see the Royal Place over in Buda in the picture below.  Tonight we took a dinner cruise up and down the Danube at sunset on our own private boat. We had a very nice dinner as the sun was setting. Then after dinner we went out on the open deck and watched the lights come on in the city. It was very nice.  Tomorrow we are moving on to Austria and leaving this beautiful city. If I like every other place I visit on this trip as much as I did Budapest, it's going to be a great trip. Tim |
Click on the arrow above to continue to the next adventure, Austria!
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