Budapest, Day 12

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We had a later start this morning, which was much appreciated. After a leisurely breakfast we met a small group of fellow travelers for the 1/2-hour drive to Szentendre, a colorful artist's colony in the scenic Danube Bend. This settlement became a creative center for artists to gather in the 1920s. Today, this quaint village has many craft shops, galleries, and charming boutiques. We had an informational tour and entered many shops where Peter, our tour guide, explained the different techniques of some of the artisan's. One man demonstrated his woodworking and carving skills on a music box, but it was more than a music box. In order to open it one had to go through several intricate maneuvers to find the key to unlock it. If you bought one, it came with instructions. Very interesting.

We had 2 hours of free time and spent it exploring this small town. We came across a small cemetery, a museum and many cafes. We walked down to the river where there was a café and got something to drink and just enjoyed the beautiful weather.

We took the bus back to our hotel and found a nice restaurant next door for lunch. We had the rest of the day free and we had originally thought we would do some more sightseeing, but the exhaustion has been starting to set in, so we decided to rest for a few hours before meeting our friends for dinner. At 6:15 we met Sharon and Dan in the lobby and asked Peter where a good restaurant was and he said Firkasz Kavehaz Etterem. Huh??? Anyway we plugged it into Google Maps and it wasn't that far away. When we finally found it, there were only 2 people in the place and I was apprehensive, but we went in anyway and ordered our food. It took awhile for it to arrive and also for customers to arrive, but soon they started trickling in until the place was full and then then we found out that there was a pianist and he started playing. It was a great place and we enjoyed our meal very much.

Well, all good things must come to an end and we headed back to our hotel to pack and get ready to have our bags out at 3:20 a.m. and be on the road to the airport by 3:40 a.m. We will arrive home tomorrow about 12:30 p.m. and have time to collect mail, do laundry, pay some bills before we pack for our 1 week trip to Portland and Bend, Oregon for Leah's wedding the very next day.

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Photos

Music Box
Beautiful music box with hidden compartments.

Comments

[John Bichsel]

Wonderful trip!
Thanks for the vicarious adventures--at times we even got weary, hot and hungry along with you!

[Sharyn Heisick]

Day 12 Budapest
Hi George and John I am sorry you did not get my comments. I so very much enjoyed reading your blog. It was the highlight of my day. I am glad you had such a wonderful safe vacation. I know writing a blog after a long day of travel is not an easy task. Enjoy your trip to Oregon, the wedding and visiting with friends and relatives.