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Published: September 3rd 2023
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The third leg of our journey began officially on August 28th. We had to check out as World Athletics guests and recheck in as Viking people. Fortunately we were able to stay in the same room.
We caught the Metro into the city and tried to visit the House of Terror, a museum about the Nazi and Communist regimes but it was closed. We then went to Heroes square but access was restricted as they were removing all the Marathon equipment. So we returned to the hotel and shared a club sandwich for lunch. Then we needed a rest to recover from the last two weeks!! That night we went to a small restaurant just behind our hotel. I could see it from our window. This is the Mercatino and here we had one of the best meals of the trip. We shared a sizzling shrimp to start with then I had a Tuscany fish soup which was huge and Fletcher enjoyed his Seafood Risotto. I managed to fit in a Tiramisu at the end though. A fantastic meal and the staff were excellent and then a short walk back.
On Tuesday we joined our first included tour with
Viking .
The weather had changed and it was overcast and starting to rain. We first had a bus tour of the main sights of the city. Then we went up to Fisherman's Bastion where we walked to Matthias Church. This time we were taken inside to admire the elaborate interior. We were then given free time but as it was raining, we found a cafe and went inside to have a beer. Talked to the two ladles at the next table, Cheryl and Roma. They are sisters from the Gold Coast. Eventually went back to the hotel.
In the afternoon we went back to the House of Terror . This was interesting. They had a lot of footage of propaganda films from the Communist era and many film testimonies of people who had survived the imprisonment and torture that had gone on in this house. I hadn't known about the Arrow Cross, a Hungarian form of Nazism so was fascinated to discover about it. The most chilling part of this was going to the basement. We descended in a lift, very slowly, while a film of a man describing an execution took place. The tiny cells in the basement
were horrific. How can people be so brutal and cruel?? Unfortunately, we were only able to take a couple of photos before being told "no photos"
We returned to Voromasy Square and had a drink at the St Andrea Skybar. This had a great view over the rooftops of Budapest. Then, as a change, we went back to S/O restaurant, but this time to the Asian side. Here we shared some Pad Thai and a pork red curry. Very yummy. It had been a tiring day and we had to check out the next morning so we packed and retired ready for the next adventure.
Wednesday was a transition day. We had to put our luggage outside our room by 8am. Then we had breakfast and checked out by 10. Then we waited for the bus which took us to our ship, the Viking Lif.Once on board, we registered and were shown to our room.The rest of the day was spent on board waiting for our departure. We had lunch and dinner, met some other guests and then had a spectacular sail away with the lights of Budapest farewelling us as we headed out for our Danube cruise.
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