Day 2 of Budapest

---

Day 13-Budapest, Hungary
8/29/10-Sunday

Yet another beautiful, clear day.

I started this day with a brisk walk with Jay to buy tickets for a tour of the Parliament. We were lucky since we got in line about 9:30am and had our tickets by 10:00am. We chose to do our tour at 2:00pm. So, after returning to the ship, Jackie and I set out for a trip up the ridge on the Buda side riding the funicular. To get there we crossed the Chain Bridge on foot.

The views from the top are really spectacular. We walked around the Royal Palace and took some photos. We heard that both the Germans and later the communist party used this building as offices. It was bombed by the US during WWII. The gardens around the palace were in full bloom. Then we walked back down the ridge for a little exercise. We got back in time for lunch on the ship.

After lunch, I decided to take a few photos on the ship. We wanted to remember how it looked.

At 1:30pm, Jackie and I joined Jay and Camille for a walk to the Parliament building. The inside of this building is even better then the outside. It was very ornamental. Much more so than our own Capitol building. We learned that this building was also bombed during WWII. Fortunately for them one bomb pierced the dome over the crown jewels but did not explode. The tour was well worth the time and expense.

On Saturday we booked a concert at St. Stephen’s Basilica for this evening. The only problem was the ship had set up the Captain’s farewell dinner at the same time. So, we got the crew to agree to bring us a small dinner in the library early so that we could eat before the concert. It all worked out very well. The concert was great and we returned to the ship in time for “The One and Only RIVER CONCERTO Crew Show.”


I wasn’t expecting much and to my surprise the crew put on a very good and funny show.

Tomorrow we plan to visit the Mall to shop and then to Rick Steve’s number one recommendation, the Szechenyi Baths.

I found it real hard today to limit the number of photos to be included in this blog. I beg your forgiveness.

Tom

---

Photos

Shoe Monument
These are steel shoes along the Danube. Near the end of WWII the Germans took many of the surviving Jews to the river and shot them. This monument is in their memory.

Tom and Emre Nagy
Emre was a reform President of Hungary in 1956. After the failed revolution against the Soviets, he was executed along with another 100,000. Now he is a hero.

Nice view of our ship
The Chain Bridge and the Parliment are both in this view.

River Concerto
Our bedroom. The sofas convert to beds.

River Concerto
Room desk area.

River Concerto
Window view.

River Concerto
Lobby area.

River Concerto
Bar and lounge area. All entertainment took place in here.

River Concerto
Hall leading to spa area. Both Jackie and I took advantage of massages.

River Concerto
The sauna and hot tub.

Parliament
Entry area leading to the dome.

Parliament
The original Royal crown. This is a poor photo. They would not allow flash photos. Note that the cross on the crown is bent. This is now part of the history.

Parliament
This is a brass cigar holder. The parliment members would leave the cigars here during debate. If the debate was long the cigar would burn out. They say that the debate was "worth a Havana."

River Concerto
Here are our friends waiting for dinner before the concert in the library.

St. Stephens Basilica
Site of tonight's concert.

St. Stephens Basilica
The dome.

St. Stephens Basilica
The alter during the concert.