Can you say "WOW ME"

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We mistakenly believed that Lufthansa was becoming a no frills carrier but were pleasantly surprised by the high quality level of food and the equally high quality level of service on board. Typical of German enterprise, the flight landed in Dusseldorf exactly on time. With reference to the service not only were we offered cocktails prior to dinner, we also had wine and champagne with dinner. Hot towels were provided before dinner and before breakfast.

Travelling to Budapest we crossed the Danube a number of times and followed it into the airport. The whole feeling was surreal! Budapest airport is small and efficient and we were in our hotel room within 45 mins of landing. The staff at Le Meridien surprised us by having our room ready when we arrived at 9:30am. The front desk manager personally gave us a tour of the property. It really was a touch of service above and beyond. Le Meridien is a grand old property - exactly what one would expect in an old european city.

A temperature of 27C with bright sunny skies puts one in a great disposition for touring. Our 2 day Budapest card gives us unlimited travel on all public transit in the city and we took full advantage of it today by going on the metro and trams. The 2 story market dates back 100 yrs and is as big as a football field with hundreds of merchants and fresh food. Walking across the old iron bridge from Pest to Buda makes one realize how vital the Danube is to every country its entire length. Our day ended going to dinner in the old castle district to a very fine Hungarian Restaurant. The winding cobblestone streets from the metro stop make it very easy to become disoriented - even for a human GPS. We were one street over from our destination and called the restaurant for assistance. The maitre'd asked me to go to the church and pray. In less than a minute Robert was heard calling my name. He certainly didn't need to do this with a full restaurant. The food was fantastic and between courses Robert talked to us and took us on a tour of some very old buildings across the street. After our dinner was over and had been paid for Robert offered us a sample of their finest Hungarian Tokaj which is very similar to the taste of Ontario icewine. What a treat!

Just now we are listening to the jazz band and having a drink in the bar of our hotel - what an ending to a great day

see you tommorrow

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Photos

Le Meridian
Very Fine Room

Gerbeaud
Pastries were Great