Budapest

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At 10am we got the Metro into the main city where we split from the men and we women went off in search of a large shopping mall we had been told about at Karapesi. We had just heard on the BBC that 1000's of refugees from Syria were alighting at this station and were camped out there. On arriving there we found a vast number of people with blankets and belongings everywhere in a cordoned off area. It really smelt bad. It's hard to know what can be done to process these people or support them. There are too many and this is only the tip of the iceberg. How fortunate we are to live in NZ where our refugee problems lie in dealing with the odd boat people that get close from Indonesia.

We eventually found our way to the Mall that had been recommended, and like all Malls, it was one great big building holding dozens of chain shops that you see all over the world. What we were looking for couldn't be found so we headed back to meet the men by the Opera House. They, in the meantime had been on a bus tour on the yellow line which took them out beyond the immediate central area.

Linds, Karilyn and I went on a guided tour of the Opera House at 2pm. It was wonderful. We had an excellent guide and were taken to all the various rooms and told about royal attendances and the norms and expectations of the day when the Opera House was built. A lot of the interior of the building is carved intricately in wood. There are some marble columns and tiled floors but mostly the interior is timber. There are huge chandeliers, red carpets and curtains and beautifully patterned ceilings. Lastly we went into the main auditorium and it is stunning. There are several stories of gold gilded boxes too detailed to describe. It isn't as big as the Vienna Opera House but is equal to it in beauty. A very worthwhile visit.

After a snack we decided that we had had quite enough of tourists and crowds and headed back to the comparative peace of the hotel. Here Karilyn and I discovered a hairdresser on site and booked ourselves in for a trim up. The hairdresser was a meticulous cutter and did a very good job on us.

We had a very good dinner at the hotel and sat down together in the lounge to do our survey for Rad Reisen. Most of it was positive but we did note a few things that we thought could be improved. They can't do much about the weather but signage, description improvements and at least a fan in hot weather at hotels would make the experience better.

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Photos

Refugees at Budapest Railway Station
A huge problem for Hungary with 1000's arriving every week - over 100,000 this year

Budapest Opera House
The main auditorium with the Royal Box in the middle.
The decor is red and gold with highly decorated ceilings and a chandelier