Hungary 2 - Budapest - Camping Niche/The last tram number 58/ a real Hungarian welcome/ Buda and the parliament building

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We feel at home in Hungary. The people we have met so far have been friendly, made us welcome and mostly speak some English which puts us to shame. The drive into Budapest was awful. Three lanes of traffic. Think of a hornets nest that you have just disturbed. The cars sped past us on either side, weaved in and out and buses weaved in between. Add to the mix the cities trams. Rather old fashioned they made us feel nostalgic. That was when we had time to watch them. It was manic. Glenn drove on and we worried what Silly Sat Nag was going to tell us to do. We felt as if we were taking our life in our hands. One way streets. The locals knew exactly where to go but we had no idea. Eventually though we did find our way to our camping for the night - Camping Niche. Niche is quite a good description as it was a rather quaint site. Adjectives are difficult to come by when you try to describe this site. You enter through the gates. On either side were two yellow trams. Number 58 - the last tram to run up this hill. Reception and the restaurant are housed in the old tram station building.

The place was fairly empty and we were invited by the owner to find a place in a corner where it would be quiet. Grandmother sat outside and the daughter took us in, offfered us wine and got out the tourist map. She circled the campsite off the map and drew where the bus stop was. The 291 ran every 20 minutes and we could pay on the bus. She drew the bus station in town, she explained the hop on hop off bus and told us her restaurant was open at night. She hoped to see us there.

We walked down to the bus stop, it arrived , we couldnt pay on the bus. Yet again we got a free ride. Now as far as the bus goes it reminded me of a maths question on an exam paper " Think of the number 291 bus, it holds 41 passengers . It stops at about 16 stops and at each one a multitude of schoolchildren climb on board and few disembark. How many passengers were carried by the bus driver?" It was full , hot , smelly and noisy. We go off at the bus station and walked back to Budas waterfront.

Thoughts so far : Busy, buses and trams everywhere. Quieter than I expected. We walked to the waterfront where the Danube flowed. It was not blue but a rather dirty grey colour. Queue the music ...............da da da da de dum de dum de dum - my version of the Blue Danube. Queue dancing.

The Viking cruise ships were in town. And it was possible to go for a boat ride down the river. The first sight we saw was the Margaret Island a green area in the middle of the city. A pleasure park was an oasis - a pleasure park. Upstream we came to the Parliament building. A copy of our Houses of Parliament . Pugin and Ruskin would have loved it. I would have loved to have gone inside . It was possible to go on a tour but they had to be booked in advance and sadly we had been able to book the tour. Instead we could only enjoy them from the waterfront. You get to see the Crown Jewels and a number of the state rooms.

Walking along the waterfront we saw the memorial to the Hungarian Jews who were sent to the gas chambers. In most cities lovers attach locks to bridges here the defining sight are shoes. Mens, womens, childrens shoes. Children who would never grow up and marry , never see their own children , mothers, shoes of parents who would never see their families, grandmothers, grandfathers, teachers , nurses, shop workers . It was a simple memorial that told a story.

Walking past we arrived at the Chain Bridge Szecheny Ianchid the first bridge to cross the Danube. This bridge joins the city of Buda with the city of Pest on the other side. In the distance high above Buda we could see Gelert Park with its thermal baths. On the hillside was the statue that is the symbol of the city. If we came again I think we would use the Hop On Hop Off bus as it takes you up to the baths and the statue. On the other side we were heading up to the green heart of Pest, the citadelle, the church and the Fishermans Bastion. But first we need a fresh orange juice and a pastry.

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