Blogs from Budapest, Central Hungary, Hungary, Europe - page 3

Today we are in Budapest, and it is the last day of our cruise. The ship continues on to Bucharest for another week, but most of the passengers get off here. There are options to stay in Budapest for a few more days in a hotel or take a bus to Prague for a couple of days also. But we figured two weeks was enough, and we’re tired and ready to head home. The included tour of Budapest is called a Panoramic View of Budapest. In Viking River Cruise speak Panoramic means you get on the bus, they drive you around the city pointing out some of the sites and then drop you in the center of town for an hour or so to shop and drive you back to the ship. That didn’t sound very ... read more

We arrived at 2 am and checked into the Marriott for a 3 night stay prior to our cruise. A late start the first morning. After a great breakfast we set off to explore Budapest. The hotel is on the Pest side of the Danube ie the flat side. We walked towards the Parliament building and stopped at the Shoe Memorial. This is a memorial to the holocaust victims who were asked to remove their shoes before they were executed as the leather in the shoes was considered valuable. We continued to explore the city and ventured towards Vorosmarty Square where we had lunch followed by an ice cream. There are ice cream stands everywhere. While having lunch we became aware of something we had not encountered in a long time. Smokers sitting at a table ... read more

Two cities, Buda and Pest, have the Danube river flowing between them. Today we walked 15 kilometres from Pest to Buda and back again. My legs are killing me now. We visited the city market, then the cave church, slowly hiked up to the fortress, visited the palace museum, road a bike on Margaret island, and more. I carried both my camera and iPad, but I didn’t bring the attachment to upload photos from the camera. So here are a few pics from the iPad until I return to Vienna. Then I will create a “best of Budapest” blog. This city has good bones. Buildings are as large and beautiful as Vienna, but several need some polishing to bring them to their former glory. Historic buildings are noble with grand statues and fountains. Streets range from ... read more

Zebegény - The town has a rich history. By 1251 a Benedictine convent had been built in the valley of the Mill Creek. Records from the 8th century note the existence of the village. The first record of the village name dates from a letter of 1295, when it was called Zebeguen. In the late medieval ages, during the Turkish invasion, the village was almost destroyed. Zebegény and the area repelled the Turkish invasion around 1685. Later the population was reduced by plague. Since the early 1990s, Zebegény has become a popular destination among the people of Budapest. The first villas and week-end houses were built at that time. Due to its extraordinary landscape, healthy, clean air and its historic houses, the town is a favourite week-end retreat among the Budapesters. Starting at the look-out we ... read more

Dear Blog Readers, A lot has happened since I was on the phone to the holiday insurance company on Friday 13th March 2020 (unlucky for some….us) as I was bafflingly being told we had to fly out to a country who had already closed their borders due to the COVID outbreak. Thankfully, 24 hours later, they’d seen some sense and we then began the arduous process of claiming everything back and have now waited nearly two years for the opportunity to finally do the trip we’d (sort of) planned. Our BA flight out on Friday evening was as smooth as ever. Laura began her week of boozing by getting a glass of wine, and we had the inflight entertainment of a hen-do a few rows in front (they even managed to get the pilot out for ... read more