Blogs from Central Hungary, Hungary, Europe - page 18

Day 3 - Sat. Sept. 24 - Budapest Today we actually started to feel as though we were on vacation, got up relatively late and over a leisurely breakfast we decided that we would take a sightseeing cruise on the Danube so we ordered tickets on line before we left the apartment. We took another relaxed stroll through the city starting with Váci Street, a pedestrian mall on the Pest side of the river, which is lined with stores and restaurants. One of our shopping missions for the day was to locate and purchase a travelling alarm clock for John; he has to catch an early morning plane to Berlin on Monday. We ended this portion of our stroll at the Elisabeth Bridge with lunch at the Monk’s Café that bordered the gardens of the Inner ... read more

Day 4 - Sun. Sept. 25 - Budapest The good side of vacations is that you kick back and relax, losing all sense of time. That is exactly what happened to us this morning. We got up a bit later, had a leisurely breakfast, read, Brooke worked on some of her genealogy, John reviewed his notes for his meeting tomorrow and before we knew it 1:00 pm had arrived. So we set out once again to find a desirable eating establishment. Heading down Zrinyi Street, which feeds directly into the square in front of the Basilica, we encountered a bronze statue of a 19th century police officer who obviously enjoyed his food and beverage. Within a block of our portly friend we found our lunchtime eatery. John selected the place because they served a Ploughman’s style ... read more

Day 224 Monday 29th August 2016 – Vienna to Budapest Walked up to Duran’s for breakfast for the last feed of tasty open sandwiches, I feel like these should be served on a tiered plate stand at high tea. While sitting there, it is amazing how many people stop just to look at these yummy creations, displayed in the front window. Hung around taking it easy before jumping on the metro to the bus terminal and as usual we were early so got some more reading in. Got the bus to Bratislava in Slovakia just an hour from Vienna, here it was meant to be a 45 minute wait for the next bus but it was running 15 minutes late. For the first time we had to pay to put luggage in the storage ... read more

We had a later start this morning, which was much appreciated. After a leisurely breakfast we met a small group of fellow travelers for the 1/2-hour drive to Szentendre, a colorful artist's colony in the scenic Danube Bend. This settlement became a creative center for artists to gather in the 1920s. Today, this quaint village has many craft shops, galleries, and charming boutiques. We had an informational tour and entered many shops where Peter, our tour guide, explained the different techniques of some of the artisan's. One man demonstrated his woodworking and carving skills on a music box, but it was more than a music box. In order to open it one had to go through several intricate maneuvers to find the key to unlock it. If you bought one, it came with instructions. Very interesting. ... read more

At 8:30 this morning we were scheduled for a commentary and scenic sailing on entering Budapest. We woke to the announcement that our ship had spent 3 hours in the lock last night so we were running an hour late. At about 9:30 the commentary began and we entered Budapest. It was amazingly beautiful with the Parliament building right on the water. Breathtaking really. Budapest, Hungary's capital, is bisected by the Danube River. Its 19th century Chain Bridge connects the hilly Buda district with flat Pest. After our arrival to this beautiful city, we met our local guide, Barbara, for a bus tour around the flat Pest district. We passed shopping streets, parks, the covered market building, Buda Castle, the Chain bridge. A funicular runs up Castle Hill to Buda's Old Town. Our tour brought us ... read more