Well, we have reached the final destination for this tour – back in Budapest for the last couple of days.
It will give us the opportunity to see a bit more of the place.
We are staying at the Budapest Marriott Hotel – very convenient as the car drop off was right next door.
This post is really a combination of our last two days – getting to Budapest and then our last day of sightseeing in the city.
We woke yesterday in Strbske Pleso to find we were shrouded in thick fog which did not lift before we left. So our hopes of a sunnier view of the mountains was not to be. However, with what we were able to see the day before and the luxury experience at Grand Hotel Kempinski, we will have no trouble remembering Strbske Pleso !
As is often the case, as we drove down the mountain we came into bright sunshine and looking back could only see clouds where the mountains should have been. Our drive south was through beautiful green mountainous countryside and little towns – very picturesque!
On the road through Slovakia
Without any fanfare – the old border checkpoint premises looked pretty rundown and I think the guy in the police car was snoozing – we crossed back into Hungary. Our final stop before the city was a spot on the south side called Memento Park which is a kind of “graveyard” for communist era statues. So there are a number of giant statues which have been bought together from various former communist states as a bit of a tongue in cheek salute to communist idealism- and comrade Lenin front and centre. After we had our bit of fun, we made our way into the city to drop off the car. Only a short tour – 1,928km for this section (and adding to about 1,500 on the pre-cruise portion).
Statue of Comrade Lenin
After our check in at the Marriott, we put our feet up for a while then went for a stroll along the riverfront walkway with the early evening crowds. We then sat in the Marriott Bar to have a drink and had intended to eat in the restaurant also however found they were having a “Thai Night” and we decided we wanted something different. Just down the street we decided on Dunacorso Restaurant- with a lovely view across the Danube to the castle.
The beautiful lights of Budapest in the evening
Our dinner was excellent and the small jazz band who started to play as we ate were just great. They gathered an appreciative crowd out on the riverfront walkway also – including 1 couple who gave an excellent impromptu jazz dance performance as well !
Today after breakfast we walked to the famous Budapest markets – the Great Market Hall – built in 1897. The ground floor is a real growers market with the locals buying their fresh meat, fruit and vegetables etc whilst the upstairs has many souvenir stalls and food stalls. I’m sure the Aldi downstairs in the lower level is a somewhat newcomer to the premises !
Inside the Market Hall
We then walked back along the main shopping mall area, past the big Ferris wheel to the St Stephens Cathedral- an ornate Baroque style church. Inside when we visited, a choir was practicing with the organ and the sounds were just beautiful.
Inside St Stephen’s church
The dome is St Stephen’s church
After leaving the church, we wandered back down to the riverfront to an area toward the parliament building. On the edge of the riverbank is a memorial called Shoes on the Danube Bank. It was conceived to honor the people (mainly Budapest Jews) who were killed by fascist Arrow Cross militiamen in Budapest during World War II. They were ordered to take off their shoes, and were shot at the edge of the water so that their bodies fell into the river and were carried away. It represents their shoes left behind on the bank.
Shoes on the Danube memorial
From here we walked back, past the Chain Bridge and past the Viking river cruise base, along the waterfront to our hotel where we sat on the verandah overlooking the Danube and had a drink before returning to our room for a break.
Budapest’s Chain Bridge
Mid afternoon, we caught the tram to the Budapest Opera House – a grand building built in the 1870/1880’s and funded by Franz Josef of the Habsburgs – and did a tour. Our tour included a short “concert” – 2 short pieces sung on the staircase – and was extremely popular. They only run 3 each day in the afternoon in groups covering 6 languages.
Part of our Opera House tour
When we left we decided to walk back to the hotel. We bought some ice cream – which turned out to be overpriced as we passed stores further away from the Opera House – as we made our way back to start on our packing. For dinner, we just ate in the hotel restaurant however the location on the verandah overlooking the river couldn’t be much better. As we always do on our last evening, we looked back over the memories of our trip with a nice meal and a couple of drinks – a nice way to bring an end to our tour.
Nice spot on the hotel verandah
Depending on our internet access at various airports, this may be the last post for now as tomorrow morning we have an early start to Budapest Airport to connect to our flight in Frankfurt – then on to Singapore and home. Thanks to those who have been following our tour. We have had a wonderful time and can’t wait – even though its a long way away- until we are next on tour …….
Goodnight from Budapest !
Today’s “Tour Trivia” – After London, Budapest has the oldest underground train system in Europe – the oldest in “mainland Europe”. The line opened in 1896 in the year when Hungary celebrated its 1000th anniversary, hence the name Millennium Underground.