Travel Log for Melvin: Day 15 - Budapest, Hungary

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Today was our first day in Budapest, Hungary. We had arrived at about 10 PM on the previous day. We left the ship at 8:30 AM for a tour of Hungary's lovely capital. The Danube River cuts through the heart of the city, separating the Buda Hills and the Old City from the elegant boulevards of modern Pest. We started in "Pest with a ride along the streets where we saw the National Opera House and Heroes' Square. We saw other landmarks such as the Parliament before crossing the rive to the more traditional "Buda" side of the city. Here we saw the massive hilltop castle complex withe the Matthias Church. We had a tour of the church. This church is different from any other Catholic Church that I have seen. We left the church and took some pictures of the city below the castle and got back on the bus. On the way back we saw the famous Chain Bridge and Elizabeth Bridge, two om many that connect the two halves of Budapest.

We at lunch on the ship and at 2:30 PM we left on a tour to the outskirts of Budapest, near the edge of the Puszta region where the cowboy hear their sheep and cattle on horseback. When we arrived we enjoyed traditional Hungarian Palinka (brandy) and Pogacsa (biscuits). We took a carriage ride and had a tour of the stables before we saw a horsemanship exhibition where riders control their horses with only bridles and the cracking of six-foot whips.

We left the show and returned to the ship for the final dinner on the ship.

Budapest, Hungary

Budapest, Hungary - Hungarian State Opera House

Budapest, Hungary

Budapest, Hungary - Museum of Fine Arts

Budapest, Hungary - Heroes Square

Budapest, Hungary

Budapest, Hungary - Heroes Square

Budapest, Hungary - Heroes Square, Archangel

Gabriel and at his at the foot are statues that represent ion of the early Magyar tribes who settled the Carpathian Basin