Budapest - Our Last Port of Call

Good morning, Budapest!

We were docked on the other side of the river, straight across from the Parliament Building. The photo below was taken from our cabin's balcony.

Our morning tour of Budapest was full of scenic vistas, monuments and majestic buildings. 

I walked to the top of the Gellért Hill (where the above photos were taken) to see the Liberty Statue. It was erected in 1947 in remembrance of the Soviet liberation of Hungary from Nazi Germany. The original inscription was in both Hungarian and Russian and would have translated as: "To the memory of the liberating Soviet heroes, the grateful Hangarian people 1945." Some portions of the monument were damaged during a 1956 revolution, when public sentiment toward the Soviets decreased. After Hungary's transition from communism to democracy, the inscription was changed to read, in Hungarian: "To the memory of those all who sacrificed their lives for the independence, freedom, and prosperity of Hungary," and the Russian version was removed entirely.

Peace

Progress

Overcoming evil

We boarded our bus again, which took us to Fisherman's Bastion, with its seven towers, which was built built in the early 20th century, just as a panoramic viewing platform ... and believe me, the view across the Danube was magnificent.

The square behind the Fisherman's Bastion is home to Matthias Church and the statue of the first king of Hungary, who was later venerated as the patron saint of Hungary, St. Stephen. The Statue is very ornate, especially the saddle cloth.

Dan filled me in on the history and legend of the bent cross on the crown. In the close-up below, you will note that the cross is sitting crooked. Actually, there is a lot of interesting history about the king's crown, which for a period of time was held, in safe-keeping, by the United States.

Walking back to the bus I snapped a couple pictures of the quaint neighborhood streets.

Later in the day we were taken to the Pest side of the city for a piano/organ recital. It was held in an old building, used as a school for the blind, with narrow, windy halls and up-and-down steps here and there. It was in that building that Dan took a fall. It was the last tour of the last day! He fell on his left shoulder, but somehow injured his right hand, as well. It was painful, but no bones were broken, so he pushed on like a trooper!

After getting back to the boat, we began packing our bags for our early morning departure. We spent the evening with Lee and JoAnn. We will miss them, as they have become friends. Some Hungarian folk musicians and dancers came on board to entertain us. 

The Parliament Building at night was a spectacular sight.

And shortly after sunset, we started seeing these birds, circling over the dome! (You'll have to enlarge this video to see them.)

Saying "good-bye" to people we'd grown so fond of was really hard. Our friends, Lee and JoAnn were especially hard to leave behind, but they tell us they will come see us in Texas - maybe next year! 

We also had a hard time saying good-bye to Alex, our cruise director, who made our European River Cruise everything we ever hoped it would be ... and more! Thank you, Alex!

We had to have our luggage all packed and sitting outside our cabin door by 4:45 the next morning. At 5:15 our ride came to take us to the Budapest Airport. That airport was kind of a dreary space - concrete and tile, very little color, no art. The only brightness was in the two duty-free shops that we had to walk through to get to our gate. 

The weather on our trip was fantastic. Other than one night in Amsterdam, we didn't have rain. We had a few overcast days, but many sunny ones. The temperatures were pleasant. But as we were taxiing down the runway, leaving Budapest, I saw rain dotting the window. I guess that meant it really was time to go home.

We changed planes at Heathrow, and once again it was a crazy mess, getting from Terminal 3 to Terminal 5. It required us to go through security again, and took a little over two hours to get to our gate. The long flight from London to Austin, however, was pleasant, and we actually arrived a half-hour early. 

All I got to see of London was the airport and some landscapes as we gained altitude, leaving for home. Someday I'd like to cross the Atlantic again and visit England, Ireland and Scotland, where many of my ancestors came from.

Kay and Andy were there in Austin to pick us up, bless their hearts! We stopped on the way home for dinner at Chuy's Tex-Mex Restaurant. We hadn't had Mexican food in over two weeks, which must be a record for us. Once home I took a long, luxurious bath and went to bed. Unpacking, laundry and re-stocking our refrigerator and pantry had to wait for a new day. And that new day was a return to normal life - no chefs, no butlers, no drivers!