Budapest

9.00 pm

We have crossed Gyor and we’re in Budapest now. Our abode is the Hotel Mercure Buda. The hotel is good but the city itself, at first glance is run down. People seem to be hurrying past, as if burdened by their problems. In fact, after the splendors of Vienna, Budapest is a disappointment with its crumbling buildings and broken sidewalks, poky uninteresting shops and not too much greenery. The unpronounceable street names also rile us. Very Russian Bloc, communist era type of impression evoking images of hunger of the spirit and mind so far. Of course it could be that the area where the hotel is situated is not too fancy. Hopefully tomorrow n our city tour we’ll see something to spike our interest. We had dinner at the hotel restaurant – chicken and veggie sizzler washed down with a glass of white wine. Not too bad. We’ll see what happens tomorrow.

6.00 pm

Our tour of the twin cities of Buda and Pest was interesting. The two cities are divided by the mighty river Danube. Our guide was Amie and proved to be pretty knowledgeable. We first visited the Heroes Square which I liked very much. It is an open square in the middle of the city which commemorates its founders and important figure for the past 1000 years. The main monument was built in 1896. Hungarians are very proud of their square as it tells their history. Originally nomads from the Ural mountains in Central Asia, the Hungarians were actually members of 7 tribes who banded together to form the mighty Magyar people. The area was administered by King Stephen I, until an attack by the Mongols who, under the notorious Khans brought the city to its knees. Luckily for the new Hungarians, after the death of the reigning Khan, the Mongols returned to their homeland and the royal house of Arpad began the task of laying down roots and rebuilding. They formed the kingdom of Hungary and the 1000 years of their history is very interesting. There is also a connection with the Hapsburgs. The huge Austro Hungarian empire was ruled by Emperor Franz Josef and Empress Sisi. Later of course, Hungary came under Stalinist rule and paid a heavy price for its flirtation with Communism. Stalin died in 1954 and within the next 2 years, Hungarians had pulled down his statue. The Heroes Square is in memory of their more glorious past. We visited the Buda castle which dominated the hill. It provides spectacular views of the city and the river Danube. The cathedral on the hill had breath taking mosaic handiwork on its spires. Tonight we have a dinner cruise on the Danube – Mimi is treating!

10.30 pm

Just back from the very amazing and wonderful cruise on the Danube. On either side of the river, buildings were lit up as was the chain bridge. I cannot describe how the fully illuminated Hungarian Parliament looked! We had a great tasting dinner and went up to the deck of the boat to watch the buildings. It was extremely windy, and cold. But the sight was simply superb. We would not have missed this for anything. The majesty of the Parliament buildings is to be seen to be believed. Tomorrow we are on our way to Salzburg, Austria. Can’t wait!