Budapest, Hungary 5/8/17

Our first day on the town! We figured out the subway plan and took the yellow line to Vorosmarty Square where we located Vaci Utca, the pedestrian walkway. We stopped for lunch at a cafe and had some Pad Thai - very mediocre, sadly. Then we continued to walk the length of Vaci Utca to the Great Market Hall, where we browsed and purchased some times we had in mind, including The market is chock full of of goods. Stalls sell nuts, spices, meats, fruits and vegetables. 

Upstairs there are all types of Hungarian goods. I liked a particular lace table runner but it was $180, so I decided that was not for me. After completing our mission, we located the #47 trolley and took it to a metro stop and changed to the Blue Subway line that took us to Deak Ferenc Ter and our neighborhood. Good first attempt at the metro system!

We meet our friends from the ship for dinner at the For Sale Pub near the Great Market Hall. We did not see their post until late and took a chance that they might be there at the time we arrived. Perfect timing, They had just been seated and had room for us. 

The portions were HUGE. We noticed that the locals received normal amounts of food. We suspect that the English menu provides big portions and bigger prices. Debbie asked the waiter if the salad was large. He replied that No - it was not big. Good for one person with her goulash. When it came it was enough for all 8 of us. Crazy! 

It was great fun to see our buddies from the SS Maria Theresa in Pest.

Budapest, Hungary 5/7/17

Today is the day to say goodbye to beautiful Maria Theresa and hello to our apartment near St Stephens Basilica. On our bus tour we passed by the building that we will be staying in, so we know the location. We had breakfast and then lunch waiting for our time to leave. The crowd got smaller and smaller and soon it was just Claudia and Eva and us waiting to depart. Finally 12:30 and our driver arrived. He wisked us off to Livia’s apartment that Ruth found on Air BnB. Livia met us at the door and showed us up to her second floor sweet little apartment. She has it decorated so lovely. We really like the patio overlooking a garden common area. This is what drew us to her apartment and we are glad we chose it. The location can’t be beat. We are right near tons of restaurants in Gozdu Court plus we are really close to Deak Ferenc Ter - the central metro hub. We can catch every line from Deak Ferenc. With our metro passes we can zip all around Buda and Pes

After settling in to our new home for five days, we set out to have a look around. We found a small market and bought some cheese, crackers, yogurt and juice plus a bottle of wine.

Our bounty!

The next item on the day agenda was to meet up with our friends Duff and Connie, who are beginning a cruise up the Danube to Amsterdam tomorrow. We have a day to visit with each other in Budapest. Well, our plan of contacting each other via Whats App, a wifi enabled international texting app did not work out so well. We each received only some of the texts that were sent, so it was impossible to verify a plan. Rick and I waited around the apartment thinking they had gone off to explore. They had headed to St Stephens Basilica thinking we might come by. In the end, we went to their boat on a metro subway car and then a tram. They were sitting outside the ship looking for us. Whew! We walked over towards St Stephens Basilica and had a beer on the pedestrian walkway.

Duff and Connie showed us their Segway friends and gave us their brochure. We might fit that in later. They let us try them out and they are doable, although in traffic it might be hard. We said farewell to Duff and Connie and headed back to our area for dinner. We found a little spot with Hungarian food. Ruth had the Chicken Paprikas (pronounced Paprikash) and Rick tired the delicious Hungarian Goulash soup. 

Budapest, Hungary 5/6/17

A bus trip through the major Budapest sights is our activity for today. We drove by the Great Market Hall, a market in a lovely old building with an amazing tiled roof.

Great Market Hall with a beautiful tile roof.

We went up to Castle Hill in hilly, green Buda and enjoyed the sights of the Danube River and Pest on the plains.

Later in the day Rick and I walked over from the ship to take a look inside. We also bought our seven day metro pass and exchanged for some forints, the Hungarian currency. They do not use Euros here.

Our Forints and Metro Passes

The next stop on the bus was St Stephens Basilica, which is near the apartment that we will be staying in for five days after the cruise. This ornate structure had three architects over the time it took to build it. It began in Neo-classical style, changed to Renaissance style when the first architect died and was finished in Baroque style when the second architect passed away. Interesting history. It is called the House of Marbles, with mostly local marble being used, except for the Carrera marble from Italy that was used for the front of the church.

St Stephen's hand is in this case. 

View of the Basilica from the rear.

We next were on to Heroes Park, the large square in City Park. There are monuments to the Magyars, who are the founders of Hungary.

The Castle in the Park was made in Gothic style as a point of interest for the park. No one ever has lived in this castle. It looks like Count Dracula could appear at any minute.

We then attended an organ concert at the small Catholic Chapel. This concert was private for our group. We were supposed to have a concert in Passau, but it was cancelled, so Uniworld had this concert for us. It was really nice and the organ player sang a solo at the end. 

After the bus tour we came back to the shop and sat on the top deck, It was a lovely, sunny afternoon, which we appreciated.

Tonight was the Captain’s Farewell Dinner. We dressed in our nice duds and met our friends for the cocktail party. We have met so many wonderful people on this cruise, I think we will be spoiled for our next time.

Captain Tom from the Netherlands

Ina and Mike from Long Island

Eva and Claudia - mother and Daughter form Australia

Stop messing with me, Rick!

 

Another delicious dessert 

Jane and Tom

Gary and Edna

Sophie and Roland from Australia.

The food on Uniworld is wonderful!

After dinner the Captain took the boat down the Danube so that we could all enjoy the city lights. Budapest is gorgeous at night! We said a fond farewell to everyone on the top deck all bundled up. This Uniworld cruise has been a travel highlight for us!

The Parliament building is gorgeous at night!

Tom, Jane, Clare and Vail. The ladies are sisters.