July 8 - 9

Cruise - Day 1:  Budapest

The City Tour

Yesterday while touring Budapest it was so hot, over 100 degrees.  But by the time we were on board a HUGE storm blew through with nearly 50 mph winds, this morning we noticed two big changes;  first there were several tree limbs down: 

 

And second the temperature was in the 60s when we woke up, never left the 70s all day.  In fact, as we departed Budapest this evening and we sat on the sun deck all four of us were in sweatshirts and jackets, and were still chilly!  We left on the city tour and like everything else we've discovered about Viking Cruises, this was top shelf.  The bus we rode on was like a limo, and when I saw the back of the bus ahead of us I knew why - they were Mercedes Benz busses!

 



St. Matthais Church

One of the oldest churches in all of Hungary

The exterior

The Spire

The Main Entrance

The Altar

The Interior

Fisherman's Bastion

Of the entire trip, one of the sights I was most looking forward to was the visit today to historic Fisherman's Bastion which overlooks the city.....and it did not disappoint!

The photo-op I've been waiting for!

The Turrets

So pretty

Panoramic View Of Budapest & Danube River

Overlooking The Danube

 

Hero's Square

Dedicated to the Magyar tribes that founded the city and the heroes that have fought for and defended the city through it's history......

 

 

This house was built in the 1400s - this is the ORIGINAL paint!  It had been covered up and after bombing of the area in WW II the original walls were discovered to be in near-original condition!

 

The Jewish Ghetto & Holocaust Memorial

When researching the trip I was moved by "The Shoes" memorial and so we booked the optional tour for the afternoon that started off with a visit to the synagogue..... 

 

 

 

As we walked what used to be the Ghetto where the Jewish people were walled in during WW II we were treated to a local dessert, "flondi" which is made of apple, walnut, and poppy seed and was delicious!

 

"The Shoes" Holocaust Memorial

The original tour ended as we drove by this memorial, but it was less than 200 yards from the ship so we walked down to it and I'm so glad we did.  There are fifty pairs of shoes on the wall overlooking the Danube.  In the closing days of WW II the Nazis took truck-loads of Jewish people - men, women, and children - to the banks of the Danube here, right in front of the Parliament building where local leaders could watch.  They would have them remove their shoes (which were valuable), line them up and shoot them leaving their bodies to fall into the river.  The significance of 50 pairs of shoes is that a truck load could hold fifty people.  Very moving......

 

 

 

Life on The Lif

Daily coffee - the machine has half a dozen choices, all delicious!

A cruising tradition continues: pre-dinner mudslides!

 

The Cruise Begins!

We've spent four days in Budapest, and had a WONDERFUL time.  We all agreed that if we were flying home tomorrow we'd have had a great vacation, but the best news is we are only starting!  As a treat to the ship, the captain delayed our departure by about an hour......then sailed the "wrong way" up the Danube, and turned the ship around so we could all get a final view of the lights of Budapest!  What a great way to say goodbye to Budapest!  Tomorrow we arrive in Bratislava, Slovakia a little before lunch time!