Just a few of the "veggies" at Great Market Hall
( I took these photos especially for my farmer sons!)
"Great Market Hall"
Millennium Monument -- in Heroes Square
(Gene standing in front)
Fisherman's Bastion -- Castle District
Well. . . . we finally got to bed about 12:30 am Monday (We are 9 hours later), so most of you still were enjoying your Sunday afternoon! (I forgot to mention on a previous post that our "lost" suitcases were delivered when we got back from dinner last night.) This morning, we were awakened briefly at 6:30 am with a wake-up call coming to our cabin by mistake. We did get back to sleep until 7:45 am. Beautiful breakfast in the dining room. Meals are very similar to what you experience on the big ocean liners. Lots of really good food!
At 9:45, we were divided into 3 groups of about 20-25 people and loaded onto 3 buses with our Hungarian tour guide. Our first stop was in the castle district on the Buda side of the river. (There is the "Buda side" which is the hilly side and the "Pest side" which is the flat side of the city.)The castle district is on top of Buda Hill and is about 1 mile long and half a mile wide. It consists of the Royal Palace, Mathias Church, and Fisherman's Bastion. These buildings were all built in the 13th-16th centuries!!! Fabulous!!!! So magical! The weather has been cool, but not too bad. My new down lined trench coat is keeping me plenty warm. Gene has his leather jacket and says he feels quite comfortable.
The second stop on our tour was at Hero Square and the Millennium Monument.......simply amazing......the monument is HUGE! Right near this area is "City Park". It is beautiful and includes a restaurant (famous for"the Gunda Pancake")-a zoological garden (2nd largest in Europe) famous hot springs spa - circus - and amusement park. There is definitely much to see and do in Budapest! On the outskirts of Hero Square are two museums......the Museum of Fine Arts and The Art Gallery. (We didn't have the opportunity to visit the museums or anything in the city park. These points of interest were just pointed out to us as we drove by in our bus! (Too bad.)
At 9:45, we were divided into 3 groups of about 20-25 people and loaded onto 3 buses with our Hungarian tour guide. Our first stop was in the castle district on the Buda side of the river. (There is the "Buda side" which is the hilly side and the "Pest side" which is the flat side of the city.)The castle district is on top of Buda Hill and is about 1 mile long and half a mile wide. It consists of the Royal Palace, Mathias Church, and Fisherman's Bastion. These buildings were all built in the 13th-16th centuries!!! Fabulous!!!! So magical! The weather has been cool, but not too bad. My new down lined trench coat is keeping me plenty warm. Gene has his leather jacket and says he feels quite comfortable.
The second stop on our tour was at Hero Square and the Millennium Monument.......simply amazing......the monument is HUGE! Right near this area is "City Park". It is beautiful and includes a restaurant (famous for"the Gunda Pancake")-a zoological garden (2nd largest in Europe) famous hot springs spa - circus - and amusement park. There is definitely much to see and do in Budapest! On the outskirts of Hero Square are two museums......the Museum of Fine Arts and The Art Gallery. (We didn't have the opportunity to visit the museums or anything in the city park. These points of interest were just pointed out to us as we drove by in our bus! (Too bad.)
Our last stop on the tour was at the Great Market Hall. Now this is amazing! It is a 2 level gigantic building that houses every fruit, meat, sweet treat, souvenir, etc...etc....etc...known to man! This was a really fun place to visit and experience! We did drive by the Parliament Bldg., which is another magnificent building. Gosh, I really wish we could spend another day here in Budapest. There is so much we didn't get a chance to really experience, only glimpses from the bus. We are now back on board the ship resting in our cabins after a 2 pm lunch on board --delicious...especially the dessert! (Gene's asleep right now while I post this.) We "set sail" (no sails on this craft!) this afternoon at 5 pm for Bratislava, Slovakia. What an adventure...we are LOVING it! (As you can see, I am trying to make each post kind of like a journal entry since my plan is to have these posts turned into one book after we return. I hope I am making some sense. For Riley and her girls they can "google" some of the places we visit to get more info. for their own history and geography lessons) Sending our love to all :)
Awesome!!! Sounds like a beautiful place. I am so glad you are enjoying it and you are doing so well of posting! We miss you and love you bunches
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize there were so many fascinating things in Budapest. So glad you are staying warm and taking it all in. Love ya.
ReplyDeleteI want to see Budapest. I guess for now I will enjoy through your posts. We just got home from the surgery center. Thomas hernia repair went well. He is really sleeping, but now quite as "loopy" as last time. He is sound asleep now, which will be nice. Keep posting!!! We love it!!
ReplyDeleteThis is so interesting. Thanks for the history and geography info. I love it. Keep safe and warm. I love it.
ReplyDeleteYou could spend a week in Budapest to really experience everything, but you hit the high-lights, and there is much more to come. The beautiful cities of Vienna and Prague, along with the most fantastic Abbey at Melk. We are really living this all again with you. When I was in Budapest years ago it was still behind the iron curtain and it was all shades of gray. Everything was in dis-repair. What a difference today
ReplyDeleteI learned that Budapest is called the city of spas because of the famous thermal waters. I found a web site that showed me videos of the spas and Turkish baths. Beautiful!! Budapest seems like a wonderful city to explore and experience. I look forward to hearing more along the way. All is well here..... love you TONS!!!
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