I last visited Budapest in 2005. That time I was there as a tourist. We went to all the beautiful places - the Parliament, Hero's Square, the Fisherman's Bastion, the Castle, and a memorable night cruise on the Danube as the lights of the city went on. It was beautiful. This time I'm here in a different capacity. Now my son, daughter-in-law and two grandsons live there. So I am there as a resident of Buda, the hilly side of the city. I am grandma. We travel on the impressively varied and reliable public transport. We use the metro, trams, ferries, bendy-buses, and "little buses", which navigate the small winding roads in the hilly parts. We visit a range of beautiful parks and the impressive childrens' playgrounds that are maintained by the government workers. On May Day we walked up a nearby hill and watched an aerial display featuring planes from jumbo jets to bi-planes doing a low fly-by up the Danube river. This was followed by formation flying and aerobatics by planes and, alarmingly, helicopters. In the meantime I read books to the grandsons, and dispensed cuddles. It was the BEST holiday!
