Today we arrived in Budapest in time for breakfast. We were supposed to be at breakfast about 8am for a commentary on the views as we entered the city, however, we arrived early and when we peeked out the window at 7am we were already docked. Never mind the view across the river was lovely.
This morning we boarded the buses for a tour of Budapest and went to the big monuments and toured around the city. There are tourists everywhere and Budapest seems very old and a little tired. It is beautiful with Buda on the hilly side of the Danube and Pest on the flat side. They were two separate towns divided by the river until they became one, but the locals still identify with the side of the river they live on.
Some of the buildings are incredible, whilst others need some attention and in the night life areas it just needs a damn good clean and the garbage collected.
We travelled to the top of the hill in Buda and visited the old original town. We were standing listening to the tour guide in front of a statue of the founding father or poet, I can’t remember which, when a bird flew overhead and decided to release his bowel motion right above Gerard. This bird was not well and Gerard’s shorts were very messy. Michael and I fell about laughing and the tour guide had to ask us what was wrong. We then teased Gerard that we had paid the bird to do it. Gerard now has a new respect for birds flying overhead.
The little town was very quaint and the view from the lookout was magnificent. We went to a café and had a drink and wandered around the village doing some souvenir shopping. The old town itself is closed to traffic and you need a permit and entry card to lift the boom gates to enter the town. So only the locals can take their cars in.
On leaving the old town we go to the big lookout where there is a lady holding up an olive branch as a sign of peace. It is a massive monument to the end of the Second World War. The walk was a little steep but well worthwhile. Of course, there was a tourist market and stalls along the way. We were back at the boat for a late lunch and had great intentions of going out for a walk in the afternoon.
Once we had eaten lunch and packed our bags, a little lay down seemed in order and the next thing we knew it was 4.30pm. Oh dear! No walking as we had to be in the lounge at 5.30pm for disembarkation instructions and a Hungarian dancing demonstration before dinner at 7pm. Oh the demands of boat touring all accompanied by cocktails and wine, of course!
The dancers were great and one of the best entertainment sessions on the cruise. Dinner was a little bit of a sad affair as we were leaving at 6.15am in the morning and we had to say goodbye to our new friends. It was an incredibly good group and lovely friendly people.
I haven’t mentioned it before, but most people on our cruise became ill. We were very luck and only got a bit of a stuffy nose and funny throat. Some people became really ill and a lot had to go to doctors at various stops. On Saturday a doctor came on board and charged 7 people 250 euro each to see them and prescribe antibiotics. They then had to pay for a taxi to go and get the scripts made up. Apparently the disease came with the previous group and by the end of the tour most of the crew were taking leave to get away from it. The problem is the quick turnaround of passengers. We disembark in the morning and the next group arrive in the afternoon. Not much time to disinfect the boat. I hope the next group don’t get it. The other problem is that sick people don’t stay in their cabins, they like to come out and share it with everyone, and these are usually the people that don’t disinfect their hands before entering the lounge or dining room like you are supposed to.
We did a cruise along the river during and after dinner and the view from the sundeck of the beautiful buildings lit up along the river was just stunning. Great photo opportunities and even a bit of lightning around just to add some drama. What a lovely way to end our cruise, Buda and Pest at night are just beautiful.
Anyway we said our farewells, had one more dance and went to bed.
