Viking Grand European River Cruise: 6/24/2016

6/24/16 - Friday

We arrived in Budapest at 0800 in the morning on a beautiful sunny day. Of course sunny in Budapest at this time of year means hot - it was around 93 F!!! Our tour began by bus at 0830 and ended at 1215 back at the ship. We covered the majority of the top spots to see in Budapest during the tour and our guide was very informative. We stopped for 1.5 hours at the Fisherman's Bastion on the Buda side of the river and walked through the St. Stephan's Church and the Fisherman's Bastion and did a little shop shopping and sight seeing and walking but it was so hot that we didn't get too adverturesome. Back on the bus, we made our way back along the Buda and the Pest sides of the Danube, driving by the shoe monument on the way.
The story of the Hungarian nation is fasinating since they were an extremely rich country during the days of the Austro-Hungarian Empire but, like many other countries in this area, they have been invaded many times over the centuries. The founded the Hungarian ethnic group around 896 AD and they apparently came from the north east (Siberia). If you want to learn more about the timeline of Hungarian history see Hungarian history at a glance.

After lunch we took a walk to the big market and did some shopping. Our walk back to the ship took us along the pedestrian street (Vati Utca) and across the oldest bridge (Chain Bridge) and then down to the pest side of the Danube to see the Memorial of the shoes.

After dinner the ship took us on a cruise along the Danube to see the city with all the beautiful lights on ... it is very spectacular to see the Parliment building, St. Stephens Cathedral, all of the bridges and the Palace all lit up. A great way to end a cruise!!!

The Hungarian Parliment Building. It is an amazing structure- apparently the largest and most expensive after Westminster in England.

The Chain Bridge was the first bridge to join Buda and Pest and was opening in 1849.

An example of one of the thermal baths is seen on the right side of this photo that is located in a city park.

The millenial monument was built in 1896 to commemorate the 1000th anniversary of the arrival of Hungarians in the Carpathian Basin. The monument consists of two semi-circles on the top of which the symbols of War and Peace, Work and Wellfare, Knowledge and Glory can be seen. The niches are decorated by the statues of kings, governors and famous characters of the Hungarian history. At the foot of each statue a small relief depicts the most important moment of the life of the personality. There are also statues of the 7 tribes of Magyars that immigrated to Hungary around 896.

Looking up at the Fisherman's Bastion and the Matthias Church.

Another view up toward Fisherman's Bastion.

Matthias Church up on the hill behind the Fisherman's Bastion.

Matthias church.

The beautiful tile roof of Matthias Church.

Another View of the church.

Inside, the church is very beautiful.

A statue of King Matthias.

Another memorial to the Black plague and thanks to god for delivering the city from its grasp.

Looking for paprika.

Looking at the entrance to the Main Market.

There were lots of stalls with very good looking pickles and pickled vegetables.

The produce was varied and fresh looking.

View of the market from the second floor. It was a hot day and the upstairs part of the market was not very comfortable.

Stalls in the main market.

The Main Market is really quite a large place and it is an interesting visit.

This street is a pedestrian street that runs from the market all the way back to the area where our shipped was docked. It made walking much easier.

On the way back to the ship after visiting the market.

Paprika peppers

During our foray into the city we were all "perspiring" quite a bit.

Cooling off at one of the public water sources.

Standing on the Chain Bridge with Elizabeth's Bridge in the background. Today there are 7 bridges connecting Buda and Pest.

Love locks have found there way on to the bridge lights.

Parliment.

The Chain Bridge, first one constructed in Hungary to join Buda and Pest.

Elizabeth bridge (one of the 7 in the area) from the Chain Bridge.

Budapalace was finished in 1904 but it was built on the foundations of several palaces that were first constructed in the 13th century.

The roof of the Mathias Church and the sun and moon symbols - I can't remember what they signified.

The crow with a ring in its beak was the heraldic symbol of King Mathias.

Public water fountain on a hot day.

Statue of King St. Stephan in the square near Mathias Church. The tower in the background is one of 7 that make up the fisherman's bastion. The 7 towers represent the 7 tribes of the original Hungarian peoples that arrived in 896.

A break in the shade to get our bearings.

Almost time to catch our tour bus back to the ship for lunch.

The Shoe Memorial on the Banks of the Danube. In 1944, the Germans shot and killed thousands of Jew on the banks of the Danube and let their bodies fall in the river and wash down stream.