Europe Trip Report--Day 2

This picture is from the top of Castle Hill looking out over the city, taken by a kind fellow tourist.


Thursday, July 12, 2007





Today was another lovely day with temperatures in the 70's and a light breeze. We grabbed a pastry for breakfast and then walked along the Danube to the Chain Bridge and the funicular, which is a sort of train up the very high hill to the former royal palace and grounds. The prime minister occupies one of the buildings and it is barricaded and guarded and very much off limits. The other buildings have been turned into national museums and we toured the National Gallery and saw some amazing pieces of art. Interestingly enough, my favorites were in the exhibition of student art work from around Hungary. There was some amazing talent in that exhibition.

We then had lunch at a little outdoor cafe on the grounds and browsed through some gift sellers in tents. From there we walked through the Castle Hill district until we came to Matyas Church and the Fisherman's Bastion. Those are the buildings we can see from our room which look like a castle. The church was breathtaking inside and the view from the Bastion was remarkable. We then came back to the hotel and relaxed until dinnertime.

For dinner, we went to the restaurant in the Hilton and I tried authentic Hungarian goulash. It was good and the service was excellent. After dinner we attended the "Budafest" program in their courtyard which was a flamenco dance show. We had never seen anything like that before and we were very impressed. Eleanor forgot her jacket though and the temperature was in the 50's when the sun went down. We huddled together under my pashmina. I would later appreciate that cold evening very much...keep reading successive days!

Our impressions of Budapest so far...everyone is so friendly and helpful. There are so many unbelievably beautiful buildings and so many of them are marred by grafitti which is such a pity. Probably the strangest thing we have encountered is the practice of having to pay to use a bathroom. It seems so odd to us because it is so different from home. On further reflection though, it makes sense. They do have to pay for the water, toilet paper, soap, and the cleaning of the facilities. Why not charge the users for the privilege.

And the drivers are so wild...I wonder what their statistics are on accidents? They also park anywhere they wish, including on the sidewalks. Crazy!

Well, I'm off to bed. It is about 11 PM and I'm beat.

Kellye and Eleanor