PANORAMIC BUDAPEST TOUR!

We were up bright and early this morning!  We met up for breakfast and then walked right through another Viking longboat (that was docked beside ours) and headed up the path to a row of awaiting tour buses!  It was like Viking Village—six or seven Viking boats and lots of Viking buses!

Today’s agenda: Drive to Budapest; Panoramic Budapest Tour; Drive back to the Viking Aegir.  

Our first stop, after arriving back in Budapest, was Gellert Hill, commonly referred to as Budapest’s balcony.  The views were gorgeous!

Mary joined us on this tour!  Yea!  That made Jan and I soooo happy!

Jan and I walked up to the top of the hill to see the Liberty Statue (Freedom Statue).  We’ve captured every angle of her, but decided to get a close-up!  The statue was first erected in 1947 in remembrance of Soviet troops ending Hungary’s occupation by Nazi Germany during WWII.

(Notice the little photographer pictured here!  Heard she’s a pro!)

We drove past the Liberty Bridge, a sunning Art Nouveau bridge over the Danube.  It is also referred to as the “Green Bridge,” for obvious reasons!

We walked around the Buda Castle District and toured the Matthias Church, a spectacular Gothic church, also called the Church of Our Lady of Buda Castle.

We caught this gorgeous photo of the Buda side from the Pest side of the Danube.  Fisherman’s Bastion is the white, fairy-tale-looking structure.  (We enjoyed a cup of hot chocolate with Mat and Val at one of the arched windows there three years ago!) The Reformed Church of Szilagyi Dezo Square is the beautiful red-brick church in the foreground.

Our tour took us past “The Shoes On The Danube River,” a moving Holocaust memorial that was erected on April 16, 2005.  Sixty pairs of authentic period iron shoes sit along the east bank of the Danube River that honor the victims that were shot into the water by Arrow Cross militiamen during World War II.

After the tour ended, we walked back to Vorosmarty Square and had a delightful lunch at a cafe appropriately named Pause.  Viking gave us 50 euros per person to spend on lunch since eating on the boat was not an option!  (Thank you, Viking!)  The food was wonderful as was the cold brewskis Jan and I ordered!

After lunch, we parted ways with Jan and Joe.  John and I walked around Vaci pedestrian shopping street, which was jammed packed with people (and it was a Monday afternoon)!  John had some important shopping he needed to attend to (at Hard Rock Cafe, of course). 

Jan and Joe scheduled the Hungarian Horseman Tour for the afternoon, and were they glad they did!

John and I attended the “Champagne Toast with the Captain” event in the lounge and learned that we WILL SAIL to Slovakia tomorrow!  HURRAY!

Jan and Joe made it back just in time to enjoy dinner together, which was AMAZING!  We all agreed it was a great day in Budapest, even though we had to be bussed there!

                                     We missed you, Steve!  (Glad you got to join us, flat Mary!)