The sun was still shining on us this morning as we cruised into the final destination for our cruise, Budapest. Not bad vews from our breakfast table in the lounge.
Castle view at Breakfast
We docked a little west of Gellert hill on the Buda side of town. Budapest is really a combination of two old cities, Buda and Pest on each side of the river, and we get the impression that there is still a little friendly rivalry between them. Our cruise director, Ciaba, is a proud native of Pest.
Our organised tour today was a longer one than normal, a bus tour that took us past the major sights with stops at three of the highlights. First stop , after crossing the Chain Bridge and driving up lovely Andrassy Avenue, was Heroes Square which is noted for its iconic statue complex featuring the Seven Chieftains of the Magyars and other important national leaders, as well as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Heroes square
Back on the bus it was a 20 minute drive through busy traffic to hilly Buda to see the Citadella on Gellert Hill. The view down the river was spectacular!
Castle to the left of the river, Parliament buildings to the right
At the top of the hill is another Statue of Liberty, holding a wreath of leaves above her head. She also commemorates the liberation of Budapest from the Nazis but Ciaba had told us the local people call her the “Big Bottle Opener” – we could see the resemblance 😂
Lady Liberty, or the Bottle Opener?
Our final stop for the morning was a longer one on Castle Hill, where we had a short walking tour to see the gorgeous Matthias Church. This castle area has been under siege 32 times in its history so the church has seen a LOT of rebuilding over time. it was originally built in Romanesque style in 1015, the current building was constructed in the florid late Gothic style in the second half of the 14th century and was extensively restored in the late 19th century. The interior is just stunning, decorated in Hungarian Art Nouveau with its signature use of hearts in the design. The church interior was recently cleaned with the old traditional method using sponges made from bread!
Neil outside the Cathedral
Neil inside the Cathedral!
Just beyond the church is the Fishermens Bastion, a lovely terrace with seven towers thst represent the seven Magyar tribes of ancient Hungary. More gorgeous views down to the city from here too.
The Fishermans’ Bastion
Lots of tourists ( including us! ) admiring the view
Neil and I tucked into an ice cream cone each and had a quick walk around the castle’s archeological dig. The castle now houses two large museums but there was no time to visit them today, we had to get back to the bus for lunch and our afternoon adventure.
Budapest is famous for its Thermal Springs. The Hungarians love their bathing tradition and today there are a number of thermal baths tbat are open to the public. Visiting a public bath is supposed to be a “must do” in Budapest so after lunch we headed off with Jo, Steve, Gae and Greg to give the springs a whirl. Therese and Bob opted to pass on the springs and go for a walk up to the Parliament building instead.
The boat provided shuttle buses to the Marriott hotel beside the river and from there it was only a short walk to the main underground line that runs all the way up Andrassy Street. 9 stops up the line and we arrived near the entrance of the huge Szechenyi Baths building.
On the tram
Szechenyi Baths
We each purchased a day ticket with the luxury of a little changing cabin for each couple before heading through the series of indoor baths to the huge outdoor pools area. Somehow we managed to lose Jo and Steve in the maze of rooms but luckily we stumbled on them again outside. The place was packed on this lovely sunny Wednesday, it must be crazy at the weekend.
Our cute change room
We rode around the whirlpool and stood over the bubble jets for a while enjoying the sunshine before heading back indoors to try out a series of indoor pools. The 34 degree pool was a little too cool so we switched to the 36 degree one. Neil and I rested our various aches and pains there, but Steve snd Jo headed off for hotter territory in the steam baths and sauna.
Soaking up the minerals in Szechenyi baths
We had an eye to the clock though as we needed to get back to the Marriott for the final 5.30 shuttle bus. I bet they were glad we made it as we took the shuttle’s occupants from 2 to 6! Being late back, we decided to pass on the Hungarian Dancer performance in the lounge, in favour of getting organised for the final dinner of the cruise and the big finish – a nightime cruise along the river past all the beautifully lit monuments of Budapest. We criss-crossed the boat, trying to take photos in all directions at once.
The Chain Bridge and the Castle
Parliament buildings
It was such a wonderful way to end the cruise, but sad to say all our goodbyes to our fellow travellers. Gae, Greg, Therese and Bob have another day in Budapest before finally heading home. Jo and Steve are flying up to Prague for a few days with their son again, and we collect our rental car in the morning to head to the Czech Republic to Cesky Krumlov. Im a little wortied a out fitting everything back into our suitcases for our roadtrip but looking forward to being back on the road again.
