Day 2 started with a really over-booked breakfast. It was so over-booked, they opened up the bar downstairs, and moved us (and everyone after us) down to the second location.
After breakfast we had a City Tour where we got to see quite a bit of the City, starting on the Pest side which included the Hero’s Square, original Turkish Baths, City Zoo, and Jewish Quarters…
Hero’s Square
We then crossed over to the Buda side, where the dropped us off on Castle Hill, where we could see the old Buda area, Buda Castle, Mathias Church, and a great view back of the river and the Pest side…
Fisherman’s Bastion
Mathias Church
A random merchant’s stall… where oddly enough, they sell paprika.
Views back to the Pest side… This is the Parliament Building.
We had a quick lunch at a sudo self-serve type place (nothing to brag about, but filling), and then went back to the hotel to get ready for our afternoon tour.
In the afternoon, we went on the “Gold and Glamour” tour… which basically showed us the beauty of the capital city (mainly again the Pest side).
Stops here included checking out the underground / subway, getting a tour of the Opera House (which is under renovation, so no cool outside pics), and stopping by the museum of a very famous artist in Hungary.
Subway platform
Various views inside the Opera House…
And the surpise grand finale of the Opera House tour… we got a mini opera performed for us:
And some of the stained glass from the Roth Miska museum:
After the museum, they dropped us back off at the hotel, where we got ready to go to dinner. Since it was our last night in Budapest, we decided we needed to try true Hungarian specialties, so we got a reference to a nearby restaurant with good food.
We all got to try a little Hungarian goulash as an appetizer (it basically looked and tasted like a good vegetable soup).
After that, Tim and Jay ordered Paprika Chicken and Dumplings, and Margaret and Mary ordered Cabbage Rolls, both of which are traditional Hungarian dishes. Here is what they looked like:
To cap off the night, we decided to walk across the Chain Bridge and take the Funicular up to the top of Castle Hill to see the spectacular nighttime views of the capital city (again, mainly Pest)… here are some very poor examples of what we saw (you just can’t capture the true beauty):
(This is actually looking at the Buda side before we crossed the bridge)
The Chain Bridge looking down from the Buda side (with St. Stephens in the background):
And the parliament house lit at night…
The Chain Bridge (from the Buda side) as we walked back towards it:
Finally, one of the pair of lions guarding the bridge (close up):
And the lion on the other side (with people for scale):
And with that, we’re to bed, g’nite / g’day / cheers.
Tim & Jay
