We arrived in Budapest early this morning with the weather cool, light rain and overcast. After breakfast we had a bus and walking tour of the city seeing its major highlights including the magnificent Parliament building, Heroes’ Square and the Palace at the top of the hill. The city has had many incarnations and was once two separate cities Buda (the hilly side) and Pest (the flat side), separated by the Danube River. We walked around Heroes' Square admiring the statues of Hungary's heroes. We were taken to the Palace and the Castle Hill district (a UNESCO World Heritage site). We saw the lovely St Matthias church and admired the views of the city from the top of the hill at the turrets and ramparts of the Fishermen’s Bastion. There were lovely craft shops selling beautiful Hungarian embroidery and I bought a lovely blouse and a doll.
We returned to the boat for lunch and after that I went on an optional tour with Maureen, the South African lady, while Terry stayed behind to rest. We passed Roman ruins, recently excavated then we were taken to the Caprice Diamond Centre which was disappointing. We thought we would see craftsmen working the jewels but it was just a hard sell (I didn't buy anything). Then we went to the Szentendre Artists' Village which was a bit like Montville with lots of craft shops. It was nice to see. While there, we saw a local army “passing out parade” with brass band which was great to see. Our guide gave us some insights into what life was like for Hungarians now after the collapse of communism. The economy is not doing very well and there is a lot of unemployment but it is gradually improving. The tourism industry is growing and that is helping.
We got the bus back to the boat and had dinner with Pat and Tom, from Deception Bay.
We returned to the boat for lunch and after that I went on an optional tour with Maureen, the South African lady, while Terry stayed behind to rest. We passed Roman ruins, recently excavated then we were taken to the Caprice Diamond Centre which was disappointing. We thought we would see craftsmen working the jewels but it was just a hard sell (I didn't buy anything). Then we went to the Szentendre Artists' Village which was a bit like Montville with lots of craft shops. It was nice to see. While there, we saw a local army “passing out parade” with brass band which was great to see. Our guide gave us some insights into what life was like for Hungarians now after the collapse of communism. The economy is not doing very well and there is a lot of unemployment but it is gradually improving. The tourism industry is growing and that is helping.
We got the bus back to the boat and had dinner with Pat and Tom, from Deception Bay.
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