On to Slovakia and Hungary

Dear All,

We arrived in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia on Friday. John and Bryan opted for the bus ride while Tomi and I decided to not go on a tour, but to just walk around the old part of town on our own. I think we got the better of the deal as they were unimpressed with the bus ride.

But first, we went through another set of locks as we were leaving Vienna. And I thought I would show you the fabulous herb garden up top. The chef gets our garnishes from here.

John took the pictures below from the bus ride plus a few as he walked around before coming back to the ship.

And below are my walking around pix; actually Tomi took the first three. We really thought that the public WC was very clever, if not so inviting.

And some more from me:

We thought that the town was charming and we especially loved the whimsical sculptures. Also, let me finish our tour with the sign we enjoyed; forget the street name — just enjoy the almost “thank you namaste” at the top!

On the next day we arrived about noon into Budapest. We were on the upper deck to view the absolutely stunning city on both sides of the Danube. Buda on one side (with the hills) and Pest on the other.

In the afternoon there was a tour of Budapest. We started with the market and then continued with further sightseeing.

We drove on the Pest Side up to Castle Hill to the Fisherman’s Bastion and the St. Stephan’s Church. I snagged a picture of a bride waiting to go be married!

At the Sip ‘N Sail there was Hungarian music and dancing. It was lovely and fun!

We moved to another (read cheaper) dock in Budapest along the Danube for our overnight stop.

So the next morning we slept in, had a late breakfast and then John had the cruise director book us a car to go back to the heart of Budapest. At my suggestion, we first visited the Jewish synagogue. It is the second largest in the world and the largest in Europe — also, very beautiful!!! It was mobbed with people from many countries.

It was quite spectacular.

We then drove across the Danube to the Pest side to visit a Turkish Hamman. We hoped to get a massage and visit the baths; however, it was midday and no appointments were available until 5:30. We didn’t realize appointments were required so we headed back to the ship. Along the way we made a quick stop at the Four Seasons Gresham Palace, a beautiful repurposed insurance office building which was converted to a hotel, where we had stayed years before. John ran in and took a few pictures of the lobby.

Wow! These are a lot of pictures…I hope I haven’t worn you out completely. Because there is a lot more to come. Budapest is truly a spectacular city. It was fun to return there!!!

Bye,

Beth