Budapest

Days 1 and 2 - Budapest

In celebration of Anne's "significant" birthday together with her decision to retire from tax consulting work, we departed on her birthday for a Viking River Cruise. The 15 day cruise will take us over 1800 km along the Danube and Rhine from Budapest to Amsterdam on one of Viking!s newest ships, the Viking Baldur. 

We began with two wonderful days in Budapest. While our friends, John and Edit, had told us much about their city, we were still overwhelmed by it!s cultural richness and beauty, which is hard to capture in a few pictures. 

The Baldur was tied up at the famous "chain bridge" that allowed Buda and Pest to become a single city and the views from there were amazing, both day and night, including the Chain Bridge at night:

--- the city sights were also amazing including several Cathedrals such as St Stephens Basilica with it's impressive organ and the Matyas Church visible from our view across the Danube:

--- sculptures and monuments were everywhere throughout the city, including these larger ones at the  Hungarian National Museum and Art Gallery as well as so many others; some historical, some just for fun:

--- and other amazing sights including the State Opear House, so many indoor and outdoor coffee shops like the famous Gerbeaud Cukraszda, other interesting shops along the famous Vaci utca, Hungary's famous porcelain shops, and the Funicular:

Departing Budapest in the evening was also magical, including views of the Parliament building on our port side, the Matayas church on our starboard side and more bridges straight ahead: