DAY 2--BUDAPEST

This morning we enjoyed a sumptuous breakfast buffet. For those of you who have not been to Europe, the pastries are outstanding. 

We had some time to explore Budapest on foot before our transfer to the river boat. Budapest is divided into the Buda side of the Danube and the Pest (pronounced pesht) side. Our walk of over 2 hours took us past many interesting sites. We noticed the very European narrow city streets.

really narrow streets,

historical architecture,

a statue (we couldn't understand the plaque written in Hungarian),

and some wide streets lined with outdoor cafes. The restaurants are now all non-smoking so many restaurants have added outdoor seating with an ashtray on every table. Most of these covered pavilions have heaters for the winter weather. These outdoor patios were everywhere.  Do they use them when it snows?  We assume the locals do if they want to smoke, and we saw smokers everywhere.

We reached the Danube River and were treated to some magnificent views. First, some apartment buildings on the Buda side of the Danube,

the Royal Hungarian Palace,

and the most famous Budapest bridge, the Chain Bridge.

All the bridges were destroyed by the Nazis during World War II. Here is a photo of the Chain bridge after the bombings. It took many years of rebuilding after the war to restore this bridge to its original splendor.

The luggage for our group was gathered from our hotel rooms and stored in the lobby prior to the bus arriving at the hotel. We appreciated the efficiency of the tour staff, as we did not have to transport our own bags from our hotel room to the bus and then again to our stateroom on the ship.

In the afternoon, we were transferred to our ship by bus. As we drove up on the dock, we were impressed with the sleek beauty of our ship.

Paul is shown by the gangplank prior to boarding.

This photo from the bow in front of the bridge gives you an idea of how windy this afternoon became. The Hungarian flag is flying next to the Uniworld flag. There are weights holding the flags vertical.

While we were taking a walk along the pier, we noticed the Budapest version of US Duck Boats. In Budapest, they have "floating bus" tours. The bus in the Danube,

and coming out of the river with the Margaret Bridge in the background.

After the mandatory emergency drill, we gathered in the Piano Lounge for a welcome from the captain, an overview of the cruise activities and a briefing from the cruise director on the next day's activities.

After dinner, we were treated to an evening sail towards the heart of Budapest so we could see the city all lit up. The Hungarian parliament building shone in all its splendor in the nighttime sky.

We thoroughly enjoyed our day touring Budapest. Our walk to the Danube took us past breathtaking architecture built centuries ago, now in the middle of this bustling European city.