Budapest

We had the morning free so decided to walk down to the indoor market. We walked along the Danube till we came to the impressive market building and went inside.

 It was huge with all the food items downstairs and the merchandise upstairs. We headed upstairs to look for some souvenirs. They were very folk art in nature with a lot of lace and flower embroidery in bright colours. They did not appeal to me but Heidi bought a tin with Budapest on it . We meandered back to the boat for lunch and then a bus ride around Budapest in the afternoon. We saw the baths, zoo, old Jewish quarter and the synagogue.

 Too sick to get out of the bus at Heroes square but got my act together at Fisherman's Bastion. Most impressive  with fabulous photo opportunities.

 Visited St Stephens Cathedral then went over to an outdoor cafe with a grand view of the Danube and Budapest. We took our cokes and sat and admired the view.

 We had two hours to kill till the bus picked us up . When the guide told us everyone let out a groan because they were all getting tired and worn out at the end of the trip and a lot were sick. We looked in more souvenir shops but did not buy anything. Back on the bus to get back for the Hungarian Dancers that were coming on board to entertain us. Band of four dancers with a cellist, violinist and one on guitar. Two girl dancers in twirling bright skirts and peasant blouses. During the performance they changed into longer skirts. Two male dancers were in black pants with white shirts and black boots. They all looked festive and the men played the spoons and danced over poles on the ground. It reminded me a lot of Russian dancing.

After the dancing we went to dinner . It was our last one and we spent it sailing down the Danube. The captain turned the boat around and headed back into Budapest. This time it was to be in the dark to see all the lights and buildings at night. What a sight it was. Just like a fairy tale. The buildings looked huge and were all lit up.

 We received a commentary from Gunther after dinner and we all headed up on deck to see the sights of Budapest by night. It was perfect with a lovely light breeze blowing. Fetching  my Tibetan shawl from my room it made me feel very cosy up on the roof. To the left of the river as we looked out fireworks exploded before our eyes lighting up the skyline above Budapest. We sailed under the huge bridges as people above waved and called out to us as we passed beneath.You just don't realise how fast the boat is going till you look up at the bridge  as it passes over you.

It is also a lot closer than you think. A most magical evening that I did not want to come to an end. An unforgettable experience indeed. We docked again and our view was magnificent. We kept the curtains open for our last night on board. What a send off. Out of our cabin very early in the morning. Very sad.We sat in the lounge till twelve to wait for our taxi to the Matyas Hotel. What a comedown. What a shock . We had hit the real world again with a bang. On arrival. There was a huge flight of stairs up to reception. The building was old and beautiful on the outside but old and horrible on the inside.

 Heidi went up the stairs to ask at reception for help and there was only one man on duty so he reluctantly came down to assist us. He was not a happy man. He told us our room was on the fifth floor and that we had to manage the remainder of the stairs and one tiny elevator that only held one person and one suitcase. At least there was one so up I went. When I got up to the top there was an open balcony like in a pensionne and it was terrifying. When Heidi arrived with her suitcase she was very unsure about it also. We both did not like it at all so off we went back down again to see my friend at reception. He was really pissed that that we did not take the room allocated to us but offered us one on the ground floor but we had to wait for two hours while it was cleaned. We strolled down the street and to a local cafe to fill in the time.When we returned the room was so much better and spacious but the bathroom was terrible but would do. After settling in we decided to go for a walk and a lovely street a block away filled with eateries and shops.

 We decided that we were in the mood for some chips so got a plate each and a coke. Good healthy fare. !! We walked to the end of the street and there was a scarf stall where Heidi bought a lovely rust coloured scarf. They had a great selection , the best we had seen in Europe.We discovered that we had actually come out at the market building where we had visited the previous day so we knew where we were. After our walk we returned to the hotel for a rest as we were unwell and tired. We lay n the bed so an early night was in order. The next day took a walkover the green Liberty bridge taking photos as we went.

 We were heading towards the Gellert or public baths

.

 The entrance hall was sumptuous with lovely white serene carved figures of ladies set above mosaic floor tiles.

 First we swam in the outdoor pool which was rather brisk. Freezing in fact. We did not last long here so we decided on the outside spa set at thirty six degrees and hot. The sun was also beating down on us.

 We looked at the indoor pool but did not go in as you had to wear a bathing cap and we did not have one. Also you had to buy one and our money was locked away in our locker. Swimming had made us hungry which we had not been for a long time so we decided to head back to our favourite place that we had picked out on the way through. It was outdoors and had large coloured round paper lanterns under a canopy. It was bright and eye catching and cheered us up.

 We had a gorgeous Chinese waiter who helped us with our Wifi connection and a lovely Hungarian waitress who thought we were English and chatted away to us about life in Hungary. I ordered chicken wings and salad and Heidi tried Hungarian goulash with dipping bread. We had an apple juice and then a milkshake.

We were full so decided to go back to the hotel for a rest Later in the afternoon we decided to stroll in the other direction along the banks of the Danube to visit the shoe sculptures there. It was further than we had anticipated but we made it.  Incredibly sad and poignant with shoes done in bronze from the Jews who had been shot and fell into the river during the World War II.

 On the way back we stopped at the Sofitel Hotel outdoor bar for a ginger ale and iced tea. We were tired after our long walk. Later that night we went to our local coffee shop for a green tea. The next day we were off again to the airport for Dubai and our fight home.