Sadly, this morning we had to leave the Viking Prestige. Since we had done our own arrangements for our added on days, we had to get ourselves to our hotel, the InterContinental Budapest. It was very close to our ship so we walked with our suitcases in tow. Leaving our luggage at the hotel, we were ready to see a bit more of the city.
Sharon, Terry and I consulted our Budapest map to make our plan of attack. The St. Stephen’s Basilica was our first stop. This church was built from about 1875 to 1905. It was beautifully done in marble with lots of gold trim. There is a domed tower that you can go up, so Sharon, Malcolm, Frank, and I paid our 500 Ft. ($2.50 US), and up we went. The vIew overlooking the city was fantastic.
We we were surprised later to read in my tour book that the right hand of St. Stephan’s is in a case to the left of the alter. Evidently you can take a picture of it. We decided to forgo the opportunity.
Our next find was Freedom Square which has a memorial to all those who died in the Holocaust. There was a neat fountain of water. When you walked up to it, it would stop and you could enter the center. It was fun to try it out. There were also a lot of signs, flowers and items all around. It was in protest that not enough was being done to commemorate these victims.
We also saw a big memorial to commemorate the Soviets who liberated Budapest from the Nazi Regime. Right across the street was the American Embassy. There was also a statue of Ronald Reagan who was involved with the negotiations that brought an end to the communist rule of Hungary in 1989.
After a morning of exploring we headed to a nearby shopping area whose streets were pedestrian walkways. It always gives your mind a mental workout when previewing menus. One of our dollars is equal to 200 florint. When you see 2,000 Ft. it equals $10.00, so that means a lot of dividing mentally. At first glance looking at 3,000 ft. for a hamburger and French fries can seem outlandish!
Sharon, Malcolm, Frank and I walked across the well known Chain Bridge which was right near our hotel. On the Buda side, we spied a deli and went in to search for breakfast the next morning before heading off to the airport. I got a plain bun, while Frank choose a chocolate croissant and a filled strudel. When coming back again, there were some great views of our ship.
After our dinner we headed back to our hotel. It was the end of our trip and my body knew it! No bogging for me that night. I laid my head down on my pillow at 9:30 and slept soundly until my phone chimed at 6:00. An exhausting day indeed!
