Eastern Europe: Budapest

Budapest is very different from any other city we've visited, as was very apparent from the skyline when we sailed into port this morning. The buildings seem grandiose, looming over the river and all it's people.

We all perched on the sun deck and took thousands of photos of the incredible scenery as we glided by landmark after landmark. Even more incredible was that we docked right under the chain bridge! The views from our ship day and night are like a postcard.

We did a walking tour all morning with a lovely guide that started with walking across the Chain Bridge that connects Buda to Pest. We took the funicular up to Castle Hill, crammed full of other tour groups, but a great view of Pest. Only one building still remains that hasn't been renovated, it still has bullet holes on every side.

Bullet holes still remain from turbulent days.

View from Castle Hill on Buda, looking at the view of Pest.

Some strange woman tried to scare Pam & Jane and knock them off their perch!

We took a bus back down, a crazy hairpin ride that was fast and standing room only. Back on Pest, we walked through the main shopping part of town to the Great Market Hall. I had 3 kids try to sell me an "iPhone" , but we were warned about them and possible pick pockets. The market reminds me of the old train station in St. Louis with the green roofs and nearly open air stands. We tried a Langos, a giant fried bread like a pizza, but with sweet stuff on it. Pam had powdered sugar, I had vanilla pudding and almonds. Very delicious! We'll get to explore this huge place more in the next couple of days.

Market Hall

Langos!

The money is the craziest here, Hungary is a member of the European Union, but they don't use the Euro, they use Forints. Get this - 224 = 1 dollar. The bills from the ATM were in 1000, 2000, and 10,000 paper bills. I handed over 900 Forints for my snack. Trying to get rid of Euros, only get enough Forints to last 2 days, then making sure we still have crowns to pay the driver when we head back to Prague - its enough to make my brain hurt!

Tomorrow we leave the boat and head for our hotel here in Budapest. Sad to leave the boat, the accommodations have been top notch, it's been a grand week. This afternoon we all had to rest and nap, it's not easy sightseeing, eating strange food, and trying new beers every day!