"Buda - Pesh" , Hungary

 

Thursday and Friday the 25th and 26th 

On Thursday, we got to enjoy a bus ride from Prague to Budapest where we will meet our river boat.  This 8-and-a-half-hour journey, which takes us through the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria and Hungary, was fraught with heavy traffic and rain for most of the day.  A couple of stops along the way made the trip ok, and Vialula bought a coke with her favorite name, "Dana", on it, a popular name here in Budapest.

We all made it to our dock with a couple of hours of overcast skies to see the beautiful city of Budapest before night fell on us.  But even then, Budapest at night is amazing as these ancient castles, buildings, and churches light up the night.

beautiful night view of Buda Castle and Chain Bridge

We finally boarded our boat and got to unpacking quickly.  It's difficult to not compare this ship to our various voyages on the Holland America ships, but it is beautiful and well-appointed in its own right.  We look forward to our next 15 days floating up the Danube to Amsterdam.

Vialula on our balcony

LeRoy checking out our home away from home

Our night view of Matthias Church from the Viking Vali on the Buda side

The Chain Bridge and Buda Castle at night also on the Buda side

The next day in Budapest, we again boarded a bus and this time we were taken on a tour around the city.  It was only a short ride to Matthias Church also named or on the same location of the Church of Our Lady of Buda Castle.  Budapest is a city made up of 2 places.   On one side of the Danube is Buda, and Pest is on the other side.  

Dennis, our guide, explaining the Buda Castle side

Buda is a hilly and mountainous landscape while Pest is a more flat landscape on the River.  Three main bridges connect the two.  The chain Bridge, the Margit Bridge and the Liberty Bridge.  The Chain Bridge is where you want to go to get some fabulous photos of the city.

Lions at entrance of Chain Bridge

Margaret Bridge

Statue on Margit (Margaret) Bridge 

as we sailed under it

But back to our Matthias Church.  This important and unique Catholic Church, built in the Gothic Revival style first opened in 1255.  A couple of years ago.  It still has services today. It is a massive church reaching up 265 feet looking over the City of Buda and can be seen from all around the city of Budapest.  

Matthias Church

We were taken inside the Church and it was simply too beautiful for words or pictures, but Vi will try.

altar at Matthias church

Matthias Corvinus and his brothers

double sarcophagus of King Bela III 

and his wife, Agnes of Antioch

a copy of the Black Madonna of Loreto

beautiful frescoes everywhere

statue of Empress Elisabeth of Austria

Behold the Lamb of God in stained glass

Madonna and Child

copy of crown jewels,

two Hungarian Kings were crowned here

- original crown jewels are housed in Parliament building

Vi got a chocolate strudel here and a hand embroidered blue blouse!  Lots of Hungarian Herend porcelain, but alas, she is happy with her souvenirs. Happy wife, happy life.

delicious chocolate struedel

Herend porcelain figurines

Fisherman's Bastion is also in the Buda Castle District.  It is from the late 1800's and offers stunning panoramic views of the Danube and the the Parliament building.

Fisherman's Bastion

View across the Danube from Fisherman's Bastion 

overlooking the Parliament

On a very somber note, during the 2nd world war, Budapest was for the most part a very safe refuge for the Jews.   But in this case, the ultranationalist party, while exerting its weight, lined up 30 men women and children along the Danube River simply because they were very Jewish and very poor.  They made them take their shoes off because they were trying to find any money hidden in the shoes.  They then shot them all and let their bodies fall into the river.   This monument of brass shoes is to remind us of the horrors of the time.  It is very somber to see this and to learn of what happened so many years ago to so many people just because they were a unfavorable group of people.  We and our shoes were standing on Holy ground.

Marker of "the Shoes" Monument 

with LeRoy's shoes in the corner

Brass shoes at edge of Danube

So very touching

We spent the afternoon, walking around the Parliament building.  It is a fantastic building with statues on all 4 sides.  Right on the Danube, not a bad picture was made.  The statue of heroes is interesting as it has changed over the years, as the various ruling people changed it to represent their heroes.

Equestrian statue of Ferenc Rakoczi, 

a prince and hero of Transylvania

Statue of LeRoy, Vi's hero

Statue of Vi in front of the equestrian statue of Gyula Andrassy,  

former Hungarian Prime Minister

another side of the Parliament building

statue of more Hungarian Heroes

one final shot of the Parliament from the ship

as we bid farewell to Budapest and make our way up the Danube

 As a side note,  As I sit here typing this ridiculous blog, we are, like salmon, going upstream on the Danube, I have Slovakia on my left and Hungary on my right.  Slovakia was once a part of Czechoslovakia which was formed after WWI from the dissolution of Austria-Hungary, existing until 1992 when it peacefully split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.  Both of which get along quite peacefully today.  Humf, imagine that!  Soon we will pass into Austria as we make our way up to Vienna.

LeRoy and Vialula