Budapest

While Toolmans mum was over, we decided to all go on a holiday-holiday, and so we flew to Budapest!

We booked an apartment, a convienient alternative to hotel rooms. The aparment manager also had a taxi come pick us up from the airport - good when you arrive in a new country at 10pm.

We arrived at the apartnemt complex, but it was not that easy to find the person with our key. It took half and hour, multiple walks up and down paths and a few phone attempts before we found our contact.

Finally got our apartment key and went in and relaxed! Thankfully, the apartment was very reasonable and comfortable.

Apartment was well furnished, had all the kitchen stuff we needed. The beds were a weak point, and the heating couldn't be turned down enough for our liking. But it suited our needs fine.

Also had (bad) internet and cable TV!

Next morning we went exploring the main street.

Lots of stuff to look at.

Funny tapestry.

Lovely wooden arcade

wood roof.

The water between Buda and Pest.

Princess admiring the window decoration.

What a lovely beaver.

We decided to get on a tourist bus to get a look around the city.

This is the view from one of the bridges, with the Danube river below.

As we head up the hill, we can see the government buildings over tree tops.

The trees were beautifully colored; it was just the right time of year.

We get out at the top of the hill to the usual tourist shops ...

.. and an amazing view!



You can see the 2 major bridges. The one in the foreground is known as the Chain Link Bridge.

Mother and Son.

And Princess, and a better view of the city.

The nest stop on the bus was at Heroes Square ??.

The centre statues are of Hungarian leaders from the seven tribes that founded Hungary in the 9th century, and a few other important Hungarians.

There are four rear statues and these represent: ???

The Museum of Fine Arts is on one side.

The Palace of Art on the other.

From here, we headed for a walk. We had travelled on the bus for quite a while, so was good to stretch out.

Look at this eager pooch. Got a log!

The park we walked thru has Vajdahunyad Castle in it.

This is standing on the bridge over the moat.

Inside had its own Church.

Another self portrait attempt.

We exited the other side of the Castle over the moat again, a pretty waterway.

Another Toolman out of focus wallapaer shot.

Autumn meant that there were leaves of all colors, green, yellow, red, brown.

Big leaf!

A great city park.

Toolman noticed the ING building, adorned with Alonso in his Renault F1.

Disc brakes a-glow!

We headed back to the apartment and had dinner at ??? just down the road. Shots? live music...

Next morning we headed back to the tourist bus stop; our tickets were valid for a few more of the 24 hour ticket.

We passed many Trabants, famous for being constructed with a plastic and cotton,a fibreglass-like plastic shell.

The Jewish Synagogue was on our way; a beautiful piece of art is on one side.

Up close shows the detail; it is all metalwork. This is an unusual synagogue, as it has a cemetary bordering it.

The other side of the synagogue has a pretty construction.

The architecture is very interesting.

We got back on the bus.

This ride across the river and up to the Castle district allows us a closer look around, as we didn't get off the bus there last time.



A glimpse from the bus.



We got off the bus and headed out.

Look at this view; another perfect day!

Another o.f.f.



A pretty day.

We found a statue of Kodaly Zoltan; a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, educator, linguist, and philosopher.

Princess' turn first.

Toolman is all casual.

Mum showin' some love.



We had a nice Al Fresco lunch , then went to visit the church.

Grand and awe-inspiring.

The courtyard outside was bustling with Tourists.

This beautiful bird was on display, although it is sad to see such a majestic bird held captive.

This is the museum ??

Mother and Son.

Mum posing with the beautiful view.

That red vine is an amazing color.

We walked down the hill to this is crest at the bottom entrance.

This is the funicular; the easy way up the hill. Wow its steep!



This is the statue at the bottom of the hill.

We walked across the Chain link Bridge, named so because the suspension is constructed the same way as a bike chain: solid links joined with pins.

An in depth conversation surely?

This is the market building, which happened to be closed, but the bar across the road wasn't!



We were recommended this pub; it is decorated with thousands of business cards and notes written on scrap paper, beer coasters etc.

We all spent some time looking over the endless notes.

Some of the notes are serious.. but not many of them.

We organised a boat cruse for the evening, and it was the perfect evening.

This is just before boarding; amazing!

We got our seats, and listened to the guide talk us through Hungarian history as we cruised the Danube river.

The lights reflet off the water, giving a magical quality to the experience.

Mum really enjoying the cruise...

Everything is lit up; unfortunately its hard to take nice photos while in motion.

We all really enjoyed the cruise. Afterwards, we headed back to the apartment for some well deserved rest.

Stay tuned for part 2.