Budapest, Hungary-Wed, July 23

Budapest has the honor of being named one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, and the distinction of having the third largest Parliament building, the second-oldest metro line in the world (it looked old!), 80 geothermal springs (unfortunately we didn't have time to visit any of them!), the second largest synagogue, and according to one publication, the 25th most popular city in the world to visit, and the 6th in Europe.  We hadn't known much about Budapest, so appreciated learning more about this area.

We were given a bus tour of both Buda and Pest — two sides of the river but the same town.  Buda was the hilly side, with the big palace.  Pest was the more level side with the Parliament and shops.

We stopped at the National Opera House and Heroes’ Square.  Then we crossed the river to the more traditional Buda side of the city.  We walked around the hilltop castle complex and had a wonderful view of the city.  We went into the magnificent St. Stephen's Cathedral.  We were told by the guide we could go into the Hilton Hotel to use the bathroom for free rather than pay at the public WC (Water Closet), which costs about 50 euro.  (1 Euro=$1.38 roughly)  

It was fun to watch workmen setting cut rocks to make the cobblestone walkway, similar to many we have walked on during this trip.

Lunch back on boat was... Hungarian Goulash, of course!

We had free time in the afternoon for packing or another walking tour. 
I walked back on my own to a place along the Danube where there was a Memorial to Jews who had been lined up and shot during the Holocaust.  Their shoes had been made into a permanent memorial  -- very moving.  We heard so often during the various stops on this trip how many Jews used to live in their city, and how many were sent to internment camps, leaving a much smaller Jewish population today.

We ate dinner that evening with two couples from Lincoln, CA -- one couple who attend the Loomis UMC, and knew people we know.  We'll probably re-connect with them at some point.

The after-dinner entertainment were musicians, dancers and singers from the area with a Hungarian flavor.   All of the entertainers were very good and did a good job of drawing in people from the audience with humor.

Before turning in for the night we went to the upper deck for a glorious view of city.  Temperature was perfect.  What a wonderful way to end the trip.