Day 14: Cruise - Budapest, Hungary

After our late night entry to Budapest, we awoke to a morning tour of Budapest, followed by some exploration on our last day on the cruise.

On the guided tour we learned about the strategic location of Budapest in the middle of Eastern Europe at the cross roads of trade and its history of invaders and occupiers.  In the 13th century, the Mongols sacked the city twice.  In the 16th century,  the Ottoman Turks invaded and occupied Budapest for 150 years.  In the 17th century, the Austrians drove out the Turks and rebuilt Budapest in Baroque style.

Budapest is really two cities separated by the Danube river running north to south.  The older hillier side, Buda, is older since it has the castle.  St Matthias church is high on the hill in Trinity square.  It was build as a mosque by the Turks.  When converted to a Catholic church it retained the Islamic patterns and designs.  The views of the river and of the Pest side on the east are magnificent.  The Pest side is much younger as most of it was wiped out in a flood in 1838.  The Austrians required all new buildings to spend 30% of their budget on exterior design so the building are quite striking.  The Hungarians were part of the Austro-Hungarian empire but were heavily taxed to support the opulent buildings in Vienna.

St Mattias Church on Buda Hill

St Mattias Church

Parliment buildings from Buda Hill

The altar inside St Mattias church

Murals have an Islamic influence

Heroes square was built by Hungarians 1896 to commemorate the millennium of the Magyar migration from the steppes of central Asia.  The square has statutes of all the Hungarians kings and museums on both sides.

Monument to Hungarian Kings in Heroes Square

Museum next to Heroes Square

Monument to St Stephen in Heroes Square

After the tour and lunch on the ship we explored the Pest side on our own.  On the banks of the Danube are bronze shoes to remember the Jews who were shot by the Nazis on the bank leaving only their shoes before their bodies were dumped in the Danube.  We walked around the magnificent Parliment  buildings but could not get an English tour.  Across from the Parliment is a building that shows bullets in the wall from the 1956 Soviet put down of the Hungarian Spring.

Shoes on banks of Danube commemorating the Jews killed by Nazis

Square outside Parliment buildings

Warren and Richard see the bullet holes from 1956 Soviet put down of Hungarian Spring

Founatin and square in Budapest

Dwight and Carl admire statue of portly guard

St Stephen's Cathedral in Budapest

Can you see Marilyn, Cheryl and Warren?

Warren slakes his thirst

Sunset of the Chain Bridge from the Legend sun deck

Carl was impressed with his "four fingers" of Jameson whiskey

We walked back to the ship through parks and the square beside St Stephens Cathedral.  After our final dinner on the ship was a Hungarian song and dance show in the lounge.  A marvelous way to end our Viking cruise.