It’s hard to believe we’ve reached the last full day of this adventure.
After traveling through Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia and finally Hungary, today was all about exploring Budapest. I already knew I liked this city, but after spending a full day here, I think I may love it even more. I see a future trip back to Budapest.
I woke up a little too early this morning, but thankfully managed to fall back asleep for a while. We made it down to breakfast at the Budapest Marriott around 8:30, where I ordered a Hungarian country omelet with onions, peppers and paprika sausage. It was really good and a perfect start to the day.
And then I heard some of the best news I’ve heard all week.
Our Budapest city tour was going to be on an air-conditioned bus!
YAY!
After some of the heat we’ve experienced on this trip, I have developed a whole new appreciation for air conditioning.
The View From Gellért Hill
Our first stop was Gellért Hill, high above the Buda side of the city.
The views from up there were absolutely incredible. You can look across the Danube toward Pest and see so much of Budapest spread out below you. It was one of those places where the pictures are beautiful, but they really can’t capture the entire view.
At the top of the hill is Budapest’s Liberty Statue, which was erected in 1947 during the Soviet occupation. After the fall of communism, the Soviet references were removed and the monument was rededicated to commemorate those who sacrificed their lives for Hungary’s freedom and independence.
The hill itself is named for Saint Gellért, an early bishop and missionary who helped establish Christianity in Hungary.
Our guide shared a rather gruesome legend about his death during a pagan uprising in 1046. According to the story she told us, Saint Gellért was sealed inside a wine barrel and rolled down the hill into the Danube.
That’s certainly one way to make sure your tour group remembers who the hill was named after!
While we were overlooking the city, our guide also talked about the drought and the incredibly low level of the Danube. She told us that in some areas the river is currently only about 20 centimeters deep, or roughly eight inches.
It’s hard to imagine the mighty Danube being that shallow.
After seeing firsthand how the low water affected our cruise, including leaving the Avalon Passion a night earlier than originally planned, it really put the severity of this drought into perspective.
After leaving Gellért Hill, we continued our tour around Budapest, taking in more of the city from our wonderfully cool bus.
A Taste of Hungary
We also stopped to try something I’d been wanting to taste while we were here: Hungarian chimney cake, or kürtőskalács.
And I liked them!
The sweet dough is wrapped around a cylinder and baked until the outside becomes golden and caramelized. It’s simple, warm and delicious. Another local food checked off the list!
Our next major stop was St. Stephen’s Basilica.
Thankfully, Elizabeth had thought ahead and purchased tickets online, so Elizabeth, Ginny and I were able to go inside.
We only had about 15 minutes before we needed to meet our group again, so this wasn’t exactly a leisurely church visit. I basically went into photography mode and took as many pictures as I possibly could.
What a beautiful church!
The soaring dome, marble, gold, artwork and incredible details were everywhere. Fifteen minutes wasn’t nearly enough time to really appreciate everything, but I’m very glad we had the opportunity to go inside.
Thank you, Elizabeth, for getting those tickets!
A Very Productive Restroom Stop
By this point, I needed to find a restroom.
Our guide suggested the nearby Starbucks.
Well, you know how that turned out.
I went in looking for a restroom and came out with two more Starbucks mugs, one for Hungary and one for Budapest!
I think that qualifies as a successful restroom break.
My suitcase, however, may disagree.
Possibly the Most Expensive Salad I’ve Ever Eaten
After our tour, we stopped for lunch at a café at the St. Regis Budapest.
Lunch was good.
And then the bill arrived.
52,900 Hungarian forints!
Holy crap!
Now, there were four of us, so once we divided everything up, it wasn’t quite as horrifying as seeing 52,900 printed on a lunch bill. But I’m pretty sure I may have eaten one of the most expensive salads I’ve ever ordered.
At least it was a good salad!
I’m finally getting a little better at Hungarian money, too. I’ve basically been using 1,000 forints equals about $3 as my quick conversion in my head. It’s not exact, but it gets me close enough to know whether I should be mildly concerned or very concerned when I see a price.
A Little More Shopping
After lunch, we walked along one of Budapest’s pedestrian shopping streets and eventually found ourselves at a food market.
Of course, I couldn’t leave Hungary without bringing home some Hungarian paprika, so I picked up a little to take home.
By this point, though, I was ready for a break.
It had been another hot day, we’d done quite a bit of walking, and there was something waiting for me back at the hotel that I had been successfully avoiding.
Packing.
Tomorrow morning was going to come VERY early.
So I headed back to the Marriott, cooled off, rested for a while and somehow managed to get everything packed.
Between the books, mugs, magnets, Serbian Army cap, china, paprika and everything else I’ve accumulated during this trip, getting that suitcase closed may qualify as one of my greatest accomplishments of the past two weeks.
Is Our Hotel Room Haunted?
There was one other little development while we were at the Marriott.
Elizabeth and I have started wondering if our hotel room might be haunted.
Every time we close the door, there is this distinctive moaning sound that sounds almost like wind howling through the room.
We laughed about it.
Then the television turned itself on.
Neither one of us had touched it.
We actually looked around and found the remote control sitting on the table underneath the television, nowhere near either of us.
I’m sure there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation.
I’m also perfectly happy to let the ghost have the room tomorrow.
Sunset on the Danube
Once everything was packed, Elizabeth, Ginny, Susan and I left the hotel a little early for dinner because there was one more place I wanted to see.
We walked down to the Hungarian Parliament Building.
It is simply magnificent.
Unfortunately, because of the drought and efforts to conserve electricity, we were told that Parliament isn’t being illuminated at night right now. I would have loved to see that incredible building glowing along the Danube.
But I’m not complaining about what we saw instead.
We arrived as the sun was setting over the Buda side of the Danube.
What a sight!
The Parliament Building, the river, the hills of Buda across the water and the changing evening sky made for a pretty spectacular final evening in Budapest.
Sometimes you simply have to stop taking pictures for a moment and look.
Shoes on the Danube Bank, Budapest.
A haunting memorial to the thousands of Hungarian Jews who were murdered along the banks of the Danube during World War II. The shoes represent those who were ordered to remove their shoes before being shot at the river’s edge, their bodies falling into the Danube.
Dinner Like Someone’s Hungarian Grandmother Made It
From Parliament, we walked to Hungarikum Bisztró, where I had made reservations for our final dinner in Budapest.
What a great choice this turned out to be.
The food was wonderful, but our waitress really made the evening special. She was incredibly nice and seemed genuinely happy to talk with us. We got the impression that they may not get a lot of American visitors, and we thoroughly enjoyed talking with her.
And the food?
It tasted like someone’s Hungarian grandmother had made dinner for us.
That’s about the best compliment I can give it.
I ordered the crispy duck, which was served on a bed of red cabbage with some of the best mashed potatoes I’ve had in a long time.
YUM!
I was completely full by the time we finished, and since it was getting late, we decided to skip dessert.
Yes, you read that correctly.
I skipped dessert.
That’s how full I was!
Saying Goodbye to The Ladies
After dinner, we walked back to the Marriott. Which was a 10 minute walk.
And suddenly this trip really did feel like it was coming to an end.
Elizabeth and I had to say goodbye to “The Ladies,” Susan and Ginny, tonight because our flight leaves a few hours before theirs tomorrow morning.
We’ve shared a lot over these past two weeks. We’ve laughed, eaten some wonderful food, survived some incredibly hot days, learned an enormous amount of history, explored places I’d never been before and dealt with an itinerary that Mother Nature decided to change for us along the way. And Susan, Ginny and Elizabeth have all been very patient with me, since my back has been giving me fits. We also survived multiple Shakespeare stops! #ToPeeOrNotToPee
I’m going to miss traveling with them.
Thankfully, this isn’t really goodbye.
I already know I’ll be seeing Susan and Ginny next year. And hopefully Elizabeth can come along!
Tonight, though, the suitcases are packed and there’s a 5:30 AM wake-up call waiting for us.
Tomorrow begins the long journey home.
What an adventure this has been.
Five countries. Beautiful cities. Tiny villages. Castles, churches and fortresses. And fortresses. Food I had never tried before. New friends and old friends. A river that didn’t always cooperate. And so many experiences I know I’ll be talking about for years.
But before I get sentimental about the whole trip, I really need to get some sleep.
Assuming the ghost doesn’t turn the television on again.
Goodnight from Budapest. 🇭🇺
Cleared For Take-Off! 