We traveled overnight to Budapest, our last stop of our river cruise. We arrived early in the morning, and got up to take pictures as we arrived. We then went on a tour of various interesting places, and had a tour and a short recital at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music. In the afternoon, we were on our own, and took a walk through Pest, with a short detour to the Buda side. In the evening, we moved from our original docking to our disembarkation dock, which required us to cruise through Budapest at night. It’s a beautiful city, and I wish we could have spent more time there. Of course, I felt that way about every place we visited. It was a memorable trip, and I can’t wait to take another one.
Coming in to Budapest - the Margaret Bridge.
Coming in to Budapest - St. Anne's Church in the foreground, and Matthias Church in the background.
Coming in to Budapest - the Calvinist Church in the foreground, and Matthias Church in the background.
The Parliment Building in the early morning.
Coming in to Budapest - Our Lady of the Assumption Church - founded in 1048.
The Liberty Statue (or Freedom Statue) on Gellert Hill.
The Pauline Monastery - across from where we were docked.
Looking over Pest from Gellert Hill.
Prince Buda and Princess Pest - a sculpture on Gellert Hill.
The Garden of Philosophy - a sculpture on Gellert Hill.
The Hall of Art, on Heroes Square.
Heroes Square.
The right colonnade in Heroes Square, with a balloon.
Close up of the statues at the base of the column.
Close up of the right colonnade.
The Franz Liszt Academy of Music.
The interior of the Academy of Music - Art Deco at its finest.
The stage of the main concert hall of the Academy of Music.
Close up of one of the corners in the main stage.
Another painting in the foyer of the Academy of Music.
The Chain Bridge across the Danube. The center lane is only open to taxis and busses.
A close up of one of the lions guarding the Chain Bridge.
The Buda Castle as seen from the Chain Bridge.
The Liberty Bridge at night.
The Elizabeth Bridge at night.
The two of us with the Buda Castle in the background. Budapest is really lovely at night.
The Hungarian Parliament building at night.
The end of a very long day, in the entrance hall of our ship.
Up at 3:30 AM to begin our trip home.