Curt had an early run this morning but for the rest of us the morning began with a 7:30 buffet breakfast. We had wonderful food and wonderful service all in a beautiful room on the ship. We had a tour of Budapest which was a great combination of walking and bussing with about 20 of our shipmates.
Highlights on the Pesh side of the city included Hero’s Square, City Park and a stop for chimney cakes and then it was back on the bus as we headed across one of the elaborately decorated bridges to the Buda side of town. There we had great views from Castle Hill, of Parliament and St. Mathias Church. We returned to the ship in time for another great meal before heading out on our own to shop for Unicom (a popular Hungarian alcohol drink) and Peprika for the Moores.
I don’t want to weigh this down with Hungarian history but our tour guide today was a very young 47 year old woman. She spoke from personal experience about how horrible things were while Hungary was under Russian control. She remembers being one of the school children who marched in the Memorial Parades. The parades were broadcast back to Russia and other Soviet bloc countries. It was stressed to the children how important it was for them to smile while they marched. Communist rule in Hungary did not come to an end until 1989.
I can’t tell you how much we enjoyed sitting on the beck deck of the ship during our tea and sweet reception this afternoon. It was followed by a happy hour, watching the crew pull up the anchor as we set sail for Slovakia. The night included another wonderful four course dinner.
Egeszsegere (Hungarian for “cheers”)
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