2005 Danube River Cruise

Page 23,
Day 15, November 5, 2005
Budapest, Hungary
Some of my notes: We sail from Vienna to Budapest with 10 cm of water clearance (very low water). Other ships do not sail but are left behind in Vienna. I am up on the deck for photos of the sunrise. Cold! We get to Budapest on time to get our city tour bus, where we have our heads filled with information about “Pest” and “Buda”. There are trolly lines and power lines everywhere, and it is a grey overcast day, so I have very few photos. This was the Captain’s welcoming drink, dinner, and crew introduction night. Second one for us, as we apparently started a new tour yesterday.
Uniworld’s version: Be on deck as your ship makes its entrance into this elegant city that spans the banks of the Danube for eight miles. Connected by seven bridges, the ancient city of Buda and the more modern Pest offer fine architectural treasures steeped in history. Your tour of the city will include its most interesting sights: the ornate Houses of Parliament, Heroes Square, Fishermen’s Bastion. From historic Buda Castle, you have a splendid view of Buda and Pest spread over both banks. Your afternoon is free. At night, sophisticated Budapest becomes an illuminated fantasy that lives up to its name “Paris of the East”.
Day 15, November 5, 2005
Some information provided: Budapest “the pearl of the Danube” – is young as cities go. In 1873 the cities Buda and Pest, facing each other across the river, and their neighbor Obuda were united. The single city they formed is a hodge-podge of architectural styles and a mix of people that create an atmosphere like no other city in the world. Before the Earth-shaking events of the early 1990s, Budapest was perhaps the most open of the East bloc capitals. Just after “the change” it went through a few spasms of adjustment but it is now settling into the comfortable, self-assured role of a European cultural center.
Optional Excursion: Jewish Budapest: for tomorrow – but we did not sign up. Among the largest in the world, the Budapest Synagogue has been magnificently restored since the fall of the Iron Curtain. On this special tour you will visit the Synagogue, the Jewish Museum of Budapest and see the Memorial Tree – a testament to the thousands of Hungarian Jews who perished in the Holocaust.
More provided information: Buda on the hills, once the royal seat, is actually the younger of the two cities; Pest on the plain was settled in Roman times. Palaces and churches dot the hills of Buda while flatland Pest boasts the neo-Gothic Parliament building, delicious details of art nouveau and a number of shiny high-rise hotels. The two sides are joined by six bridges for cars each spoken of lovingly by name. The two railroad bridges seem not to have developed such distinct personalities. Perhaps the people are so fond of their bridges because in World War II every one of them was blown up by the retreating German army. They were rebuilt in record time following the old designs, except for the Elizabeth Bridge which is now a graceful modern structure.

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