As usual, we started our day with coffee in the lobby as we planned our day. We decided to buy tickets for the hop on hop off bus tour, as the tickets were good for two days, included two boat rides on the Danube and an hour of biking on Margaret Island. We set out on foot looking for a good breakfast place, and after walking down Rakoczi Street to Erzebet Street, we found a great little restaurant - Hirado Kavezo. We had omelets, toast, fruit, juice and lattes for a very reasonable price and use of their wifi. After breakfast, we walked out to where the hop on hop off bus stops, bought our tickets and began our journey. I wanted to ride the funicular up Buda Hill, so that was to be our first stop.
As luck would have it, they regularly close the funicular on the odd Mondays of each month for maintenance. Today was the third Monday of September, so it was closed. That meant we walked up Buda Hill.
At the top, there is the President's home, guarded by uniformed military.
We walked to the other side of Buda Hill which has numerous residences, businesses, monuments, museums and beautiful gardens, and yes, we stopped to smell the roses that were still in bloom.
One of the cathedrals has an amazing tiled roof.
We came across this busker who was playing traditional music on a traditional instrument of some kind.
We went to one of the castles like areas that is now a collection of restaurants and which offer great views of the Danube and the Pest side of the city (Buda and Pest were two cities at one time, but are now combined into one city - Budapest).
After looking out at the Danube and the city, we turned around and realized that the building behind us had a reflection of the building we were in.
We then walked down the hill, across the Danube on the Chain Bridge and sought out the dock for the boat rides we had available.
We first took an hour long ride that took us up the river and around Margaret Island and back to our starting point.
After returning, we turned around and took the cruise up to Margaret Island. While on the boat, I joked that they had an alcoholic beverage named after Pres. Barack Obama. I later learned it is not pronounced as written, but rather as barasspalinka - a peach flavored liqour.
Margaret Island is connected to the city by bridges on both ends of the island and has many lovely facilities, including spas, hotels, gardens, sporting facilities and eateries.
Here is a video of us riding our bicycles during our hour of use included in our tickets.
As we were departing the island, we came across this fountain and musical show in this video.
On the cruise back, Harry and I shared a bottle of wine - it cost less than if we had bought two glasses of wine each.
Later that afternoon, we met Sara - she was one of the Anglos we had met at Angloville - she teaches English as a second language, and is staying in Europe because she was going to volunteer at another session of Angloville in Poland. She had been on a walking tour before meeting us. We ambled around and stumbled upon Cyrano Restaurant and had an excellent dinner outside. After talking with the hostess, we discovered that her father-in-law ran Callas, the restaurant we were at Sunday evening. Both restaurants were excellent in our opinion, and apparently the reviews of others list these two restaurants as two of the best in Budapest - and we had found them both by chance. I just love serendipity.
After dinner, we got Sara oriented and headed off to her restaurant, and Harry and I took the Metro back to our hotel.
As luck would have it, they regularly close the funicular on the odd Mondays of each month for maintenance. Today was the third Monday of September, so it was closed. That meant we walked up Buda Hill.
At the top, there is the President's home, guarded by uniformed military.
 |
| Beautiful gardens around the palace |
 |
One of the cathedrals has an amazing tiled roof.
We came across this busker who was playing traditional music on a traditional instrument of some kind.
We went to one of the castles like areas that is now a collection of restaurants and which offer great views of the Danube and the Pest side of the city (Buda and Pest were two cities at one time, but are now combined into one city - Budapest).
After looking out at the Danube and the city, we turned around and realized that the building behind us had a reflection of the building we were in.
We then walked down the hill, across the Danube on the Chain Bridge and sought out the dock for the boat rides we had available.
 |
| Two wild and crazy guys |
 |
| Parliament |
After returning, we turned around and took the cruise up to Margaret Island. While on the boat, I joked that they had an alcoholic beverage named after Pres. Barack Obama. I later learned it is not pronounced as written, but rather as barasspalinka - a peach flavored liqour.
Margaret Island is connected to the city by bridges on both ends of the island and has many lovely facilities, including spas, hotels, gardens, sporting facilities and eateries.
Here is a video of us riding our bicycles during our hour of use included in our tickets.
As we were departing the island, we came across this fountain and musical show in this video.
On the cruise back, Harry and I shared a bottle of wine - it cost less than if we had bought two glasses of wine each.
Later that afternoon, we met Sara - she was one of the Anglos we had met at Angloville - she teaches English as a second language, and is staying in Europe because she was going to volunteer at another session of Angloville in Poland. She had been on a walking tour before meeting us. We ambled around and stumbled upon Cyrano Restaurant and had an excellent dinner outside. After talking with the hostess, we discovered that her father-in-law ran Callas, the restaurant we were at Sunday evening. Both restaurants were excellent in our opinion, and apparently the reviews of others list these two restaurants as two of the best in Budapest - and we had found them both by chance. I just love serendipity.
After dinner, we got Sara oriented and headed off to her restaurant, and Harry and I took the Metro back to our hotel.
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