🇭🇺 Heroes, History, and Hungarian Hot Spots: Day 7 in Budapest
Parliament Building as photographed from our AMALea ship
Matt Wolfe, has three degrees. Graduate of St. Pete Junior College, A.A. Mass Communications, B.F.A. University of S. Florida, Art & Photography, Therapist A.S., Walter’s State.
Carol Birkner, holds a B.S. East TN State, as an educator, IT technology specialist.
We are members of Coastline Travel Group, Virtuoso Consortia, CLIA cruise membership. World Travelers with many countries left to explore with you our clients and future guests.
We are Certified Travel Specialist with AMAWaterways, Viking River Cruises & Seabourn Ocean
We are here to answer all your cruise questions!
Sailing into Budapest early morning.
Budapest Day 7
AMA plans the arrival to Budapest early in the morning around breakfast for those who want to see the cities of Buda and Pest from the river vantage. Other times we cruised at night to make it to the city for a full day. I was actually surprised just how much sailing we did during day light hours. We often could sit and view the beauty and nature of the Danube from many vantage points including top deck, lounge, front of ship or our French Balcony room.
Margaret Bridge, a beautiful French designed bridge to stroll across for beautiful views.
Palace looms over Budapest.
We again chose the easier tour to spend more time with our family group members. We took a bus tour through the city, with a very knowledgeable guide pointing out the various historical sites. The guide gave great details about the city’s rich history. While I wasn’t sure what to expect from the grand old cities of Buda & Pest, both Carol and I were immediately wowed by the beauty of it’s stunning buildings, bridges, and hillsides. While the Danube divides the two cities, it’s buildings and culture connect Buda and Pest into one magnificent city.
We did have one stop on the city tour in Heroes Square where monuments recognize all the country’s important kings and rulers including St. Stephen, the first Hungarian King. In addition to the majestic statues to former rulers, there is a more modest memorial to the tomb of unknown soldier dating from WW1.
Following the bus tour we went back to the ship for lunch and then four of the six taxied to Budapest Castle. We took the funicular up and down from the base to the the castle. The views from the frontside of the castle overlooking the Danube and Pest side of the city are not to be missed. Again there are so many rich and historical sights to see you would need at least 3-4 full days to begin to appreciate the grandeur of this city. Our evening concluded with a local trio band and 4 performers who delighted us with traditional music and dance onboard the AMALea.
Opera House. We did not have time to go inside but it is on our list to see it next time.
Final night onboard, local Hungarian dancers perform for us.
Ceviche at Nobu Restaurant.
The next day we departed the ship in a very ordered way with the cruise director orchestrating all the various groups to the airport, hotels, and so on. We had reservations at the Kempinski Cornvinus Hotel in the heart of Pest, a gorgeous 5 star Hotel. We made use of our free time until check in at 3pm by strolling all around the many squares, streets, and shopping districts. Carol and I also had lunch at Nobu, a fusion of Japanese sushi and Peruvian cuisine. Carol loves sushi but it’s not my favorite. Yet, I still found plenty to satisfy me including Wagyu beef sliders.
The Corvinus, a five star hotel in the heart of Budapest. A Kempinski Hotel.
St. Stephen’s Basilica. A flurry of activity as a Christmas market is being constructed in the square outside.
That afternoon we went into the St. Stephen’s Basilica, completed in 1905. Easily the prettiest church on the entire trip that we saw. Stephen as mentioned previously was the first king to unite what is now Hungary and his statue is the first one in heroes square. So revered by the Hungarian people that a relic, his right hand, was stolen by the Nazis as part of their looting throughout Europe during WWII. The relic was eventually discovered in a salt mine by members of a joint US task force searching for stolen art. And now the relic is on display for visitors to see.
The relic of St. Stephen, his hand on display inside the Basilica.
Our trip concluded that night with an italian dinner just around the corner from the Kempinski Hotel. We had a very early flight so we enjoyed a luxurious night completely spoiled by our accommodations. A fitting end to a week long trip of being spoiled every day by the staff of AMAWaterways, the cruise director, tour guides, chef’s, onboard lecturers, local performers and so on. We are already deciding on our next river cruise. We would enjoy having you go with us.
Jack with his large bread bowl of Goulash.
Two weary travelers who have seen the sights of the Danube, Alyce and Dan are ready to head home.
As always we are here to help you plan your next river or ocean cruise.
