More to Explore

 Dinner at an Italian restaurant right next door to the hotel. There seem to be a million Italian places in this part of the city, lots of sushi and then Hungarian/international food. We are seeing prices for food and touristy entertainment see expensive compared to the US; seems even steeper than Switzerland. We paid in round numbers almost $100 for dinner not even counting a tip (which we do although most don’t). Yes, 2 entrees, a bottle of wine and 1 dessert.   I think that is high but we have been eating at home a lot so may be out of touch

We spent the day on the hop on hop off bus.  We enjoyed this because it provided an overview of the city. We spent most of the afternoon at the castle.  This is the Buda side of the river. The castle originally started by King Bela IV to provided a safe location was added on to by Matthias Corvinus and became even more extravagant. The Ottomans took over and during war with the Hapsburgs they destroyed the palace. The town was resettled by the Austrians but the Hapsburg king never resided here. WWII destroyed the palace but again it was rebuilt and viktor Orban is rebuilding it. Currently part of the castle has several museums as home. The rain occurred mid day and luckily we were on the bus so no walk-in in the rain today. 

Castle hill is currently a mix of private homes, restaurants, hotels, coffee shops, and bars in addition to the castle and all its out buildings. This is a really pretty area to drive around. 

Comments

  1. Pearl S. Kadota, Carlsbad, CA, USAApril 16, 2023 at 8:52 PM

    Is it chilly there in springtime this year? Rain, huh? I remember there were free umbrellas on the riverboat for when we did onland touring. I believe I wore my jacket every day, but we went in August-September in 2017.
    My art teacher, Barbara Roth, is going to Ireland and Scotland and Brittany, which I believe is in France; according to my brother in law it's in Normandy. Barbara said Brittany was historically Celtic. She's Jewish and celebrated Passover, not Easter. I gave her a tin of Gefen chocolate macaroons. Love to you two. $100 for dinner not including the tip is high! That's what we loved about being on the cruise ship; you didn't have to pay for the good food! There was even a food demonstration during high tea one afternoon; I believe the chef made apple strudel. Love to you! Thanks for the history lesson. Is the Hungarian Parliament in Buda-Pest? I believe we went past the Parliament which is lit up at night, on our first night on the riverboat; it was cold outside but beautiful and I'll always remember the lit up buildings and the birds circling the buildings.

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