Budapest, Hungary

July 25^th, 2025

Kane had said that we should all be up bright and early not to miss the beauty of us sailing in to Budapest.

We must have been in a hurry as we sped past an Amawaterways ship.

At first it just looked like we were sailing through another rural area.

But then more signs of urbanization started occurring. There were ferries across the river

And a rather strange building.

And then we came to the first of several bridges in Budapest, linking Buda on the right hand side, with Pest on the left.

Kane was giving us a commentary on how beautiful Budapest was from the river, but the endless apartment blocks along the banks of the river were not filling me with wonder.

However, then the buildings in the city center started coming into view.

And we could see the buildings of the Hungarian parliament peeking around the next bend in the river.

Then the parliament buildings came into full view. Wow! They were totally magnificent. I have always been very impressed by the UK Houses of Parliament, but this was totally spectacular!

Across the river in Buda, more amazing buildings were coming into view.

Kane was correct. Sailing in to Budapest is a real treat, it is such a beautiful city.

We went as far as the Chain Bridge

And then turned around to join the other 2 Viking ships docked at the pontoon.

The included tour today was called Panoramic Budapest. We started in the more modern Pest driving along the elegant Andrássy Avenue, past the National Opera House. We drove past Heroes’ Square, a spacious plaza of monuments and statues commemorating the heroes of Hungary.

We then crossed the river to explore the more traditional Buda side of the city. We drove up to the Castle District with its massive hilltop castle complex, the turreted Fisherman’s Bastion and Matthias Church.

There was some sort of delegation from China in town, and on several occasions the motorcade drove by with many motor bikes, SUVs, limos, and an ambulance.

We left the bus and walked around the district.

Although Buda had suffered damage during the war, the buildings had been rebuilt in the original style, and it was hard to distinguish the old from the new buildings. I wish everywhere would do that. A lot of modern architecture just seems out of place.

Matthias church is an absolute work of art,

as is the interior which has beautiful painted walls, and glorious windows. It was actually all quite overwhelming.

The only modern building that did not fit in was the Hilton Hotel, but it certainly was in a great position near the Fisherman’s Bastion.

From the Bastion there were great views over the Danube and Pest below.

For refreshments we went to a nearby Biergarten.

In the window they had a weird looking rabbit with a gun.

We weren’t quite sure what that was all about, but they made the best home made crisps. Thank goodness Pam ordered them. I finally got my Coke and crisps.

The bus was delayed because of the motorcade, but we had a great view of the city from the bus stop.

I had originally thought that the afternoon should be devoted to packing, but there was an optional Jewish Heritage tour which had looked interesting, so we delayed the packing and joined the tour. There were the 6 of us and another couple on the tour. Although the tours had been great on this trip, there are always a lot of people on the coach. Only having 8 people is so much better.

The tour was led by an interesting man called Laslo. He was quite bossy at first, but seemed more relaxed as the tour went on.

We drove along the riverfront

Our first stop was at the Shoes on the Danube Bank  memorial which was erected in April 2005. It was conceived by film director Can Togay and was created together with sculptor Gyula Pauer to honor the thousands of Jewish people massacred by the Arrow Cross Militia during the war. The victims were ordered to take off their shoes (shoes were valuable and could be stolen and resold by the militia after the massacre), and were shot at the edge of the water so that their bodies fell into the river and were carried away. The memorial represents their shoes left behind on the bank.

I had read about this before, but actually being there are seeing where such a totally horrible thing happened was very moving.

Our next stop was at the Dohany Street Synagogue. It is the largest synagogue in Europe seating 3,000 people.

The synagogue was built between 1854 and 1859 in Moorish Revival and Romantic styles, with the decoration based chiefly on Islamic models from North Africa and medieval Spain. The synagogue’s Viennese architect, Ludwig Förster, believed that no distinctively Jewish architecture could be identified, and thus chose “architectural forms that have been used by oriental ethnic groups that are related to the Israelite people, and in particular the Arabs”.

Something about the interior made it feel more like a church. Like a basilica.

The pulpit was certainly not something I had seen in a synagogue before.

The interior really was quite magnificent, and very well looked after.

There is a small museum in the building with interesting artefacts.

I particularly liked this Seder plate

And the stained-glass windows.

Next to the synagogue is a cemetery where over 2,000 people who died from cold and starvation in the ghetto during the war were buried.

Behind the synagogue is Raoul Wallenberg park, which contains the stunning Holocaust Tree of Life Memorial. It looks like a weeping willow. The leaves bear inscriptions with the names of Holocaust victims.

After visiting the synagogue we walked through the historic Jewish quarter,

And past another large synagogue.

There is a large mural depicting a stylized Rubik’s Cube. The cube was created by the Hungarian Erno Rubik.

Some of the buildings still show the damage done by gun fire during the revolution.

We walked down Dob utca, the main street through the historic Jewish quarter.  It is a lively street known for its vibrant cultural and entertainment scene. It is lined with numerous bars, cafes, restaurants, and shops. Even in the afternoon it was already quite crowded, especially when we walked through the local craft market.

Our destination was the Spinoza Café, where we were treated to a slice of flodni.

This is a traditional Hungarian Jewish cake consisting of several layers. It is divided into four sensations, like the four seasons of the year. It consists of fillings of poppy, walnut, apple, and plum jam, separated by five layers of sweet pastry. Flodni has flavors of tart, bitter, and sweet, and they go together to create a rather strange and complex taste. Each bite tastes different. I am not sure I liked it. In his rather bossy way, Laslo explained how we should eat it. My attempt to get the cake into the correct position didn’t work, and I could see Laslo thought of me as a failure.

After the cake we walked back to our van and returned to the boat. It had been a a very moving tour, and in the end I decided that Laslo had actually been a wonderful guide. He loved sharing the history that was so important to him. I wish all guides were like that.

The view of the Buda Castle and the Chain Bridge from the sun deck was lovely, and I really wanted to sit up there and have a nice cold glass of white wine before dinner.

But it was not to be, those suitcases will not pack themselves, and as we plan to leave the boat at 4:45 tomorrow morning, alas, the packing had to start.

From our table at dinner we had a great view of the buildings on Buda Hill. This really is such a beautiful city.

After dinner we all went up to the sundeck and sat watching the lights of Budapest, and listened to the music blasting out from a nearby night club.

It was a magical evening. The perfect way to end what has been an amazing cruise. Everything has been so great, but most of all spending time together as a family has been the best part of it all.

We fly back to the US tomorrow. We have to say goodbye to the boat and our family. We have been gone for 4 weeks. It has all gone by so quickly, but what a great time we have had!