River cruise... Budapest

Up with first light, and walked to the bow where there's a beverage and pastry bar, a few tables, and a forward deck with stairs to the upper deck. Coffee, checked e-mail, wrote in my journal until time for breakfast with our friends. Then it was time to grab our packs and board the coach for Budapest.

Our first real day in Europe. A bus ride took us from Slovakia (where the boat is docked) to Budapest for a day in the city. The hilly side is Buda, the flat side is Pest. Once two cities that grew up on either side of the river, merged into a single city once bridges brought them together.

We started on Buda hill, home to the old city wall and a beautiful cathedral.

Buda Cathedral, with a spectacular tiled roof. While we waited for our tour, we found
our daily geocache, and took photos from the top of the wall.

Budapest is full of statues

I especially love any horse statue. This is a statue of King Saint Stephen, on Buda Castle Hill,

Close up, the detail is amazing

The view from Buda Hill, over the river to Pest

Inside St Matthias church, Cathedral of Our Lady

We finished our time in Budapest with a coach drive past the main historical point of Pest, then lunch at a restaurant. We had our choice of hopping the coach back to the river, or walking. DW and I decided to walk the couple of miles to the river, then walk along the river to the hotel where our group will meet up later in the afternoon. It was a longer, hotter walk than we anticipated, but we saw some beautiful architecture so it was all worth it.
. . .
Tonight after dinner, we set sail for Vienna.