The ship sailed into Budapest at 8.30am and everyone was up on deck to see our first view of the Hungarian capital. It was Kiss Balazs (our cruise manager) home town as he had been a guide there he was proud to show us around. Balazs took us to the market hall but as it was quiet crowded we took a walk between bridges looking at the statues, decorations and steps carved into the rock hillside. In the afternoon we were taken on a 3 hour tour of the main city sites. We were taken to the beautiful opera house and at the end given a glass of sparkling wine and treated to a performance by two opera singers, a good end to our tour. Back on the boat we were treated to a Hungarian folk dancing performance with much hand clapping and thigh and ankle slapping.
To end off a very long day the boat took a cruise along the Danube to look at Budapest by night with all the bridges sparkling with lights. Everyone was up on deck again and being very friendly as we all prepare to go our separate ways in the morning. Our lasting impression of Budapest is the elegant buildings. None extremely old like those in Germany & Austria but the rectangular shapes and the sandstone
facades covering the brickwork and the decorative and ornamental carving that adorns most buildings along with the cobblestone walkways give it a certain charm.