Exploring The Inter City Of Budapest

Cutting through the heart of the city is the Danube River.  First stop today we searched out Castle Hill.   Here we explored the Fishermen's Bastion which was built as a viewing terrace with lookout towers on a stretch of the Castle walls.

Fishermen's Bastion

 Also in the heart of the Buda Castle district we saw the Roman Catholic religious institution, The Matthias Church, officially named The Church Of Our Lady.  This is a stunning building in a beautiful setting.

The Church Of Our Lady

 From here we took a ride alone the Andrassy Ut.  This avenue is lined with spectacular mansions, townhouses, fine restaurants and cafe's.  Located in central Budapest is the largest Opera house in Hungary, the National Opera House.  This is an architectural wonder.  We also saw Heroes' Square, one of the major squares in Budapest with its many statues of enormous height celebrates the heroes of Hungarian history.

Heroes' Square

Heroes' Square

The Parliament is one of Europe's oldest legislative buildings and is the largest building in Budapest and the tallest in Hungary.  The architecture is stunning with a mixture of gothic and renaissance style.
On the Danube was the most moving memorial.  Sixty pairs of rusty iron shoes cast from the time period 1944-1945, honors the victims of the Holocaust.  Hungarian Jews, children, women and men that were shot into the icy cold Danube River by the notorious Arrow Cross Army.

Men's Shoes

Women's Shoes

Sixty pairs of shoes.

Two of the many bridges that connect the two halves of the city are the Chain Bridge and the Elizabeth Bridge.  The Chain Bridge, a suspension bridge was the first permanent bridge that crossed the Danube.  Two lions sit on each side of the bridge protecting its glory.  The Elizabeth Bridge was named after Queen Elizabeth.  Today, her large bronze statue sits by the bridge on the Buda side in a small garden.

Chain Bridge

Elizabeth Bridge

After our morning city tour of Budapest, the parents of my sons girlfriend, who traveled four hours from Romania joined us for a visit and dinner.  We were greeted in the lobby of our hotel by Aurel and Daniela.  Now who wouldn't love a man who as soon as he sees you he say's "hi Brenda, you look like Barbie".

Me and Aurel

For dinner we leisurely strolled through Center City and choose to have dinner at Pilvax Restaurant.  The streets were full of people mingling as we made our way to the outdoor patio.  Once there we ordered drinks and visited getting caught up.  We hadn't seen them since December when they where in the U.S. for Delia's MBA graduation Ceremony.  Hungry, we ordered dinner which was fabulous.  I ordered catfish in a red sauce with dumplings.  It was so good I ate every last morsel, wiping down the bowl with bread to get every last drop of the heavily sauce.  It was getting late and they had four hours to drive back home so it was time to leave.  Unlike us, they where not on vacation.  We walked them to their car, bid them farewell and they were on there way.

Stone-Daniela-Brenda-Aurel

Catfish with Dumplings

Piano player at Pilvax.