Saturday August 12, 2017
Today they wanted to get everyone off the ship for most of the day so that they could clean everything and turn over the newly vacated rooms as one group of guests left and the next joined us. We loaded onto buses right outside the ship and followed the river upstream on the Pest side of Budapest. Along the way we passed the shoe memorial. During the war, Nazis lined up people on the wall at the edge of the Danube and had them remove their shoes. Then they shot them, letting the Danube claim their bodies. The shoes are a memorial to those victims.
Our first stop was
Hungary's Parliament building. It is a magnificent building from the outside and quite impressive on the inside as well. They take their security seriously. We had to go through airport like security to get in. There were several fellow in Russian-like military uniforms manning the metal detector. Then we were assigned two policemen to accompany our group of 20. One walked ahead of us and one walked behind the group. We also had a specially licensed guide narrating the tour.
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| Hungarian Parliament from the Danube at Dusk |
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| Serious Security |
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| More Security |
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| Gorgeous Vaulted Ceilings in Parliament Hallway |
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| Heading Upstairs in Parliament |
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| Parliament Session Room |
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| Communist Star That Used Taken Down from the Roof |
We were told that photos and even flash were permitted everywhere except the room where the holy crown, scepter and orb were on display. No photos were allowed in that rooms and we had been warned by our tour directors not to get within two meters of the display or we would be told by the guards standing next to it to back off. Yep, that happened to a few of our guests. The two soldiers with swords stood unmoving and unsmiling on either side of the display case and just outside the ropes that formed a circle around it. While we were there, we saw the changing of the guard. There are three sets of guards who spend one hour on guard duty then two hours off before returning to the room for their next shift. The changing of the guard was a fairly formal process with a funny almost goose-step like march, and synchronized sword movement. The two guards were led in/out by an officer who gave commands to the guards at a couple of points in the process. I would have loved to have been able take a video of that process.
We saw one of the two parliamentary session rooms. Although smoking has been outlawed in public places for a number of years now, it used to be quite common that members of parliament smoked them in the building. Cigars were not allowed in chambers. So, outside the room in the hallway and next to each entry door were brass cigar holders. Each had a number of slots where members could put their cigar before entering chambers. Each slot was numbered. You put your cigar in one and memorized the number. Then when exiting the room you could find your cigar by number and resume smoking it.
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| One of Numerous Cigar Holders |
From Parliament we crossed the river to the Buda side of Budapest and drove up the hill to
St. Stephen's Basilica. Another magnificent structure. Again we were allowed to take picture including using flash inside.
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| Tunnel Entrance Leading to Road Up the Hill to the Basilica |
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| Colorful Basilica Roof Tiles |
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| Ornate Steeple |
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| St. Stephen |
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| Inside the Basilica |
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| Walls Overlooking City and Danube |
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| View of the River and Parliament from the Walls |
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| Another View of the Walls |
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| Even the Manhole Covers Were Ornate |
Our next stop was a group lunch in a nearby restaurant. We ate in a courtyard and since the temperatures were 15 degrees cooler than yesterday with a fair breeze it was quite pleasant.
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| Carol and Diane at Lunch on the Patio |
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| Cheese Stuffed Chicken |
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| Paprika Catfish with Mustard Sauce |
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| Vegetarian Choice |
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| Table Water - Still (left) and Fizzy (right) Were Hard to Tell Apart |
After lunch we strolled down one of the streets of shops recommended by our guide. Princess Di shopped here and they had a letter from her prominently displayed in the front window. Nicole Kidman bought a dress there as well. We bought a few items before returning to the plaza in front of the Basilica to meet our tour director for the walk back to the bus.
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| Shop Where We Made the Purchases That Carol Has in the Bag |
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| Letter from Princess Di to the Shop |
We were back at the ship at 3:00 and had a little more than an hour of relative quiet in the lounge before the new complement of 62 guests arrived from the hotel they had been staying at. We got to tune out the welcome gathering, introductions, and safety lecture then joined in for the 5:45 briefing on tomorrow's activities.
