Returned to Budapest. This time for a leisurely stay in the company of CAMarchand.

 

 

It would have been easy to enjoy many cities with the weather we have had this week: sunshine and the 60’s. But Budapest is a grand and delightful city and we have been out every day enjoying it.

 

 

The city straddles the Danube, the longest river in the EC and a traditional border of the Roman Empire.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The town of Buda sits on a narrow, low hill on the West side.

 

 

 

 

The castle of the Magyar’s, dating from the 1200s broods up over Pest, across the river.

The castle stands on the ruins of a number of earlier fortifications. The Habsburgs were in residence for about 150 years. The entire town has been repeatedly destroyed by the Turks, the Christians, and most recently when the Germans, on Hitler’s orders, fought to the last with the Red army. Walking around Buda I wonder if the ground itself contains a cacophony of bits of the DNA from the blood of so many armies from Asia, the Middle East and Europe. Likewise the people.

Today it has been (once again) rebuilt/restored and it is beautiful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Across the river the old town of Pest has a fine area of pedestrian only streets. And here in a warm November there are plenty of people about.

The Americans have established fast food beach-heads in Pest.

But mostly there are many many restaurants serving what seems to me to be the same “traditional Hungarian dishes”. Although I suppose the tourists like this, I have learned to avoid them, and frequent the plentiful Italian and French restaurants.

There is a nice central market to enjoy a stroll through.

And a truly excellent National History Museum.

Some more “Grand Budapest” photos;

A “lest we forget” section;

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And some unusually styled photos to enjoy.

Bonus:  A (repeat) travel tip. Hotel laundry charges are one of the biggest rip-offs in the world   Our hotel charges $6.36 to launder one pair of shorts. Having built up a load of laundry needing processing, (all darks so one load), we locate a nearby laundry using “maps”. There the proprietor runs the washer and drier while we walk about .. and charges us $5.50 for the entire load. This included a pair of Cathy jeans, which in the hotel would have cost $11.02 !!!

P.S. If you carry a bar of laundry soap you can always push the laundry along a few days until you are in some place long enough to deal with it.