Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest

I grew up in a small town and consider rural America home. Honestly, I experience  large cities as sensory overloads. When I visited LJ in NYC & later in LA I managed that overwhelming sense by choosing one or two new things to do/experience every time I visited. Vienna & Budapest are large cities. All the other stops have been large towns/small cities which I’ve felt more comfortable exploring.

In Vienna we took the U Bahn (subway) into the city center and wandered in & out of St Stephen’s Cathedral. Did a little shopping before returning to the ship for our afternoon adventure—a 21 kilometer bike ride. Years ago when we were in Paris with Pam & Patti we did a night bike tour of sights. That is what we were anticipating here. Nope, read the memo wrong. This was a flat out bike ride along the Danube which turned out to be both a little challenging and delightful (we did it!) Upon our return, we headed back into town to visit the National Library, one thing I wanted to experience, which we discovered was closed until December for renovations. Oh. Well. Back to the ship to clean up for dinner and then a coach ride back into town for a concert. THAT was awesome—an intimate venue plus entertaining musicians & dancers made any earlier frustrations evaporate. A perfect nightcap.

Woke up in the middle of the night moored in Bratislava. When I peeked out the window this bridge made me smile; not in Kansas any more! We found a self-guided tour on-line and walked the cobblestone alleys through the morning. We were supposed to do an afternoon hike to the castle on the hill but checked that off the list in the morning. In the afternoon we connected with a new friend who shared the highlights of her earlier tour. Ended the day snuggled into fuzzy blankets in chairs on the square enjoying an afternoon aperitif. 

The next morning began with a coach tour of the highlights of Buda Pest. Did you know that these are actually two separate cities? We started on the old  town, blue-blood, hilly Buda side in the Castle District. Castle. Hungarian National Gallery. Fisherman’s Bastion next to Matthias Church—oh, the roof tiles! House of Houdini. Turul Bird. On to the Pest side. City Park where they were prepping their outdoor ice skating rink. Wished we had time for the Széchenyi Thermal Baths. Heroes’ Square with the Millennium (so many buildings from the Millennium Celebration!) Monument. Andrássy Ave—high end shopping. House of Terror. The University. Woman with the Palm Leaf/Liberty Statue. Like any Hop On/Hop Off bus tour I’ve ever been on, I wonder how much of that quick overview I’ll retain.

I do know that Vienna & Budapest were the two capitals of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchies into the nineteenth century. Vienna is known for Mozart, opera, Wierner Schnitzel, sachertortes (chocolate & apricot cake)…so, art & food…and beautiful buildings. The same can be said of Budapest! Culture, goulash, paprika and incredible architecture! Who knew?

We spent the afternoon at the Central Market Hall wandering through the stalls. Hanging cured meat. Fruits & veggies. Mushrooms. Souvenirs & trinkets. Hand embroidered runners & blouses. Leather works. Lavender. Wine & liquors. It was busy but not crowded. There was a din of languages hanging in the aromatic air. Overall, a not painful shopping experience.

Original itinerary would have had us on our way home but now we have an extra day. Decided the two things we would be in search of today would be St Stephen’s Basilica and the Shoes on the Danube Bank memorial. Stephen was the first king of Hungary which is why every town seems to have a church named for him. The Shoes Memorial recreates that dark time when fascists lined up Jews along the Danube, made them remove their shoes (because they were valuable) then shot them & dropped their bodies into the river below. Can you imagine such absolute disregard for human life? 

And so we wrap up another adventure. Plenty of time for rest, good food, exercise, explorations, and one-on-one friend time. But also. Time to reflect, remember, and reconnect to core values/beliefs. Be kind. Listen. Embrace your people. Pics are here.