Budapest 3

Budapest 3

Of the 160 people on board, we are divided into color coded groups for touring.  Dan and I are in the orange group, which is appropriate for Amsterdam.  Vantage is extremely well organized, and because people of my generation and older were taught to follow directions, everything goes smoothly. 

The weather today was perfection—high 60’s, sunny with no wind.  We much prefer this to Italy’s 190 degrees and 100% humidity.  We started with a city tour of Pest, the flat side of the city.  Although we had been here before and toured a little on our own yesterday, we saw new sights.

Our city tour guide was excellent—funny, articulate, informative, and she could speak understandable English.

We went over to Buda, the hilly older side to a lookout with a great view of the Danube and Pest.  Budapest has 7 bridges (think this is the right #).  One was inspired by the Golden Gate Bridge.  Last night we sailed under 5 of them all aglow with lights.  Pest looked very smoggy today.  When I commented on this to the guide, she said, “We don’t have smog; it’s too expensive to drive.”  When I asked her what I was seeing, she said “mist.”  Ha!!!!  The streets are filled with traffic, and I know smog when I see smog.

We had a little time to wander on our own.  I rarely buy stuff anymore on my trips, but I went to an out-of-the way antique store that had some Judaica. I found a beautiful silver yad (Torah pointer) made of Russian silver with a small piece of turquoise in it; the date on it said 1884, and it had the appropriate silver marks and a mark that said it was made in Moscow.  The proprietor showed us a book to verify its authenticity.  I couldn’t resist it although I need a yad as much as I need a hole in the head.  I love buying old Judaic artifacts because I like to imagine the stories that go with them. 

On our own, Dan and I walked to the famous covered market, a huge building with hundreds of food stalls.  The radishes were the size of golf balls, and Dan created a puddle when he drooled over all the smoked meats.  Upstairs were many vendors selling Hungarian crafts.  I tried on a beautiful hat, but it was 160 euros.  I can do better at TJMaxx.  There were a lot of tempting goods (embroidered linens, jackets, vests, purses) but as I mentioned, I’m past the souvenir buying stage.  Debbie (my daughter) would have gone nuts!  Since soft drinks are 3.5 euros on the ship, Dan bought 4 cokes for 80 euros each and I bought a small amount of Hungarian paprika.

When we came back to the ship, the Captain greeted us at the gangplank to tell us we had missed an important announcement.  We were supposed to set sail at 2 for Vienna, but we were delayed because they found a “bump” in the river.  Dan and I couldn’t figure out how there could be a bump in the river—maybe a sandbar, debris??  We finally left at 4. 

Tonight at the Captain’s cocktail party, he was at the head of the receiving line.  When we asked him what he meant by the “bump” in the river, he said, “It was the fault of you Americans 70 years ago.”  We thought he was being funny because he loves to joke around, but then as he told us more, we realized that what had been found was a “bomb” dropped by the Americans during WWII!

Dinner was literally a 7 course meal:  “amouse bouche” (sp?) of tapenade, salmon tartar with caviar, sea bass with ragout of carrots (yummy) a palate cleanser of sherbert, candied fruit in sparkling wine, delicious roast veal and risotto, crème  brulle with ice cream and a piece of waffle with berry sauce, and chocolate truffles.  I ate the sea bass, sherbert, veal, (no risotto) and the crème caramel.  Burp

Tomorrow we arrive in Vienna—if we pass successfully through the locks—about 1 PM and go on a city tour at noon.   How do you say, “Hasta luego” in German?