Budapest Hungary

Our ship sailed through the night powering along the almighty Danube river which is extremely fast flowing.  At one point during the early morning hours I stood out on the balcony and the river was so wide you could almost not see any land.   by the time we woke in the morning our boat was docked just beside the Chain Bridge on the pest side of the city.  It was a very easy stroll into the heart of Pest.

We went on a city tour which took us to Heroes Square and then to Fishermen’s Hill to Fishermen’s Bastion and Matthias Church.  The views of the Danube and the city of Pest from up on the hill are breathtaking.  We had some free time to wander around there and visit the many gift shops.  There are many shops selling paprika which is grown locally.  I bought some paprika to take home.

We returned to the ship for a light lunch and then we had the entire afternoon to wander around the city.  We walked into the main square of Pest which had a lively market with food and beverage stalls as well as gifts and souvenirs.

We walked along the main shopping Street and then alongside the river and sat in the park for a while taking in the view of the Danube.

Returning to the ship late afternoon we got ready to go to the open air theatre on St Margaret Island to see the Opera Aida performed. 

We had a quick dinner on the Aquavit Terrace.  The ship had organised taxis to take us there.  The taxi ride was an adventure.  The driver sped through the streets completely ignoring red traffic lights and pedestrian crossings and whisked us to the theatre in minutes.

The theatre reminded me very much of the Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne, very similar shape.  It had permanent fixed seating and our seats were slightly to the right of the stage but with excellent unobstructed views.  The play had just begun when we got there.  The set was fabulous.  It looked like Ramesis’s tomb in Egypt.  The costumes were amazing, the singing excellent.  It was sung in Italian with Hungarian sub-titles on a screen to the side.  We didn't understand but it didn't matter.  Colin googled it at intermission so we could find out the story.  For a mere 15 euro we were treated to an amazing performance that we truly loved.