Last Day in Budapest - Day 7

Well, we expected to like Vienna better than Budapest, but to our surprise- we all love and prefer Budapest!!  We love the architecture, the food, the diversity of peoples, the history, the ambiance, the topography and oh, did I mention the food?

And...... it's breakfast time again at our hotel cafe. It's delicious, scrumptious, the ambiance is great and it's included in our room bill, so we indulge and skip lunch.  

A sampler of fresh baked-this-morning breads.....

Breakfast entrees including Hungarian omelet (me) duck liver terrine (Ray), pasta with prosciutto (Shirley), scrambled eggs (Sally). 

Plus coffee, tea, etc and Sally and Shirley finished with a Lemon-grass torte. 

Thusly fortified, we again hop on bus #16 to the top of Buda Hill for a tour of the Royal Palace where Hungarian Kings were crowned (bombed nearly flat during WWII, poorly reconstructed by the Russians/Communist government nevertheless housing a worthwhile museum tracing 1,000 years of early, medieval and modern Hungarian history) and having great views of the Danube and the Pest side of the city. 

The Royal Palace and it's sculptures depicting historical Magyars (Hungarians) in dramatic scenes.....

And a lovely view of The Danube, the Hungarian Parliment Builing & Pest City...

I found a few Medieval / Art Nouveau gargoyles for daughter Julie who loves Halloween and such......

We spied a grand diversity of architectural styles...Art Nouveau, neo-gothic, neo classical, neo romantic, neo, neo....

We toured the Budapest Opera. Acoustics rated one of the top 5 in the world and costs for a performance one of the cheapest in Europe. 

And the iconic (on every postcard of The Danube through Budapest) Hungarian Parliment Building (from the front this time). 

A quick romp through the Great Market Hall, an 1886 farmers market featuring Hungarian paprika, fruit brandies, fresh veggies...

Paprika and garlic....

Meats and smoked sausages (free smells)......

A short walk on one of many Budapest pedestrian streets to our restaurant (Borlabor)...

...and we enjoy another fine meal, ending with Palinka (Hungarian fruit brandy - this time sour cherry).....

Tomorrow we will be up early to catch the 9:45 train to Pecs, Hungary. 

Walking Tour of Budapest - Day 6

WONDERFUL breakfast at our Hotel Gerlóczy this morning! Delectable pastries (baked at 7am), luscious pannacota, delicious omelets, fragrant coffee, crispy panini, tasty fruit bowls - oh yum, yum!  Is your mouth watering??

We meet our local tour guide Aniko at our hotel and head off for 4 hours of non-stop walking while providing historical overview, cultural insight, and personal insights. What an energetic, knowledgeable lady!

We start first on the Pest side of the Danube, exploring the streets, museums and parks of the newer side of Budapest. Including the Szechenyi Baths (Budapest's thin crust covers a huge reservoir of natural hot water). Budapest has 123 natural springs and 24 thermal baths. We didn't swim, but the Speedo and bikini clad pot bellied locals seemed to be having a lovely time.  

Heroes Square - 1,000 plus years of Hungarian history in a nutshell. 

And much, much, more!  Next we boarded the #16 bus for the ride to the top of Buda hill. First we visited Matthias Church where Hungarian kings were crowned. 

15th century sculpture in Matthias Church. 

Lovely stained glass. 

Coffee and cakes at Ruszwurm, the oldest cafe in Budapest (1827) still employing the original, vintage furniture. 

And returned to Pest in time for an organ concert that rocked St Istvan's Basilica. 

And then dinner at classy, highly rated, Cafe Kor.  Luckily we snuck in early, as every table was booked for the evening. 

Authentic Hungarian hideg gyumolcs leves (cream-based, cold fruit soup), ours was strawberry.  

Walking home we passed a collection of "love locks". Lovers have their name engraved on a lock, then lock it to the structure signifying lasting love. 

Off to bed after coffee and dessert at our elegant Gerlóczy Hotel cafe.