Ed and Annette's Excellent European Adventure: Buda side of Budapest

Today our tour guide (Ed) led us on an exploration of the west side of the Danube River on the hilly side of Budapest. As we walked from our hotel, we couldn't help but notice the buildings plainness compared to Prague. While there was some old charm interest to the structures, the buildings lacked the color we so enjoyed in Prague. We had the opportunity to ride the M1 line which is the oldest line in all of central Europe. The height of the roofs and the style of the stations was distinctive and stylish.

We took the funicular to the top of the hill to the castle district. The views were spectacular of the river and east side. Perched on the top of the hill is a grand building that is the home to the national gallery and history museum as well as the President, now Prime Minister's office. We walked along the top of the hill of what used to be a walled compound. Looking below you see the ruins from buildings that had been bombed during WWII; the Prime Minister's office was just rebuilt in 2000. Strolling through the town center you could see some of the stone walls on the buildings that had been scarred by artillery. A 700 year old Matthias Church with its colorful roof and baroque adornments is in the process of being cleaned (which makes Bill very happy as he wants all the antiqued buildings to be scrubbed clean). Behind the church is the Fisherman's Bastion, a seven turret wall structure that gives you a great place to gaze over the rest of the City.

We have seen numerous species of pure bred dogs being walked along the streets. Our understanding is that a dog show is being hosted somewhere in town. It has been fun seeing all the different breeds and their owners touring around the City. We finally saw a few Vizsla dogs, the Hungarian hunting dog; Willie's homeland (Bill & Beth's dog).

We found a great place for lunch, Cafe Miro, then finished walking around the old city. Most shops sell embroidered table clothes/runners and clothing in addition to the usual souvenirs. The tough part is the money conversion. They have not converted to the Euro. Apparently they had started the process but the problems in Greece gave them pause. They use Hungarian Forint for their currency. It is about 230 Forint to the US dollar. So trying to determine the cost of things takes some time. They, like Prague, add service charges to the food bill. We have been more careful looking over the details of the menu. Tipping is also different here. They expect a tip from tourists unless a service charge is added. Too many details to remember!!!!

A long walk down the hill took us back to a main transportation hub and on to the old Obuda region. Obuda was not too exciting or too attractive. It did give us a view of the suburbs and what the typical soviet style apartments looked like. (Basically old run down dorm-like structures) We did get the opportunity to see the foundation ruins of a military amphitheater left over from the Roman rule; 2,000 years ago.

Riding the bus back I started to pay attention to the fashion here and realized there really is no set fashion. Anything goes. Men in Europe are less inhibited than men in America - lots of capris, colorful tailored shirts, etc. Young people wear pretty much the same as the kids in the US. Both boys and girls wear "Chucks" but no Tom's in sight. We have noticed lots of mis-matched clothing - interesting!