Another Just Back From the Danube-Passion-8/24-9/5

[jpalbny]

How nice! You got to see Margaret Island by night. Fountain show looks great. :D And the nighttime views of the Buda side are really pretty too.

 

You also picked (IMO) the easiest way to get there. That's what we did. An easy walk from the northernmost stop of the 2 tram.

 

Glad that writing this trip report is fun for you. We are enjoying it as well, but I agree with you; it's a lot of fun to relive your trip in such detail. Now and then, I go back to read some of our old trip reports just so I can relive the experience. It's a great memento!

[stonepebble]

Thanx for sharing, SP

 

Please speed it up. :)

 

We will board The Passion on Thursday in Bucharest.

 

Ira

 

Oh...You're going to love the Passion!

It's been a big learning curve for me to do this!

It takes a bit to upload the photos...

 

Chris

[stonepebble]

How nice! You got to see Margaret Island by night. Fountain show looks great. :D And the nighttime views of the Buda side are really pretty too.

 

You also picked (IMO) the easiest way to get there. That's what we did. An easy walk from the northernmost stop of the 2 tram.

 

Glad that writing this trip report is fun for you. We are enjoying it as well, but I agree with you; it's a lot of fun to relive your trip in such detail. Now and then, I go back to read some of our old trip reports just so I can relive the experience. It's a great memento!

 

Oh JP, reading your report was how I figured out how to get there!

 

On to Day two...hope technology wise this day goes better!

[stonepebble]

3am this am! The 2nd night is always the worst! Ugh! Lobby routine again! Then at 6am I opened the drapes to a pink Buda Castle!

 

From the hotel room window!

 

So today we participated in the included tour for a bit. We drove to Hero’s Square and saw the circus & the elephant house with the zsolnay tiles I love so much! Walked around at the Millennium Monument and then drove through City Park. Saw the famous Gundel’s restaurant (famous partly for a special dessert), Vajdahunyad Castle (built to show all the architectural styles in Budapest) and the Szechenyi Baths. It was interesting to hear just how much the baths mean to the people in Budapest. Now a drive across the city to the Buda side.

 

Turul bird statue enroute to Buda Castle

 

From here we left the tour and forged out on our own. I hadn’t planned on going up the tower at Matthias Church (coronation church) but it was early so we decided to. Again, glad we did. It was a really different perspective with seeing Parliament, Gellert Hill, the tiles, etc

 

 

Our guide for the tower was a pretty young woman. She was anxious to ask us how we felt about our upcoming elections. She was wise in that she felt she was unable to get unbiased information anywhere. She shared with us that she and her countrymen are very concerned about Putin and Russia. These are the moments that just make travel fun and interesting to us! Now into the Church to see the Mary Portal, Loreto Chapel & Baroque Madonna, etc.

Afterward enjoyed Fisherman’s Bastion and the amazing views. Walked down the cobbled lane for the Hospital in the Rock tour-truly fascinating! Finally time for my coffee house. Yay! Cafe Ruszwurm (1827)for Hungarian creme cake (I don’t even know how to describe the vanilla cream custard!). Got my caffeine jolt so now back down the lane to Buda Castle, passing the old town ruins.

[stonepebble]

We poked around the castle and found Matthias Fountain. My husband says I gave him the People Magazine version of the story of the statue….the girl who fell in love with Matthias without knowing he was the King. She was a peasant and knew she could never marry him and died of a broken heart shortly after.

 

 

Over to the funicular to see the Turul Bird (symbol of Budapest) and, only me….ride the funicular down! By this time my legs were so sore from yesterday and the fountain show last night and Gellert Hill is next on the list!

Well when we got out of the funicular and crossed over to the Chain Bridge a Tuk Tuk taxi was there just waiting for us!!

 

 

So we took the easy way up and saw the Citadel and the Liberty Monument (I love the fact that the Hungarians changed this statue after the Soviets left) and of course the views were wonderful.

 

Elizabeth (white), then Chain, and finally Margaret Bridge (by Margaret Island) You can see Parliament on the right.

 

We walked back down with a young couple, musicians who played together. She was from Georgia (the Country) and he was from Amsterdam where they were now living. She was ready to go home after 3 days in Budapest as she was suffering from too much history & culture (and I’m thinking, boy am I in trouble, we’ve got 14 days to go!). She was also very worried about Russia. They continued on while we headed to see the Gellert Hotel (built as the most luxurious in Budapest) and Spa (supposed to be the prettiest). So pretty!. The stained glass in the stairwell is of an Hungarian Legend about a stag.

 

 

At that point we were right at the Liberty Bridge. The Liberty Bridge was closed to traffic (tram line repairs) so all the locals were hanging out, studying, having dinner, & there was a band in the middle of the street! You can tell what a beautiful day it was from the sky!

 

 

Then on to the Central Market. It was the end of the day so wasn’t too busy in the market. We were holding out for real shopping at the locals market near Liberty Square that JP told me about! Back on the #2 Tram to St Stephen’s and off to Cafe Kor for dinner. I had my first schnitzel! Turkey schnitzel is really good! Gundel cake was on the dessert menu.! Can’t miss that opportunity, I’ll never be at the restaurant. It’s a crepe with rum, raisins, & walnuts covered with chocolate and powdered sugar. I’m embarrassed to say we were too full, comfy, and tired to head over to the wine festival like we had planned. Short walk to hotel, not long before we were in bed!

[mimmy52]

What a great trip report! Beautiful photos! A question about the mummified hand in the cathedral. Was it in a side chapel? The day I went there, a wedding was going to start soon and we were only allowed in a small area and no mummified hand there. The person I asked didn't have a good command of English, but I thought she said there was an outside entrance to it, although I never found one.

[stonepebble]

What a great trip report! Beautiful photos! A question about the mummified hand in the cathedral. Was it in a side chapel? The day I went there, a wedding was going to start soon and we were only allowed in a small area and no mummified hand there. The person I asked didn't have a good command of English, but I thought she said there was an outside entrance to it, although I never found one.

 

Thank you Mimmy,

I always do a trip report just for ourselves. This is the first I've posted on CC. I do think it'll be fun to come back and look at!

 

It was inside the cathedral in a chapel on the left side of the Main Alter.

 

Chris

[pully8]

great report and pictures. we will seek out some of those places when we are in Budapest. some many beautiful buildings inside and out.

 

did you eat/drink in the book café the inside looks beautiful?

[acwmom]

Looking forward to the rest.

 

Robin

[stonepebble]

Pully-We only had coffee and cake at the Book Cafe, but they're open til 8pm so I'm sure they have meals.

I think the New York Cafe is the most famous, but when I saw that Book was right on our itinerary it was a no brainer. It was beautiful!

 

Robin-I was just thinking about you! Getting ready to do my Durnstein write up! We totally failed (you'll see).

 

And I now see why there would be a couple of days between your posts!! I'm sorry I ever bugged you. I'm writing Durnstein right now (for us) but have only posted to Day 2 of Budapest! It's taking forever! And I had a terrible time with posting photos in the beginning!

 

Chris

[jpalbny]

Writing these reports is a very involved process, isn't it? But those of us who are addicted to travel and cruises are very appreciative of your efforts.

[stonepebble]

Oh Thanks Jp...I think the season may be over before I'm done but I'm forging ahead!

 

Chris

[stonepebble]

We get on the Passion today! And I’ve adjusted and slept til 6! So packed up, bags outside the door, checked to make sure where our ship will be docked, and off we go to finish up Budapest! The jiffy store right behind the hotel sales transport tickets so that’s our first stop. Then #2 tram to Parliament. We enjoyed the tour very much. It is beautiful!

 

The Main Staircase

 

Based on Westminster Abbey (although it’s much prettier to me), it’s the third largest in the world. It was built during the Austro-Hungarian Empire (which explains it’s magnificence) and before it was built the Budapest government didn’t have a home. I found it interesting that America stored the crown jewels at Ft Knox for them during the cold war. I loved the little statues depicting agricultural & industrial branches in the Old Upper House Lounge

 

 

 

In the museum, they have the the giant red star that was on top of Parliament during the Soviet occupation.

 

 

 

 

We also learned there that before the land was filled in the Danube would have come up halfway into the building. The changing of the guard started just as we walked outside, for some reason their’s is at 11:30am.

 

You know you're a tourist when....

[stonepebble]

Now on to Liberty Square and I finally get to see my favorite statue, Imre Nagy! Although he was appointed by the communist’s, he was for reform, advocated for open elections, and beloved. He was ultimately executed. I just love him standing 1/2 on the bridge symbolically looking toward Parliament with his back to the Soviet Monument!

 

 

My husband got to have his picture taken with Regan.. Saw the Zsolnay tiled Postal Savings Bank, the Soviet Liberation Monument, and as we were walking behind what looked like a caged in building my husband who had no knowledge of it’s location said “It’s the American Embassy”! As usual he was right! We started heading back toward Parliament to catch the tram when I remembered that I had wanted to go to the Hold Utca market! So I got to see Imre again & see the American Flag on our Embassy. I waved to my fellow countrymen! So this is the locals place to shop, so much so that I couldn’t find anyone who would take a credit card and this was one place that most people’s English was not very good! We had put the rest of our Forints on our hotel bill that am! Finally found someone who would take a credit card and had paprika, Yay! Off for a stroll through Margaret Island. What a lovely park! Saw the water tower, fountains, ruins, pools, hotel, and last but not least the Japanese Garden.

 

Water Tower 1911, Art Nouveau

 

Well this was the middle of the day on our warmest day yet. When we spied bus #26 headed in the right directions, we jumped on! Big mistake! So we started off in the right direction but in short order our bus turned around at the open air theater and went the wrong way! Our first transport mistake…hmmm bus driver doesn’t understand us, and before long we’re on some major highway headed toward the Arpad bridge! We decided to just get off before we got further & further away. Purely by luck we got off and looked across the street and there was a metro station! Our last items for the day was to walk up Vaci Utca to the Central Market and grab a couple of bottles of wine for a before dinner glass of wine. So on the M3 to Vaci Utca. My husband is a saint and agreed to let me transfer to the M1 so that I could take the picture I forgot to of Europe’s first subway! As we exited the subway we were in Vorosmarty ter and right at Gerbeaud Cafe!! So my last Budapest coffee house and Hungarian dessert! So this time it was Dobos, a 5 layer sponge cake with chocolate buttercream, a hard caramel top, and ground hazelnuts all around the sides. Heavenly!! It was invented to last a long time when cooling was less advanced. We got our caffeine jolt from a specialty cappuccino they had there.

 

 

I got to see Vorosmarty’s statue. He was a favorite patriotic poet and he penned “Fair Ilonka” about the legend the Matthias fountain depicts. The square is named for him.

 

Surrounding by people from all classes

 

Then we headed up Vaci. Saw the Thonet House (beautiful facade, designed by designer of the Postal Savings Bank), the Peeing Boy statue, and the Church of St Michael. The shops were very touristy! We ended up getting our wine at a little restaurant outside of the other end of the Marketplace (there weren’t really any good wine shops in the Marketplace). It looked like it would be a great place to eat (locals)….next time! Back through the market place (it was cooler) toward the Liberty Bridge and a right turn at the Danube and there she was, the beautiful Passion!

 

Liberty Statue in the background!

 

We said Hello, got our keys, looked around a bit and headed to our gorgeous stateroom (luggage was all there) where I opened the curtains, jumped on the bed, and put my throbbing feet up!!!

Eventually we did unpack. Before dinner had a security talk and then the Captain’s Welcome Abroad with nice Champagne and then the Welcome Abroad dinner. I wore a blouse with a little bling, but most were dressed pretty casually (no shorts, but no jackets either). Delicious dinner served by Liza who ended up being our fav waitress. They were excellent at keeping our wine glasses full! Long, relaxing meal afterward we were so tired we went straight to bed! Notice the recurring theme!

 

Fun way to travel on the river, note the sunbathers!

[stonepebble]

Sea Day! Yay!! Sailing the Danube to arrive in Vienna around suppertime.

Up early again :( Vibration from the ship did bother me, but only the first night. But about an hour later we went through the first lock (or at least the first one I was awake for). Up on the sundeck to watch. It always fascinates me! While we were cruising that day we didn’t see any other river boats but saw kayakers, speed boats, and tug boats PUSHING barges. We passed ruins, huts, and little towns.

 

I guess these are fishing huts? Is it a hammock in the front?

 

That morning there was an optional excursion talk with absolutely no hard sale. In the afternoon as we approached, we had a Bratislava talk. Our first big ruins, Devin Castle, were shortly after.

 

 

Then Hainburg. After that it was wooded, flat, and occasionally some windmills. It was a gorgeous day, warm but with a breeze. We relaxed on the sun deck in the shade all day!

 

 

Buffet breakfast was not all that great especially since the fruit was never very good and I didn’t like their yogurt! Lunch was great with lots of Hungarian dishes and desserts even my Esterhazy torte! Coffee machines on the ship were great! There was a bbq lunch on the sun deck too which Ira had and brought me a little piece of the grilled salmon that was really good! As we were coming into Vienna we went under our first low bridge-so cool how they lower everything! The wheelhouse is hydraulically lowered. We could sit, not stand on the sun deck.

 

Naturally I hit my head on the awning coming out to go shower! btw I feel horrible about the accident on the Viking Ship and absolutely do not want to be insensitive!

 

Early buffet dinner was terrible! After a quick supper it was off to Vienna to practice navigating the metro (in preparation for a big day tomorrow!) and do a night walking tour that I found online. It was really easy to get to the subway (and I had shown Ira JP’s map). We got to the U1 station and got our 24hr passes then took the U1 to Schwedenplatz & switched to the U2 to Schottentor-So our very first Vienna sight, the University of Vienna!

 

[stonepebble]

Next we saw Beethoven’s house.

 

 

We got to the Minor Church (gothic) but couldn’t go in. I was disappointed because I really wanted to see the large mosaic copy of The Last Supper! We passed by one of my coffee houses but I was holding out for another tonight! We got to the Hofburg and the Michaeler Gate and checked out the huge fountains on either side. The one on the left was of a nasty row between two water monsters, Neptune, and unlucky humans. The Habsburg Emperors displayed this dramatic intermezzo to demonstrate their*power at sea, Mastery of the Sea. On the right is Mastery of the Land.

 

 

We went through the gate to see the Swiss gate, walked by the Augustinian Church, Spanish Riding School, & the Albertina. By now we needed a break & we arrived at the Hotel Sacher (still a hotel) and Sacher Torte is calling us! It is dry (as I’ve read) but it’s the outside that is so good, it’s sort of like a really rich chocolate brownie glaze. It was a great time to go, not crowded at all, & talk about some red decor!!

 

 

The back of the Vienna Opera House was just across the street so after our dessert we walked around to see the front en route to Secession which is supposed to be pretty when lit but it wasn’t! So, I was glad we did the tour, we got to see the beautiful sights at night, practice getting around, and had a great dessert, but the online night walking tour definitely needs updating & would have been better if we had started a bit earlier (easier to find Beethoven’s house & maybe the church opened) and finished at night. We jumped on the U1 at Karlsplatz, 5 stops to Vorgartenstrasse short walk to ship.

[mimmy52]

I hope you are going to post some photos of your stateroom and the ship. I like seeing all you pictures of what I didn't get to do.

[stonepebble]

I'm afraid they're not the best Mimmie! It was beautiful!

 

 

 

 

[mimmy52]

Thanks, stonepebble. Your pictures of the ship and stateroom are fine.

[jpalbny]

Nice pics! What's with those huge suitcases? Moving in for a month? ;)

[stonepebble]

Thanks Mimmie!

 

You will laugh JP...I was hoping you wouldn't notice!!!

 

You would not ever want to travel with me & my husband!

 

And I ran out of short sleeve shirts to wear!

 

ha ha

 

Chris

[stonepebble]

So I know I said I was going to try not post the same pics as JP & Robin...but in Vienna these are the only things we saw...so no choice!

Here goes...We had big plans for our 1 day in Vienna! Off the ship early, back to Vorgartenstrasse to catch the U1 to Karlsplatz and switch to the U4 to exit at Schonbrunn. I had read that taking the tram was better as it stops right at the entrance, but coming from the ship this was really the easiest way and it was a very short walk! So we had gotten the Sissi pass ahead of time and we were ushered in very quickly. Thankfully there were very few people there that early and we would just let tour groups pass so that we could take everything in. The audio is very good. I loved hearing about Marie Christine, Maria Theresa’s fav and the only child allowed to marry for love and Napoleon’s son (and his bird) who was exiled there to keep him away from France. etc, etc

 

 

After Schonbrunn we took the U4 to Karlsplatz. so that we could start with the beautiful baroque Karlskirche. The highlight for me of the church is the elevator right in the middle that takes you up to a very close up view of the ceiling frescoes.

 

The frescoes depict St. Charles Borromeo begging the Holy Trinity to end the plague in the Vienna. My Fav!

 

We did go up the tower and although the windows are dirty & covered with wire we could spot all the sights and could see some places that we didn’t see up close i.e. Town Hall and the Votive Church. We walked past the two beautiful Otto Wagner train station entrances (one now a bar) and headed into the Augustinian Church. There was a mass in progress so we decided to come back later. We did stay a few minutes and listen to the beautiful organ music. On to the Spanish Riding School to check on tickets. There were very few choices available but one that worked was in 50 mins…what to do? Well the Sissi Museum, which I loved. I thought the info from the audio painted her in a little different light than the “adored Sissi”.

 

This is actually from Hotel Sacher. She really was pretty!

 

The timing worked out great except that you come out of the Imperial Apartments in a really weird place. We had to run to make the riding school tour! It was just fascinating and what a break from all the culture! Those stallions in the barn acted like they were drugged, they were so calm! You get to see the tack room, the Baroque Winter Riding School where performances are held (it doesn’t smell the least bit like horses), the Summer Riding School which houses the world’s largest horse walker, and see the horses up close in the stables.

 

 

Time for a snack and Cafe Central is nearby! We held out in Budapest thinking Vienna was the place for strudel …and it was! It was served with a cream sauce, & whipped cream too!

 

Cafe Central & a beautiful Viennese woman!

 

We backed tracked to the Augustinian Church for a better look. This is where the Habsburg’s hearts are (they’re entrails are in St Stephen’s)! The beautiful Cenotaph of Maria Christina (Maria Theresa’s fav) by Canova is here and you can see where the royals sat high up behind windows. The church was connected to the palace. Famous royals were married here!

[stonepebble]

I tried to give my dear husband lots of time in the Austrian Ntl Library. The State Hall was amazing and they were having a fabulous exhibition on Franz Joseph. The rear wing was used as the entrance from the palace by the emperor. The collection dates from 4AD! Eventually I dragged him out!

 

 

We headed to the main entrance to the Hofburg so I could take pictures which I hadn’t done yet

 

The fountains from the evening before are on the ends of this.

 

After some pictures, we went through the Swiss Gate (named for the Swiss guard unit hired by Maria Theresa) into the Swiss Courtyard (the oldest part of the Hofburg). The Imperial Treasury is here as well as the Imperial Chapel where the Vienna Boys Choir performs. Time for dinner but the very Gothic Steffi (St Stephens, the symbol of Vienna) was en route. We had planned to go there after dinner but popped in for a peek. Bad news!! Although I had gotten email confirmation from the cathedral that the tower would be open that night, I was informed that they had changed the schedule. I planned to go back after dinner to be sure but just gave up! So we got to see some of the inside and of course the outside, including the beautiful tiled roof, Giant’s Door, and gargoyles.

 

The tiles form a mosaic of the double-headed eagle that is symbolic of the empire ruled from Vienna by the Habsburg dynasty.

 

What I wanted most to see were the self portraits of Master Pilgrim a craftsmen for the cathedral (famous for the pulpit). Another next time…We had a wonderful dinner sitting outside in the shadow of Steffi at Lugeck. Shout out Robin! We were lucky and actually had very good service.

 

 

After dinner we found Mozart’s house, would love to have done the tour. I think we’ll have to come back to Vienna. My next time’s are really piling up! So instead of Steffi, I surprised my husband with a trip to Prater! What a great amusement park! We only did the ferris wheel which has operated for over 100 years. There were a couple having a romantic dinner in the car next to ours! It was so cool. With each revolution the chef who we could see inside the kitchen, would bring in another course! Fun sight/Fun time to end our visit to Vienna

 

 

[jpalbny]

You did very well in Vienna! That is one very busy day - glad you got everything in. Loved seeing the pictures!

[acwmom]

Chris,

 

Loving your review. Certainly bringing back Vienna memories. Glad you enjoyed Lugeck, and sorry you missed the tower climb....

 

Robin