European Epic # 4: From the Twins to the Ring

From Prague, a short 75-minute flight on a Czech Airlines commuter aircraft brought me to the equally historic capital city of neighbouring Hungary, Budapest.  Another first-time visit for both city and country!

The musical theme emerged here, too, as my flight landed at Ferenc Liszt International Airport, named after Hungary's most distinguished composer.

Here I was personally greeted (recognized at last as a dignitary, ha ha) by a representative of Avalon Waterways, and transported to the Hotel Sofitel Chain Bridge, right in the dead centre of the city and fortunately (I hope) connected directly to a casino!  No, I'm not really a gambler, but staying in places like this would be a lot easier if I had some regular roulette or blackjack winnings.  

But of course, the hotel was chosen for me as part of my package with Avalon -- and by now you've likely guessed that a river cruise is in the offing.  Enough with the great secrecy, this is the major cornerstone of my entire vacation -- a 15-night river cruise from Budapest to Luxembourg, and ending with a 2-night stay in Paris.

(Well, okay, there's still going to be a bit of a mystery about what happens after Paris!)

The reason I booked this package well over a year ahead of time was because Avalon sent me an email offering a limited number of cabins on certain voyages with no single supplement.  For anyone like me who enjoys travelling solo, those words are an automatic signal somewhere between an alarm bell and a major-league fireworks show.  At the prices river cruises go for, we are talking about savings in the realm of $8000 dollars.  That's all I needed to make me start saving my dollars for the rest of the trip.

Moral: it pays to sign up for promotional e-mails from travel service providers that have something you might be interested in.

But, here comes the sticker.  One of the conditions of booking any river cruise is that, in case of water level problems, parts of the itinerary may have to be operated by motor coach instead.  As I've noted already, Europe has had a very dry and hot summer this year.  Well, the morning before I was due to leave Prague for Budapest, I got an email advising that we would have a change of ship, and that we would be transferred from Budapest to Vienna on embarkation day -- a 4-hour coach ride -- to board the ship in Vienna.  Sigh.  It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.  The cruise company did offer a full refund to any passengers who didn't want to take the trip under these conditions.  I didn't take the offer.

The good news, as the cruise director pointed out, is that we aren't stuck on a sandbank somewhere between Budapest and Vienna.

Since the cruise package began with my airport transfer and the 2-night stay in Budapest, that's where I am -- so let's have a look around.  Budapest really began life as two separate but twin cities on opposite banks of the Danube, Buda (with Óbuda or Old Buda) on the west or right bank of the river and Pest on the east or left bank. The two units were merged into the single modern capital in 1873.

Of the numerous bridges crossing the great grey-green-greasy Limpopo... I mean, the beautiful Blue Danube (trust me, blue it AIN'T), the oldest and most iconic is the Chain Bridge, so-called because its suspension system hangs from steel eye-and-bolt chains rather than cables. So I just happen to have this view from my room at night. The illuminated buildings on the skyline are the old palaces and the Coronation Church up on Castle Hill. The first picture up at the top of the page was the daytime version of the same view. On a discounted package-tour rate, I was expecting to see the back-alley fire escape or perhaps the kitchen roof. Believe me, I'm not complaining.



Our full day in Budapest began with an included coach tour around the city centre. (Unlike most ocean cruises, this river cruise has an included sightseeing activity at every stop, as well as optional extra tours and activities for which you would pay more).

I got lucky with the weather again. I know rain is desperately needed here, but I was grateful that it poured in the earlier hours and then stopped before the tour departure. But the windows of the bus were still a bit rain-spattered making focusing difficult. It's just a pity that the sky remained obstinately cloudy all day, even when it wasn't raining again.

However, to get things rolling, a photograph of one of the broad boulevards in Pest, lined by tall apartment buildings that were once the homes of wealthy and powerful aristocratic families.



A major open space in Pest is Heroes Square, with its tall column and surrounding monuments commemorating heroic figures from all periods of Hungarian history.



In the centre of the city is a huge public park with many popular attractions. These range from the dignified grandeur of several art museums...



...to the contrasting whimsical fantasy of the gatehouse at the zoo...



…and culminate in the huge thermal bath complex, with numerous hot pools, both indoors and out.



After driving around Pest, we crossed the river into Buda and climbed up Castle Hill where we took an extended stop to walk around this historic district. It's full of old buildings, the oldest being the two 14th century houses shown here.


The crown jewel here is the Matthias Church, site of coronation ceremonies for several Hungarian kings and Austro-Hungarian emperors.



A close-up of the elaborately tiled roof.



Behind the church, on the brow of the hill, stands Fisherman's Bastion. One look at the architecture of this fantasy fortress, and I felt as if I had been transported back into Minas Tirith in Peter Jackson's films of The Lord of the Rings.



The impression was reinforced by the proud equestrian statue of King Stephen I, also known as King Saint Stephen (he was canonized 45 years after his death), the first King of Hungary. His stern face looked like the model for the stone kings on the Pillars of the Argonath.



Needless to say, a family photo was indicated -- not that there's any likeness.



Of course, the real reason so many visitors want to come to Fisherman's Bastion is for the spectacular views over the city. Here are two: St. Stephen's Basilica and its surroundings...



...and the ornate and imposing Hungarian parliament building.



Notice that all other buildings in Pest are capped in height so that these iconic structures will always dominate the skyline.

Helpful hint: at Fisherman's Bastion, you will have to buy a ticket to walk on the top level. Why bother? Just walk at pavement level across the plaza and under the arches, and you get the same view (for all practical purposes) for free.

In the afternoon, I went for a walk across Chain Bridge and back before heading to a café in the Dorottya walking street for a late lunch.

These pictures will give an idea of the size and nature of the supporting chains. The last picture includes a selfie of my size 12 shoe, just for scale.











There are good views in all directions from the bridge, with the Matthias Church and the Parliament as prime contenders.





On the day we were to leave for Vienna at 2:00 pm, I took up an optional extra excursion to fill in the hours of the day. It included a tour of the wine-growing region of Etyek near Budapest, with tastings at two wineries, and a local homemade lunch.

The first winery, Etyeki Kúria was a smallish commercial operation, with a very modern facility. The highlight here was the windows which allowed us to look down into the bottling area, and the wine cellar.



The second was a family operation, Debreczeni & Ferenczi, named after the husband and the wife. Here we got to try four more wines, all different in character and type from the four at the first winery -- and paired, course by course, with a delicious lunch. We also had time to wander around the gardens, and see some of the many varieties of flowers.







The drive from Budapest to Vienna was just about what you would expect: 4 hours of boring freeway driving. At least I got some sleep on the coach -- thanks to the very generously-poured "tastes" of all those local wines. But we got there all right, and finally boarded our ship at 7:00 pm.

As soon as we'd had the obligatory safety briefing, we got a complimentary glass of champage to toast the success of our voyage, and then proceeded directly to dinner. And there, the wine flowed like water as well -- my tenth wine of the day!

But all was well -- and although it looks like any other modern city in this picture, this is Vienna, the City of Dreams, on the shores of the beautiful blue Danube (although it still isn't really blue -- that's just a trick of the late-afternoon light).

Oh, the "Ring" in the title? That's a reference to the Ringstrasse, the "Ring Road," a broad boulevard sweeping in a half-circle around the core area of Old Vienna. It was designed at the behest of the long-reigning Emperor Franz Josef in the 19th century as a Viennese version of the renowned Avenue des Champs-Elysees in Paris.