Buda & Pest then on to Austria

Friday, December 08, 2017
Vienna, Vienna, Austria
It was exciting to board the Amastella and explore our new home for a week. This ship is bigger than the last one and more modern. It's also totally decked out for Christmas and the crowd is less blue hair and more 60 something - we are definitely no longer the youngest on the ship! After dinner we cruised up and down the Danube enjoying the incredible buildings lining the River in Budapest. It was cold up on deck but totally worth it to see the city by night. A little Hungarian palinka - fruit brandy - helped a bit to warm us up.    Traveling in the winter is a totally different experience what with the bundling up and such but the landscape and the Christmas markets and the mood and feel of each place is such fun to see in a different season. We spent the next day exploring the castle district in Buda.   The views over the river to Pest and the Parliament building were stunning on a beautiful sunny day. Back on the Pest side we visited the huge and impressive Hero's Square. Last time we were here, Dad, Karen and I were the only ones brave enough to get out of the bus in the 100 degree heat! It's the largest square in Budapest and has lots of statuary and the tomb of the unknown soldier.  Our guide was full of pop culture trivia, especially movies because her son works in the industry. She showed us where many movies were filmed in Budapest including Mission Impossible, the Martian, Evita and others.  It would've been nice to have a little more time to explore the old Jewish quarter, especially the famous ruin bars. Something to return for! 

Comments

Connie
2017-12-14

Beautiful photos! Thank you for sharing your trip!

2025-02-07

Comment code: Ask author if the code is blank