Buda or Pest - Part 1

We arrived, bleary-eyed in the Frankfurt airport, not much there really, but there was a lovely juice and muffin bar. I couldn't resist trying a new juice that had a name I could not pronounce. I took my juice and stumbled back to my chair to sit in the fog of jetlag and await our next flight to Budapest.

I have absolutely no memory of the flight from Frankfurt to Budapest but it must have gone well as we arrived right on time, and met up with some fellow Vikings. Recognizing one another by our similar luggage tags, we swarmed together awaiting further instruction. Seems to have taken an inordinate amount of time before we were all collected and loaded onto a Viking conveyance to see us to our temporary ship.

Oh yeah, about that. We learned right before we left that we would not be meeting our cruise ship, the mighty Tor in Budapest, as she seems to have been quagmired in Vienna. Instead, we would overnight on another Viking ship, which seems to have been stuck in place for quite some time. The next day we would journey (via 3 hour bus trip) to our Tor.

Well, this low water thing could have been far worse so we'll just roll along with it. The drive into Budapest was absolutely riveting. There were so many communist era "Brutalism" structures still in place, but the closer we came to the city, the paradox of gothic beauty edged in bleak savagery was fascinating.

We arrived at our hotel ship in time for a fine lunch on the terrace. No time to dawdle, off we went on our first Viking tour. Here we are in front of a really old obelisk, I think this was on the grounds of St St Stephen's Cathedral. He was a really important fella.

The trouble with our plan thus far is that we had eaten far too much on the ship, so when set loose among the Christmas Markets, we couldn't couldn't conjure appetite to enjoy the delicious smelling foods.

Here is one example.  Behold the Chimney Cake. like a funnel cake, poured onto a rolling pin and then rolled over an open flame, then topped with anything you can imagine.

Where is my handy dessert drawer when I need one? Damn the luck. If you find yourself in Budapest at Christmastide, don't be like Hilary, eat the chimney cake. Add cinnamon, and have it dunked in dark chocolate. I really cannot forgive you if you pass up this opportunity.

Our tour was amazing as well. They have their very own "Lady of Liberty". The word on the street is that the Soviets liberated the Hungarians (or Magyers as they style themselves) from the Nazi's but then they "forgot to leave".

Did you know that Buda and Pest are actually two cities, separated by the Danube? Apparently, the residents are made up of those who live in Buda, and those who wish they lived in Buda. The statue above is located on the Buda side, while the city center is located on the Pest side. We all caught up now?

We also learned during our tours that the Hungarians are very good at losing wars. One lovely guide  suggested that if one wishes to engage in warfare, one should wait to see which side the Hungarians pick, and then choose the other side. Useful information, to be sure.