After shopping for several hours we had an excellent lunch from one of the food vendors in the market.  The crepes we ordered were savory ham, onion and cheese.  Although one would have feed us both, we ordered two.  Warning! over eating seems too easy in Hungary.

The next three photos are of our crepe chef.

After lunch we headed off to find the “Shoe Memorial”.  We took Tram No. 2 north to the Parliament building, badly overshooting our destination.  Also we discovered that the location of this Holocaust memorial, or at least how to get there, is not common knowledge in Budapest.  After back tracking several tram stops we found our way out to the river bank.  This link provides a virtual reality visit to the memorial.

As we sat along the Danube the sun began to set offering spectacular views of buildings on the Buda hills.

Later in the evening we headed out to dinner at Restaurant Fatal.  Here’s a review

Reastaurant Fatal in Budapest is a rustic restaurant in the center of Budapest. Even though it is in the heart of Budapests tourism, the Vaci utca, the restaurant is well visited by locals. The ambience is very good and exciting.
The menu in restaurant Fatal offers large wooden plates with a massive amount of meat and plenty of side dishes. The portions are extra large so many people have to their left overs home. The prices are a little bit above avaerage but for the mass of food you get it is a fair price.
The restaurant Fatal is in a hidden small alley crossing Vaci utca at house number 67 wich is between the market hall and Szabad Sajtó út.
If you are really hungry and need a lot of food restaurant Fatal in Budapest is the right place. 

We were not really hungry enough.  Here’s a photo of my duck, way too much. 

After dinner we walked along the Danube and then late in the evening had two grappas at a wine bar near the chain bridge. A good end to a wonderful day.  Doug

We spent the afternoon in the National Gallery, a museum dedicated to Hungarian art.  As the museum was huge, we followed Sarah Finnegan’s suggestion of starting at the top (modern) at letting gravity propel us back in time.  We got back through the twentieth century and a ways into the nineteenth before tiring.  One picture which left a strong impression on me was In Serbia by László Mednyánszky.  (After following the link, click on the small painting to see details).  Did these two Hungarian soldiers really want to die in the Balkans because an Austrian heir to the throne had been killed?

After checking in to the hotel, we spent Sunday evening at the Hungarian State Opera House (follow the link to a great virtual tour of the building).  The program for the evening was Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem Mass in memory of Gioacchino Rossini.  From the opening trumpets from high above the stage it was a wonderful performance.   I have enclosed the program.  They were all wonderful singers.

Doug

PROGRAM FOLLOWS:

Wilma and I left the ship with our cruise director and headed immediately to Saint Stephen’s Basilica for All Saint’s Day mass.  Later we walked back across the chain bridge for lunch on the ship.   After lunch I felt under the weather so I took a 3 hour nap while Wilma went on the tour.  The one site I missed while I slept and wished I had seen was Matthias Church in the Castle District.

Saturday evening we had our farewell dinner on the River Empress.  Just a few food pictures and a photo of our ship’s chef bring out the dessert.

Later on Friday morning we arrived in Bratislava, Slovakia and after lunch explored the city on a two hour tour and then two hours of free time.  Up to 1918 Bratislava had been in Austrian Hungarian Empire and was called by it’s German name Pressburg.  In 1918 it became part of Czechoslovakia and took the new name Bratislava (Brotherhood of Slavs).  Today as the capital city of Slovakia, Bratislava has a booming economy with new auto plants (Volkswagen and Citroën) and a new US Steel plant.   With the rapid growth the hills above Bratislava are covered with very large homes costing up to 5 million US dollars.

Back aboard our ship we were treated to music by the Pressburger Duo.  Their Mixture of classical and Slovak folk music was a good end to our visit.  At the end of the performance our ship sailed on to Budapest and we left the lounge to eat dinner.   That evening our crew and fellow passengers dressed for the ship Halloween party in the lounge.

Next we visited the Secession Building (known as the cabbage building) and saw  Klimt’s Beethoven Frieze. The next picture illustrates the building’s nickname.

Finally we we visited the Leopold which has a large collection of Secession art.

After dinner we headed out for a Vienna music concert and views of the city night illumination.

I know this blog is far behind, but promise to publish pictures of Bratslava and Budapest after we return home tomorrow.

Doug

During lunch we sailed on to Durnstein.  The Durnstein Monastery picture is from our ship.  It’s the picture with the blue tower.

At 2pm we left on a wine tour to Krems Sandgrube 13 (sand pit 13) co-op. I have enclosed a picture of the floor map of the 2000 co-op members.  Here we tasted excellent wines, especially the whites (Reisling and Gruner Veltliner)

Finally we walked back to Durstein and shopped before dinner. I have enclosed a picture of the opposite shore of the Danube at dusk.

Doug

Doug

The golden arches never looked so artistic. Even McDonalds almost fits in this historic city.

The old kitchen picture is from Mozart’s birth place. The chess game was outside the cathedral.

I have enclosed sevral pictures from Germany. The first picture is of the Passau cathedral, second is a picture of Scharding Austria across the Inn from Passau. Finally a picture of the old Roman walls of Passau.

Passau is a city of three rivers, the Ilz and the Inn which join the Danube.

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