Today we disembarked the Viking Ullur and transferred to our Viking hotel (Corinthia Budapest) for the next two nights. Having been to Budapest for work in 2015 and on Viking’s Grand European river cruise in 2017, Budapest feels like an old friend and I have a former work colleague/friend whom we are meeting for dinner tonight.

To fill the day from the time they kick us off the boat until check-in time at the hotel, everyone is included on the Snapshots of Budapest (6 hours, moderate) excursion, although some people did DIY touring. There was also an optional evening excursion – Hungarian Folklore Dinner (3.5 hours, easy) which booked up early. Although we had covered everything listed in the included tour in our prior visit to Budapest, we decided to proceed with the Snapshots tour as its final stop was at the Grand Market Hall where Dave wanted to buy paprika for his BBQ rub. The tour then delivers everyone to the Corinthia Hotel where our bags were taken earlier by Viking for check-in.     

Budapest Overview

But first, a quick overview of the capital of Hungary – Budapest. The earliest history of the area included settlements by the Celts, Romans, and eventually the Magyars (tribes believed to have originated in modern-day Siberia and Mongolia) in 896 and considered today’s “Hungarians”. However, like many others in the region, the Magyars were unable to stop the Mongols and later the Ottomans from controlling the area during their hey-days. Then came the Austro-Hungarian empire with Budapest serving as a co-capital with Vienna until the end of WWI. The Soviets, of course, took over after WWII, establishing a communist regime. In 1956, Budapest was the site of the Hungarian Uprising temporarily overthrowing the communists until Stalin sent in his troops as well as those of neighboring countries to quell the rebellion. The undercurrents of rebellion remained until the late 1980s when Hungary helped lead the Soviet bloc countries in the final overthrow of communism in the region.

Today, over 1.7 million people live in Budapest – almost 20% of Hungary’s population. The first permanent bridge joining the hilly Buda and flat Pest (pronounced “Pesht”) sides, the Széchenyi Chain Bridge, was completed in 1849, ultimately enabling a unified Budapest. Today, there are seven main bridges providing vehicular access across the Danube in central Budapest. All five bridges (Margaret, Elizabeth, Liberty, Petőfi, and Chain) which existed during WWII were destroyed and rebuilt between 1946-1964. The Árpád Bridge was added in 1950, and the Rákóczi Bridge was built in 1995. The massive Gothic Revival-styled Hungarian Parliament Building overlooking the Danube is probably one of the most recognizable buildings in the world, especially when lit at night. Construction started in 1885 and was completed in 1904 on what was then and still is the largest building in Hungary.

Snapshots of Budapest Excursion

The Viking tour description reads:

Take in one of Europe’s great cultural capitals.

Over the last few decades, Budapest has reemerged as one of the continent’s iconic cities, divided by the lilting Danube and connected by the graceful Chain Bridge. Meet your guide for a panoramic tour, beginning in modern Pest. Along the elegant Andrássy Avenue, the Champs-Élysées of Budapest, admire the National Opera House. Drive through at Heroes’ Square, a wide-open plaza of monuments and statues commemorating the Magyar state. Across the river, explore the more traditional Buda side of the city. Here you will visit the Castle District with its massive hilltop castle complex, the turreted Fisherman’s Bastion and Matthias Church, named for the country’s most popular medieval king. From the heights of Buda Hill, enjoy fantastic views of the famous Chain Bridge. Afterward, enjoy free time at Budapest’s colorful Market Hall to browse an array of speciality food and handicrafts.

Before we disembarked, however, I was able to go up on the sun deck and take some nice photos from Viking’s prime docking location by the Chain Bridge on the Pest side.

Two buses left at 8:45 and two more at 9:15 for the Snapshots tour. We were assigned to the 9:15 schedule which gave me plenty of time to take those final photos after breakfast. Our route took us south along the Danube on the Pest side to the Petőfi Bridge to cross to the Buda side.

Buda Castle District

The Danube River runs roughly north-south through Budapest. Pest is on the east side of the river and is relatively flat. Buda is on the west side of the river and the Castle District sits approximately 170 meters (558 feet) above the river on a limestone plateau. Other hills on the Buda side rise to over 1700 feet.

The oldest structures are here on the Buda side as most of the Pest side was destroyed in a flood in 1838. The buses let us off at a drop zone, then our guide Rebecca took us through the area to the Fisherman’s Bastion where she provided historical background, then established the time everyone needed to be back at the drop-off/pick-up zone. After we took a few pictures, we headed to find a café to relax until time to return to the bus. Rebecca had pointed out a confectionary where she recommended trying the Dobos Torte specialty, so we decided to give it a try.  

More Panoramic Drive

From the Castle District, the bus drove along the Danube north to Magrit Hid (Margaret Bridge) where we crossed back to the Pest side. This provided drive-by views of Margaret Island, Parliament, the Shoes on the Danube Memorial, and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences before turning onto the famous Andrassy Avenue with its high-end stores and elegant buildings such as the Opera House (built to rival Vienna’s). Then to Heroes’ Square and the adjacent park built to celebrate Hungary’s 1000-year anniversary in 1896.

Great Market Hall

The drive ended at a drop-off point near the 107,000 square feet Great Market Hall opened in 1897. It was severely damaged during WWII and finally renovated and reopened in 1997. An Aldi Supermarket is housed in the basement while the ground floor consists of many stands selling produce, meat and other foods. The upper floor has a food court and sells mostly textile goods – everything from lace tablecloths to leather bags. Any souvenir you’d want can be found here as well.

Once Rebecca gave us the time to meet to return to the bus, Dave asked her for advice on which vendor to buy paprika from. She took us directly to one of the stands (there are many selling paprika) that she recommended. She said all of the paprika sold in the market is certified and prices are relatively the same at all stands. Paprika purchase completed, we wandered amongst all the stalls, but didn’t find anything else that tempted us to open our wallets besides trying some plum strudel. Technically, this was the tour’s lunch stop, but we’d eaten a big breakfast and we’d be meeting my colleague for an early dinner, so a pastry sufficed!

Everyone was back at the meeting point on time, and we walked about two blocks to the bus. What seemed like it should have been a 10–15-minute drive to the hotel ended up taking over an hour! Admittedly, there was a lot of traffic, but looking at the route we took, I think they were killing time spreading out the arrival of the four buses at the hotel. In hindsight, we probably should have done a private tour today, but I was too unsure of the logistics to plan this ahead of time.  

Hotel Check-in

When we arrived at the hotel, we waited on the bus for the Viking host to come aboard and explain the check-in process. Following that, everything went smoothly, and in just a few minutes we were in our room where our bags awaited us. Well, almost. My computer bag was MIA. So, we went down to the Viking host desk to report it. I had a Tile tracker on it, so was able to determine that it was at the hotel’s address. Within a few minutes, it had been found, as one of our fellow Viking guests brought it to the Viking desk after discovering it delivered incorrectly to their room. Not sure how it got labeled with the wrong hotel room number as it was tagged identically to our other bags, but all was well in the end.  

Dinner

My former work colleague, Gezá, lives a couple of hours away from Budapest (near where we are going tomorrow) and primarily works from home, but comes into the Budapest office periodically, so he made today a Budapest office day. He sent me a couple of options for restaurants near the hotel that looked good, so we picked one and he made a reservation for 6pm. We met in the hotel lobby around 5:30 and had a quick reunion time, then walked the two or three blocks to the restaurant. We had a good time catching up on our lives and changes in the office (it has relocated twice from my last visit there) as well as organizational and personnel changes. I miss the people I worked with, but I’m glad I’m retired now! We walked back to the hotel and said our goodbyes, then Gezá took public transportation back to the office where he’d left his car. Tomorrow is a holiday (May 1^st – Labor Day), so he wasn’t worried about getting home late.

It was only after we’d returned to our hotel room that I realized we didn’t take a picture together! Oh well – we have our memories!