We had a little shopping expedition at the nearby market this morning. The lower level was mostly food and the upper level offered different kinds of Hungarian products. They are all starting to look like the same tourist items. The handmade tablecloths are beautiful but as far as I am concerned, not a big seller. It didn't take long to check out most of the booths.
After the bus finally left 30 min. late (due to 2 ladies not listening to the proper time); we headed out of town.
On the way out of Budapest we did see some of the old communist housing which is still pretty ugly. The buildings have been insulated and painted but still have that blocky sterile look.
We also passed some Roman ruins which are in the old Buda area. Budapest is actually divided into two parts-Buda (the area where most housing is) and Pest (where the downtown is and expensive housing). The older section of the Buda area is where the Roman ruins are. Budapest is still being refurbished with some areas in major need of repair.
We stopped at another shopping area in the town of Szentendre which seemed like a perfect spot for a tourist bus to stop. We saw several buses and a number of tourist groups. That tells me that you are captive bait. It was a nice little town with cobbled streets and shops but still the shops had a lot of signs in English and they took VISA.
Postal delivery in action in Szentendre.
There is also a policy for rotating in the bus so that you move 2 rows of seats. There is a problem with some folks not adhering to that. We will never get even half way up to the front. We have opposition in front and in back of us, so therefore we have only moved one seat each day. Some folks don't read the info or listen very well. Actually it isn't too bad back here. There are some folks that can not handle the walking and the steps. There have been several times that folks have actually stayed on the bus since they could not make a flight of steps. A few of these folks are old but others are just unfit. The trip said you should be able to walk two miles. That is not really accurate since steps can be an issue for some. This trip has a fair amount of people who are just not very mobile. They are missing some neat sites.
Now that I vented we just stopped off at St. Steven's Cathedral and several complained even before we got near a couple of flights. Europe does not have elevators for most of their major sites. You need to visit these while you are able.
St. Steven's was pretty neat and of course it had a huge painting of St. Steven who was the first king of Hungary. There was a crown on the painting which is the one we saw yesterday in the Parliament. This was a nice follow up from yesterday.
St. Stephen's Cathedral
Tall pillars at the cathedral
Your arms and legs should be covered when entering the cathedral.
St. Stephen with the crown on a red velvet pillow
Now onto Vienna. We hit the Austrian border about 5:30 pm.
We also remember our guide from yesterday talking about why pork is so prevalent in Hungary. The farmers were tired of the Muslims pilfering the local people of food and whatever commodities they had. This was around the 1200s to the1400s. The farmers began to raise more and more pigs since the Muslims would not eat pork. This was their way of protecting and keeping more food for their families. This has carried over to today since you will see pork as a dominant food in the Hungarian diet. Not sure if this is similar fact in Belgium and the surrounding area but Brian & Nicole experienced a great deal of ham in almost every meal in their travels. Brian had thought these countries had a strong pork lobby going on. It doesn't seem like Northern Europe experienced this issue; a strong pork lobby still makes sense.
We had dinner in a huge hall type place with a couple of musicians. The food was quite good. The only problem is that we do not eat until late in the evening. The food was quite good.
A large mug of wine
A delicious sausage cut neatly at both ends
Apple strudel
Putin and Pope John Paul II both favor the wine of this place, hmmm. I think this is a falsehood.
We had fun and enjoyed the atmosphere.
We were reading the newspaper and see that the Lufthansa pilots are on strike and are planning on it ending on Friday. The baggage handlers were on strike already. Now for the mechanics and flight attendants to take their turn. :-(
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