Day 11: Budapest!

It was time for the last stop of our cruise: Budapest. We'd be here a full day, then fly the next day to … London! But I'm getting ahead.

Mom looking good in the morning. Or maybe she's tired? Several times, Mom would have a nosebleed that would sideline our plans for that day. Poor mommy.








Before the cruise, I was worried I wouldn't learn/retain anything. If I didn't make this blog, would I really remember our stops? I still forget which cities are in which countries, or the significance of X or Y. But one thing I learned and remember: Budapest is simply Buda + Pest, the names of two cities on opposite sides of the river! They were combined into one city (in … 1873). Budapest is the capital of … Hungary! Also, it's pronounced "Bu-da-pescht," (see the Wikipedia article), not "pest."

In Budapest, we went to a large market with many stalls. Locals go there, so I think it's not as much of a tourist trap.

This stall had all kinds of meat. The round white meat for "5500 x" is foie gras. It's also in the tins in the photo.

I took the photo because I rarely see foie gras. However, I'm not a fan of it. I don't mean the taste. I mean animal cruelty. Sure, I eat regular beef and eggs, and I feel a little bad for the cows and chickens. But foie gras is past the line for even me.


More learning: Foie gras is a type of goose liver. No problem with that. However, foie gras is really a fatter, larger liver. How do people make the liver fatter and larger? Feed the geese more. By force.

How foie gras is made. The goose has a funnel forced down its throat and is forced to consume food. 

You can educate yourself more by looking up "foie gras" on Wikipedia. Geese force-fed this way have livers that are 6–10 times normal size.

I think our cruise offered foie gras at some point. I ordered something else.

That said, we did enjoy the market. Here, Mary is photo-bombing what would otherwise be a lovely picture of two British women from our cruise. (I don't support photo-bombing like I don't support foie gras. But we don't have many photos of Mary here.)

Mom, Auntie Nancy, and our stylish tour guide. For some reason, I really like her hat.

See all that scarlet-colored stuff hanging from the top? It's paprika. They had many kinds.

Many kinds of honey. The bear is a nice Winnie-the-Pooh reminder.

Outside of the market.

Next, we took a bus to a touristy part of town preserved in the old style. I think it's called the Castle District.

Panorama from the Castle District. Mary would want me to note that Katy Perry's video for "Firework" was filmed in Budapest. (If you're not familiar with Katy Perry nor the song, that's okay. She's very popular, but I didn't know them either.)

Our tour group! The "Gentle Walkers." I had stayed on an elevated platform to take more photos. I asked everyone to look up.

My fav photo of the trip!

Tea time! (Oh, not London yet.)

Budapest berry and leaf. A plant expert could tell if it's the same as in the U.S.

Sign on the car: "Your donation will be spent on my maintenance. Thank you." Dad liked old cars. I mean cheap cars, not classic cars. I wonder if this sign would've gotten him donations?

I think there's a Budapest ant hiding here.

Education again: This is called a funicular. I learned that in Japan, though it's an English word. Who wouldn't want to ride something that starts with "fun"?

Oh, but that's not how it's pronounced…

Quick! What do you see? 

It's a lion on a bus!

Three boats anchored together! Our AmaSerena, the AmaLyra, and the Jane Austen. Gotta say, that last one is a really good name.

Mom would want a photo of me in a suit. On the left is Carol, a travel agent. Right is Alex, a pig farmer. 

Since our fancy cruise, I've educated myself more on food. I've learned enough to realize that I did not appreciate the work that went into this dish, which I can't describe. I still can't appreciate it, and being a foodie isn't on my priority list. That said, I'm sure it was tasty!

After dinner, we had what was supposed to be the highlight of the entire cruise: Budapest at night! Actually, it was really nice! The boat just went down the river and back, but there was some light music playing, and all the buildings were super-nicely lit up, and everyone hung out on top of the ship. A pleasant, memorable, and boat-only way to end the cruise.

Jon narrated during the night cruise. And look at the sky!

Beautiful. Thinking more, it really is a lot of lights/energy. And they do this every night!

You know what all the lights remind me of? Disneyland!

Parliament.

And with that, our Romantic Danube Cruise drew to a close! In the morning we'd enjoy another wonderful breakfast, then off to the airport. Everyone would go separate ways. 

Auntie Nancy would return to Seattle. However, Mom, Mary and I would stay in London for 4 full days!

Hmm, at this point, our 3-week cruise will have taken almost half a year to blog about. That's a bit distorted. So, I'm going to wrap up our trip with *one* London post, and I'll limit it to 20 photos! (You can always see more photos in my online albums.)

Next time: London, and the End!