Our last full day on the trip was spent in Budapest, a magnificent city, and one of my favorites. We started the morning because there was so much to see. We jumped in buses first for a drive around both Buda and Pest. From the bus we could see this female statue on a hill. It was the Liberty Statue, erected in 1947 in remembrance of what was then referred to as the Soviet liberation of Hungary during World War II, which ended the occupation by Nazi Germany. Its location upon Gellért Hill makes it a prominent feature of Budapest’s cityscape.

Our first stop was in Buda at the Castle Hill. It was also the location of Fishermans Bastion. Some of the buildings there were purely decorative. We had an amazing view of the city from there. Matthias Church was at the top, a 700 year-old church that many of us loved because of the beautiful inside decorations. Every column, wall, floor had a painting and pattern. It wasn’t too ornate, and the colors were more muted, but it was Carol’s favorite church. You’ll never guess what George bought, yes a St. George icon. He found one our last day.

We stopped at Hero’s Square, on the Pest side, and which was an impressive square with a tall monument built in 1896 to commemorate the 100 year olds history of the Magyars. There’s also a museum there, and near the square, there was a small castle, baths, and a public ice skating rink in the winter. Because it was the Sabath, we couldn’t visit the Great Synagogue, the largest synagogue in Europe, but we drove by it. We quickly drove by Parliament, which was difficult to see from the Pest side; views are much better the other side of the Danube. But right after the building is the holocaust memorial, Shoes on the Danube. I was disappointed we didn’t stop, but I got off a few photos. George and Carol walked down later in the day. There are about 40 bronze pairs of shoes on the banks of the river where many Jews were shot and then fell into the Danube.

In the afternoon we walked over to the Central Market, a good source for Hungarian products, produce, meats, sausages, paprika, lace and other souvenirs. It was quite large. Afterwards we walked on Vaci Street which was filled with shops, and home of the black box cream.

Our last adventure of the day was to the Gellert spa. Budapest is a city of baths because of the thermal springs. The city has 123 natural springs and some two-dozen thermal baths. The baths are actually a part of the healthcare system.  Claus recommended this spa because it was within walking distance, and it looked prettier than the larger spa. So we walked across the green bridge and it was tight there. John, Bowman and I were the only ones who went. It was a little confusing at first, but we figured it out. We think the price was about 7000 HUFs per person , which maybe around $20.00 Euros. We chose to get two cabins, which were really only but enough to fit one person. You could rep your belongings in the cabin, and it would lock when you left. We wore blue watch bands, that served as a key. After changing into our suits, we ventured out into the baths. The firs pool, you had to wear a bathing cap to go in, so we skipped that one. But immediately across from it was a semi-circle that was 36-degrees Celsius. There was about now 20 other people in the pool. It was weird, but also nice. Next we thought we’d have to split up tango to them men’s and women’s baths, but after splitting, we realized the other thermal baths were co-ed. They were warmer. John’s baths were 40 and 36 degree Celsius, ours were 38 and 36. We then decided to go to the outside pool. The big pool was closed for the season, but the thermal pool was open. The air was cool, but the pool was lovely. Then we went over to John’s pool,last. Afterwards, I took a quick dip in the immersion. Bowman chickened out and just put her foot in, but I went all under. It was refreshing!

We had a lovely last dinner on the ship, and lots of laughs. This time it was at John Kell’s expense. The “banker” of the family accidentally  withdrew way too much Hungarian money from the ATM. The conversion is around 1 euro to 300 HUFs, and he had quite a few thousands. And no one who doesn’t live in Hungary wanted anything to do with them. I was lucky, and broke the ATM trying to withdraw money, or could have made a similar mistake. Bowman got a beautiful scarf at the air port with the money later, so it worked out.