Budapest, Hungary

 Another busy day!  We checked out of our Airbnb  and took our luggage a few blocks away to our hotel for the evening - provided by Viking since there is no cruise boat available  due to the low water level.....

Otherwise, first order of business was to ride a trolly, then a  bus to Margaret Island. It's a pretty green 2+ mile long island in the middle of the Danube only accessible via bus or special permit.  The trolly took us right by the Parliament Building. Impressive in the daylight as well as at night!

The park was lovely and peaceful.   Beautiful rose gardens but showing signs of drought.

You've got to love the green spaces in the middle  of big cities!

There were the ruins of a convent from the 1200's.  

I will say that their signage is lacking....would be nice to read about the ruins but nothing was offered.  Google says St. Margaret was buried there and the convent was destroyed  in the 1600's by the Ottomans. 

View of the Danube near the convent.  This is a few miles from downtown and the city view is much more modern/urban. 

Walking along the park, we came to a Japanese garden, established in 1882.  Very tranquil....but showing signs of drought as well. 

Koi pond of course....

And lilipads too...

And always an arched bridge....

The view across the Danube.  If you look closely, this ship is hard aground! 

We stopped at a Cafe for a noontime brunch.  Yummy dishes but I was intrigued by my cappuccino- fun coffee artwork. 

After brunch I wanted to visit the "ruins bar" area.  This is just a street with what we would call "dive bars".   Unfortunately,  the "famous" one, Szimpla, does not open until 6pm.  Looked like fun but probably  loud and rowdy at night with a much younger crowd.  We'll save a night-time  visit for another time although  we did stop to enjoy an adult beverage on the 90 degree day.

Trying to visit everything "on the list" we made our way to the Jewish synagogue.   Beautiful building  but the cost to tour it was almost  $50 USD!  We decided that cash could be better enjoyed elsewhere as the reviews were not outstanding....

Taking a break on a city park bench, lots of folks doing the same most everywhere we went.

Back on the Metro, many stories underground! 

Love riding public transport...so easy! The US should do a better job like this!

Final walk took us back by the Parliament Building. 

And then by the Shoes on the Danube exhibit....a memorial  for those lost in WW2 that were massacred on the banks of the river after being ordered to take off their shoes.  The shoes were a valuable commodity....

Checked in at the Dorathea hotel for the evening,  very nice hotel.  View from the room.

Viking provided a pleasant  buffet meal in the evening and we chatted with some nice folks who were just finishing their cruise from the opposite direction......we will have a long bus ride to Vienna tomorrow  so we'll see how enjoyable the day is.   Hopefully we will be on a boat tomorrow night!