Monday was a beautiful day warm and sunny. We boarded our ship, the Gate1 Monarch Queen, in the afternoon where we caught up with Cynthia. We are very happy with the ship and our cabin. The service is great starting with the crew dragging our bags on board. Our cabin has a king size bed and floor to ceiling windows that are just a few feet above the water. There is a French balcony and sliding window opens. Well worth extra $400 per person for this cabin. After getting settled in our cabins we had an orientation meeting, a welcome dinner in the restaurant and a Hungarian Operetta performance in the lounge. Later we strolled along the river admiring Budapest all lit up at night.
Mostly we sail all night starting around dinner passing through many locks, 68 in total for the trip. The locks raise the boat as we sail towards Regensburg and then from Regensburg to Amsterdam the locks lower the boat and the water levels.
Budapest
After a healthy buffet breakfast on the boat we joined the rest of the 146 guests on three large busses for a city tour of Budapest. I was not impressed with our guide Maria Gabriella, so much that we left the group up on Castle Hill to explore on our own – Bill Cynthia and I. We did get a good city overview of the city from the bus – Heroes Square, City Park, Andrassey Blvd and The Castle quarter on the Buda side.
We bought tickets for Matthias Church and Fisherman’s Bastion and had time for drinks before meeting the bus to ride back to the bus. The views from Fisherman’s Bastion looking over Pest were amazing. Matthias Church is a Roman Catholic church located in the Buda Castle District, in front of the Fisherman’s Bastion. The first church was built on this site around 1015. The current building was constructed in the late Gothic style in the late 14th century and was extensively restored in the late 19th century.
The Fisherman’s Bastion is a terrace with seven towers that represent the seven Magyar tribes that settled in the Carpathian Basin in 896. From the towers and the terrace is a panoramic view of the Danube River, the Pest side of the city and Margaret Island. The site is called Fishermen’s Bastion because the guild of fishermen were responsible for guarding the Buda side of the Castle Walls during the Middle Ages.
Jewish Quarter Tour
After a quick lunch on the boat, the six of us rushed over to The Central Market so David could buy some paprika and then meet our private guide Kati at Dohany Synagogue for a tour of the Budapest Jewish Quarter. She did a great job, so much warmer than the guide in Prague. We visited the Dohany Synagogue, the Jewish Museum, and the Holocaust Memorial. Pat found several Roth names on a plaque in the memorial – remembering Jews who died in the ghetto towards the end of the war found when Allies liberated the city and the ghetto.
“Don’t look at the vessel but at what it contains.” A quote from a painting of an old rabbi that was made after he died, in the Jewish Museum in Budapest. Sometimes a sign or a piece of art just strikes me as meaningful.
We ended up in the Szimpla Ruin Pup for a beer. An eclectic place recommended by Rick Steves and our guide. Kati was a little surprised when we decided to end our tour of the Jewish Quarter and stay for beers at this pub. Ruin pubs are ramshackle bars that have sprung up in old buildings that have not been renovated. Good article here on the ruin pub scene in Budapest.
The boat departed fo Budapest in the middle of dinner. I really didn’t want to miss seeing the city at night as we sailed by the castle, Parliament and all the 19th century bridges and buildings on display. It was so worthwhile to sit up on the top deck with a clear sky, a temperate breeze and Budapest all dressed up. The other passengers could not put down their cameras to just look and remember with their eyes and brains. But glad that David took this pic for me to share!
