We arrived in Budapest about 6 p.m. on December 11, 2001 .  The temperature was probably in the 20s.  The next morning a light snow was falling when our local guide (Susan) came to show us around town.  Money --  the Hungarian forint was 263 to $1.00.  

We started at Heroes' Square ringed by many museums, drove by the city park with ice skaters, the zoo, public hot baths, then up the hill to the castle district and  Buda Square.  First stop was St. Mathias Church and the Fisherman's Bastion.  We came back a few days later to spend more time at the attractions.  Once down from the mountain and across the Danube River we stopped at the covered market to shop and eat a little.  We walked down Andrassy Street and by St. Stephen's Basilica where the Austro-Hungarian coronations took place.  This evening we found a restaurant that had one of Kirsten's favorite food - falafel.

The next morning we boarded a river boat for a 2 hour journey to the Danube Bend and the town of Szentendre.  Exiting the boat we had to walk in about 5 inches of fresh snow to walk around this small town.  Shops were just beginning to open and some were shoveling snow.  We walked by their town square with a Christmas tree to the Marcipan store and museum.

We were fortunate to visit the Margit Kovács Museum for free to see some great pottery - no photos permitted.  Our lunch was at the wonderful Renaissance Restaurant on the Danube.  It all started with our own loaf of bread and unlimited pitchers of wine.  Next venison soup and then turkey.  It was one of the best meals on the trip.  As the bus drove up the mountain side we could see how beautiful the area was - with lots of summer and vacation homes.  We also had a good look at the river bend.

Returning to Budapest we pasted the Roman ruins called Aquincum.  Our Radisson Hotel was not far from the main train station and a great multi-story shopping mall.  It was a great place to be on a cold evening.

By Friday, December 14, it was sunny but still cold.  Kirsten and I tried to take a tour of the Parliament Building but there were long lines (in the cold) and only 2 tours per day.  Oh well!  So we decided to take a walk along the Danube River, walked across one bridge and returned on another, saw the Holocaust Memorial, and used the local bus service to return to our hotel.  That afternoon we traveled east into the countryside for a horse show and dinner.  We were the only group at this horse training facility - Kirsten and some others went to the barn where they got to see the horses up close.  We also had some musical entertainment.

Saturday we had to ourselves so decided to ride the oldest subway in Europe and street trolley to return to castle hill.  The weather was cold and partly cloudy which was better than cold and snowing.  We did visit the "Labyrinth (or caves) of Buda" underneath the castle.  The area served as a bomb shelter during WWII.  The caves were for water delivery in medieval times.  Visited the Royal Palace and walked across the Chain Bridge to the Pest side of town.  Walked by the synagogue, then used the street trolley to return to the hotel.

The next day we were off to Vienna.