Another sunny but cool day. The weather has been cooler than normal. Luckily we brought enough to “layer” and stay warm. We are off for a tour of Budapest with a local guide and then a group lunch in the “Pest” part of town.

Since the Fishermen’s Bastion is next to our hotel that we where we started the tour.  The area got its name because supposedly during medieval times fishermen who lived here protected this portion of the Buda castle walls. It is one of the most visited locations in Budapest because of its extraordinary views. A prominent statue is of St. Stephen I, the first King of Hungary. Although the highlight of the area are the views across the river, the nearby cobblestone streets with their tiny shops are also a delight to see and explore.

From here we boarded buses to go to see the Freedom Statue on a nearby hill. Also known as the Liberty Statue it was erected in 1947 to commemorate the liberation of Hungary from Nazi Germany by Russia. The problem is the Russians did not leave for 50 years! There was the futile unsuccessful revolution in 1956 to oust the Russians. It was not until 1989 that Hungary gained its independence. The monument which originally had a statue of a Russian soldier has been modified; that statue was removed and moved to another less obvious location. Several viewing platforms in the area give visitors a great perspective of the all of Budapest.

We left the “Buda” portion of the city to see the more business/party side of “Pest” on a driving tour through the area. The one stop we made was at Heroes’ Square, where there are statues of the famous seven Magyar chieftains and other important Hungarian heroes. It is also the location for the Memorial Stone of Heroes, which is sometimes confused as a tomb of the unknown soldier. As it turns out while we were there a dignitary from Lithuania did lay a wreath at the Stone of Heroes.

Lunch was held in the old music hall in Pest. At this point people had three options; to stay in Pest and return to the hotel on their own, or return directly to the hotel, or go on the optional tour to see a Hungarian horse show. Our gang of six had signed up for the show which was held at a horse ranch outside the city. The Lazar Lovaspark ranch was quite an operation. We were greeted with more Palinka, the fruit brandy featured here, and puffed pastry snacks, before being led on a short tour of the stables to see some of the many horses they own. Then we toured a small farm animal zoo and a building dedicated to the trophies the family has won in horse related competitions. Next was a ride on horse-driven wagons through the nearby woods and finally to the viewing stands to view a horse show put on by Hungarian cowboys who demonstrated skills with whips and weapons used in past ages, as well as horse riding skills. I was surprised at how physically large the horses are; they seemed much larger than ones I have seen elsewhere. The show was interesting and everyone seemed pleased that they went.

Dinner was again at the hotel. Normally this would have been a big captain’s farewell dinner on the ship so it was a bit of a disappointment when we were simply at scattered tables in the hotel dining room. The official river cruise ends tonight; most people will be flying home tomorrow. Forty two of us are taking the optional 5 night extension that wil take us to Bratislava, Slovakia and Prague, Czech Republic. We leave in the morning.