The Bakers Grand European Vacation

After our day tour we headed back to the ship for a welcome talk as well as dinner.

The events director and the hotel manager chatted with the group in the lounge about what to expect on the tour. They were both really engaging and funny but mostly the events director. He’s a real character.

After the chat it was time for dinner which started at 7. Emily had suggested we ask them to speed up our meal as we have an appointment at 8:30. Our waiter was extremely accommodating and managed to get us out right on time.

When I asked if it was possible to expedite even if we had to skip dessert he said “so you want me to bring dessert first so you don’t miss the most important part?” He gets me.

The tables are mostly for six people so Sherry and Gary from California joined us. They were nice couple, although not a couple at all but rather just friends who were fun to chat with.

After dinner it was time to meet Emily for our night tour.

Our final stop for our first tour was Liberty Square. Here there is a Soviet memorial that honors the soldiers who liberated Hungary from the Nazis. As it turned out the Soviets were not much better. No one is really sure why this memorial is still here except that it is located close to the US Embassy and some people in town think maybe it’s left to irritate the Embassy by making them look at it every day.

I don’t really think that’s the case as it seems as though there is a great respect for US (or certainly in the past) due to the crown being held there and for Regan’s actions with Gorbachev.

Next stop was the moving memorial the ‘Shoes on the Danube.’ This is a monument that remembers the hundreds of Jewish people who were killed by being shot along the banks of the River. It got to a point in the war where they stopped sending some to concentration camps because it was cheaper and easier to just kill them here. They were told to remove the shoes and winter coats and they were shot.

There were men’s and women’s shoes as well as children’s. Impossible to even think about.

Our next stop was the Parliament Building. I should mention that Emily has been a tour guide for many years but has also worked at Viking (precovid) as well as at the Parliament building. She basically knows everyone.

We had an appointment I think for a tour of Parliament although she might have just gotten someone to sell her the tickets because of who she is. She said tours sell out months in advance.

The building was beautiful and you could tell how much pride she felt about it.

The tour starts by walking up four flights of a gold ornate staircase.

They had a contest for the design of the building to pick an architect. This was obviously the winning design. They decided to build the second and third runners up across the street.

Years ago, there were what was supposed to be peaceful protests against communism at the Parliament. What people didn’t know was that Russian soldiers were lined up in nearby buildings waiting for the command to shoot. Several hundred people were shot that day and you can still see the bullet holes in the buildings.

Next up we walked into a food truck area. Chimney cakes are something Hungary is known for which is basically a cinnamon type cake cooked over hot coals. I’m going to have to try one of these at some point.

We continued walking toward the Orthodox Synagogue which is the stricter sect. Here men and women have separate entrances.

Over the years the crown has been stolen or hidden. During WW2 the crown was smuggled to the US for safe keeping and was stored for years at Fort Knox. Jimmy Carter brought it back in 1978 and it’s now kept in the Parliament Building.

This park is meant to inspire kids to engage in sports.

We had a private tour scheduled with Emily starting at 1:30pm. The plan was to see the Jewish Synagogue as well as Parliament. Return to the ship for dinner and then pick back up for a night illumination tour starting around 8:30pm.

Emily was amazing. I have information overload and one million pics to try and organize. This won’t be easy.

She picked us up at the ship and we headed toward the synagogue first.

Emily found a spot on the street and parked and we began to walk the few blocks toward the synagogue. Before we left the car she advised Greg and Carey if they had hats to bring them to cover their head inside. Greg didn’t bring one today so he borrowed his mom’s.

The architecture was a mix of old buildings in either really good shape or really bad shape. The city is renovating many buildings around the city to restore them to original like conditions.

During WW2 when the Nazi’s occupied Hungary they created a ghetto that was walled off where all Jewish people lived. There were about 70k people living here. They were only allowed outside the wall one hour a day so they could leave the area to get food. There was an average of 15 people in a two bedroom flat. The wall was destroyed but portions were rebuilt as a memorial.

There were many alleyways with many outdoor restaurants and bars that were all decorated.

Turns out we aren’t visiting the Synagogue as planned today because of the start of Yom Kippur.

This Synagogue holds 3k people and was built in the 1850’s in 4.5 years based on donations. A donation allowed you to “own” a seat within the Synagogue which was almost a status symbol. People could get mortgages approved based on their seat.

Men and women sit on separate floors. There are an equal number of seats on each floor.

There was a cemetery behind the Synagogue which is typically not allowed in Jewish tradition. The reason is that this is within the ghetto and so many people died before the walls came down that mass graves were created. There are 24 mass graves here that each contain 80-100 people in each. Only half of the people could be identified.

Sidebar…Emily explained that the Buda side is where all the people with money live. It’s hilly and green with big houses and yards. The Pest side is flat and where the parties are. She kept repeating that no one would live in many of the places we visited but that’s where all the airbnbs are.

We went back to the boat after our walk across the bridge. As we walked back in we were greeted with “your rooms are ready!”

Being the first people on the boat this morning has its advantages.

We were led to our rooms by staff.

We headed up to the terrace for a buffet lunch. This is the only buffet they serve which is a welcoming lunch to people who come early.

I can already tell that access to unlimited coffee (cappuccino, lattes, etc) and pastries is gonna be an issue. I’m over caffeinated and over sugared.

After admiring the chain bridge from the boat, we decided to take the pedestrian bridge across.

We saw some chairs along the bank as we were leaving the ship that looked comfortable. I can’t say that was actually the case though.

We arrived at the boat early…like really early. 9:15 to be exact. So early that the last cruise really hadn’t even departed yet. There was luggage everywhere.

We had checked ahead to make sure we could drop off bags, so we went ahead and boarded and was greeted and assured we could leave our bags and hang out on the ship or feel free to head out and explore.

We decided to explore the ship. At this point we mostly have this to ourselves with the exception of the workers.

After our short 75 min flight we were on the ground in Budapest. The airport here was also very quiet.

Greg told me I probably wouldn’t find a Starbucks at the airport. He wasn’t wrong. I’d have to wait on coffee.

Luggage was super quick and we were on our way to find a taxi.

Got our taxi with no issues and we started out for the 30 or so minute drive to the boat.

It didn’t take long for us to feel somewhat like we were back in the states.

We were dropped off right in front of our ship. The Viking Tir.