Monday May 19
Budapest
The boat docked around 4:00am, we weren't disturbed but we
were up early to complete our packing to prepare to leave the boat for our
hotel at 9:30.
The history of Budapest began with Aquincum,
originally a Celtic settlement that became the Roman capital of Lower Pannonia,
Hungarians arrived in the territory in the 9th century. Their first settlement
was pillaged by the Mongols in 1241–42. The re-established town became one of
the centres of Renaissance humanist culture in the 15th century. Following the Battle of Mohács and nearly 150
years of Ottoman rule, the region entered a new age of prosperity in the 18th
and 19th centuries, and Budapest became a global city after the 1873
unification. It also became the second
capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a great power that dissolved in 1918,
following WW I. Budapest was the focal point of the Hungarian Revolution of
1848, the Hungarian Republic of Councils of 1919, Operation Panzerfaust in
1944, the Battle of Budapest in 1945, and the Revolution of 1956.
Cited as one of the most beautiful
cities in Europe, its extensive World Heritage Site includes the banks of the Danube,
the Buda Castle Quarter, Andrássy Avenue, Heroes' Square and the Millennium
Underground Railway, the second oldest in the world. Other highlights include a total of 80
geothermal springs, the world's largest thermal water cave system, second
largest synagogue, and third largest Parliament building.
While sitting in the boat’s lounge,
we heard the Tour Director announce the departure time of a tour for some APT
passengers to a farm and Puszta Horse Show, as we had nothing planned for the day
we inquired if we could join the tour and were able to be included.
Checking the meaning of Puszta we
found that the word means "plains", a vast wilderness of grass and
bushes. The name comes from an adjective of the same form, meaning "bare,
empty, bereft". Puszta is ultimately a Slavic loanword in Hungarian
(compare Serbo-Croatian and Bulgarian pust and Polish pusty, both
meaning bare or empty).
After a drive of around an hour through farm land, we
arrived at the farm and were greeted by the horse(-herds)men csikos (pronounced
chikos) or Magyar Cowboys and then welcomed with the famous Hungarian welcome
drink, “Barack Pálinka” (Apricot Schnapps) and the “Pogácsa” (salty
scone). The horsemen then took us by
horse-carriage to a farm area with ancient Hungarian sheep and pig breeds on
display and we were able to enter an old farm house still in use, with
furnishings over 100 years old.
We were then taken back to an area with a small grandstand
for a traditional horse show, which includes carriage driving, csikoses showing
the horses trained to sit and lay down, while riding they displayed their whip
cracking skills and horsemanship. The
highlight of the performance was a csikos driving a team of ten horses, in four,
four and two formation while standing on the backs of the rear two horses, a
very skilled performance.
Following the
performances we walked to an open thatched roofed dining area for a
three-course lunch including Hungarian goulash soup and local wines, while
being entertained by Hungarian gipsy music, a most enjoyable outing. We then returned to Budapest with a large
percentage of our group sleeping on the way and checked into our hotel on the
bank of the Danube on the Pest side of the river.
Tuesday May 20
Budapest
After breakfast many of the group we were with yesterday
left for a city tour and most are flying back to Australia tomorrow.
We decided that we would have a quiet day and strolled around the river for several kilometres, passing many of the river cruise boats ready to receive their new passengers and depart for the next cruise. On the way Ann renewed an acquaintance with an urchin girl she met here six years ago.
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| The Kiskiralylany Szobor (Little Princess Statue) |
We eventually arrived at the old multi-storied market building with the basement and ground floor stall holders selling all kinds of fresh food, including fish, meat and cheese. On the first floor the stalls sold souvenirs, clothing, leather goods and many stalls sold food and drink for those cruise passengers who could not wait to return to their boat for a meal and the many locals who had completed their shopping.
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