April 23, 2005. A day to enjoy the two cities of Buda and Pest which today form Budapest. There actually were two cities with the above names; one on each side of the Danube River. It wasn’t until the 1^st bridge was built across the river in the 19^th century that the two cities united under the name Budapest.

On the right bank of the Danube lies Pest, the commercial and administrative center of Hungary. On the left bank is Buda which is as hilly as Pest is flat. Buda’s Castle Hill is considered to be the most beautiful part of Budapest. Castle Hill consists of the former royal palace, many museums and the Castle District, which is a lovely neighborhood of small winding streets. Below the castle is the neighborhood of Vizivaros which has historically been the home of fishermen and river workers.

After a late breakfast we walked to the Danube through the windy streets of the old city of Pest. Our hotel is about a 45 minute walk from the river. There we boarded one of the many tour boats that go up and down the river. This is a great way to get to know the city. We sailed from the old city of Pest up the river and around Margaret Island. On the way we passed the Hungarian parliament buildings as we sailed under the chain bridge which was the 1^st bridge built over the Danube.

Around the island coming back we could see the old city of Buda with its palaces, churches and narrow streets. Very rarely do you ever walk down a straight street in the older parts of Europe and Budapest is no exception. Our major challenge today was to tackle a bank machine to get some forints, which is the currency of Hungary. I managed to get the door open and master the language. Two minutes later I was the proud possessor of 5,000 forints (FT) which translates into about 30 US dollars.

Tonight we enjoyed the executive lounge in the hotel and had champagne and finger food. Tomorrow it’s back on the train to Vienna for a last day in the Imperial City.

The highlight of the day was news from home. Our son was at the site of the new home we are building north of Toronto and sent us pictures of the footings which were poured earlier this week. It will be nice to see the progress when we get home.

The pictures today show the Hungarian parliament buildings and a shot of the old city from the River Danube.

Stay tuned for Day 21 in my “Around the World in 30 Days” saga.

Alan Salmon
eClub One