Budapest, Hungary

We arrived in Budapest to cloudy skies with light rain after a 7 hour flight from New York, a couple hour layover in Amsterdam and a short one and a half hour jump to Budapest. None of us got much sleep on the airplanes, even thought the rides were smooth (although a bit cramped) so we arrived exhausted. Our adventure has begun, jetlagged as we are from the 9 hour time difference. Knowing that most of the passengers would be in the same boat (no pun intended), the crew only scheduled a brief walking tour of the city for our first evening.

Budapest started as two cities, separated by the Danube River -- Buda, on the right bank, set in a landscape of rolling hills that drop off stepely toward the river, and Pest on the other. Buda offers the best views of the city and the river, but Pest has emerged as the lively center of the modern metropolis with a large number of clutural attractions and the pedestrian-only shopping area of Vaci Street housing an inviting nightlife. The cities merged in 1873 to become the capital of Hungary. Most of the population live on the less expensive Pest side.

Looking north-west from our ship across the Danube towards the "Buda" part of the city, our view is filled with the impressive Szechenyi Chain Bridge, which is one of the best known landmarks of Budapest. Across the river you can also see the royal castle on the hilltop.

The Little Princess is one of Budapest's best known and popular bronze statues. The princess is life size, sitting on the railing alongside, and protecting the Danube River.

The view down Vaci Street on the "Pest" side of the city. This lively shopping area is very inviting, in part because of its pedestrian-only street and its nice mix of old and new architecture. Although Hungary, like the rest of the world, is suffering from the current economy, this area is alive with activity in spite of the less-than-favorable weather.