Buda and Pest

Continuing on with our Eastern Trekker experience, we had a day driving through Slovakia before arriving in Hungary and its capital, Budapest. Following a feast of local specialities of goulash, chicken paprika & local vino, we relaxed on an evening river boat cruise along the Danube river... the river which divides Buda and Pest. The photo to the right is of one of the pillons on the Chain Bridge.

With a full day to explore Budapest at our leisure, by far the easiest way to see the town was again on a bike. Some of the key places of interest in Pest include:

* St Stephen's Cathedral, where we were able to St Stephen's preserved right hand - bizarre! St Stephen was the first king of Hungary (11th century) and is regarded as one of the most popular saints in Hungary. There are numerous statues and monuments across the city built in his honour.

* A statue of an anonymous scribe for King Bela III. Legend has it that touching the pen will provide inspiration for writing

* Hosok tere (Hungarian for "Heroes square"). The centre of the square is the Millennium Memorial with statues of the leaders of the seven tribes that founded Hungary in the 9th century and other historical figures. On the last part of our bike tour we crossed the river to climb the hills of Buda. From the top of the palace we had panoramic views across the city, including the Parliament buildings in the photo below (top right).

As a good conclusion to our Eastern experience and by far the highlight of Budapest for me was our evening trip to the Gillert thermal baths. Over a few hours we relaxed in the baths, saunas & plunge pools. It's amazing how 20 degree water is surprisingly enjoyable after 5 mins in a 80 degree sauna! What was a superb way to end the trip. [The photo below of the thermal baths is courtesy of Google images.]