Shoes

We decided to do the touristy stuff today and so we bought a ticket for the open top hop on hop off bus....what great fun. Stop number twenty was just round the corner from our hotel and the bus arrived within minutes of us getting there. I wanted to see the Fisherman's Bastion and so after enjoying the fabulous buildings of Pest and then onto Buda we hopped off. It would have been fun to take the funicular up to the top, but the queue was so long and it it was the most expensive way to get up there. There was a guy selling tickets for the hop on/off bus and he said the cheapest way was to catch the public bus, number 16 and get off after two stops. We surged forward with a large group and they were clicking on a QR code on the side of the bus, Just get on said Sue....so we did. We saw no other means of paying so we had a sneaky free trip up. The Bastion was stunning and there were little streets with shops that we perused. There was a sign for a labyrinth so we went underground. It was very dark and  even though it was basically a circle we kept getting lost. We laughed a lot, but were glad to eventually get out. We found a lovely little cafe for a snackette. 

We walked back down the hill and over the bridge to Pest and got on a boat as our bus ticket included a trip on the Danube. We were lucky again as the boat was there and ready to be boarded. It was a lovely trip up and down the river.

Next visit was walk along the river to find the shoe instillation. They are a memorial to the Hungarian Jews who were marched to the banks of the Danube and shot....the sculpture created sixty pairs of iron shoes. It is a simple memorial, but evokes deep emotions. 

There were some artisan market stalls so we had a mooch before walking back to the hotel to freshen up before going out to eat at the rooftop restaurant 360º. We had booked one of the igloos, but it was so hot we sat out at a table instead. The food was great and the views were fabulous, especially as the sun went down. We called at a little bar and sat for a drink on the way back to the hotel. We decided to try palinka, a traditional fruit spirit....never again! Bleurgh! We also nipped in the Magic Bar....very Harry Potter themed and had a cocktail whilst the cauldron smoked across our table. 

We were shattered after all our steps, but what a great fun packed day.


A few extra pics added.