Cruising into Budapest

Our first view of Budapest (Hungary) was cruising into Budapest on the Danube River. It was an incredible experience to see Budapest for the first time in this manner. All photographs shown in this post were taken from Gate 1's Monarch Empress as we entered Budapest. These still photographs show the stunning sights of this city, but do not do justice to the overall dramatic experience.

Budapest Parliament

Margaret Bridge

Matthias Church

Budapest Royal Castle

Chain Bridge

Elizabeth Bridge and Saint Gerard Statue

Liberty Statue and Liberty Bridge

The dramatic entry into Budapest via the Danube River was one of the highlights of the river cruise.

Szentendre

Szentendre (St. Andrew) is a small, Mediterranean-style town on the Danube River outside of Budapest that (among other things) provides an opportunity for tour groups to keep tourists preoccupied until check-in is available in a Budapest hotel. Szentendre has the feel of a quaint village and is will be particularly liked by people who like local shopping, art galleries, and museums.

The tourist-oriented portion of Szentendre features small shop-lined cobblestone streets with even narrower paths between those streets.

A relatively short and easy climb to St. John the Baptist Parish Church on Church Hill allows one to see some outstanding views of Szentendre and the Danube River.

We only had a few hours in Szentendre and much of that was spent hiding out from a sudden rain storm and eating lunch, but it was an interesting town to experience. One of the more interesting things among the shops was seeing hats and other apparel made out of mushrooms.

Devin Castle

Devin Castle is located in Devin, a borough of Bratislava (Slovakia).

Devin Castle is just ruins now after being destroyed by Napoleon's army, but it's still impressive and features impressive views of the Danube river and its tributary Morava River.

There is a paved trail that leads from the parking lot (shown in photograph immediately above) to the ruins of Devin Castle.

There are interesting sights as one heads up the trail to the ruins of Devin Castle.

The paved trail leads to a main area and does not involve any stairs.

There are great views from there of the surrounding area.

From this main area, one can take stairs to get an even higher perspective.

The views are even better from that higher vantage point!

It was a great opportunity to see the ruins of Devin Castle and to see the surrounding area from that vantage point.