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ha viaggiato in 22 paesi Leggi altro🇦🇺Queensland
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    • Kimberley Expedition
      Ancient Aboriginal cave paintings on Jar Island
      Ancient Aboriginal cave paintings on Jar IslandThe paintings are much clearer in photos such as these compared with real lifeAncient Aboriginal cave paintings on Jar IslandThe age is uncertain, but it's somewhere between 10,000 and 30,000 yearsElspeth on Jar Island with Le Laperouse in the backgroundBrian in a state of bliss

      And the fun continues

      5 giugno 2024, Australia ⋅ 🌙 25 °C

      We had travelled overnight and by the time we woke up our ship was anchored several hundred metres off Jar Island, so named because an early explorer, believing he was the first non-native person to visit the area found shards from pottery jars littering the beach. (Later it was found that the jars had originated from Indonesian trochus fishermen). The main point of the day was visiting some very early Aboriginal cave paintings, possibly dating back 14000 years. We were warned that it would be hot on the tiny island, which it was, and that some agility would be needed in order to reach the two caves - also true. We’d be away for about an hour and a quarter.
      Our Zodiacs duly deposited us on the beautiful sandy beach and both of us were glad to have our walking poles with us to navigate the uneven terrain. The paintings themselves don’t stand out clearly, and it is difficult to do full justice to them in photographs. We were forewarned that access to the second cave, 100m or so away, was even more challenging and that anyone with limited mobility shouldn’t try. Those paintings were from a different era and in a different style. Despite the warning both of us managed to clamber over the boulders and succeeded without injury. On return to the ship everyone realised how hot and dehydrated we had all become. The two of us successfully self-medicated with cool cleansing ales.
      After lunch Dannii, one of our knowledgable and competent naturalists, gave us a fascinating hour-long presentation “Kimberley, Land of Extremes.” In it she covered a broad range of topics including the area’s history, climate, geology and wildlife. It was most informative and has certainly whetted our appetites for the days which lie ahead. Later in the afternoon Brian attended a workshop run by the ship’s photographer for the few SLR camera owners on board. It took the form of one on one discussions, which we could all tune in to, about making the most of the camera equipment we had. Brian certainly picked up some very useful pointers.
      An unexpected but spectacular highlight took place when we went up to the Observation Lounge to watch a spectacular Kimberley sunset. This was the first evening where we’d had a truly cloudless sky, and it so happened that our ship was heading due west at the time. The lounge is located immediately below the bridge and offers a 270 degree view. It was quite an experience to watch the sunset from that vantage point.      Leggi altro

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    • Kimberley Expedition
      King George Falls
      A picture of blissA sample 5-course dinner menuThe first of many Zodiac ridesDrinking to a great holidayTypical of the interesting Kimberley cliff facesThe geological strata can be clearly seenElspeth could hardly wait to try out the pool

      Zodiacs bring good fortune…

      4 giugno 2024, Australia ⋅ 🌙 23 °C

      …but bad luck for a few others. A very full and educational day began with an all too tempting breakfast. What with the variety and unlimited quantities of food and drink on offer one could easily become an 18 stone alcoholic. Clearly discipline, but not too much, will be required.
      The day’s formal activities began with a series of presentations, mainly about staying safe on our forthcoming Zodiac expeditions. It was also a chance for the dozen or so expedition leaders to be introduced.. Most of them are quite young, but all are highly qualified in one or other of the natural sciences.
      Late morning Elspeth , the water baby, declared a pool swim to be a necessity, and proved to be one of the only passengers, at least so far, to use the pool. It does look inviting, though it is closer in size to a baby bath than an Olympic pool. For a bit of fun the two of us attended a French pronunciation class presented, somewhat tongue in cheek, by the ship’s tour director.
      Later, in the ship’s theatre, we watched a fascinating hour-long documentary “Malice or Mutiny: the Koolama Incident” which was about the eponomously-named ship with 200 passengers on board which was bombed by Japanese Zero fighters just off the Kimberley Coast. It limped to a cove near the King George River where most of those on board struggled to shore. Meanwhile the captain and a few loyal crew members worked hard to repair the damage so that the ship could struggle back to Wyndham, the nearest point of civilisation. Those on shore refused to assist, a form of mutiny. The story of how everyone eventually reached Wyndham, some by a gruelling overland journey, others by the barely seaworthy ship is really interesting.
      Having been fully briefed in the morning on all the do’s and don’ts of Zodiac travel we set off at 3pm in a convoy of half a dozen Zodiacs to travel up the King George River to the falls, a 14km round trip. Ancient and spectacular sandstone cliffs line the coast and the river banks from the falls to the river mouth. They really are quite something and are unlike anything we’d seen before. Definitely well worth a visit. The lower reaches of the river are also lined with a proliferation of various mangrove species. We were also able to more fully appreciate the privations which those on board the Koolama must have experienced in that crocodile-infested and dangerous environment.
      The falls themselves are spectacular, and that was despite the fact them apparently flowing at nowhere near their peak. Brian was fiddling with his camera, so was the only one of the seven of us on board our Zodiac to miss the sight of a small crocodile surfacing a few metres away just at the base of the falls to swallow a fish.
      We then headed back just as the sun was setting to cover the 7km back to our boat, not knowing that one of the other Zodiacs was close to experiencing its own maritime crisis. During the homewards run there was quite a bit of radio traffic between our Zodiac and a couple of the others regarding an apparently missing Zodiac. Eventually they agreed among themselves that it must have reached Le Laperouse already so we carried on with our own trip back.
      It was only later in the evening that we learned that the missing Zodiac had indeed been missing and had got itself stuck in the mud. Behind the scenes a rescue operation was taking place to collect those who had been onboard. They arrived back an hour or two late, but apparently still happy and smiling. We later found out that a rescue crew returned at 1am when the tidal waters had risen and successfully retrieved the marooned Zodiac. Chatting later to the unfortunate driver of that Zodiac, the ship’s photographer, he said that the tides in the area are very unpredictable, and he simply got caught out. They downplayed it, but unwelcome visits from the odd passing crocodile was likely to have featured in their thinking.
      This was the night of the captain’s gala dinner where we were all asked to dress up in our good clothes. The requested dress code included a suit and tie, with dinner jacket as a suggested option. Brian had reluctantly packed the former. He is proud of the fact that he can still squeeze into his 40-year old dark suit. We were slightly disappointed to see that about 3/4 of the men hadn’t bothered and had chosen to dress casually. Those dress code instructions are probably more appropriate for less casual societies. Very clearly the women had put in far more of an effort than their male counterparts.
      The dinner itself was most pleasant and provided a fitting end to an action-packed day.      Leggi altro

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    • Kimberley Expedition
      The tugboat departs, while Elspeth looks most contented
      We can't get enough of those sunsetsThe Darwin pilot boat

      An auspicious start

      3 giugno 2024, Australia ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

      A full day in Darwin. The first priority was to catch up on some of the lost beauty sleep,, but we each found ourselves waking up early. Checkout time st the hotel was 10am but check-in time at the cruise terminal wasn’t until 3.30pm What to do? We decided to check out as late as possible then fill in the ensuing 5.5 hours by discovering Darwin. Leaving our bags at the hotel we Ubered to the NT Museum. It was an interesting place, rather eclectic in its choice of topics - dinosaur bones, Cyclone Tracy, WW2 bombing, and a host of other random topics. Interesting in many ways.
      Having reached the footsore stage after a couple of hours we then Ubered across town to the other place we’d been recommended, the Darwin waterfront. It’s certainly a very attractive area with lots of parkland and a very good variety of restaurants. To add to the excitement we could see our ship, the Le Laperouse, in the distance, dazzlingly white and most inviting. Uber did very well out of us this day because we then took a return ride to collect our luggage from the hotel and bring it back to the nearby cruise terminal in time for the start of the boarding process with all its paperwork and rigmarole.
      Very much to their credit Ponant had responded immediately to Brian’s strong letter of complaint about the experience which both of us independently had had with the airport pickups. They were full of apologies, agreed to pay all out of pocket expenses and have added a 200 euro credit to our shipboard account. We certainly can’t fault them on that score.
      First impressions on board were excellent also with everyone smiling and friendly, aided by some excellent French champagne for the boarding passengers. Our cabin isn’t huge but is certainly comfortable and very well laid out and with generous storage space.
      Once boarding was completed all passengers were required to attend the mandatory briefing in the ship’s theatre where key crew members were introduced and we were given a rundown of the general rules and how things operate. The ship is beautifully appointed, the staff go out of their way to be friendly and we’re confident that we’re going to have a most enjoyable and relaxing time.
      It was shortly after the compulsory lifebelt training session, and we were underway, that the captain announced firstly that the port pilot was about to depart and secondly that the sunset would be visible from the port side. We rushed up on deck and were able to observe the pilot boat pulling away just as the sun was setting behind it.
      Fast forward to dinner which we enjoyed in the Nautilus restaurant. Of the two restaurants on board this is the more formal, Certainly the food, the wine and the service were all impeccable, very much up to the standard of a high-class Parisian establishment. We lingered long over dinner, sharing the table with a Port Macquarie couple from our age group - a thoroughly enjoyable evening, Everything points to it being a really memorable holiday.      Leggi altro

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    • Kimberley Expedition
      Attractive Aboriginal prints on sale at the market
      Crowds at the marketThe sunsets draw huge crowds to Mindil Beach1Great excitement as the sun goes down

      A wobbly arrival, then goodbye sun

      2–3 giu 2024, Australia ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

      Brian: A smooth transfer to Brisbane airport conducted very kindly and punctually by Julie and Helen who were keen to ensure that their aging father didn’t accidentally wrap the luggage tag around his arm instead of the suitcase handle and that he knew which flight to catch.
      The flight was smooth and much of the time was spent chatting to the pleasant young engineer sitting alongside me. He and colleagues were heading to an airport base south of Katherine for a few days. We covered many topics, which made the time go quickly.
      A hiccup in Darwin however when there was nobody there to meet me and take me to the hotel. Apparently the land transfer company hadn’t been advised of my booking. Having established that I’d be reimbursed by Ponant I hitched a ride with another limo company ($90, and thanks for coming)
      The hotel is clean and basic, which is really all we need as a staging point before boarding the ship tomorrow. While writing this I’m awaiting Elspeth’s arrival some time after midnight, having travelled from Waikanae to Wellington by train then to the airport from where she flies to Sydney then boards a Sydney-Darwin flight. Unfortunately it will be a challengingly long day for her.
      There are no shops or restaurants close to the hotel, but following a strong recommendation from my personal limo driver and impending millionaire I set off late in the afternoon on the 2km walk to the legendary Mindil Beach Sunday markets. It was hot and humid and this Darwinian body certainly felt the heat from the Darwinian sun. Covering a large area, the place was packed., clearly a major attraction for locals and visitors alike. The main emphasis was on food outlets. There was no lack of laksa stalls, and if you knew sushi like I … (sorry, but I’ve been waiting ages to be able to write that joke). Going against the prevailing trend I bought a Greek snack.
      But that was just the start of the excitement. From 6 o’clock onwards crowds started descending on the adjacent beach to observe the sunset. It was like a mass stampede with hordes of people heading towards the water’s edge in time for the daily phenomenon, scheduled on this day for 6.28pm. There would have been many hundreds in the crowd. The sky was clear and I have to admit that the sunset was impressive. But the surprises weren’t entirely over. Just as the last piece of the glowing orb disappeared below the horizon the crowd burst into a loud and vigorous applause. Sun, take a bow! Even the ancient Egyptians, who worshipped the sun god Ra, probably didn’t get this excited. Just imagine the frenzy if ever Darwin experiences a total solar eclipse.
      From there it was an Uber ride back to the hotel and a quiet evening while awaiting the arrival in the wee small hours of my old friend and travel companion, Elspeth.
      Fortunately Elspeth’s flight was on time. (I followed the aircraft’s progress on the FlightRadar app just to make sure). If only the land transfer company was as reliable, however. The driver managed to drop an elderly female solo traveller at 1am at Argus Apartments rather than the Argus Hotel, the former being quite some distance from the intended destination. Fortunately the considerate night manager at the apartments helped her organise a taxi and I was quite relieved when the two of us were eventually in the same place at the same time and eagerly awaiting the start of the big adventure.      Leggi altro

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    • SpydahSpydahSpain, Rhine & Danube
      Our last nostalgic view of the Danube
      Boats on the Danube

      Budapest: the last (part) day

      18 ottobre 2019, Ungheria ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

      Packing up to go home is never much fun, especially when there are a couple of long boring flights to look forward to. Our flight was scheduled for 4pm, and we had a taxi booked for 1pm to get us to the airport. We'd hoped at least for a late checkout, but the best the hotel could give us was 11am rather than the official 10am checkout. Evidently they are fully booked.
      We utilised our remaining time as best we could. After breakfast we took the ten minute walk to the beautiful Margaret Island. With calm clear weather and the autumn colours starting to appear it was a great way to remember it. At that time on a weekday morning the place is almost deserted, so we thoroughly enjoyed the relaxing hour or so before we had to head back and face the reality of packing.
      We had an anxious few minutes at checkout when the hotel receptionist couldn't find our passports which we had left with them for safe-keeping. She was worried, and we were even more so. Maybe we'd be extending our Budapest stay after all? Eventually she made a phone call to her colleague, the passports were found and order was restored.

      To all our friends and family who have been following our blog, thank you for your interest and for your comments. Way back, when we started travelling, we would keep a travel diary. Generally Mary would take the details down in shorthand and then, when we got home, we'd transcribe the notes and print them off so that we had a record of what we had seen and done on our trip.
      For the past three major overseas trips we have done travel blogs instead. Primarily it was for our own benefit and for the benefit of our daughters so that they could see how much fun we were having while spending their inheritance. We then found that more and more of our family, friends and acquaintances were also taking an interest in what we were up to,which gave us an added incentive to keep the blogs going and to try and make them interesting.
      With the first of our three blogs, we were able to get it printed as a book, which is a great souvenir of that particular trip. We often re-read it and re-live the happy experiences.
      Once we get home and do some final editing on the computer we will do the same with this blog.
      What of our second blog then , our trip to Hungary, Israel, Jordan and France in 2017? That is a work in progress but will definitely be completed and printed in book form some day soon. As many of our friends know, Brian made a huge mistake with the camera settings before we left for overseas and as a result the many photos from that trip were all taken at a very low resolution, something we discovered only after we'd got back home. That has acted as a big demotivator, but that blog definitely will get completed.
      This latest blog has presented its challenges also. Having our backpack stolen in Barcelona was devastating. Not only did we lose nearly all the photos we'd taken up to that time in Spain but we also lost our iPad and keyboard with which we were writing the blog. Fortunately we still had our passports, phone and one functioning credit card. Without them it would have been a total catastrophe. It has meant though that the bulk of this blog has been tapped out laboriously on a mobile phone screen, which isn't all that easy.
      Nevertheless, here we are at the end of our blog and the end of our trip.
      We made it!      Leggi altro

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    • SpydahSpydahSpain, Rhine & Danube
      Concert on the landing
      St Stephens BasilicaSt Stephens facadeInside the Grand SynagogueThe Budapest ghetto displayInside the Grand SynagogueGrand Synagogue

      Budapest: a religious and cultural day

      17 ottobre 2019, Ungheria ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

      As already mentioned, we had missed out on seeing the Grand Synagogue on our first attempt because it was closed and wasn't due to reopen until 17 October. This being 17 October therefore, it remained our only opportunity to visit it before we set off for home.
      The Grand Synagogue is truly impressive, both from the outside, which we'd seen previously, and the inside. It is one of the major tourist attractions in Budapest and was certainly very busy when we arrived.
      They are very well organised, with guided tours in several major languages running every 30 minutes and included in the entry fee. We joined one such tour, with our guide being most informative about the building itself, its associated features and generally about Jewish history in Budapest during the 20th century. Afterwards we were free to wander round and take photos as we pleased. This, the biggest synagogue in Europe and the second biggest in the world, is certainly built on a grand scale and was well worth the effort to visit. Amazingly it survived the Second World War without substantial damage.
      However, the place where we spent the most time and which we found the most interesting was the information display about the Budapest ghetto, located in the basement of the building. The display contains a lot of written information and many photographs detailing the horrible circumstances leading up to the creation of the ghetto and the brutal treatment of its inhabitants by the Germans and more particularly by many fellow Hungarian citizens. It was good to see that many tourists were taking the time to visit this display and to study it closely.
      After grabbing a quick sandwich we decided to go all Roman Catholic and visit the St Stephen's Basilica. It dominates the skyline in the downtown Buda area and certainly looks very impressive from the square in front. It is the biggest church in Budapest, accommodating up to 8500 people. It is named after the first king of Hungary and one of its main claims to fame is that it holds as a relic the right hand of St Stephen himself. The hand is on prominent display in a reliquary, though unless one were told, it would be hard to work out exactly what the object was that was being displayed. Amazingly this was one place where it was possible to simply walk in without having to buy a ticket.
      Our next port of call was the Hungarian Opera House, also nearby. More bad news. Both the auditorium and the exterior are currently undergoing renovation, with a scheduled completion date of 2021. Tours were still being run, but much of the building was off-limits. As a consolation they were offering a free short concert after the tour.
      What we saw of the building was indeed impressive, though we were disappointed that we could not get to see the auditorium. Compared with the Palais Garnier, the place seemed quite small, but the explanation for this lies in its history. The Austrian Franz Joseph, granted permission for the opera house to be built, but only on condition that it was not to be bigger than the Vienna Opera House.
      The consolation prize concert consisted of three operatic duets given by a soprano and a tenor with piano accompaniment. It ran for about 15 minutes. They performed on the landing of the main staircase while the audience members stood on the upper level and watched or simply sat on the staircase.
      This was our last night in Budapest and indeed the very last night of our holiday. We spent it having a very relaxing pleasant meal with Brian's cousin Panni at an outdoor restaurant close to her place. She was having to start work early the next morning so it wasn't a late night.      Leggi altro

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    • SpydahSpydahSpain, Rhine & Danube
      Monument in Széll Kálmán Square
      Interesting building on Széll Kálmán SquareAutumn coloursOld carriage, rack tramThe rack tramMargaret Island fountain

      Budapest: slightly off the beaten track

      16 ottobre 2019, Ungheria ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

      Each day we became progressively more adventurous. Our guide book told us that there are great views to be had from a lookout on top of one of the Buda hills and that there was a cog railway for much of the climb.
      Again, the major challenge was in decoding the excellent public transport system, but we sort of worked it out eventually. A four-stop ride on our nearby tramline delivered us to a major transport terminal then Mr Google directed us on a 15 minute walk through what could best be described as once elegant streets in Buda. No doubt, back in the day when Brian's parents were residents of Budapest the area would have been really classy.
      We reached the entrance to the cog railway only to find it closed,and a typed sign stuck to the gate. Thank goodness for Google Translate which informed us that the "machinery will not be moving between 9am and 12 o'clock." That was the bad news. The good news was that were standing near the entrance to a park which we had been walking alongside as we had approached the tram terminal. With just over an hour to kill it was an easy decision for us to spend it wandering around in the park. We had it almost to ourselves. It was so peaceful, and with the many large trees just starting to display their autumn colours it was magic. We spotted a few birds there including an eye-catching goldfinch very close to us.
      Then came a bit more bad news and the (multi-lingual) explanation for the three hour closure of the cog tram. As of that very morning the upper 2/3 of the track was closed and it wasn't scheduled to reopen until the end of November.
      Nevertheless we jumped on board this very quaint and old-fashioned tram for the 1/3 that we could enjoy. It is as much a commuter tram for the residents of the Buda hills as it is a tourist attraction, though it wasn't very busy for this particular trip,which took about ten minutes. The tram had climbed steeply as it went through a mixture of residential and scenic forested areas.
      As we left the tram we saw a rough hand-drawn sign directing us to a bus route 200 metres away. What the sign didn’t show was that it was up a hill which one would describe as very steep even by Wellington standards. We made it then jumped on a bus which took us parallel to the now-closed tram track.
      The aim of this particular morning's expedition had been to get to the summit of this Buda hill and to view the city from there.
      Apart from ourselves and a poor lost female tourist from Hong Kong, the only other people up at the almost deserted summit were a few bewildered locals who were also disorientated by the partial closure of their tram line.
      All that was fine but we still didn't have any sort of a view over the city as it was blocked by trees and buildings. One solitary sign pointed to a lookout but when we went for a wander in that direction all we could see were some large and obviously very expensive mansions. Clearly this is a classy area, but we never did get to see the view from the top.
      We retraced our steps via the various means of transport and grabbed a bit of lunch downtown.
      The weather by then had turned cooler with light rain but we decided to proceed with our plan to visit Margaret Island in the afternoon. This 2.5km long island, which is in the middle of the Danube, is very close to our hotel. Most of the area is laid out with immaculately maintained parks and gardens. One of the features, which we had discovered on our last visit is a giant fountain which is programmed very cleverly to provide ever-changing lighting and water patterns, some of it in time to recorded music. We could sit there and watch it for hours.
      With the weather having closed in most people had disappeared the place was practically empty. We really enjoyed the beauty together with the peace and quiet as we walked the length of the island.
      When we're on holiday in Europe some days are outstanding while others are merely excellent. There is really no such thing as a bad day. We may not have achieved everything that we had planned to do but we still achieved a lot. It was still an excellent day.      Leggi altro

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    • SpydahSpydahSpain, Rhine & Danube
      Inside the museum
      The National Hungarian MuseumGellert Hotel foyerThe marketMarket stallsThe outdoor restaurant scene on a pleasant autumn evening

      Budapest: move over, Paris

      15 ottobre 2019, Ungheria ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

      Both of us love Paris. In fact up to this point Mary has always said that it's her favourite city. But now it has lost that title to Budapest which for her has become number one.
      When we had last visited two years ago there was a lot of graffiti to be seen and a lot of litter lying around. Things still weren't perfect this time but we did notice a significant improvement over those two years. The work is continuing with more and more buildings being restored to what they once were.
      Budapest is now a major tourist destination, though our impression is that it isn't overrun yet with tourists to the extent that other major European cities are. That in itself makes it more appealing, though there seems little doubt that it too will be discovered by the hordes.
      Service standards still fall a little short at times. For example, when we went to pay for our meal the previous night, our embarrassed and apologetic waitress advised us that they didn't accept credit cards. Brian had to sprint to an ATM a couple of hundred metres down the road to acquire some Hungarian forints . As already mentioned, the public transport system is excellent but it is hard for a visitor to find their way around. Cities such as London and Paris do their signage much better. Budapest will catch up.
      What Budapest really has going for it are the river scenes and the spectacularly beautiful buildings. Also, for the time being at least, it is comparatively cheap.
      Our touring day started with a trip to the Central Markets. They are housed in a historic building on the Pest (ie opposite) side of the river from where we were and a 15 minute tram ride away. We had certainly made very good use of our transport passes during our visit. The markets are huge, spotlessly clean and offer good quality meat, smallgoods, and fruit and vegetables as well as other foods. Raspberries are Brian's weakness and he managed to overinfulge by eating a big punnetful in no time flat. He pronounced them to be excellent.
      Many locals seem to shop there and this very large market is also a tourist attraction. We found the upper level, which has clothing for sale as well as a lot of tacky souvenirs, to be less appealing though overall our visit to the market was very interesting.
      Directly across the river from there are the historic Gellert Hotel and its famous hot baths. We weren’t dressed (undressed?) for the occasion in that we hadn't thought to bring our togs with us from the hotel. In any case we were more interested in just having a look. As expected the foyer of this hundred year old hotel is beautiful.
      Around the corner of the building is the entrance to the famous baths. It too is very stylish. We could only catch a glimpse of the indoor pool and it looked impressive. We weren’t prepared to buy tickets so we decided to move on and visit the nearby Hungarian National History Museum. We spent a couple of hours there looking at items dating from the 11th century to the 16th century and learning more about the history of Hungary, starting with groups of warring tribes. Another whole section of the museum deals with Hungary:s more recent history but we were starting to flag so trotted back to the hotel before heading out later for dinner in the upmarket shopping area of Váci Utca. Another full and satisfying day.      Leggi altro

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    • SpydahSpydahSpain, Rhine & Danube
      One of Brian's artistic effortsGerbeaudMargaret Bridge. A typical scene as we return to the hotel after dinner

      Budapest: the best laid plans etc.

      14 ottobre 2019, Ungheria ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

      There are two types of holidaying. There's the type where it's a guided tour and others do every bit of planning and organising for you. Things generally go to plan and the organisers do most of the worrying on your behalf. It has a lot of appeal. The river cruise component of this holiday was certainly like that and it worked really well.
      The second type is where you do your own organising. There's more worrying and more setbacks, but so too there is a greater number pleasant surprises.
      This day was typical, with its highs and lows. We needed to attend to some domestic arrangements, ie dealing with a half suitcase of dirty washing. Thanks to Mr Google it's dead easy these days to identify the nearest laundromat. This we did, and then headed there by tram and on foot which took us about half an hour. Even with all its artificial intelligence Google can't identify which laundromat is going to have most of its instructions in Hungarian and is going to swallow up $12 worth of your hard-earned without doing anything for you in return.
      After retrieving the unwashed items from the stubborn machine and jamming them back into our bag we walked another couple of kilometres to the next nearest laundromat. Fortunately this one was both cooperative and comfortable to wait in, but by the time we got back to our hotel the morning had disappeared. Not what we had planned.
      Our plan for the afternoon then was a visit to the Grand Synagogue, one of the main tourist attractions in this fascinating city. Panni had very kindly bought for us a really good guide book of Budapest, and this helped greatly both with our planning and our navigation. By now we were beginning to find our way around a little better and were even becoming more confident on public transport. Having the transport passes makes a big difference. If you make a mistake it's easy enough to jump back on a tram, train or bus which is heading back to where you started, and it doesn't cost you any more.
      We got to the synagogue mid-afternoon only to find that it had closed at 2pm and was going to remain closed for the next two days for what the notice said was a religious holiday. We assume this is Sukkot. In theory we should still be able to get there on our very last day, though we expect it to be busier than usual after the holiday.
      High on our list was a visit for coffee and cake to the 160 year old famous coffee house of Gerbeaud. It is up there with Maxim's in Paris, Tiffany's in New York and Sacher Hotel in Vienna as one of those really elegant places where one goes, even if it is only to say that one has been.
      As expected, it was really enjoyable, even if we were unable to snag one of the few outdoor tables on this perfect autumn day. Mary chose an Esterházy cake to go with her cappuccino while Brian couldn't resist his favourite Hungarian cake, dobos torte, to accompany his espresso. In these elegant surroundings the $A42 bill did not seem excessive.
      So far, we have described the bare bones of our afternoon activities but in truth there was much more. In our previous visits we hadn't spent any time in this area of the city so hadn't fully realised how many elegant buildings Budapest contains. Much of our afternoon was spent with Brian taking his time and composing photos which he hopes will do the place justice. It was certainly a a perfect day for photographs. In both daytime and nighttime there are so many sights that you could blindfold someone, give them a camera and get them to take pictures at random. Wherever one turns there are great views, so chances are that blindfolded person would still manage to get some pretty good pictures.      Leggi altro

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    • SpydahSpydahSpain, Rhine & Danube
      Concert Hall foyer
      Interesting street scenes everywhereA typical view of the mighty DanubePanni and MaryIn front of the Hungarian Parliament House1The best city for nighttime photographyDanube viewAt the book launch. András is on the stage at left

      Budapest: "Poets and Cabaret"

      13 ottobre 2019, Ungheria ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

      Our first day in two weeks where we were having to fend for ourselves, and we decided to ease ourselves gently into it. After breakfast we set off on foot to explore the immediate neighbourhood while picking up a few odds and ends from the shops. Even at 9am on a Sunday the streets were quite busy with both cars and pedestrians. Budapest is a city which never seems to sleep. Public transport runs frequently and almost non-stop. Shops open quite early and close late and the traffic is constant.
      We phoned Brian's cousin Panni and arranged to meet her for lunch at 1.30pm, which left us with the morning free. Ever since we reached Budapest the weather had been perfect. Having experienced cold and rainy Amsterdam we'd worried that maybe we had left our trip until too late in the year. Certainly the current weather in Budapest and the forecast for the following few days had laid any doubts to rest. With temperatures in the low 20s,little wind and partly cloudy skies it was perfect for photography and for wandering around. Even though things were still quite busy, we were definitely clear of the peak season crowds.
      We had only recently been told about the No.2 tram route which travels from the Pest side of the Margaret Bridge south along the river bank past Parliament Building, the big hotels, Chain Bridge and many other places of interest. With our seven day transport passes it was perfect for what we wanted.
      We had the time so we decided to give it a go. The trip is only about 20 minutes from end to end and the trams run every 5-10 minutes, so it was perfect for what we wanted. This was just a trial run for our city exploration but we jumped off midway through the return trip when a particularly impressive building caught our eye. It turned out to be the Vigadó Concert Hall, a beautifully restored art nouveau building. We wandered into the main foyer which was really quite something in terms of its decor. It is up there with the best that we have seen anywhere.
      We met Panni at the agreed time and then went looking for a restaurant with an available outdoor table, which wasn't easy because everywhere was packed with diners. Eventually found a table at a restaurant serving only chicken dishes and spent the next three hours chatting away vigorously and catching up with all the family news.
      Brian and Panni have a second cousin, András Körner who has lived in the United States for most of his life. András is a retired architect and a very accomplished artist. He happened to be visiting Budapest for the launch of his latest book, his sixth. Panni had been invited and she suggested we join her for the 5pm event. Brian had met András once previously, in 1974 when he visited and his former wife at their home in New York. We have the first of his books, "A Taste of the Past," a thoroughly researched book about life and about food in the early 20th century in a rural Hungarian Jewish community. András had researched the old family recipes and tested each of them by recreating them with modern cooking methods and ingredients. The book contains many detailed pen and ink drawings of the life and times, all done by the author.
      His new book, entitled (in Hungarian) "Poets and Cabaret" is exactly about that - the early 20th century cabaret scene in Budapest and the poets and performers involved. It is a substantial book containing hundreds of old photographs, and as with his previous books, it must have involved a lot of detailed research. This particular book is being published only in Hungarian so there was no point in us buying a copy.
      The launch was held in a large bookshop in the centre of the city. It has an auditorium upstairs, created presumably for this type of event, and the place was packed with close to 100 people. Things were hectic but Brian managed to chat with András for a couple of minutes. He clearly remembered Brian's visit.
      Panni had warned us that the entire event would be in Hungarian, so we more or less knew what to expect. We were still happy to go along for the experience and to meet up with other members of the Körner family who we knew would be there. The event was very well organised though, as expected, it wasn't all that interesting for the two of us when we didn't know what was being said. It ran for about 70 minutes.
      We then retraced our steps, said goodbye to Panni, arranged to meet her again for dinner before we go home and headed off for a nice pizza Hungarian style.
      Another full and enjoyable day. We now know that there is so much to see and do in this great city that we will have no trouble filling in our time here.      Leggi altro

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