Probably the busiest day of the whole trip - Budapest castle hill and some of the best spots on the Pest side of the Danube (Budapest was once Buda and Pest - two cities on either side of the Danube river before the first permanent bridge was built.) We started with a tram ride into the city to the bottom of castle hill and took the funicular to the top of the hill. Toured outside the Buda Castle and along castle hill to the Fishermans Bastion. Then down the steps to the Danube and across the chain bridge to the Pest part of the city.

Beth found us a great little hole-in-the-wall restaurant for an authentic Hungarian lunch. Nourishment for lots of walking through the rest of the day.

Then on the St. Stephens cathedral, Vaci Utca - the main pedestrian area with shopping and the Market hall at the end of Vaci.

Here is a summary of the day in photos:

The chain bridge built for the first time in the 1840s, totally destroyed in WW II and rebuilt after the war. This was the first bridge to connect Buda and Pest.

The Buda castle.

Couldn't resist a stop at a little cafe for expresso and pastries.

St. Stephen brought Christianity to Hungary around the turn of the first millenium, was the first king, and is honored all over Budapest.

Some ancient statues near Fishermans Bastion.

A lion on the chain bridge. Legend has it that the designer of the bridge, who being very proud of the creation, said that if anyone could find something wrong with the bridge, he would jump off the top. A child noticed that the lions had no tongues so...

Hungarian parliment building from the chain bridge.

For lunch, Hungarian Paprika stew with sausage and french fries.

St. Stephens cathedral.

One of the corner towers from the observation platform on the center main tower. You get a great view of Budapest from up here, just be careful you don't blow off!

All the steps you have to go down to get back down to earth again.

Even though this was Friday, we had the honor of "attending" a wedding.

This is all we could see of the ceremony inside the church. Visitors were limited to a portion of the side area only.

The main rotunda inside the cathedral.

From the second floor looking out over the produce area of Market Hall.

The second floor of the hall is filled with Hungarian crafts.

A Hungarian specialty - peppers and paprika.

Colorful produce piled high.

The outside of Market Hall. This place is probably 10 times the size of Lancaster's Central Market.

Jump the 49 tram from here and back home again. Another great day in Budapest made possible by Beth, her shortcuts, and comfortable shoes.

Now for the food fans - a great dinner in Erd, just outside Budapest. Here is pork with dumplings, paprika sauce and sour cream...

...and pork ragu with bacon, peppers and onions and creamed potatoes.

The wife of the chef is the waitress and she was very determined to make sure the dinner was enjoyed by everyone. When she noticed the boys were chomping on bread AFTER desert, she wanted to know if they had enough to eat. Jay told her, that, yes they had, but they just really like bread - thus this picture was born when she gave each of them an extra slice on the way out the door!