First afternoon in Hungary

Well, you can tell a European carrier from an American soon after take-off. We left the Detroit airport late on the night of Oct. 7 and as soon as we hit cruising alitude, out came the snacks and drinks, including beer and wine. The meal was good, along with wine if one wanted it, which I didn't just then. Hot cloths beforehand to wash hands, face, and help weary travelers feel just a bit fresher, which I appreciated. For days I'd agonized over what to pack, how long and tiring the flights would be, so by then, a warm cloth and good meal were just what I needed. Our plane landed in Amsterdam on time, and after more security checks, we boarded the Malev airlines plane for the flight to Budpest, a mere two hour or less flight, but my goodness, we were treated to a tasty sandwich, a chocolate wafer dessert and wine, if we wanted it. I declined again on the wine, feeling pretty dehydrated by then. Water was what I wanted.

From the Budapest airport we took a bus to the metro stop where we caught a subway to the stop nearest to our hotel, on the Buda side of the Danube (more about this later). Climbing out of the underground, we found downtown Budpest awaiting us, as beautiful a sight as I've seen in the late afternoon sun. These photos were taken later, in early afternoon, so they don't capture the richness of the light at the time we arrived. I just stood there on the street looking around.



Our hotel lay across the Danube, on the Buda side of the city, so we had to cross the Elisabeth Bridge to reach the Best Western Hotel Orion, a small elegant hotel just a street away from the river. As we crossed the bridge, I saw to my left on the hill overlooking the city a sight that would draw me to it most of the time we were in Budpest, an image in stone of a young woman holding overhead a palm wreath. She became, for me, the central image of this glorious city. I looked for her whenever I crossed the Danube, and my question, "Who is she?", became a kind of poetic focus during the time we were in Hungary.



On our way to the hotel, we passed through a small park with a statue of Queen Elisabeth, "Sissi", the popular wife of Franz Joseph I, ruler of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. (Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie (24 December 1837 – 10 September 1898) of the House of Wittelsbach, was the Empress consort of Austria and Queen consort of Hungary, being married to the Emperor Franz Joseph I.) She was a beautiful, unhappy woman who was stabbed to death at the age of 60 by an anarchist as she boarded a boat on Lake Geneva.





We found our hotel with no trouble, ready to lay down our burdens of baggage and jet-lag.



And were greeted at the desk by a young man who turned out to be one of the most pleasant and helpful people we met while in Hungary. He congratulated us on taking public transportation to the hotel, most of the guests arriving by taxi or airport shuttle. I regret never learning his name. We became very fond of him, along with several other hotel employees.



Once in our room, on the third floor, I looked out the windows and saw on the rooftop across from us two cats enjoying the late afternoon! We celebrated our arrival in Budapest with a toast of good American whiskey, which I'd tucked into my checked baggage, and began to think about supper.



Next post: our first night in Budapest!