May 6 - Budapest and Danube River Cruise

After this morning's Jewish Interest Tour it is time for lunch before we head to our ship for our Danube River Cruise.

At our guide's suggestion we head to the New York Cafe located in the Boscolo Hotel. Check out my link to their website as it is beautiful.
It was located a couple of blocks down the street from our hotel.

One anecdote tells of how the famous writer Ferenc Molnár, on the day the café opened threw the keys into the Danube so that it would never close.

The lobby

 My lunch and can I say that this was delicious, DH was drooling and wishing he had ordered it:

Malac csülök hagymákkal pirított burgonyával, tejfeles uborkasalátával
Roasted pork trottle with grilled onions, potato & cucumber salad in sour cream

 Borjú Bécsi hagymás burgonyasalátával
Wiener schnitzel with onion potato salad

Then it was time to head back to the hotel and ensure our luggage gets on the bus for the short trip to the Danube and our ship The Sound of Music. It was rather chaotic at the hotel as people were pulling out their luggage instead of letting the bellboys do their job.

We (and our travelling companions) held back and waited for the last bus. After a quick ten minute drive we were at our ship.

This is our agenda for the next seven days.

That's me boarding in pink, Dimo was our constant entertainment, always there to greet us as we re-boarded in various ports.

Coffee, tea, snacks and fruit could be had all day in the lobby area. Wi-fi was also available and a couple of PCs for passengers' use.

 Captain welcoming cocktail party and introductions to the ship's crew

 Our cabin

 We were in cabin 319 on the top deck. We had French balconies, however, in future I don't think it is worth paying the extra as it is simply a window, there is no balcony. Also another thought that being this close to the restaurant may not be for everyone as the vultures guests line up outside your room waiting for the dining room to open.

 

The view of Budapest as we waited to sail at 9PM

Seating at meals was supposed to be open seating, however, we were seven and had the same large table with the same server for all meals. Sherilly guarded our table for us and ensured no one else sat there. She is from Indonesia and had left her three children with her mother while she worked on board. I think she had a soft spot for Tom, the elderly widow at our table.

The views of Budapest were breathtaking as we sailed out of the city around 9PM.