Buda & Pest

I really feel like the cities get prettier and prettier every time....

Budapest is really wonderful! Honestly, it's amazing how clean and well maintained everything is. And they have such a rich culture and history.

In the morning we did a guided city tour through Budapest by bus. The city is divided in half by the Danube. One side of the river is called Buda and the other side is called Pest. Buda has more hills and you can find the Royal Palace and the Matthias church there. From that side it's also fun to go to the viewpoint where you can see whole Budapest. If you look further you can also see Austria and Slovakia. On Pest side you can find the Hungarian Parliamant (a really impressive building!), shopping streets, restaurants, bars, clubs,..... this side is more vibrant. 
After our city tour we were dropped off again at the boat for lunch. 

In the afternoon we went for a walk through Pest. I have to say that the people here are very friendly and always helpful.... it can of course also be the hot sunny  weather which brings out the best in people :-)
It was such a coincidence that we were in the capital of Hungary when they were playing their Euro 2016 game against Portugal. Everywhere people were dressed in the national colors, running around with beer towards the big screens that you could find on several squares in the city. Later on when I was already back on the top deck of our ship I could see the party break loose on land, a beautiful light spectacle with all those people parading, dancing and singing through the streets with bright white lights in their hands. Budapest is already a beautifully lit city by night, so tonight was extra special!

In the evening we watched the Euro 2016 game Belgium - Sweden in the bar of our ship. With the view on Budapest and all the amazingly lit buildings surrounding us it was extra special when they won!