Chain Bridge from the Danube
We got a late start again today, because of the drinking the previous night. With a large group of family and friends we decided to take a boat ride along the Danube. We’ve been blessed with some fantastic weather and wanted to rent a boat for the twilight/evening time. We boarded the boat at 7 pm and went up and down the Danube several times. We rode to Margaret Island, turned around and rode to the Freedom Bridge. The views were amazing. Since it was twilight we were able to see the lights being turned on, not only on the bridges, but also from the Budapest Castle, Parliament and the other buildings that are along the river’s edge. It was spectacular and one of the most beautiful and romantic sites I’ve ever experienced.
As we sat down to our meal, the boat played some great classical music which seemed to drown out the boat noise fairly well.
Dinner on the boat with an amazing view.
In the boat we had an amazing catered dinner with as much beer and wine as we wanted. To our surprise, the meal, despite being prepared in bulk, was fantastic. We had stuffed cabbage, which is becoming one of my favorite Hungarian meals, sautéed vegetables, roasted chicken, rice, bread, salad and amazing deserts which included cheesecake and pastries. Not only was the meal fantastic but being able to eat while watching the city go by was truly an amazing and wonderful experience. The boat ride lasted about 3 hours and despite the length, I never got tired of watching the city as we rode by.
After the ride, we decided that we wanted to continue with sight seeing by the Danube. Not to far away from our hotel, there are several boats that are restaurants as well as bars.
The Columbus JazzClub
We picked one that had a live jazz band playing. We were seated outside and were able to get enough tables to accommodate our group. The band was surprisingly good. The 6 piece band played many standards that were familiar to us all. As jazz played in the background, we sat with the light of the city surrounding us and had wonderful conversation. The band stopped performing at about 11 pm, but we were so relaxed and enthralled with our surroundings that we decided to stay for a while longer. At midnight, some of our party had to leave.
With our group down to 3 people, we went down to Nagymezo Utca. This is a popular spot for live theater with a handful of bars and cafés up and down the street. We stopped at a little café next door to the Thalia Theater. We had a few more beers and people watched and then decided to call it a night.
