Posted on by Pam

The Tour Starts!

Let’s pretend this is still the 30th of August and our 17 day tour of the Balkans is just starting! Yes… I am way behind in my blog posts! It’s the 9th of October and I have been in London nearly a month! To be honest it has taken nearly all this time to sort through the photos. I have Judy’s, Robin’s and my photos on my hard drive and have been trying to pick the best of the three to put on this blog. I hope I have done okay 🙂

We met out fellow travelling buddies in the Hotel foyer and then wandered down the road a little to a lovely restaurant for our first meal together.

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Nearly missed Judy from the photo, but managed to get four of our travelling buddies in the background 🙂

The first morning we were up bright and early to start our bus tour of Budapest. We started on the flat area of Pest…

Our first stop and we had a wander around
Our first stop and we had a wander around
Some of the beautiful decorations on the buildings
Some of the beautiful decorations on the buildings
I thought this building looked great as well :-)
I thought this building looked great as well 🙂

We then headed up to the Hilly Buda part of Budapest. The views from here were spectacular. Shame it was nearly raining as we were out and about taking our photos. I have been here before and blogged some better photos if you look in my archives. It was a beautiful sunny then (just over a year ago). It did actually start to rain just after we got our tour group photo taken. Only a few of us had rain gear!

Looking at Matthias Church, built in Romanesque style in 1015
Looking at Matthias Church, built in Romanesque style in 1015
Isn't it fabulous!
Isn’t it fabulous!
Just look at this amazing roof!
Just look at this amazing roof!
It has stood the test of time beautifully :-)
It has stood the test of time beautifully 🙂
The wall just HAD to be sat on! The view was great but it was very high!
The wall just HAD to be sat on! The view was great but it was very high!
What Robin can do.... so can I :-)
What Robin can do…. so can I 🙂
But I didn't sit here. Fabulous wall huh!
But I didn’t sit here. Fabulous wall huh!
And just look at that Cathedral from this view :-)
And just look at that (Robin) Cathedral from this view 🙂
Another great view!
Another great view!
The view from a different spot
The view from a different spot
You can see the cloud coming in... ready to pour down upon us!
You can see the cloud coming in… ready to pour down upon us!
A photo of the fortress and Cathedral from the bottom of the hill
A photo of the fortress and Cathedral from the bottom of the hill
Just one of the many neat buildings we saw :-)
Just one of the many neat buildings we saw 🙂
And this ones roof is just beautiful :-)
And this ones roof is just beautiful, and the statue in front amazing! 🙂

That evening Teresa and I went down to the riverside as we had heard there was a memorial there from war times…. around 1945

In memory of the victims shot into the Danube!
In memory of the victims shot into the Danube!
This is just a few of the shoes left there as a reminder of the lives lost! So very sad :-(
This is just a few of the shoes left there as a reminder of the lives lost! So very sad 🙁

We finished off the day with a dinner cruise on the Danube river. The food was yummy and the views fabulous.

The lights looked great!
The lights looked great!

Well once again Budapest proved a fantastic place to visit. The photos don’t really do the place justice. I hope I never forget the wonder of seeing Budapest in person. A real treat to see 🙂

Finally I will add a photo of our tour group (thanks to Hammie)

Super people from all over the world :-)
Super people from all over the world 🙂
The Balkans :-)
The Balkans 🙂

We travel from Budapest, Hungary and finish at Bucharest, Romania. I aim to put a blog post up for each of the 17 days of our tour, along with some of the best photos…. hopefully. Enjoy 🙂

3 Replies to “The Tour Starts!”

  3. Loved reading your diary. Ken has completed his. I have printed all our photos and have them labelled. Our neighbours are reading at the moment .
    Great to have all the information. From Claudia.
    We loved his tour as was completely different to all the others we have been on. So much current history.
    Looking forward to reading the rest of the tour.

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