Budapest and Vienna

On our last morning in Budapest, Trish went on an optional tour of The Hungarian Parliament House. It is a wonderful building dating back to when Hungary was a much larger country. The building is spectacular and colorful. It was an optional tour that perhaps both of us should have attended. The photo to the left and below give an indication of the building's grandeur!


We were on our way before lunch and arrived in Vienna mid afternoon. The weather was looking like it was about to change so we enjoyed a quick discovery walk around. Again there are lots of 'pedestrian only' roadways in this city. Vienna was also the site for the Euro 2008 soccer competition so the city was buzzing with soccer mania. The photo to the left shows a typical street in Vienna while the one below is of the Cathedral.


I found a great pub in Vienna called "the Australian Bar". It was strange being spoken to in an Aussie accent by a guy who was obviously from South Africa. But it was a good spot for me to relax while Trish and others visited the shops of Vienna, after all just how many shops can you look through in 6 weeks? After being in Budapest and Prague, Vienna made a great change by being back into a more western city!

Later that evening we enjoyed another 'optional' dinner of 'typical' Austrian food. It was a great night, the food was excellent and there was plenty to drink. To ensure our driver received his 9 hours break, we were back at our very comfortable Vienna hotel by 9:30 pm.

The next morning we had a City Bus Tour and eventually made our way to "The Summer Palace'. The tour was great and as usual photos were not allowed. It was quite showery so umbrellas were in use. During the afternoon Trish went on an optional Vienna Opera House Tour. She really enjoyed it and tells me the opera house is a magnificent building. Instead I had a good walk around the city (the showers had cleared a little) and then spent some time listening to an Aussie accent delivered by a guy from South Africa and enjoying a cool ale!

The photos above and below give a glimpse of the beautiful Opera House.


We had to find our own evening meal which for us was rolls and cheese in our hotel room purchased from a local supermarket. The next day we were heading to Venice!