Ferihegy Airpost, Budapest, Hungary, August 2009

As one of our humans was going to Budapest in Hungary for a conference, we were invited for an extended weekend in the Hungarian capital. Here we are sitting in the arrivals hall in Ferihegy Airport waiting for the airport shuttle to bring us to our hotel.

Click each photo to enlarge

We would be staying at the famous Gellért Hotel near the city centre. We were joined by Olivia and the Pinbear bros. plus Goye the-one-and-a-half-eyed parrot. The Gellért Hotel was a fine hotel.
"A fine hotel for a fine bear; that's very appropriate." Roger said. "After all, I am a big Hollywood star!"
"No!" Olivia interrupted. "You WAS a big Hollywood star!"
McBear, being a bit pedantic from his years in Denmark, pointed out:
"No, Olivia, it's 'you WERE'...

Budapest, Hungary, August 2009

As we were only going to be staying for the weekend, we were ichy to get out and see as much as possible right from the start. Here we are having crossed the Szabadság bridge across the famous river Danube, the longest river in Europe. The Gellért Hotel can be seen in the background left of the bridge.

The next morning we got up early. After a lovely breakfast, we went outside to start sightseeing. Here we are in front of the Gellért Hotel. The hotel is in fact famous for its old roman baths. The hotel is built in a style called Art Nouveau, which Budapest, like Prague, is famous for.

Budapest, Hungary, August 2009

We went to see the famous Hungarian parliament building. It's said to be the second largest parliament building in Europe.

Our human would be speaking at an conference called "Astronomy and Civilization". This inspired Roger to plan a talk on "The Royal Star Regulus in my Birth Chart". Our human, however, was not sure the organisers would approve...

We helped her find the venue for the conference. Here we are in front of the conference centre at Eötvös University. Some of us were gasping for air as if it was a hot summer day...

The next morning McBear and Roger got up early as they intended to walk up Gellért Hill. While the rest of the bears (and parrot) were still asleep, McBear and Roger went down to the reception before heading of. Here we are enjoying the fine interior in the reception lounge.

Budapest, Hungary, August 2009

Before going uphill, we had a look at the Szabadság bridge, also known as the Liberty bridge and it was completed around 1896. Considering how old the bridge was, it was actually in a fine state...

On our way uphill we stopped to enjoy the splendid views of Budapest. The city has around 1.7 million citizens. Roger noticed the colour of the river Danube.
"Why do they call it the blue Danube?"
"Very good question!" McBear said. "The blue colour seems to have faded away..."

Budapest, Hungary, August 2009

McBear was excited to see the fine floors in the large banquet hall. Finally reaching the top of the 140 m tall Gellért Hill we had a look at the Liberation Statue. It's the statue of a woman holding a palm leave high in the air as a symbol of liberation and it was erected after the ending of the German occupation in World War II.

Down at street level we studied the effecient tramway system that Budapest offers its citizens.

Budapest, Hungary, August 2009

Then McBear stopped to study an old car.
"What car is that?" Roger wanted to know.
"Well, it's an old Trabant from East Germany from before the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989. People used to laugh at Trabants because they had a weak and polluting engine, but today they have become famous."

Then it was time for lunch and we joined Frances and Poul having lunch at a nearby restaurant. When they had ordered the famous Hungarian dish, gullash, McBear was blissfully sniffing the soup...
"Careful now!" Roger warned. "It's hot... besides it's quite rich and you wouldn't want to ruin your figure...!"

Budapest, Hungary, August 2009

Having finished lunch, we find ourselves walking the streets again to find our way around Budapest.
"Although it's not like on Skiathos with the Greek unreadable letters, nor in Wales with their impossible place names, it's still not easy to read road signs!" Roger sighed. "There's a Zrinyi utca and a Nador utca! I wonder if utca means street..."
"I think you have a point, Roger, a good point!"

On our way we passed two lions of stone who were guarding another of Budapest's landmarks, the famous Chain Bridge which was opened in 1849.

Budapest, Hungary, August 2009

The bridge was built to connect Buda on the west side of the Danube with Pest on the east side. This was before Buda and Pest had become one city: Budapest.
"That means..." Roger pointed out philosofically, "that on the west side of the river we are Buda bears, while on the east side we are Pest bears!"

We crossed the bridge and ended at a very fine building; The Gresham Palace. Roger was stunned.
"Is this a Four Seasons hotel? THIS is where we should have stayed for the weekend! Five star hotels for five star bears only!"

Budapest, Hungary, August 2009

We went inside the Gresham Kávéház (coffe house) and found the lounge. Here, we enjoyed a cup of coffee.
"Have you bear sized cups?" McBear asked the waiter.
The waiter apologised and assured us that they had not been expecting such famous visitors! He said he'd get us a straw so we could sip from the cup on the table. To us it was an entire basin...
When the bill came, McBear nearly had a heartattck as it said 1600!
"Calm-calm," Roger said. "It's not Euros, but Hungarian Forint - one thousand Forint is only 4 Euros...!"

Then the weekend was over and it was time to return to Dublin. Here we are at Ferihegy Airport outside Budapest.