Wed03Aug16: "Hotel Zenit Budapest Palace", Budapest, Hungary (rest day)

What does a bicycle tourist do on their second consecutive rest day in a major city?  Well, if they have a 48-hour pass on the Hop-on Hop-off Bus & riverboat, they'll probably just ride around all day on buses and boats.

statue, The Citadel

This statue faces east, the direction from where the Magyar peoples left their land in the steppes of southern Russia in the 9th century and conquered the inhabitants of the Carpathian Plain in order to establish their new homeland along the Duna River in Europe.

church, Budai

The cities of Budai and Pest amalgamated in the late 19th century, and the resulting city is filled with churches of several different Christian denominations:  Calvinist, Catholic, and Lutheran seem to be more dominant.

"All you can eat and drink" buffet for the equivalent of CDN$30.

Szechenyi Thermal Bath, Budapest

Budapest is located over several thermal springs that bring hot (76C) mineral water to the surface, where it is collected and piped into thermal baths located all over the city.

Zsinagoga, Budapest

It's a miracle how a Jewish synagogue managed to survive WW2, possibly because the Hungarians were 'in tight' with the German Nazi party from 1934-1945 and their country didn't suffer the same depridations as other European nations.










This evening I went out for supper with Judy & Tim Sole (NZ) who are leaving the tour tomorrow morning after cycling from St. Petersburg to Budapest.  There are at least four sectional riders joining the TransEuropa2016 tomorrow morning (and the latter three below joined us for supper):
a)  Killian McCartney, son of "Bristol Pete" McCartney, avid marathoner who will be competing in a marathon in Britain the weekend after he flies home from Venice;
b)  Rhinda (South Africa) who rode with me on the Bamboo Road 2013 and still remembers our 'rest day' searches for the massage parlours in China (a.k.a. "a happy ending");
c)  Nelson (Vancouver, BC) who also rode with me on the Bamboo Road 2013, got lost with me one day in southern China, and immediately called me "SuperDave" when he saw me in the hotel lobby on Monday afternoon;
d)  Tron (Norway) who also rode with me on the Bamboo Road 2013 from Penang to Singapore.
So, starting tomorrow morning there will be even more cyclists on this tour than I knew BEFORE our group arrived in Budapest.  Wonderful!