BUDAPEST!!

Hi, all!  It's about 3:15 in the afternoon here in Budapest, Hungary along the Blue Danube River.  What an AMAZING place!  I didn't know that the city was actually divided into two parts, "Buda"on one side of the river and "Pest"on the other!  And Buda is the name of Attila the Hun's brother who set up their tent along the river in the 5th Century.  You can also see remnants of this country having been under the reign of Marie Therese and the Austrian/Hungarian Empire about a hundred years ago...palaces and statues all over.  Now these buildings are government buildings, universities, or museums.  You can also see sad reminders of how the Hungarians lived under the Communist rule of  Stalin..there's a very moving exhibit of shoes along the Blue Danube to commemorate how those who spoke out against Communism and those who were "different"were told to take off  their shoes before being shot and dumped into the river.  Sounds a lot like the Hitler plan, doesn't it??  Anyway...it is a BEAUTIFUL city!!  Have TONS of photos from my entire trip to share with you in the coming weeks. 

Well, have to start packing since our group is set to leave this beautiful ship at 4:30 tomorrow morning to head to the airport in Budapest for our flight to Frankfurt, Germany.  We have a 7:00 flight and hope to be back in Chicago on Sunday
night....will see you on Tuesday morning...UGH, I'll be SO tired, I'm sure....not just because of jet lag and the time change, but because I've had a bad head cold and laryngitis for the last 5 days...but it's on its way out.  I will smack the person on our flight over the Atlantic who was coughing up a lung and sneezing......not the kind of souvenir I wanted!!

Take care everyone....I lit a candle for you at every church we stopped in to see...and there were many!
Love,
Ms. Schels  ;-)