We were able to set off for Godollo for the day, taking the metro for the first time, all the way to the end of the line, where we switched to the HEV, the light rail and off into the countryside to visit the beautiful Baroque Royal Palace, built in the 18 th century for Queen Marie Theresa. It became the favorite retreat of the beloved (and ubiquitous) Queen Elizabeth. (It seems half the sights in Budapest bear her name). After WWII it was used as a barracks for the Soviet troops and then a home for the aged, so the restoration is fairly recent and done scrupulously. Far more history than I can remember, but well worth the visit. It functioned in much the same way as the Palace at Versailles, though it's much less ostentatious -- somewhere between Versailles and Hampton Court, which served the British royalty in the same way. We walked around the grounds and the town a bit, had lunch and headed back.
Royal Palace, Godollo
Town center, Godollo
Stopped at a big suburban Arkad (enclosed shopping mall) three stories high and a couple of city blocks long. Had all the same stuff one would expect in the U.S. plus a big supermarket. The food court had a McD's and a Burger King, Chinese, pizza, the whole nine yards. Came outdoors to find it sprinkling -- the first rain we've had. Stopped at the hotel to get raincoats on our way out to the shoes on the banks of the Danube and by the time we were properly attired the rain had stopped. Walked up the riverbank (our hotel is next to the Four Seasons, about a half block from Chain Bridge). Found the memorial powerfully moving as I know many of you have. For those of you who haven't seen it, it marks the spot where the Arrow Cross Militiamen (Arrow Cross Party was the Nazi party in Hungary) stood Jewish men, women and children along the river, tied them together in small groups, and shot one per group, so the falling bodies would pull the others into the water with them to die of drowning, thereby saving bullets, and incidentally making the victims even more terrified.
Charlie by the shoes
That did it for me for the day. Came home to rest before going out to dinner. Had great Indian food at Salaam Bombay, right next to the hotel. We'd been avoiding it because it's always empty, which according to my mother-in-law means the food can't be good. But I was too tired to care. And we had the best samosas ever!
We fly to Bucharest tomorrow where the real adventure will begin. We've had a great time here, seen and done a good bit, traveled by bus, boat, taxi, metro, light rail, but mostly by foot. I swear we've walked every utca (ootsa -street) and cobblestone in Budapest.
19,020 steps (8.1 miles)
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