Last Day: Budapest

Sunday morning, for a tour, we met Alan Gellert, a good friend of both Richard Keiser and Rob Hegstrom, who both live in PA. We'd met Alan on the ship and he has become special, for his moral convictions, interest in art and history, and companionability. With Alan we took the funicular up to the hilel on the Buda side of the city. There we enjoyed lunch in a cafe and then visited the National Gallery in Buda Castle. From the temporarily-closed Fine Arts Museum we saw 57 art works, including special masterpieces by Brueghel, Velasquez and Courbet. We also saw Hungarian early 20th century art and two special exhibits on Picasso and Modigliani. Later in the day Jim and I visited the large Basilica of St. Stephen before dining at the Callas Restaurant opposite the splendid 19th century opera house. Budapest is a city of contrasts, from all of the restorations of architecture damaged during wartime, to the homeless sleeping in doorwayys just a few blocks from the downtown. Hungary's politics, sadly, are headed to the right, so we wish the people well. - Dan