BUDAPEST - HUNGARY

When I was for two days in Budapest I fell in love with this city ! I can't say why, but it was such a charming town and people were all so friendly. We stayed for two nights in the Ibis Hotel which fortunately was located in the center of Budapest. In our free time I could travel on the bus for free because I was over 65 and I was not even Hungarian ! In my own country I have to pay for seniors ! I also found Budapest very modern, there was Wifi nearly everywhere, it looked clean and I tried to see as much as possible in this short time and therefore took a sightseeing bus, which I could use the whole day. It was so nice to sit on the top and have a nice view over the streets and houses.

I won't describe its whole history you can find it here. Budapest has something for everyone – from dramatic history and flamboyant architecture to healing thermal waters and a nightlife that is unrivalled in Eastern and Central Europe.

Architecturally, the city is a treasure trove, with enough baroque, neoclassical, Eclectic and art nouveau buildings to satisfy everyone. Overall, though, Budapest has a fin de siècle feel to it, for it was then, during the capital’s ‘golden age' in the late 19th century, that most of what you see today was built.

And here are some photos I have taken in Budapest.





Fisherman's Bastion













a look over Budapest







Castle and Parliament






Chain bridge










Views of Budapest's streets from the sightseeing bus



View from our hotel window ! Interesting how people live




The New York Café outside. It was close to our hotel and the bus station was just at their door. Unfortunately I didn't go inside, which I sincerely regret, I didn't know what a beautiful café it was !



Saw it later on Internet



reminders of comunist times

In the evening we had a cruise on the Danube, with Champagne ! It was absolutely gorgeous ! The views !! I have seen a lot in my life but I was really impressed








cruise ships on the Danube











and all these beautiful illuminated buildings



and at the end of the cruise the moon.

There were a lot more to see in Budapest, I only had an overlook, a city to visit again, that's for sure !

DINANT - BELGIUM

With my friends I had booked a day trip to Dinant.

Its story is one of many battles. First of all, Dinant has been there a long time. The first mention dates from the 7th century! Isn’t that amazing? The Citadel of Dinant is a fortress located in the Walloon city of Dinant in the province of Namur, Belgium. The current fort was built in 1815 on a site which was originally fortified in 1051 when the region was ruled by the Prince-Bishopric of Liège

Dinant was exposed to quite a few battles in the Middle Ages, as it had a strategic location on the Meuse river. Also in World War 1 there was a lot of destruction, when French and German troops fought for the town in the Battle of Dinant. 80% got destroyed. But just as every place that saw destruction, it got rebuilt and is a beautiful place to visit now!

Our bus first drove us to the  the Citadel of Dinant.  We visited the fortress, but I preferred by far the beautiful views you had from up there over this picturesque little town.

BTW Alphonse Sax who invented the saxophone, was born here in Dinant. Now it has a special centre entirely devoted to him, but the visit to this place was not included in our program.




It rained a bit when we arrived at the entrance of the citadel



I saw this tower probably with canons inside to shoot the enemy and an airplane from WW I







The views over Dinant were just beautiful. It looked like a toy town.



Then we went inside. The walls were very thick, you could never have a problem with your neighbor.



Our guide showed us the prison. In the first cell was a surprise as he said. Indeed when you looked inside you saw your own face in a mirror !



These terrible "machines" were from long before the WWI time ! The guillotine to cut your head off and another one for thieves, to cut the right hand off !



There was a blacksmith and a bakery



Dormitories for 40 soldiers ! Must have kept the officer awake because of the snoring noise !



and the kitchen



The guide explained the history of all battles which took place here. This finished the guided tour and we went to the cable car.



It was very funny, because most of us had never taken or long time ago a cable car. 



Now we could see all the houses in reality, which seemed to be toy houses from high above where we had been, on the top of the rock !

Along these houses was the river Meuse on which we had our lunch cruise.



We sat at the beautifully dressed tables and had a wonderful meal, while looking outside on the landscape.



Meanwhile the sun had come out and we could sit on the deck



We had been there, behind the church !





views from the boat.

After almost 3 hours our cruise ended and we went back to the cable car which took us up again to the Citadel, where our bus waited to take us home.

Next time we will see a bit more of the city. It is really a worthwhile place to see or even spend some holidays.