| Hungary-Slovakia Birding Trip: August 27- September 10, 2012 | |
Day 15 Monday, September
10 Budapest, Hungary
Hotel Csaszar http://www.csaszarhotel.hu/kezdolap/kezdolap/en
We began our day with a tasty breakfast omelette.
Before dinner last night, Bill and the hotel receptionist called
Budapest to reserve seats on a dinner cruise for the four of us
on the Danube for tonight. It would be our last dinner together -
tomorrow we would fly home.
Before we left, we visited our hotel garden where we found house
sparrows and tits amongst walnut trees.
Ross discovered a back country road we could follow part of the
way back to Budapest. It was our last chance to do some birding.
We stopped at a couple of trails and enjoyed the hikes.
While hiking near a village, we heard some children playing. It
sounded like recess at a school. MA and Barbara walked down a
small path and found the school. Children were happily playing
outside in the forest. Barbara decided to give her remaining
Canada pencils – several packs – to the school. A
teacher introduced us to the principal. He accepted the pencils
and offered to show us the school. It was brand new – it had
just opened last week. It had four spacious classrooms, each with
a nature theme. We noticed skeins of wool and the Grade 1 teacher
explained each child would knit a recorder cover and a scarf by
the end of the year. It seemed like a very child-centred school.
In the meantime our birders had photographed Spotted and Pied
Flycatchcers.
We continued our drive towards Budapest, crossing the Danube on a
large modern bridge.
At the airport, we returned our Citroen – it had served us
well. We took the Airporter to our respective hotels.
Bill and Barbara stayed in “Buda” at the Bara hotel,
with a room view of an Olympic-sized pool with lessons underway.
Ross and MA stayed at the Courtyard Marriott in “Pest”.
After changing for the dinner cruise, B&B hiked across a
bridge over the Danube to “Pest”, crossing over an
island. We continued our hike through the city streets, sometimes
crossing under intersections – you just had to check the
various exits – once we ended up on the streetcar median. As
it was the end of the workday, the streets were full of people.
About an hour after our start, we arrived at the Courtyard
Marriott
The four of us now set out to find an ancient building, the Duna
Palota, where Bill confirmed our booking and got our cruise
tickets. As we had about half an hour before leaving for the
cruise, we enjoyed a beer together on a nearby restaurant terrace
where Bill used up most of our remaining forints. Barbara would
complete the job at the airport the next day.
The cruise was a perfect way to end our amazing adventure.
Spectacular views along the river of the Parliament, of
monuments, of cliffs… a hearty Hungarian dinner… music
by a talented strings trio…
Click the CD to play
It was hard to say goodbye but we bid our farewells and hiked
back to our hotels. We had many good memories to reflect on.
Birds seen Sept 10, 2012
Bird of the Day: Pied
Flycatcher
1. House Sparrow
2. Pied Flycatcher
3. Spotted Flycatcher
Trip Total: 155
Bird sightings TOTAL = 155 species
… with 68 lifers for Bill