Millennium Park, Budapest

Once again I was out and about before the others. This time I began with a bit of the good old traditional tourist thing (which I don't usually indulge in when I''m away). I decided on the spur of the moment to take a boat trip on the Danube. It proved to be an interesting experience (even allowing for the wind which had built up once again and made the return leg of the journey a little uncomfortable). The lads told me later that the trip I took is not the one they normally go on with visitors. Mine went up the river as far as Margaret Island, turned around the far end of the island to drop of passengers who wanted to spend some time there, and then went back down to where we started from. The city looks quite different when seen from the river, and the commentary was interesting and informative enough to make the time pass pleasantly.

Meanwhile, Carl had done his independent thing too and had made his way to a big square on the Buda side of the city which is a bit of a hub for buses, trams and metro lines. I made my way to join him there, and we went to the Millennium Park to see the Titanic exhibition which is on there until November. This was quite a sad experience, since it consists in the main of artifacts recovered from the sunken ship, displayed along with commentary which traces the history of the ill-fated ship through design, launch, course of the voyage and eventual encounter with the iceberg. I was glad that we'd preceded this with a visit to the Palace of Miracles featuring interactive puzzles and hands-on scientific games and experiments. The Millennium Park itself is a hugely impressive undertaking, built on the site of an old industrial complex and used as a venue for pop concerts and art exhibitions. I was fascinated by the juxtaposition of no-holds-barred modern architecture with rejuvenated industrial buildings and the surrounding residential district.

Once again we met up with the lads afterwards. We went on for another pleasant meal in a restaurant on Raday Street, then (yet again) had a few drinks afterwards in a couple of the local bars and finished up at home for late-night chat to mark our final night.