Post-Tour: Margaret Island, Memorials

We had two post-tour days planned, and we started the first one on Sunday by having breakfast with tour friends and saying our goodbyes. We took public transit to the Buda side and attended a church service, where we met a couple from the Czech Republic who were also visitors to Budapest, and we were able to ride with them on the return bus and talk

for a while. Stopping at Margaret Island, we walked around for a while and enjoyed the beautiful weather and park trails. There is a musical fountain with choreographed displays occurring every hour, and we were there in time to see one of these performances. We had picnic supplies back at the hotel, and we had a nice lunch and rest there before we went back again to the Parliament building, this time to investigate a small museum underneath the courtyard, which turned out to be an interesting exhibit on the 1956 revolution.

Travel Tip - Margaret Island

Margaret Island is almost entirely pedestrian and bike traffic, and it would be easy to spend half a day there, walking through gardens, buying something from a food stand, sitting somewhere shady to read. It felt like a community spot to relax.

Next on our plan was the nearby Shoes on the Danube Promenade, a memorial to the Hungarian Jews who were shot into the river by the ruling fascist government during the winter of 1944-45; such a moving work of remembrance. Making our way back to our hotel, we did a little planning, then we met up with one of our tour buddies for tapas and conversation at a nearby restaurant to end the evening. It was such a great day for moving slowly, reflecting, and appreciating our surroundings.

For Day 11,

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Planning Tip

Try to do any planning in a pleasant spot - these breaks to plan were often in some of our favorite locations, and that way the time didn’t feel wasted.