When the going gets tough, the tough get outta town!

We have been in Europe now for nearly two weeks and the majority of our days have been wet and cold, particularly the last couple in Budapest which have been quite nasty. I don't ever remember having such dreadful weather in May - and I've been in Europe lots of times during this month. Needless to say, I didn't anticipate this when I packed!  So yesterday, facing the prospect of yet again huddling in doorways to avoid the downpour, getting soaked as we slid on wet cobblestones and lept over puddles, or simply sitting in front of the TV in the apartment, we phoned "our driver", Peter, and asked him to get us out of here.  This morning was predictably cold (3' in mid-May is just wrong!) and pouring so the idea of spending time in a warm Mercedes seeing some new sights was very appealing. The plan was to go to four places outside of Budapest. Our first stop was Szoborpark (Memento Park) where statues from the Communist era have sort of been "put out to pasture".  To quote Rick Steves, "under Communism, creativity was discouraged and the purpose of art was to further the goals of the state".  No beautiful or delicate monuments here!  Somehow, the bitter cold, windy day seemed a perfect backdrop to these bleak reminders of the Soviet era.  Unfortunately, the weather didn't make for a long visit but I did manage to get some photos.

As a total contrast, next on the itinerary was the Basilica in Esztergom where, of course, my first thought was to get a picture of the organ for my sister. The Basilica is one of the largest buildings in Hungary. We didn't linger, however, but did walk to the viewpoint where the Danube here forms the border between Hungary and Slovakia.

Next was a visit to the castle at Visegrad but first, a stop for lunch at the Renaissance Restaurant where, if we'd wanted to, we could have donned medieval robes and crowns to get in that "castle' mood. We didn't and, after a delicious lunch, Peter drove up to the castle so we could climb 100m of stairs to see it. I've seen lots of castles and Nawal had been here before so, although I'm sure he wasn't impressed, we skipped getting out of the car. After all, it was still pelting rain and it was very cold. On the way down, he did point out one of Hungary's few ski hills. Suffice it to say there is a reason why Hungarians don't excel at the downhill and slalom. I think I learned to ski on a similar hill!

Finally, we visited Szentendre where I've stayed twice and Nawal has also visited. I thought going to the marzipan museum there might be interesting but, again, the rain put a real damper (pun intended!) on that and, after a quick walk around, we went back to the car for the 40 minute ride back to the city. It sure was nice to see the green hills, small villages and fields of wheat even in less than ideal conditions.  It was a perfect escape!  Of course, tomorrow, our final day here, more rain is forecast. Give me a break!