Dandy bike

Our ride around Margaret Island

This is E writing. On our last day in Budapest the little ones were exhausted and needed a day off so A stayed at the apartment with them (and packed) and R, S & I decided to go to Margaret Island, a small island in the middle of the Danube, and pretty much in the center of the city. We had planned to take a boat to the island but just missed it, so instead we walked. Budapest is a very pretty city, so the walk along the river was very pleasant, and the bridge across to the island had nice architecture (lots of statues!)

As soon as we walked onto the island we saw a stand renting bicycles for 4, and since we didn't have much time we figured this would be the best way to get around. Two people pedaled but only one could steer (where R is above). The third person could just relax sitting frontward or backward (good for picture taking).

So, off we went. S was the first photographer.

Along the way we saw some interesting sights. There are several sets of ruins on the island. These were built in the 13th century, and destroyed by the Ottomans in the 16th. Despite seeing ruins this old all over Europe it still amazes me that something built (and then knocked down!) more than 500 years ago can still be in good shape.

At the far end of the island there are Japanese gardens, including waterfalls that run over a house built into the hillside (hidden in the bottom right picture by the bushes).

There is also a fairly large Rose garden in the center of the island that we had a nice stroll through before heading to their 'zoo.' It's pretty tiny, featuring ducks and some other birds, and some ponies, which people can apparently ride, although they were just relaxing while we were there. They call it a game reserve and their stock photos (like the one at left) always show deer, but we didn't see any. But it was pretty anyway and S saw some interesting pigeons, which have been heavily featured this trip.

After an hour of a relaxing (and in the last 5 minutes not so relaxing, as we madly dashed to make it back to the rental place before our hour ran out -- we made it with seconds to spare), we went back to the apartment, picked up A and the littles, and headed to the train station. Above is a pretty typical view of waiting for the train.

The World Cup is very popular here. So many products have a World Cup tie in: potato chips, cookies, coke, McDonalds, etc.