Back to Budapest- Power walking, live music, and spontaneous singing… part three

Monday morning, Bill and I got up and had breakfast. The D8 Hotel has a pretty decent spread, with lots of breads, fruits, cereal, some hot items, cold cuts, juices, hot tea, coffee, and even some sweets. After we fueled up, Bill went off to work. The first day, he walked about twenty minutes to get to the conference location, but then he figured out the tram system and took that.

I went back to the room and did some writing. Then I put on shorts and a t-shirt and headed out to explore Budapest on my own. The first thing I did was cross the Chain Bridge, which is probably the most famous of Budapest’s many bridges across the Danube. I didn’t really have a clear plan in mind for where I was going. I thought I’d just walk far enough to get some good pictures of the Parliament building. It’s hard to get them on the Pest side, because the building is huge, and it’s not possible to get far enough away to get the whole thing in a photo. So here’s a batch of photos from that initial goal:

And below are a couple of photos from 2009… Check out the differences! There were a LOT more boats in the river in 2025, than the same time of year in 2009.

Once I got my photos, I looked up and saw Margaret Bridge, which was closed the first time we visited Budapest in 2009. The below photo was taken in 2009.

*This was taken in 2009. The bridge was CLOSED!*

I decided I wanted to visit Margaret Island again. Even though the bridge was closed in 2009, it was still possible to go to the island. It just involved walking around construction and climbing stairs. In 2025, the bridge was fully functioning, complete with trams. In retrospect, I should have taken the tram, but I decided to walk… and walk I did, for a few miles. I did stop for park bench rests and photo ops. It was hot. My back hurt. My thighs were chafing. I was sweating a lot. But I kept going, heading for that bridge… wondering if I was actually going to venture into Margaret Island, too…

And then I climbed up the steps to the bridge and started to cross it. I got to the middle, where trams going either direction stop and let people off to go to the island. I decided to rest on the marble bench near the crosswalk. I will not soon forget the feeling of cool marble against my thighs. It was a brief moment of exquisite heaven, as I contemplated whether or not I had enough steam to explore the island, knowing I was also going to have to walk back to the hotel.

Finally, I decided to go for it…

*This is where you cross to go to the island. I was sitting on the cool bench, gathering steam.*

I immediately recognized the big sculpture, which I saw in 2009…

Then I started walking, realizing I could use a whiz… But I didn’t have any change, and all I saw was a pay toilet. I figured it was probably pretty gross, too. There are restaurants and bars on Margaret Island, but I hate going to such places alone, so I just walked around and took photos and rest breaks.

I also made a short video. If you watch this, I recommend not missing the end, as that’s where you can see the “singing fountain.” There’s also a random lady with her dog in the video. Lots of people were letting their dogs run on Margaret Island, and plenty of people were jogging, biking, or riding in rented pedal propelled carts. Margaret Island is a unique and beautiful part of Budapest. It’s absolutely worth visiting. I’m glad I forced myself to make the effort, even though it was hot; I was tired; and I am out of shape (but not as out of shape as some people might assume by looking at me).

That fountain was very inviting… But I maintained discipline and didn’t jump in.

I decided that I didn’t feel like trying to eat on Margaret Island, so I left it, thinking maybe Bill and I could visit it together later in the week. Unfortunately, we never did get back there. But below are a few photos from our 2009 visit.

I made my way back to the bridge and headed back to the hotel.

By the time I got back to the hotel, it was after 1:00 PM, and I was burning up. I’m sure I was a sight to see, after walking over 6 miles in the summer heat. I went to the bar and ordered a large lager, which tasted wonderful. Then I went back to the room and took a shower and a long nap. I was kind of proud of myself for managing to walk that much. There was a time when it was a lot easier for me than it is now.

Bill got back to the hotel a few hours later. I was a bit “hangry”, because I didn’t eat lunch. This is when we ended up having dinner at a rather mediocre touristy restaurant called Panorama Terasz, that turned out to be kind of special. I wrote the story of our evening meal and my decision to burst into song here. I don’t want to rehash it too much, since this post is already pretty long. But, suffice to say, when we got there, I was in a cranky mood. When I left, I was all smiles. And below is a video of our time at the restaurant, although there is no clip of my spontaneous songburst.

Here, you can hear the band play, along with a bunch of merry Brits who were also keen to sing along. Budapest is a wonderful city for music lovers!

An added benefit at eating at this restaurant is that we had a great view of the river, and I got some great shots of the sun going down and the lit up attractions along the river. Then, on our way back to our room, we noticed an unusual public toilet. I got a few photos of the outside, and we promised ourselves we’d check it out before leaving the city. We did, and I’ll include photos in a later post.