DAY 5 - SZENTENDRE, VISGRAD AND ESZTERGOM

 We had an excellent day out of Budapest on a day trip to the Danube Bend where we visited Szentendre, Visegrad and Esztergom.  There were ten in the party, the two of us and eight in a family group, some from Virginia and some from Portugal.  We traveled with our guide Nellie in an 18 passenger van, so plenty of room.


We drove North to Szentendre which is probably the most popular tourist destination in the vicinity of the capital.  There are many souvenir shops, plenty of  craft stalls and a maze of streets.

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On the main street



The Catholic Parish Church

This church was up an alley of steps to Templon ter, a walled hill top with a view over the town. 

A very old sundial on the church wall

We visited a marzipan shop with a museum, but somehow we missed the museum which was hidden at the rear of the shop. Highlights apparently include a tasty model of the Budapest Parliament and a likeness of Princess Diana, immortalised in ground-almond confectionery.

Our tour continued to Visegrad where we had a lovely lunch high up overlooking the Danube Bend.

Overlooking the Danube Bend
Our restaurant stop for lunch


A welcoming drink - pretty strong it was - with our guide Nellie
Guess who

After a very nice lunch we set off down the hill to the centre of Visegrad. 

The lower castle - the gate tower


Solomon Tower
The Visegrad Citadel from below - started in 1246


The Citadel from the restaurant


The fine home of Geogei Artur who was a Hungarian military leader renowned for being one of the greatest generals of the Hungarian Revolutionary Army

A bust in the town

We had one more stop ahead of us, Esztergom.   Situated on the Danube it is dominated by the basilica, the largest building in the country.  It is built on the site of the first cathedral in 1000 AD. where Stephen 1 also known as King Stephen was crowned.  The basilica was built between 1822 and 1869.
Esztergom Basilca

Detail of the massive dome

The altarpiece of Esztergom Basilica was painted by Michelangelo Grigoletti. It is the biggest altar-piece in the world which was painted onto a single canvas.

The magnificent organ which has the largest organ pipes in  Hungary and will be the third largest organ in Europe after its current restoration






Detail of a frieze

Detail of the ceiling


School and Conference Centre beside the basilica

The view over the Danube

We left the basilica and drove across the bridge into Slovakia.

The basilica from Slovakia

The "to prove we were" there photo

This is a very large building

The whole panorama

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