My European Exposure: Christmas Eve Cruise in Budapest

We arrived in Budapest on Christmas Eve afternoon to find the city draped in fog. We had reservations for a dinner cruise that night, and I was so hoping that the fog would lift before we set sail. After getting checked into our hotel and getting dressed to go out, we made our way down to the Danube River a couple hours later to find that the fog was still hanging around. Instead of being disappointed that it wasn't a crystal clear evening, I was pleasantly surprised that nightfall and the city lights had brought a mystic hue to the fog, and it was actually quite beautiful.The chain bridge that connects the two sides of Budapest was sparkling while Budapest Castle was glowing in the background.

We had about thirty minutes to appreciate that view while we waited in line to board our ship for the evening.

Once inside we were seated at a table for twelve people, Four of the people at our table were two older couples from South Africa, and they were the friendliest people who kept us laughing the whole night. We enjoyed a buffet style meal of Hungarian cuisine and listened to live music while we cruised up and down the Danube River. One of our funny South African tablemates took this picture of us after we finished eating, thus all the smiles and laughter.

A few minutes before our cruise was over, we headed up to the top deck to get some pictures of beautiful, foggy Budapest.

Once we got off the boat, we took our time making our way back to our hotel and enjoyed a little more of the city.

Christmas decorations were lit up all around, and walking through them was a perfect end to a wonderful, albeit unusual, Christmas Eve for our family.