We enjoyed our final breakfast in the hotel’s beautifully appointed restaurant before gathering our belongings together and checking out. Our stay at the Hotel Nemzeti M Gallery by Sofitel had been lovely with courteous and attentive service, delicious food and comfortable rooms.

Flavoured water at the M Gallery by Sofitel breakfast buffet

We left our luggage with the concierge to collect later in the day and then took the tram along to the southern end of Margaret Island for a morning stroll. The weather wasn’t exactly conducive for a walk on an exposed island as it was blowing a gale and drizzling, but we plodded on with our hoods up. Along the embankment, we could see exposed stones on the riverbed indicating how low water levels had dropped on the Danube after a prolonged, dry summer causing havoc to river cruise itineraries.

Low river levels at Margaret Island, Budapest

Margaret…