Todd and I had a great, kid-free vacation planned to Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina for my ____th birthday. Unfortunately, my dad started real chemo (as opposed to the pill he had been on) and couldn't travel so we no longer had anyone to watch the kids and had to change the plans all around. We decided to take the train to Budapest for a few days, then travel on to Bratislava for a night, and finally, travel on to Vienna for a couple of days.
This is why we like the train. The kids are happy, there's very little complaining, we get to eat lunch in the restaurant car, and we can have adult beverages! Besides, it's MUCH cheaper than flying.
Watching Austria go by.
After Nuremberg, our first pit stop was Linz. Todd chased the kids around the station for 15 minutes trying to wear them out. Europe has some of the funniest signs... STOP!
We brought our own wine (and I bought some new because I liked it better) and our Moe's cups. Classy.
Our AirBnB host, Peter was kind enough to take us on about an hour walking tour of Budapest after we arrived. The kids thought he had a crush on me, but I'm pretty certain I was twice his age and he was just being nice!
Still rocking the beard at the Hungarian Parliament.
This is the German Occupation Memorial. Anytime there is an attack on the world somewhere (which seems so often nowadays), people go here to leave remembrances. There's also a big fountain but it wasn't going at the moment.
Grant, please do not kick Ronald Reagan! He was honored with a statue in 2011 for his role in helping to end communism in Eastern Europe.
Beautiful sunset over the Danube!
If you think bad parking only happens in the US, well... think again! Mad respect though. Most of the time, there's no real rules when it comes to parking!
View from the top of Castle Hill, looking back to the Chain Bridge, and St. Stephen's in the distance.
In another life, Todd and I probably would have enjoyed seeing Buda Castle. It's been built and rebuilt since the 14th century, but the foundation of this castle was first laid in 1749. It was pretty much destroyed in WWII (wasn't everything?) and was rebuilt. It now houses the Hungarian National Gallery, the National Library and the Budapest History Museum. Naturally, we skipped all of this. Next time, I would like to wander around the gardens more!
As we were walking toward Matthias Church, we saw this unassuming door (well, unassuming by European standards) and decided to see what the plaque on the right said (and why a man was standing there). Turns out this is the Sandor Palace, and is the office of the President of the Republic of Hungary!
Statues are EVERYWHERE in Budapest. It's kind of a thing there.
They almost could be their own statue here.
I hadn't worn my flats in a while, and they don't hurt my feet except one of my pinky toes. Not both, just one (?). So I bought some BandAids at the Apothoke and THIS is what I got. NOT helpful!
Not sure you can catch the bad guys in THIS tiny police car! It's Grant sized!
And then, you see Matthias Church, which is probably one of the most beautiful churches I've ever been in! LOOK AT THAT ROOF!!!!
Pardon my million pictures of this roof. Are you KIDDING me with this???
STUNNING!
Approaching Fisherman's Bastion with it's towers.
Our old pal St. Stephen riding his horse. He lived from 975 to 1038, AD. He's considered the founder of Hungary. This statue went up in 1906.
Natalie and Grant at the Fisherman's Bastion, with the Danube and the Hungarian Parliament in the background. Boy, that goofy hat we bought in Venezia has really come in handy!
The seven towers (of which you see four here) represent the seven Magyar tribes that settled here in 896 AD.
Great view through the columns of the Fisherman's Bastion, overlooking the Hungarian Parliament building.
We saw some lady doing this, so of course, the kiddos had to do it too! I love this picture!
Am I at Disney World or in Budapest!? I couldn't tell! (The funniest part of this one is that when you climb to the top, it's just a restaurant and it was closed!)
View of St. Matthias from the other side. I seriously can't even begin to explain how much I LOVE this church! Our next stop was to climb the church tower. They have guided tours every hour, and you have to climb a ton of very, very narrow, twisty stairs to the near-top of the tower.
Her tiny size 1 feet barely fit on the stairs. You can imagine how Todd's size 13's fared!
View of my favorite roof EVER from above!
So, our little tour guide took a special liking to our family (and another, elderly couple from America... was he thinking he was going to get some sweet tips?) I think he thought he was the next Ansel Adams too, because he must have taken about 30 pictures of us from various points on the tower.
Here's one of the Viking cruises going down the Danube past Parliament. (I like the cross on the far left side of this picture).
We not only went to the Panorama Terrace (46.73 meters) but also went up to the higher, unmentioned terrace on this chart! Only our family and the other American couple got to go... the tour guide shuffled everyone else back downstairs and took us on a private tour up there!
After our extended tower tour, we ate lunch at the Piknik Pavillion. It was surprisingly good, and we could eat outside under the shady trees. It had ALL of the Hungarian favorites! (Except Hideg Meggylives, but don't get me started about how I couldn't find that ANYWHERE in Budapest!)
Lunch with the mountain man. Some delicious goulash (for me) and some Borsodi beer!
After we ate, we went BACK to St. Matthias church... this time to see the inside of the church.
It's incredibly beautiful inside. The latest restoration occurred between 2006-2013.
The statue of Mary you see above is of great importance to this church. In 1541, the Turks took the city (but not before the Christians could hide the Madonna behind a plaster wall) and turned the church into a mosque. During the Siege of Buda in 1686, nearby cannon fire caused the plaster walls to fall, exposing the statue of Mary to the praying Muslims. They were apparently freaked out by this, and the city was returned to the Hungarians without any issues.
Beautiful windows and interesting architecture.
This is the oldest stone carving in Budapest still standing in its original location. What!? Built around 1260, this monk and the man with the beard are trying to interpret this book (gee, what book could that be?)
The ceiling, eeeeek!
In 1916, when the last Hapsburg King (King Charles IV) and his wife Queen Zita were crowned in Matthias Church, these are the chairs that they used. (This isn't the original fabric, however).
I'm touching the ACTUAL tiles from the roof, before it was restored!
Matthias Church might have been my favorite place to visit in Budapest, but my favorite moment was when Todd put a lock on the Chain Bridge that read, "TB + CB."
Awwwww! Who does this!? My husband, that's who!
What? You give me free beer on this boat? Ok, thanks!
The stunning Hungarian Parliament. Next time, I want to take a visit INSIDE!
It's a bus! No, it's a boat! Wait... what?
Hungarian Parliament, straight on. I'm not sure there's a prettier Parliament, anywhere. You hear that, Great Britain!?
We were making our way toward the Dohany Street Synagogue when we got sidetracked with this massive screen showing the Olympics in Rio! COOL! Let's go in and have a beer! Wait... we need a wrist band? That doesn't make sense because it's free to get in and all ages are welcome, but oh well. Mmmmm. Cold beer and the Olympics on a big screen, so fun! Wait. Why does it say, "Red" everywhere. They're serving Russian food here. And we're right across from the Russian Embassy. HOLY CRAP. We are at a Communist viewing party! *Bailey family quickly escapes and immediately takes off wrist bands!*
After-the-fact-note: The paranoid Bailey's find out this wasn't a Communist viewing party at all! Red Szurkolói Központ is the name of the facility! I think it was all sponsored by Vodafone, but I still don't really know. (OK, feel free to laugh at us right now!) I just want to say... this is the most ignorant, bone-headed move we have ever made. We apologize profusely. This party was super cool, and we should have stayed longer! (Hashtag language barriers). Russia isn't even a Communist country anymore! I post all of this so you know that we aren't perfect, and we, as Cold War children, still make assumptions that shouldn't be made.
Whiskers Cat Pub. Hungary's First Cat Pub. Sure. That's certainly more normal than a Communist-not-Communist viewing party. Yeah.
This is apparently ALSO for sale. Because that's totally appropriate! (Now if it was a bourbon...) However, it appears it's peach tasting, so I could go for that....
Do not read the next sentence!! You little rebel I like you (heart) come in for a coffee! I think we could have started a new trending hashtag on Twitter. #strangesignsofBudapest
Good to know!
What the... you do not have the right of way? (Typically you would just leave off the yellow diamond and keep the yield sign). If you're wondering whether we made it to the Dohany Street Synagogue.... well, no, we didn't. We got there with plenty of time to spare, but I had on shorts, which were not allowed. So we decided to go get something to eat and call it a night.
Thank GOODNESS some countries pronounce it right!
On our last full day in Budapest, we decided to head over (now for the second time) to the Dohany Street Synagogue. We got there around 9:15... and of course, it doesn't open until 10. So we decided to take a short walk to the Central Market Hall.
Wait. Are you kidding me? Another one? We googled this and yes, cats do roam around this pub!
One cannot GO to Budapest without stopping at the Central Market Hall! It's the largest and oldest indoor market in Budapest, and here we are in the basement checking out the meat market. All of the "stinky" things are in the basement (think meats, cheeses and fish).
When in Rome... we bought some Zwack Unicum! Allegedly, there are 40 different spices in this herbal liquor. I'd believe it. It was created in 1790 by Dr. Josef Zwack (who was the royal doctor to the Hapsburgs!)
Checking out some live (stinky) fish while Mommy stays very far away from that smell.
Combining our love for paprika with creepy baby doll heads at the Central Market Hall.
Grant and Natalie are drooling over yellow watermelon, their new favorite thing. The fruits and vegetables are on the ground floor (along with some bakery treats!)
The hustle and bustle of the Central Market Hall.
We went to the third floor, where they sell a lot of tourist trinkets, as well as traditional Hungarian dress and plenty of made-to-order food, including Langos. Langos are a deep fried flatbread, usually topped with sour cream and cheese (plus other things, sometimes). I could see Natalie liking this, but I was pretty sure Grant would hate it, given his distaste for sour cream. Moving on!
No, for realz this time. We are GOING to the Dohany Street Synagogue! It's the LARGEST Synagogue in ALL of Europe! (Remember, we just went to the second largest Synagogue, the Great Synagogue in Pilsen, Czech Republic a couple of weeks ago!) It is also the THIRD LARGEST Synagogue in the entire world (behind Belz Great Synagogue in Jerusalem and Satmar Synagogue in NYC.) I'm hearing there is a new, super huge Synagogue in Uman, Ukaine that is larger in square footage and number of seats, so I'm going to awared the Dohany Street Synagogue #4 status. "They" like to separate the Synagogues by type of Jewish faith (whether they are Hasidic or Reform, etc.) so which one is actually the largest is probably still up for discussion.
Meanwhile, I'm just happy I've got pants on today, and my shoulders are covered. Let's go!
They have taken far better care of this Synagogue than the one in Pilsen. It seats 3,000 (plus 2,000 standing!) and is over 13,000 square feet.
The ceiling is beautiful! There is a lot of Oriental-Byzantine detail in this church.
Stunning architecture and curves.
As I've mentioned before, there is no alter in the temple. This is where we, as Christians would consider the alter to be (in the front of the church)
There is a wonderful and incredibly sad memorial (grave) to victims who died of hunger and exposure in the cold winter of 1944-1945. Unlike in Christian churches, members of the Jewish Synagogue's are not buried anywhere near the temple. However, after liberation, the Russians didn't really know what to do with the bodies, and being Christian, they took them to the Synagogue for burial.
While there are 2,000 some victims buried here there are not nearly that many headstones. Very unfortunately, there are many unnamed dead buried here.
Outside of the Dohany Street Synagoge is a beautiful memorial to the Jews who were taken at the hands of the Nazis. In the shape of a weeping willow, there are names of Hungarian Holocaust victims on each of the leaves.
Anyone who knows me pretty well knows that I'm a huge fan of seeing "the oldest" or "the biggest" types of attractions. Here we have our Cap'n ready to ride the OLDEST underground electric railway on the continent of Europe (but second oldest in the world, behind London). It was opened in May 1896, just in time for the 1000th year anniversary of the founding of Hungary. Although the metro has been expanded in many areas (and buried VERY deep underground), the M1 Yellow line is the oldest and is literally right below street level.
Oh THAT'S right! We're going to the Szechenyi Baths! What is that you say? You say it's the LARGEST medicinal thermal bath in Europe? That's right, folks! I'm NAILING IT with the "oldest or largest" attractions on this trip!
Here is what it looks like from above (and no, I didn't get in a helicopter and take this picture... I borrowed it from Wikipedia! By Civertan (Own work), via Wikimedia Commons). In the above picture, you can see the three outdoor pools. The pool on the left is INCREDIBLY hot. Like, piping hot, hotter than I normally like my bath. The middle pool can only be accessed for swimming laps IF you have a bathing cap. And the pool on the right is pleasantly warm, and has a "whirling corridor." It wasn't as strong as the one in Weiden, but fun none the less. The water is much cooler but still very warm (warm enough for me to get in, and I only like it if it's above 87F!) There are also several indoor pools, but I heard they were around 81 degrees F, so we decided against those.
A little crowded, but it was a gorgeous day at the Szechenyi baths. We don't get much summer here in Germany, so we really enjoyed this.
Built in 1913, the architecture is Neo-Baroque and very beautiful.
Me and the crowded pool. Sometimes I need proof that I was there!
After some fun time in the adventure pool, we moved over to the (very hot) thermal pool. You can't see here, but on the right, they have a big screen up and everyone was watching the Olympics. So much fun!
After a few hours at the baths, we decided to head back. We walked through City Park a bit -- I love these guys just hanging out and playing chess!
On our way back, we walked past Heroes Square. This statue features the seven Magyar Chieftains.
Goofballs at Heroes Square.
I saw some other kids up there, so I guess this was ok (rules are very different in Europe!) and I didn't see any signs saying they couldn't go hang out with the Magyar kings, so up they went!
The statues on the left and right colonnade depict, what else? Heroes from throughout the history of Hungary. Interestingly, some of the statues on the left used to be from the Hapsburg family who ruled the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but the Hapsburgs were replaced with traditional heroes of Hungary's past after the monument was damaged in WWII. (Talk about rejecting history!)
Apparently you have to go to Gerbeaud when you go to Budapest. It's one of the most famous coffee houses in all of Europe. So we went!
You may recall at the beginning of this post (What? You're still here? Go home!) that this was supposed to be a big trip to Croatia for my ___th birthday. Alone. Without the kids. Champagne wishes and caviar dreams and all of that jazz. When you have to go to Budapest instead (OH DARN!), you are allowed to indulge in a Tiramisu Sundae. Which was awesome.
We saw a few more sights on Tuesday morning before we hopped on the train to Bratislava. The first was the Shoes on the Danube. This work of art by sculptor Gyula Pauer represents the shoes that were taken off by the Jews right before the Arrow Cross militia shot them at close range so that their bodies fell into the river, swept away by the current.
Some people even put a pair of today's shoes among the memorial. I'm not sure how I feel about that. In 2014, some idiots managed to steal a couple of the iron shoes, so perhaps someone was trying to replace them.
To the memory of the victims shot into the Danube by Arrow Cross militiamen in 1944-45.
The shoes represent men, women, old, young, and even little children.
Shoes on the edge.
Sixty pairs of shoes (minus the few that were stolen) are here on the bank of the Danube.
Our very last stop was St. Stephen's Basilica, named for the first King of Hungary. In Budapest, many, many things are named after their first king! The southern tower above (the one on the right) houses the largest bell in all of Hungary! (Largest bell, check!)
Typical European church with it's ornate gold and marble!
Such a pretty cupola. I would like a piece of jewelry that looks like this.
The ceiling frescoes were simple, but surrounded by an ornate golden frame.
Another view of the cupola.
Me and my babies in St. Stephen's. Now these two are things I can certainly thank God for!
THIS bell tower actually had a lift, thank GOODNESS because my dogs were killing me. But you can't beat city views from a tower!
HOW DID I MISS THIS PLACE!?! Look at that roof! I believe it's the Treasury building. Directly behind it is the American Embassy.
Goodbye St. Stephen's. Until next time, Budapest!
This is why we like the train. The kids are happy, there's very little complaining, we get to eat lunch in the restaurant car, and we can have adult beverages! Besides, it's MUCH cheaper than flying.
Watching Austria go by.
After Nuremberg, our first pit stop was Linz. Todd chased the kids around the station for 15 minutes trying to wear them out. Europe has some of the funniest signs... STOP!
We brought our own wine (and I bought some new because I liked it better) and our Moe's cups. Classy.
As we approached Budapest, I have never seen so many windmills in my entire life! Look in the distance! This was incredible!
Our AirBnB host, Peter was kind enough to take us on about an hour walking tour of Budapest after we arrived. The kids thought he had a crush on me, but I'm pretty certain I was twice his age and he was just being nice!
Still rocking the beard at the Hungarian Parliament.
This is the German Occupation Memorial. Anytime there is an attack on the world somewhere (which seems so often nowadays), people go here to leave remembrances. There's also a big fountain but it wasn't going at the moment.
Grant, please do not kick Ronald Reagan! He was honored with a statue in 2011 for his role in helping to end communism in Eastern Europe.
Beautiful sunset over the Danube!
If you think bad parking only happens in the US, well... think again! Mad respect though. Most of the time, there's no real rules when it comes to parking!
Not the smallest elevator we've ever been in, but pretty darn close. (There's an elevator in Seville that we think was smaller than this one!) It didn't help that the doors went INWARD. You can see both walls and my giant above!
We found a couple of Solperstein's in Budapest, where Charles and Maria Fillenz were deported or killed, and this was their last residence.
Legitimately one of the best cappuccino's I've ever had! And it's so cute with a heart! This was down the street from our apartment at the Pazar Caffe.
Since it was a beautiful day, we decided to trek up to Castle Hill. To get across to Buda, you have to cross the Chain Bridge. A great story about this bridge: A politician crossed the Danube by walking across the ice, only to have it melt while he was in Buda. He couldn't return to Pest for his father's funeral, and as a result, he commissioned the building of the first bridge across the Danube!
In World War II, the Chain Bridge was blown up by the Germans in January 1945 in the Seige of Budapest. This is all that was left, and obviously, it has since been rebuilt. In fact, all of the bridges crossing the Danube in Budapest had been destroyed in WWII.
Photo taken by; készítette: id. Takács István (1946), taken from the Hungarian Wikipedia.
Hungarian Parliament on a clear day from the Chain Bridge.
In order to get up to the Castle Hill area, you have to take a funicular. It opened in 1870 and operated for 75 years before being badly damaged in WWII. It finally reopened in 1986.
A beautiful mosaic of the Hungarian crest. (And yes, the real Hungarian Crown does have a crooked cross on the top!)
View from the top of Castle Hill, looking back to the Chain Bridge, and St. Stephen's in the distance.
In another life, Todd and I probably would have enjoyed seeing Buda Castle. It's been built and rebuilt since the 14th century, but the foundation of this castle was first laid in 1749. It was pretty much destroyed in WWII (wasn't everything?) and was rebuilt. It now houses the Hungarian National Gallery, the National Library and the Budapest History Museum. Naturally, we skipped all of this. Next time, I would like to wander around the gardens more!
As we were walking toward Matthias Church, we saw this unassuming door (well, unassuming by European standards) and decided to see what the plaque on the right said (and why a man was standing there). Turns out this is the Sandor Palace, and is the office of the President of the Republic of Hungary!
Statues are EVERYWHERE in Budapest. It's kind of a thing there.
They almost could be their own statue here.
I hadn't worn my flats in a while, and they don't hurt my feet except one of my pinky toes. Not both, just one (?). So I bought some BandAids at the Apothoke and THIS is what I got. NOT helpful!
Not sure you can catch the bad guys in THIS tiny police car! It's Grant sized!
And then, you see Matthias Church, which is probably one of the most beautiful churches I've ever been in! LOOK AT THAT ROOF!!!!
They have an iron model out front of the church and the Bastion, as it looks from the air.
Pardon my million pictures of this roof. Are you KIDDING me with this???
STUNNING!
Approaching Fisherman's Bastion with it's towers.
Our old pal St. Stephen riding his horse. He lived from 975 to 1038, AD. He's considered the founder of Hungary. This statue went up in 1906.
The kids wanted to look down at the Fisherman's Bastion. There are some great views of Pest and the Danube from up here.
Natalie and Grant at the Fisherman's Bastion, with the Danube and the Hungarian Parliament in the background. Boy, that goofy hat we bought in Venezia has really come in handy!
Fisherman's Bastion along the Danube.
Todd and Natalie at the Fisherman's Bastion in Budapest, with the Turul Bird statue behind them. The Turul is a mythological bird that is one of the symbols of Hungary.
The seven towers (of which you see four here) represent the seven Magyar tribes that settled here in 896 AD.
Great view through the columns of the Fisherman's Bastion, overlooking the Hungarian Parliament building.
We saw some lady doing this, so of course, the kiddos had to do it too! I love this picture!
Am I at Disney World or in Budapest!? I couldn't tell! (The funniest part of this one is that when you climb to the top, it's just a restaurant and it was closed!)
View of St. Matthias from the other side. I seriously can't even begin to explain how much I LOVE this church! Our next stop was to climb the church tower. They have guided tours every hour, and you have to climb a ton of very, very narrow, twisty stairs to the near-top of the tower.
Her tiny size 1 feet barely fit on the stairs. You can imagine how Todd's size 13's fared!
View of my favorite roof EVER from above!
So, our little tour guide took a special liking to our family (and another, elderly couple from America... was he thinking he was going to get some sweet tips?) I think he thought he was the next Ansel Adams too, because he must have taken about 30 pictures of us from various points on the tower.
Fisherman's Bastion from above. Or maybe it's a princess castle, I'm not sure!
Here's one of the Viking cruises going down the Danube past Parliament. (I like the cross on the far left side of this picture).
Margaret Island and the Marget Hid bridge. As the tour guide put it, "It's the Central Park of Budapest!" It has swimming pools, medieval ruins, playgrounds and even an open air theater.
We not only went to the Panorama Terrace (46.73 meters) but also went up to the higher, unmentioned terrace on this chart! Only our family and the other American couple got to go... the tour guide shuffled everyone else back downstairs and took us on a private tour up there!
After our extended tower tour, we ate lunch at the Piknik Pavillion. It was surprisingly good, and we could eat outside under the shady trees. It had ALL of the Hungarian favorites! (Except Hideg Meggylives, but don't get me started about how I couldn't find that ANYWHERE in Budapest!)
Lunch with the mountain man. Some delicious goulash (for me) and some Borsodi beer!
After we ate, we went BACK to St. Matthias church... this time to see the inside of the church.
Originally built in the 1300s and restored in the 1800s, Matthias Church was the site of the coronation of the last two Hapsburg Kings (Franz Josef and Charles IV).
It's incredibly beautiful inside. The latest restoration occurred between 2006-2013.
The statue of Mary you see above is of great importance to this church. In 1541, the Turks took the city (but not before the Christians could hide the Madonna behind a plaster wall) and turned the church into a mosque. During the Siege of Buda in 1686, nearby cannon fire caused the plaster walls to fall, exposing the statue of Mary to the praying Muslims. They were apparently freaked out by this, and the city was returned to the Hungarians without any issues.
Beautiful windows and interesting architecture.
This is the oldest stone carving in Budapest still standing in its original location. What!? Built around 1260, this monk and the man with the beard are trying to interpret this book (gee, what book could that be?)
The ceiling, eeeeek!
In 1916, when the last Hapsburg King (King Charles IV) and his wife Queen Zita were crowned in Matthias Church, these are the chairs that they used. (This isn't the original fabric, however).
I'm touching the ACTUAL tiles from the roof, before it was restored!
Matthias Church might have been my favorite place to visit in Budapest, but my favorite moment was when Todd put a lock on the Chain Bridge that read, "TB + CB."
Awwwww! Who does this!? My husband, that's who!
I prebooked a little one hour cruise on the Danube to see the sites of Budapest from the river. We only had a couple of days here, so we couldn't see everything (THIS TIME) but we could at least get a glimpse of most things. Above we have the "Statue of Liberty" on Gellert Hill, which originally was constructed to thank the Soviets for liberating them after WWII. Over the years though, it's just become a monument to those who have given their lives for freedom.
Liberty Bridge.
What? You give me free beer on this boat? Ok, thanks!
Buda Castle, from the Danube.
Matthias Church and the Fisherman's Bastion, from the Danube.
The stunning Hungarian Parliament. Next time, I want to take a visit INSIDE!
It's a bus! No, it's a boat! Wait... what?
Hungarian Parliament, straight on. I'm not sure there's a prettier Parliament, anywhere. You hear that, Great Britain!?
We were making our way toward the Dohany Street Synagogue when we got sidetracked with this massive screen showing the Olympics in Rio! COOL! Let's go in and have a beer! Wait... we need a wrist band? That doesn't make sense because it's free to get in and all ages are welcome, but oh well. Mmmmm. Cold beer and the Olympics on a big screen, so fun! Wait. Why does it say, "Red" everywhere. They're serving Russian food here. And we're right across from the Russian Embassy. HOLY CRAP. We are at a Communist viewing party! *Bailey family quickly escapes and immediately takes off wrist bands!*
After-the-fact-note: The paranoid Bailey's find out this wasn't a Communist viewing party at all! Red Szurkolói Központ is the name of the facility! I think it was all sponsored by Vodafone, but I still don't really know. (OK, feel free to laugh at us right now!) I just want to say... this is the most ignorant, bone-headed move we have ever made. We apologize profusely. This party was super cool, and we should have stayed longer! (Hashtag language barriers). Russia isn't even a Communist country anymore! I post all of this so you know that we aren't perfect, and we, as Cold War children, still make assumptions that shouldn't be made.
Whiskers Cat Pub. Hungary's First Cat Pub. Sure. That's certainly more normal than a Communist-not-Communist viewing party. Yeah.
This is apparently ALSO for sale. Because that's totally appropriate! (Now if it was a bourbon...) However, it appears it's peach tasting, so I could go for that....
Do not read the next sentence!! You little rebel I like you (heart) come in for a coffee! I think we could have started a new trending hashtag on Twitter. #strangesignsofBudapest
Good to know!
What the... you do not have the right of way? (Typically you would just leave off the yellow diamond and keep the yield sign). If you're wondering whether we made it to the Dohany Street Synagogue.... well, no, we didn't. We got there with plenty of time to spare, but I had on shorts, which were not allowed. So we decided to go get something to eat and call it a night.
Thank GOODNESS some countries pronounce it right!
On our last full day in Budapest, we decided to head over (now for the second time) to the Dohany Street Synagogue. We got there around 9:15... and of course, it doesn't open until 10. So we decided to take a short walk to the Central Market Hall.
Wait. Are you kidding me? Another one? We googled this and yes, cats do roam around this pub!
One cannot GO to Budapest without stopping at the Central Market Hall! It's the largest and oldest indoor market in Budapest, and here we are in the basement checking out the meat market. All of the "stinky" things are in the basement (think meats, cheeses and fish).
When in Rome... we bought some Zwack Unicum! Allegedly, there are 40 different spices in this herbal liquor. I'd believe it. It was created in 1790 by Dr. Josef Zwack (who was the royal doctor to the Hapsburgs!)
Checking out some live (stinky) fish while Mommy stays very far away from that smell.
Combining our love for paprika with creepy baby doll heads at the Central Market Hall.
Grant and Natalie are drooling over yellow watermelon, their new favorite thing. The fruits and vegetables are on the ground floor (along with some bakery treats!)
The hustle and bustle of the Central Market Hall.
We went to the third floor, where they sell a lot of tourist trinkets, as well as traditional Hungarian dress and plenty of made-to-order food, including Langos. Langos are a deep fried flatbread, usually topped with sour cream and cheese (plus other things, sometimes). I could see Natalie liking this, but I was pretty sure Grant would hate it, given his distaste for sour cream. Moving on!
No, for realz this time. We are GOING to the Dohany Street Synagogue! It's the LARGEST Synagogue in ALL of Europe! (Remember, we just went to the second largest Synagogue, the Great Synagogue in Pilsen, Czech Republic a couple of weeks ago!) It is also the THIRD LARGEST Synagogue in the entire world (behind Belz Great Synagogue in Jerusalem and Satmar Synagogue in NYC.) I'm hearing there is a new, super huge Synagogue in Uman, Ukaine that is larger in square footage and number of seats, so I'm going to awared the Dohany Street Synagogue #4 status. "They" like to separate the Synagogues by type of Jewish faith (whether they are Hasidic or Reform, etc.) so which one is actually the largest is probably still up for discussion.
Meanwhile, I'm just happy I've got pants on today, and my shoulders are covered. Let's go!
They have taken far better care of this Synagogue than the one in Pilsen. It seats 3,000 (plus 2,000 standing!) and is over 13,000 square feet.
The ceiling is beautiful! There is a lot of Oriental-Byzantine detail in this church.
Stunning architecture and curves.
As I've mentioned before, there is no alter in the temple. This is where we, as Christians would consider the alter to be (in the front of the church)
There is a wonderful and incredibly sad memorial (grave) to victims who died of hunger and exposure in the cold winter of 1944-1945. Unlike in Christian churches, members of the Jewish Synagogue's are not buried anywhere near the temple. However, after liberation, the Russians didn't really know what to do with the bodies, and being Christian, they took them to the Synagogue for burial.
In Memory of the 600,000 Hungarian Jews murdered in the Holocaust during the Second World War and in Memory of the Members of the Relief and Rescue Committee of Budapest who, at great personal risk, saved Jews from death at the hands of Nazi murderers.
While there are 2,000 some victims buried here there are not nearly that many headstones. Very unfortunately, there are many unnamed dead buried here.
I'm not sure what is going on here. But this is my kid huddled in the corner. With his head in his t-shirt.
Outside of the Dohany Street Synagoge is a beautiful memorial to the Jews who were taken at the hands of the Nazis. In the shape of a weeping willow, there are names of Hungarian Holocaust victims on each of the leaves.
Rocks have been placed on the monument, not out of disrespect but because I have heard they are a) prayer rocks (a prayer said for each rock put there) and b) the Jewish community buries their dead and covers them with rocks to protect them from bad weather and critters getting to them.
Our next stop was back to the apartment to change and gather things for the pool, as we were going to the popular Szechenyi baths. I'm feeling SUPER SAFE in our super tiny apartment elevator. I just hope I don't ever need to use the "out of order" help button!
Anyone who knows me pretty well knows that I'm a huge fan of seeing "the oldest" or "the biggest" types of attractions. Here we have our Cap'n ready to ride the OLDEST underground electric railway on the continent of Europe (but second oldest in the world, behind London). It was opened in May 1896, just in time for the 1000th year anniversary of the founding of Hungary. Although the metro has been expanded in many areas (and buried VERY deep underground), the M1 Yellow line is the oldest and is literally right below street level.
Natalie and Daddy taking a ride on the M1. Where are we going, guys?
Oh THAT'S right! We're going to the Szechenyi Baths! What is that you say? You say it's the LARGEST medicinal thermal bath in Europe? That's right, folks! I'm NAILING IT with the "oldest or largest" attractions on this trip!
Here is what it looks like from above (and no, I didn't get in a helicopter and take this picture... I borrowed it from Wikipedia! By Civertan (Own work), via Wikimedia Commons). In the above picture, you can see the three outdoor pools. The pool on the left is INCREDIBLY hot. Like, piping hot, hotter than I normally like my bath. The middle pool can only be accessed for swimming laps IF you have a bathing cap. And the pool on the right is pleasantly warm, and has a "whirling corridor." It wasn't as strong as the one in Weiden, but fun none the less. The water is much cooler but still very warm (warm enough for me to get in, and I only like it if it's above 87F!) There are also several indoor pools, but I heard they were around 81 degrees F, so we decided against those.
Besides, it was a BEAUTIFUL sunny and warm day! You can see Natalie and Todd on the left (by the flower pot) waving at me! (Someone had to watch our stuff!)
A little crowded, but it was a gorgeous day at the Szechenyi baths. We don't get much summer here in Germany, so we really enjoyed this.
Built in 1913, the architecture is Neo-Baroque and very beautiful.
Me and the crowded pool. Sometimes I need proof that I was there!
After some fun time in the adventure pool, we moved over to the (very hot) thermal pool. You can't see here, but on the right, they have a big screen up and everyone was watching the Olympics. So much fun!
After a few hours at the baths, we decided to head back. We walked through City Park a bit -- I love these guys just hanging out and playing chess!
On our way back, we walked past Heroes Square. This statue features the seven Magyar Chieftains.
Goofballs at Heroes Square.
I saw some other kids up there, so I guess this was ok (rules are very different in Europe!) and I didn't see any signs saying they couldn't go hang out with the Magyar kings, so up they went!
The statues on the left and right colonnade depict, what else? Heroes from throughout the history of Hungary. Interestingly, some of the statues on the left used to be from the Hapsburg family who ruled the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but the Hapsburgs were replaced with traditional heroes of Hungary's past after the monument was damaged in WWII. (Talk about rejecting history!)
Apparently you have to go to Gerbeaud when you go to Budapest. It's one of the most famous coffee houses in all of Europe. So we went!
You may recall at the beginning of this post (What? You're still here? Go home!) that this was supposed to be a big trip to Croatia for my ___th birthday. Alone. Without the kids. Champagne wishes and caviar dreams and all of that jazz. When you have to go to Budapest instead (OH DARN!), you are allowed to indulge in a Tiramisu Sundae. Which was awesome.
We saw a few more sights on Tuesday morning before we hopped on the train to Bratislava. The first was the Shoes on the Danube. This work of art by sculptor Gyula Pauer represents the shoes that were taken off by the Jews right before the Arrow Cross militia shot them at close range so that their bodies fell into the river, swept away by the current.
Some people even put a pair of today's shoes among the memorial. I'm not sure how I feel about that. In 2014, some idiots managed to steal a couple of the iron shoes, so perhaps someone was trying to replace them.
To the memory of the victims shot into the Danube by Arrow Cross militiamen in 1944-45.
The shoes represent men, women, old, young, and even little children.
Shoes on the edge.
Sixty pairs of shoes (minus the few that were stolen) are here on the bank of the Danube.
Our very last stop was St. Stephen's Basilica, named for the first King of Hungary. In Budapest, many, many things are named after their first king! The southern tower above (the one on the right) houses the largest bell in all of Hungary! (Largest bell, check!)
Typical European church with it's ornate gold and marble!
Such a pretty cupola. I would like a piece of jewelry that looks like this.
The ceiling frescoes were simple, but surrounded by an ornate golden frame.
Another view of the cupola.
Me and my babies in St. Stephen's. Now these two are things I can certainly thank God for!
Allegedly, the right hand of St. Stephen is housed here in this church. However, that area was closed when we were there (even though it said it should be open). I was a bit disappointed. Instead, we lit candles and said prayers.
THIS bell tower actually had a lift, thank GOODNESS because my dogs were killing me. But you can't beat city views from a tower!
St. Stephen's Square - you can see Castle Hill in the distance.
HOW DID I MISS THIS PLACE!?! Look at that roof! I believe it's the Treasury building. Directly behind it is the American Embassy.
Goodbye St. Stephen's. Until next time, Budapest!
