This one wild and precious life!!: Budapest Day 2: Making a real "pest" of ourselves!

4/6

I was happily updating this blog at 7:30 the next morning when Yoram got up and suggested that we go for a run (maybe he was also feeling the effects of the rather large dinner we had eaten the night before), so, since it wasn’t raining, we did. We ran down to the river, past the National Concert Hall and Theater and a contemporary art museum, along the Danube and back to the place we were staying. After breakfast in the apartment, we set out on our way. We realized the the Holocaust Memorial (one of them, anyway) was right around the corner from us, so we stopped by to check it out. We couldn’t go in, but it seemed really impressive from the outside.

Holocaust Memorial

Today, we were going to meet up with a local woman, the friend of a colleague, who had agreed to be our guide for the day. She teaches English, and is always looking for chances to practice her conversational skills, and she was so wonderful to get to know! We so enjoyed our day with her!

We began at the National Museum, wandered through a crafts market, and continued down to the Danube, where we walked towards the river towards the Parliament building.

National Museum

Crafts Market

It was so cold, we almost had Yoram convinced to buy this!

All the crafts in this booth were made of zippers!

By the side of the river, a row of bronze shoes commemorates the Hungarian Jews who were shot here towards the end of the war, and whose bodies fell into the river.

Memorial candles in the bronze shoes

Near the Parliament is a bronze statue of Attila Jozsef, a poet who committed suicide (at least according to the guide) in 1937. Eva described his poetry as very beautiful, and, according to her, “we lost him far too young”, implying that maybe his suicide wasn't necessarily what really happened. So interesting to hear what a local person says, and compare it to the hard facts of the guidebook. (This happened over and over today!).

Parliament itself is a gorgeous building, partly under renovation (something tells me, that because of the sheer size of it once they finish the renovations, they’ll need to start over again). It is the largest building in Hungary, and was built between 1884-1902 based on a design by the winner of the competition held to choose the designer. It sits right on the river where it is visible from many different viewpoints, and really inspires awe from all sides. Outside is a monument to the victims of the 1956 Soviet Invasion, and another commemorating Imre Nagy, Hungary’s Prime Minister who defected from the side of Communism to the side of the people, a protest which cost him his life.

With Eva, our wonderful tour guide and new friend!

Parliament

Monument to the Victims of the 1956 Soviet Invasion

Imre Nagy Memorial

In Liberty Square nearby, we encountered a familiar face, as well as the Monument commemorating the Red Army soldiers who dies during the siege of Budapest in 1944-45, and one commemorating Harry Hill Bandtholtz, an American who led the Allied forces against the Romanians.

Memorial to the Unknown Communist Soldier

American Embassy

Former State TV Headquarters

St. Stephen's Basilica was next, and since the skies has lightened a bit, and one of the towers offered a panorama view of the city, we went inside. There were some problems building this impressive building, the main one being that the dome fell in during constructuion because they tried to make it higher than the original architect designed to keep up with the height of the surrounding buildings, and tbecause the materials and workmanship were sub-par. But it was completed in 1905, and it is really beautiful—very ornate inside. The views from the top gave a good feeling of the layout of the city (less beautiful than Prague, but with a beauty of its own) and the castle hill across the river. The claim to fame on the inside is a relic—the mummified right forearm bone of St. Stephen. Kind of creepy, but it drew quite a crowd…

St. Stephen's Basilica

The rebuilt dome

Views from atop St. Stephen's

Warm enough to temporarily remove the ear warmers!

Inside St. Stephen's

We continued on to the Opera House (which we had photographed the evening before), where there were a bunch of people standing on line. By the time we found out what was going on, that they were giving out free tickets to a concert 20 minutes later, we joined the line ourselves, too. (Obviously, a number of other people joined the line while we were figuring this out). Apparently, they had 80 tickets to give out, but by the time we got to the front of the line, there was only 1 left! Oh well. Next time, stand on line WHILE you figure out what’s going on and not after!

Our next stop was Heroes Square, a huge plaza dominated by the Millenium Monument, celebrating Hungary’s Kings and leaders, and the grand central pillar with The Archangel Gabriel at the top. Behind the monument is Vajdahunyad Castle, a conglomeration of crazy styes and architectural eras designed for the 1896 Millenuum celebration. Originally, it was just a temporary exhibit, but it was so beloved, that in 1904, they actually built the building to last! The park near the castle must be wonderful in summer, with the zoo, and little lake with paddle boats, the circus, and the famous Szechenyi Baths (tempting, but we decided not to go it.)

Szechenyi Baths

At this point, we wanted to go to the covered market, only to find that it closes early on Saturdays! We parted ways with Eva, and thought we'd hop on the tram that travels up and down the Danube to take advantage of the lighter skies. But on the way, we kept seeing people with feathers in their hair (almost looked like snow) so we decided to check it out. Near the river, we discovered a huge, organized pillow fight! Apparently, there were pillow fights all over the world at the same time on that very day, and we just happened upon the one in Budapest!! (check out www.nationalpillowfightday.com)

We did finally take that tram ride along the Danube, and then, to end the day, we went back up to Castle Hill again as we had hoped to do, so as to experience it without the rain falling on our heads, We enjoyed the views, the market, the fountain of King Matyas (same guy as the cathedral was named after) who fell in love with a peasant girl while on a hunting expedition. Must have been true love—check out the antlers on the elk he killed for her! The bluer skies raised our spirits, and we headed home for the night.