It is hard to believe that we have been gone two
weeks and only have another week left.
We started the morning walking down to the Chain
Bridge to catch a “hop on hop off” bus. We had bought 2 days tickets
yesterday. We started walking up Andrassy ut, Budapest’s finest street, to find the bus
stop.Andrassy ut is 1.6 miles long, ending at Heroes’ Square and is the busy street with the Opera
House, shops, museums, cafes and nightclubs.We found the “hop on, hope
off” bus which took us through several of the surrounding streets and then up
past the Opera House and shops to Hero’s Square.
HEROES’ SQUARE
At the northern end of Adnrassy ut (street) is the
giant Heroes’ Square so named because it the home of the most important
figures in Hungarian history.It was
built in 1896 as part of Hungary’s Millennial Celebrations of the Magyar
conquest.The tall Millennial
Monument which is a 118 foot column of the Archangel Gabriel is the first thing
that you see.Gabriel is surrounded
by statues of men on horseback who represent the seven legendary chieftains
responsible for the conquest.A
stone tablet rests in front of the column marking the Tomb of the Unknown
Soldier.
Behind the monument is a
magnificent semi-circular colonnade depicting the most highly regarded men in
the country’s history, ranging from King Stephen I to Lajos Kossuth.
On top of the colonnade are symbols of War and Peace, Work and Welfare,
and Knowledge and Glory. Preparations
were in progress for some type of fair.There
was a bucket-truck lifting workers to the top of the statue to attach bunting
and stringing it to the colonnades. Wooden vendor stands were being assemble
around the plaza.We spent a lot of
time looking at all the statues and photographed many of them.
On the southern side of Heroes’ Square is the
Palace of Arts, built at the same time as the Square.It was renovated in 1995 and now offers the largest exhibition space for
contemporary art in the country.
On the northern side of Heroes’ Square is the
Museum of Fine Arts in a grandiose neoclassical building.It is Hungary’s premier gallery of non-Hungarian works of art with over
100,000 examples. Since we still had
several places to visit that day, we decided not to go into either museum—next
time.
Across the street on the back side there was a new
building.In front of it they had
excavated a large area that will soon to be small lake.
Further on we came to the Vajdahunyad Castle.It has been termed an “enclave of buildings” rather than a proper
castle.It, too, was built for the
Millennial Celebrations of 1896 to display the variety of architectural styles
found in the Hungarian Kingdom.It
was a fascinating building which reveals a combination of Romanesque, Gothic,
Renaissance, and Baroque elements.Originally
constructed out of cardboard as a temporary exhibit of the celebration, the
castle was such a hit that the city decided to turn it into a permanent
structure of stone and bricks in 1904.
We did not go in but walked around the outside where several vendors had
begun selling their wares for the upcoming festival.In the park surrounding the castle is the famous Statue of Anonymous.This is a hooded figure of a monk. Little known about him except that he
lived in the 12th century and was the notary to King Bela III.He is also considered to be the author of the Gesta Hungarorum, the first
book written on the history of the Hungarians.Superstition has it that students who touch his writing stylus will
receive help in their studies.My
wife and I both touch it as well as had our pictures taken with him.That is why I am able to write so much about our travels!
In this area were also the famous baths.My wife had particularly wanted to swim and had even encouraged me to
bring my bath suit.She told me she
realized that a swim would take half of our precious day, so we didn’t swim. O
how sad!I am not a swimmer.
After spending several hours at Heroes’ Square
and Park, we caught another “hop on, hop off” bus to the Dohany Street
Synagogue. Before we went in we ate lunch at an outdoor café, Wallahalla
Club, across the street from the synagogue. My wife had quiche and I had
ravioli stuffed with meat.
Dohany Street Synagogue, was built in 1859 based on
designs by Ludwig Forster. It is built in a neo-Moorish style with additions of
Byzantine, Romantic and Gothic elements.It
is Europe’s largest synagogue and the second largest in the world.It can hold nearly 3,000 people and measures 174 feet long and 87 feet
wide with two distinct towers reaching over 140 feet in height. The
original synagogue was bombed by the pro-Nazi Arrow Cross Party on February
3,1939.It was used as a base for
German Radio and also as a stable during World War II. The building suffered
some severe damage from aerial raids during the Nazi Occupation, especially
during the Seige of Budapest.During
the Communist era the damaged structure became again a prayer house for the
much-diminished Jewish community. Its restoration started in 1991 and ended in
1998. The restoration was financed by the state and by private donations.
We took a tour of the interior plus the gardens and
memorials.Next to the
synagogue there is a cemetery filled with the graves of the murdered Jews.In a garden/park behind the synagogue is the Holocaust Memorial erected
in 1989.
It is in the shape of a
weeping willow tree and stands on top of the mass grave of Jews who died during
the bitter winter of 1944-1945.Each
of the metallic tree’s leafs bears the name of a victim of that terrible time.
The entire synagogue experience was very moving.We stayed a long time.Photos
inside and out were allowed.
We had tickets for a boat ride which were included
in the “hop on, hop off” package. So we got back on a bus which we
thought stopped a block from our apartment and the boat dock across the street,
but it didn’t stop but went on over Elizabeth Bridge which is ½ block from
our apartment (the bus stops when it goes in the other direction). The
next stop was the funicular and then up to the palace and all around the top of
the hill before coming back to our stop. We didn’t want to do this route as we
had been there yesterday, so we got off at the funicular which is at the end of
the Chain Bridge on the Buda side and took a regular city bus across the bridge.
We had planned on seeing St. Stephen Cathedral after the boat ride so we just
reversed our plans.
St. Stephens was beautiful and quite large – the
largest church in Hungry.Work was
begun in 1851 based on the designs of Jozsef Hild.Hild died before the church was completed and Miklos Ybl (architect of
the opera house) was asked to finish building the church.Ybl found that the outer walls had huge cracks in them.A week later the vast dome collapsed.The entire building was declared unsound.Ybl redesigned it in neo-Renaissance style.It was finally opened in 1906.The
exterior of the church is very symmetrical with matching towers with small domes
on the two front corners and a huge dome in the center.There were a number of steps leading up to the front door.Admission is free and photos were allowed.
The interior had rich colors on the walls.The seating in the main nave did not appear to be too spacious.The main altar had a statue of St. Stephen carved from Carrara marble by
Alajos Stróbl,the archangel
Gabriel holds the Holy Crown above the head of the king
Four pillars hold the massive dome which is
beautifully frescoed. A fresco of God the Father dominates the center of the
cupola.
The Patrona Hungariae Altar by Gyula Benczúr
depicts St. Stephen offering the Hungarian Crown to the Virgin Mary and asking
her to be a patron of Hungary
We walked back to our apartment for a few minutes
and then to the nearby dock for an hour boat ride. We met an American couple
about our age, who were lost. They were on a cruise and their boat was scheduled
to leave from the other side of the river.They
talked to some of attendants at the dock.They
in turn radioed another boat which stopped and picked them up.I sure hope they made it back to the boat in time. It was a beautiful
day, as all have been since we have been here. The cruise went down the Danube
past the Parliament building to Margaret Island and turned around. Since it was
the last cruise of the day, we were not allowed to get off and explore the
island.The cruise was also “hop
on, hop off” at several stops on the river. Margaret
Island is 1.6 miles long and covers 225 acres.There a numerous paths for strolling that take you past flower garden,
ruins, a small zoo and a large swimming complex.The entire cruise was very enjoyable.I would highly recommend it.
After we got back from our boat ride, we walked
back down to the Chain Bridge to have drinks at the Gresham Palace which is the
Four Seasons Hotel which is a beautifully build and luxurious hotel . They
had a very attractive bar. They had Happy Hour specials – 2 for the
price of one. There was a pianist who was playing old favorites. He
asked us for a song and we said “Misty” which is “our song”. It
really was a “swanky” place. They brought out some nice hors oeuvres
Then we walked to an outdoor dining room at the
Intercontinental Hotel. As we walked in two guitarists were playing
“Misty”. It was nice to hear it again in such a short span of time. We
had dinner in the outdoor café facing the Buda side. I order what turned out to
be sort of a beef sandwich.It was
on a focaccia breadwith pink
thin sliced beef covered with peppers and onions.I ate all of the meat but the vegetables were too many.My wife had duck, the third time on this trip (she quacked all the way
back to the apartment). We had a warm chocolate cake dessert.We waited and waited for the check, and finally got up and went to the
head waiter and asked for the check.One
of the things that we have noticed on this trip is that people stay in
restaurants all evening.There does
not seem to be much “eat and run” or waiters hurrying you up so they can set
up a new table. It was 10:45 when we left and many people were just beginning to
eat.
This was our last day in Budapest. We hate to
leave. It is such a beautiful city. We are so glad we decided to
come here. We catch the train in the morning for Vienna and another
adventure.
wledge and Glory. Preparations
were in progress for some type of fair. There
was a bucket-truck lifting workers to the top of the statue to attach bunting
and stringing it to the colonnades. Wooden vendor stands were being assemble
around the plaza. We spent a lot of
time looking at all the statues and photographed many of them.
ssical building.
It is Hungary’s premier gallery of non-Hungarian works of art with over
100,000 examples. Since we still had
several places to visit that day, we decided not to go into either museum—next
time.
al.
In the park surrounding the castle is the famous Statue of Anonymous.
This is a hooded figure of a monk. Little known about him except that he
lived in the 12th century and was the notary to King Bela III.
He is also considered to be the author of the Gesta Hungarorum, the first
book written on the history of the Hungarians.
Superstition has it that students who touch his writing stylus will
receive help in their studies. My
wife and I both touch it as well as had our pictures taken with him.
That is why I am able to write so much about our travels!
even encouraged me to
bring my bath suit. She told me she
realized that a swim would take half of our precious day, so we didn’t swim. O
how sad! I am not a swimmer.
was bombed by the pro-Nazi Arrow Cross Party on February
3,1939. It was used as a base for
German Radio and also as a stable during World War II. The building suffered
some severe damage from aerial raids during the Nazi Occupation, especially
during the Seige of Budapest. During
the Communist era the damaged structure became again a prayer house for the
much-diminished Jewish community. Its restoration started in 1991 and ended in
1998. The restoration was financed by the state and by private donations.
out were allowed.
ouple
about our age, who were lost. They were on a cruise and their boat was scheduled
to leave from the other side of the river.
