Central Europe Day 3: Budapest

The rains were over. It was another hot day in Budapest. This was going to be our shopping day, which included a trip to the Central Market and the high-end shops on Váci Street. The market was a bit disappointing as it was similar to Cleveland's West Side Market. It was in a large covered building and included 3 floors of shops for foods, spices, and tons of souvenirs. I couldn't go into the fish market in the basement. I could tell it was a stinky place which wouldn't mix with my overheated body temperature. I found the Hard Rock cafe so naturally I had to buy a couplet T-shirts. Meagan tracked down a Starbucks and bought a city mug. I didn't know that existed. Maybe that will have to be my new collection when I travel.

The highlight of my day though was a visit to the Jewish Quarter. We had coffee and cake in a small cafe across from the synagogue. Pam and I paid to enter the synagogue, but poor Meagan was improperly dressed and refused to buy a covering for 1 Euro. She waited for us outside and called her boys.

We entered the memorial gardens first. Here were the graves of some 3000 Hungarian Jews who were assassinated in the Budapest neighborhood. Most Jews were taken to death camps, but for some reason, the Budapest Jews were killed on the spot. Family members buried them next to the synagogue, which in itself was an unusual practice. At a later date, the gardens were improved to create a memorial and the graves were given new headstones. You could see the original grave markers on the side of the synagogue in the Lapidarium. As it is the tradition to lay stones around a grave in remembrance of a loved one, many stones were visible throughout the memorial. All was very impressive and touching.

The memorial park also showcased the Emmanuel Tree. This sculpture, envisioned by Tony Curtis no less, was in the shape of a tree. The leaves of the tree contained the names of Jewish martyrs from the area as well as some of the non-Jewish friends who helped them during the Holocaust. It was breathtaking. It made me wonder how anyone could actually deny that the Holocaust took place. After we viewed the inside of the synagogue, we retrieved Meagan so she could also see the Emmanuel Tree. It was really quite emotional.

   

Following our experience at the synagogue, Pam led us to the food truck alley for lunch. It was called Karaván and it did contain an alley of food trucks featuring beer, wine, and a variety of quick foods. We all tried a lángos, which was a fried bread topped with sour cream and cheese. Some varieties contained burgers or other vegetables, but we just tried the plain one. It was good, but very rich. 

Hot, dusty, and tired, we returned to our hotel for a rest and cool down. We then went out in the city again, this time taking a tram to Gellért Hill on the Buda side. On this hill was a statue of St. Gellért who helped bring Christianity to the Hungarians in the 11th century. Unfortunately, they opposed his message, put him in a barrel with spikes in it, and rolled him down the hill. Needless to say, he did not survive the trip, but the hill was later named after him. The girls also wanted to go clear to the top of the hill where there is a statue of liberty and excellent views of Budapest. We started the climb, which consisted of steps and paved pathways. I thought I could keep up (after all, I was only 65 yrs. old and trained in a gym for the past 3 years!), but I had to quit about 3/4 of the way up. It was so hot and my heart was pounding! I waited on a bench for the girls while they finished the climb. I was hoping not to see any wild animals or creepy men. Eventually the girls came down and said it was worth it. We got some great pictures as we ventured down the mountain and even saw the entrance to a church that had been carved into the mountain. I quickly learned that we really needed to spend more time in Budapest to take it all in. There are so many things I would like to explore in detail that we didn't have time for. 

I think this was the evening we ate dinner from the grocery store near the park with the ferris wheel. We opted not to go up in the ferris wheel, but we should have. Instead, Meagan wanted to take an evening boat ride again to see the city at dusk. So we headed for the docks to purchase tickets, then set out to find the bronze shoes that were displayed on the bank of the Danube to commemorate the spot where 3,500 Hungarians, 800of them Jews, were told to remove their shoes before being shot by the Nazi Arrow Cross militiamen during WW2. Once shot, these people fell into the Danube and were carried downstream. The artist recreated period shoes out of iron and attached them to the bank of the Danube to memorialize this atrocity. Again, it was very emotional and humbling. 

Our final boat ride was a great way to end our stay in Budapest. All of the main attractions were lit up and the wine was good. I was sorry to leave Budapest. I have so much more to explore and am running out of time to do so. We had to get some sleep so we could get up early to catch a train for Vienna. Hope to see you again, Budapest!