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Published: December 2nd 2014
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Budapest! 01/12 There’s no other Hungarian city like Budpest!!
At the very heart of Europe, this kidney shaped country claims a unique place in the continent’s soul. Doubters need only listen to the music of Franz Liszt and Bela Bartok, view the romantic Danube River as it splits Budapest in two, or taste the nations unique (paprika infused) cuisine to be convinced!
There’s no other Hungarian city like Budapest in terms of size (2.55 million), and importance. But, it’s the beauty of Budapest, both natural and constructed that makes it stand apart.
Straddling a gentle curve in the Danube, the city is flanked by the Buda Hills on the west bank and the beginnings of the Great Plain to the east. Architecturally it has enough baroque, neoclassical, eclectic and art nouveau elements to satisfy anyone. Budapest is the nation’s administrative, business and cultural centre, everything of importance starts or finishes here!
History, well it started in 1000, was overrun by Turks in 1526, expulsion of Turks in 1686, then the Austrian Habsburgs jumped on in. Eventually WW1 stripped the country of 2/3 of territory, trying to recover its loss drew the nation into WW2. A peace deal
is struck in 1944 then the Germans move in, deporting hundreds of thousands of Jews to Auschwitz. 1945 Hungry was liberated by Soviet army and took complete control in 1947. Finally the Soviet troops left the country in June 1991 and Hungry joined the EU in 2004! Turbulent history as you can see.
Budapest today…….
If you think Soviet oppression has lifted, perhaps, I would love to tell them at the airport that its ok to smile and be friendly, but with extreme exhaustion we failed as Australian ambassadors of smiling to ‘crack’ a single face!...Talk about oppressed! Was not what I would say “off to a good start Budapest”. ..With very cranky shuttle bus driver, we raced with our hearts in mouths along the motorway, cars equally flying at us opposite like speeding bullets! All this in the rain!!!! After about 30mins of frightening pace, we were ‘dumped’ outside a building down a dark ally, with no signs telling us just where we were, and told “Paradise”..unable to ask questions…the drive vanished in the blink of an eye, we surveyed the area in the dark, rain and cold! Thank god for an American woman coming out of
the building, we were one building further down the street, but she showed the way! Of course, I wanted to hug her, or run away….wasn’t quite sure at the time.
Eventually got the apartment, and, pats on my back!!! Awesome little one bed, good size with the best of everything Ikea!! The bed was magical to sleep on!!!!
So today, we ventured out, on the lookout for brekky, we came across, not far up the same ally, a great coffee house. Hungarians like their funky coffee houses, of which we were to find many today! Top brekky for 4Euro each…and the best flat white I’ve had for a while, Mark loved his French press, that was better than any coffee he’s had before! With full tummies, the 2 young men running the café decided to take us into their wise embrace. Of course, we cracked them the best of smiles, and they inturn decided to guide our paths. No, to the Hop on/off bus!!!! They got the map and showed us where to go in a day, what to catch or walk to….and armed us with written & practised words of “please”, “thanks”, “your welcome” “hello” & “excuse
me”. They sent us off with many smiles (probably laughing and wondering if we were to get lost since the map was somehow about face…oh well, all fun). After walking 1 min, we came to the 1
st street turn, that was good, then 2 mins and whoa..we were at the biggest Synagogue and the history of the Jews of Budapest started to come to life. Beautiful inside, hope the pictures show you, but the best and most moving part of all, was the garden shrine, where the bodies of over 2000 Jews were buried. Some named by plaques others unknown. A garden memory or such tragic days! Truly moving!
We then decided armed with courage that we can find our way now, we had mastered the map, we ventured forth to find the Christmas market in the main square in the city. We found it, ok it is day time and we’ll do night time tomorrow, but today was just about finding our way.
Frozen to the bone, and ‘mull wined’ up for warmth, we really started to make some progress. We sampled the sugar chimmney cake…kinda like a gooy dough inside, cooked over a fire and sugared
up on the outside that you unwind and eat, truly delicious! We wondered around, and ended up in a beautiful old hotel, so grand inside, ornate beauty we just had to have a coffee, a liquer coffee called a ‘sissly’ filled with the flavours of cointreau, cinnamon, truly beautiful to sip and enjoy (pictures below).
We then ventured down to the Danube River, even in the rain its spectacular, and you can imagine the beauty on a summers day, and the beauty of the illuminated city at night time.
Did we do much today, well, I guess not a lot, but we walked and found our way around, where and what metro line to catch, where to really experience this incredible city, and tomorrow brings with it many amazing adventures. The ‘Terror House’ calls us tomorrow, as we look back on the events that have truly shaken this city, this country and its peoples! We’re looking forward to tomorrows night adventures in fairy land with all the lights of Christmas surrounding us, and the hustle and bustle of the night time Christmas markets, and most of all, I’m personally looking forward to the see the monument of shoes
on the shore of the Danube River. A story of its own, I’m happy tell about tomorrow for you.
I think I’m falling in love with this eclectic city! I’ve now de-thawed, can feel my fingers, and have gotten over being frozen and in pain, and am able and willing to take on tomorrows adventures, come what may, those boys in the brekky coffee bar will be amazed I’m sure to find us still in one piece!
Oh, did I mention my slow motion backwards fall in the synagogue?? Well, One bad knee, one backwards step, my lips to Gods ear, and 4 english angels grabbed me in mid slow motion. I'm not saying anything else about the conversation that took place briefly between God and me…I can say a few tears of exhaustion later and I was picked up, dusted off and marching onwards!!! That’s it, I’m not saying anything else!!!
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Maria
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I love your photos Barbara. Enjoying the blog.