Day 4 - 7th December 2023 The Jewish Quarter

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A good start to the day today…. I actually had a good night’s sleep! I only got up once in the night for not being able to breathe. I went to the loo, I had a drink of water and an extra strong mentholated lozenge, then was able to go straight back over to sleep. Now that’s a good result for me! I woke up at about 7am, but considering that I went to sleep early last night, at about 10pm, that was a long sleep!

Kerry and I laid in bed and chatted a fair bit this morning, then did what we consider to be our ‘housekeeping’ for the day. This duty consisted of me checking us in for our return flights online! So that job took all of 30 seconds, then back to gabbing! We started getting ready, at a snails pace. As we were up and about early, we both figured that we had plenty of time….. until Kerry did a time check…. It’s 9:30 already!! Not sure where that couple of hours went, but we buzzed around, deciding that it was ok if we only managed a coffee at breakfast, that would at least carry us through to go out for breakfast! As breakfast finishes, exactly, at 10am…. Not a minute later. We did manage a coffee, and some toast, and even a catch up with the Welsh ladies!

We headed back to the room for Kerry to do her hair, and I need lippy on!

Please note: I am wearing my new Moon boots today!!! They are ridiculously warm and comfy. Kerry and I were chatting about remember them from our younger years! I never had any then, but I feel certain that you’re never too old to enjoy what you like! They have made many come backs throughout the years since first Bering seen in the late 60’s and early 70’s. They are definitely in a current resurgence right now!

We set off from the hotel on today’s walk. We are heading out for the Jewish Quarter. The first recognisable buildings no we came across was the Great Market! I had recognised its beauty as a building from the inside, but I didn’t realise how beautiful it is from the outside too! We continued on, we are find slightly off track, but that’s ok because we are consciously enjoying the streets, the shops, and the walk. So much so, that we decided to take a seat at an outside cafe, and enjoy it even more with a coffee. I did mention to Kerry…. I’m quite sure that I would not want to have a coffee outside, although undercover, in the snow, rain, and cold at home, but it’s just so appropriate for here!

After coffee, we revisited the map, and got our walk back on track. It was only about 10 minutes later when we came across the huge Dohány Street Synagogue. It is a very imposing, grand building, both inside, and out. It is also known as the Great Synagogue or Tabakgasse Synagogue. It is situated in Erzsébetváros, the 7th district of Budapest, Hungary. It is the largest synagogue in Europe, and the 2nd largest in the world. It seats 3,000 people, and is a centre of Neolog Judaism.

We decided to take the guided tour. The guide was incredible, and that was such a good choice. We both found the visit to be very informative, but also quite traumatic. The truth hurts, ignorance is definitely not bliss. We have both been to Auschwitz, to see the story of so many individuals carry through from Hungary to Auschwitz just makes it more realistic, and more horrendous at the same time. I know that do know about it, it just seems to bring it to another level in my mind. So sad that so many murders took place, the way that they did, and no one could stop it for such a long time.we both left the synagogue full in thought. We both need a coffee stop!

We stopped and reflected for about an hour; that visit certainly had us both thinking about our lives in general…. And all of the …. What ifs!!!!

We continued our walk around the ghetto/jewish quarter to locate the Ghetto. The Budapest Ghetto was a Nazi ghetto set up. It was where Jews were forced to relocate by a decree of the Government of National Unity led by the fascist Arrow Cross Party during the final stages of World War II. The ghetto existed from November 29, 1944, to January 17, 1945. There wasn’t much left to remind you of its history. In fact, we were both taken aback by its very modern vibe…. But I think that’s a good thing! The history has been marked, it continues to be remembered, and as long as humanity learns from it … what more is needed?

We then stumbled across an amazing social/food/drinking/good all round fun area! We decided to finally stop at the Jamie Oliver Diner! The food, and the ambience, with its very Christmassy vibe, were all great! We even finished our meal with a lovely pot of Earl Grey! What’s not to like. We ate a lot, and laughed a lot! We both agreed that Kerry may well have met her future husband in…our server….Csaba! He was so lovely, and good at his job…. And for Kerry…. Very nice eye candy!

Finally, we did get round to leaving, although it did take us quite a while! We set off back to the hotel area. There are a couple of specific shops we want to go to on the way. It is still raining/snowing, but we are still happy to continue. I think we don’t mind the wet and the cold because absolutely everywhere is so Christmassy, it still feels nice!

We have had another really full day, but weirdly we’ve only done about half of the steps that we have done on the other days! But there is time for more yet!

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