Blogs from Central Hungary, Hungary, Europe - page 120

Our last day in Budapest was well and truly family day. A visit to the cemetery to see the old man in the morning turned into a 3 hour mission to tend to all the graves of the dearly departed that used to live in Nagymama’s block. The place is huge - there are roundabouts in the middle of the cemetery - so you can understand how a quick visit turns into a day trip and lots of false turns. The cemetery is literally snowed under over winter so most people are only just beginning to return after their Christmas visits…notable by the number of Christmas trees and decorations that hang over a lot of the grave sites. As a result the place looked a little run down, but in a couple of weeks the Spring ... read more

April 22, 2006 What a surprise this day turned out to be!! Again, I’m getting ahead of myself … Ok… Early this morning, around 5:30, Mom and I woke to photograph the area at sunrise (see pictures) and complete our historical documentary of the Castle District… I should have known then that the day was going to be leisurely when we were able to slow down immediately and have an espresso while waiting for Nagy and Liz to join us…Breakfast was served at 7 and… we took our sweet time… Our car arrived around 8 am, but was promptly blocked into the parking spot when we weren’t looking… Oh darn… We had to spend the morning shopping, touring the Matyas Church, and enjoying a German Orchestra in the garden next to the Bastion… The goal for ... read more

Well… We were successful with the video as Nagy was eager to contribute a myriad of stories from her childhood. Some of the day’s highlights were the Funicular, a step-shaped trolley built in 1870 that was used as a form of transportation down Castle hill. Nagy recalled enjoying the trolley as more of an amusement ride when she was a small child. (Sorry no Picture...) Another site that was special to Nagy was the Szechenyi Chain Bridge (visible in pics of Pest), which was the first permanent bridge built across the Danube in 1849. Apparently my Great-Grandmother once used the bridge as a place to meet my Great-Grandfather before they were married. The church directly in line with the bridge on the Pest side—St. Stevens Basilica--was where they were married. This Basilica is the largest church ... read more

April 21, 2006 Well we (Nagy, Mamma, and I) arrived in Budapest yesterday at about 11:30 or so… Liz was scheduled to land 20 minutes after us and we had absolutely no problem finding her—we just waited in baggage claim until she walked by…J From the airport we easily contacted a cab (impossible without Nagy)… Taxis were waiting, but they were charging an arm and a leg just to get into the city… I am supremely impressed with Nagy’s ability to recall a language that she uses only every 10 to20 years. I think she is excited too—giddy almost—wanting to “go here” and “see that,” and motivated to walk everywhere (which she wasn’t in London). Hopefully she can maintain that energy today. Perhaps I should more carefully recall yesterday: So we were settled into our “hotel” ... read more

Caught the metro to Moszkva Square and then the bus to the Libego, a chairlift at the edge of town which takes you to the highest point in Budapest, atop Janos Hill. Kaspar was much more relaxed than Sarah on the open air chairlift, and even enjoyed the ride through the woodland. At the top is a 100 year old lookout tower, from which you can see all of Budapest on a clear day. It wasn’t such a clear day so we could see to the Danube but not much further. The public transport system in Budapest is excellent…there’s a choice of trains, trams, buses and the metro. It all operates on an honesty system, where you buy a ticket from a ticket booth or tobacconist (which are on every corner) and validate it before, or ... read more