Blogs from Hungary, Europe - page 11

Language is always challenging but especially in Budapest where I know a meager 3 words: jo napot kívánok (good day/hello), köszönöm (thank you), and szia (hi & bye). Back in 2000 during my first visit here, I could have sworn that non-English speakers here were saying "hello" upon meeting and leaving, like szia. I was always saying "hello" and "see ya," the latter exactly how to unknowingly pronounce szia. Fast forward 18 years. While Budapest has gotten a lot schwankier, the local usage of hello to mean goodbye to English speaking foreigners has not changed. I re-discovered this yesterday just before my very short hike to Kékestető, Hungary's highest peak @ 1014 m ASL (3326') about 100 kms northeast of Budapest. I didn't want to take the bus all the way to the top so I ... read more

We started today’s route riding on quiet lanes and dykes. It seemed that we didn’t read our navigation instructions properly and ended up on a busy road, on the wrong side of the railway tracks, though thankfully only for a few kilometers. We eventually found the route and cycle lanes into the centre. The route into the city follows the Danube, passing Margaret Island and a number of bridges. We were aiming to cross at the Chain Bridge, where we would be within a kilometre of our accommodation at Wombat Hostel. The entrance is spectacular, passing impressive buildings and monuments, including the Parliament building on the opposite bank. To the right are the Fisherman’s Bastion, Matthias Church and the citadel. The roads were busy, but the bike lanes were good. After crossing the Chain bridge, we ... read more

Today proved to be a remarkable day of contrasts as we set off from the beautiful city of Györ, (after a quick tour of the towns highlights and riverside developments) to cycle to Komarno. Busy roads, but mostly with cycle lanes, led us out of the old city, and into the industrial areas, along railway lines and eventually open countryside. That’s where it started to go wrong. The Eurovelo 6 recommended route took us along miles of wet pot-holed trail through forest. Progress was too slow on our skinny tyred road bikes, so be back-tracked to solid ground, and continued on the main roads, through Böny, Bana, Babólna, Acs and on to Komárom. Then over the Danube which forms the border with Slovakia, into Komárno. This is a beautiful town, the centre pedestrianised, wide streets and ... read more

Our last day in Budapest started with a short walk to the Great Synagogue on Dohany Street to start our tour of the Jewish Quarter. This synagogue, the largest in Europe and second largest in the world, is also significant as a monument to the remembrance of the victims of the Holocaust. We started the tour at the Jewish Museum, which contains many beautiful donated artifacts, and then moved on to view the synagogue and the grounds which contain the Heroes' Temple, the graveyard, and the Memorial. We visited the graveyard where over two thousand of those who died in the ghetto from hunger and cold during 1944-1945 are buried. The names of those who were able to be identified line the mass grave. To the back of it is the Heroes' Temple, which is used ... read more

The flight to Budapest was brutal, New Orleans to Detroit, Detroit to Amsterdam with a four hour lay over in Amsterdam, and then another flight to Budapest. It started very cheerfully. We had premium seats so, before the plane even left, we had been greeted with a glass of sparkling wine. We had a couple more, and then wine with dinner, and after dinner. But then there were only a couple of hours left to the flight and I found it impossible to get any sleep. So, by the time we arrived in Amsterdam, the euphoria from the start of the trip and the wine had long left me. The arrival in Amsterdam was surprising, because we only had to clear passport check and then we were back in the airport waiting for our next flight. ... read more