I began our first full day here with this breakfast
and Suzanne began with fruit
which pleased me
even though I didn't want special eggs
though Suzanne
inspired me to go back for fruit and other things
and many drinks
as she got her next course
and I admired the photos of smoke rings on the wall.
While waiting for the elevator, I observed the red roof
and impressive church across the way
and zoomed in on the roof
before we began our walk tot he Chain Bridge and saw this tunnel
and the massive eagle statue
not to mention the gardens
before we reached the bridge
paid homage to the lions
and started the walk across
acknowledging the Hungarian inscription
and looking north towards the parliament
before recording the bridge itself (quite a structure)
and then to observe the castle that gives its name to Castle Hill,
the building we were approaching on the Pest side
and the Parliament
as Suzanne took her final steps off the bridge
and I noted where we were going
and we saluted the bridge designer
before seeing the first of many Hungarian heroes
and Eotvos Joszef who probably had something to do with the university of the same name.
On our way to our walk, we passed gardens that seemed impressive until we saw others later
and this sign that advised us how to find people in a new complex
as we then passed the famous (and according to tour books, over priced and over rated) pastry shop.
We stopped at the statue of the famous Hungarian poet (Byron, Keats and Shelley all in one)
noted the modernistic building going up across the way
and walked past Shakespeare
on our way to the rail by the river from which we could see the Royal Castle
the statue atop the hill
and a fairly complete view of Buda
and as we walked along we met the girl with her dog
and the jester
who oversaw a braille map of the castle
even while posing with me.
and then we walked down to the river and saw records of water levels for previous floods.
Going further into town, we saw the pipe
and the famous McDonald's which was the first to open in the Soviet bloc
and then the status of Hermes
before recording this street scene of a so called busy street
and the competing architectures of possibly overdone
and more minimalist across the street from each other
with the monster coming down at us
as we noted parallel buildings, the one of the left still sooty from the Communist years and the one on the right having been cleaned and refurb'ed
we noted church spires in the distance
and this building
as we continued our walk
and entered a largely abandoned arcade where we took the obligatory phone booth pictures
and this picture of the floor
and these of the ceiling in the hope that at some future date, the arcade will be repurposed.
And walking down the street
we decided (guided by the guide book) to stop at this coffee shop
where elderberry lemonade
and iced coffee
made Suzanne
and me happy
as we admired the bar
and the ceiling
before walking by a renovated arcade holding an elegant restaurant
on our way to a park with regulations
and beautiful flowers
and then through the university district where the building was impressive
along with the statue
and the controversial barriers and light posts that may not mesh with the design.
On the way to the Serbian church, we met these recycling bins with a fourth bin I hadn't seen before
and then proceeded to the church
which remarkably was opened allowing me to take many icon photos
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and this picture of the ceiling
and this of the cross.
On the way out, I captured 2 more license plates (from not surprising locations) for my growing collection
and then after we passed the cow
we reached the market
with the powerful tiles that can withstand anything
and went inside to watch the crowds
and then to take photos of fruits and vegetables
and paprika
and then back to the usual fruits and vegetables
a little bacon
back to fruits and vegetables
paprika
fruits and vegetables
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peppers
garlic and peppers
goose liver
livers waiting to be put into cans
and then a view from above
and some views of langos which seem to be a local favorite
and after a few final shots
we were back on the street looking at a communist era building with lots of vacancies
and a first glimpse of the great synagogue
on the spot where Herzl was born
but before we could tour the synagogue, we need to have lunch and so I had raspberry syrup with water and Suzanne had lemonade
and then we had these uniquely Hungarian sandwiches
before we went back and watching a conductor reconnect his trolley
as we headed to the synagogue
with this history
and this in the gift shop (which in the end was less aimed at Jewish tourism than we had seen in Krakow).
The synagogue itself was massive seating as many as 1400 people
with amazing lighting to replace the original chandeliers
and a quite impressive bimah
not to mention side pulpits as one might see in a church.
The ceiling
and floor were impressive as Suzanne posed
and I noted the pulpit
and the ark
as our tour guide presented a unique view of things. Indeed this was an interesting place since the Jews who belonged in the prime of the synagogue were sort of reformed, sort of not -- they separated men and women but otherwise prayed in a structure that looked more like a mosque or church than a synagogue.
we proceeded to the yard which gave history of the Nazi period beginning with this sculpture meant to symbolize the holocaust
and this metallic weeping willow on which are written the names of victims
and this poster that explains the situation
including the monument to Raoul Wallenberg and others who saved Jews
many of them named of 4 pillars such as this
and this stained glass window.
Next we walked past this Yizkor marker
to the Jewish museum where we saw this torah from 19th century Vienna
and these dioramas of holidays -- Rosh hashanah and Yom Kippur
Sukkot
some stained windows of biblical scenes
Purim
Pesach
passover seder plates
another view of the windows
Succoth
and Hannukah.
In the next room were these stained glass windows as part of a display of Jewish rituals.
And then we moved to a retelling of the war years with this picture of the liberators after the war finding dead bodies in the Budapest ghetto
this evil graffiti
a wood cut of a nazi
and one of Raoul Wallenberg.
We walked back through the garden and saw the stones with no bodies since this is a mass grave
and after replacing my camera memory
I took this sign outside the exhibit room
and then coincidentally we rode am elevator from Schundler to the display.
We stopped by the Rumbach synagogue but unfortunately it was closed
and then we made our way back to Buda where Suzanne had an ice cup
and this beer
was for me.
On the way to dinner I added another license plate to my now growing collection
and we landed at a vegan serve yourself restaurant where this was our food and it was very tasty.
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and Suzanne began with fruit
which pleased me
even though I didn't want special eggs
though Suzanne
inspired me to go back for fruit and other things
and many drinks
as she got her next course
and I admired the photos of smoke rings on the wall.
While waiting for the elevator, I observed the red roof
and impressive church across the way
and zoomed in on the roof
before we began our walk tot he Chain Bridge and saw this tunnel
and the massive eagle statue
not to mention the gardens
before we reached the bridge
paid homage to the lions
and started the walk across
acknowledging the Hungarian inscription
and looking north towards the parliament
before recording the bridge itself (quite a structure)
and then to observe the castle that gives its name to Castle Hill,
the building we were approaching on the Pest side
and the Parliament
as Suzanne took her final steps off the bridge
and I noted where we were going
and we saluted the bridge designer
before seeing the first of many Hungarian heroes
and Eotvos Joszef who probably had something to do with the university of the same name.
On our way to our walk, we passed gardens that seemed impressive until we saw others later
and this sign that advised us how to find people in a new complex
as we then passed the famous (and according to tour books, over priced and over rated) pastry shop.
We stopped at the statue of the famous Hungarian poet (Byron, Keats and Shelley all in one)
noted the modernistic building going up across the way
and walked past Shakespeare
on our way to the rail by the river from which we could see the Royal Castle
the statue atop the hill
and a fairly complete view of Buda
and as we walked along we met the girl with her dog
and the jester
who oversaw a braille map of the castle
even while posing with me.
and then we walked down to the river and saw records of water levels for previous floods.
Going further into town, we saw the pipe
and the famous McDonald's which was the first to open in the Soviet bloc
and then the status of Hermes
before recording this street scene of a so called busy street
and the competing architectures of possibly overdone
and more minimalist across the street from each other
with the monster coming down at us
as we noted parallel buildings, the one of the left still sooty from the Communist years and the one on the right having been cleaned and refurb'ed
we noted church spires in the distance
and this building
as we continued our walk
and entered a largely abandoned arcade where we took the obligatory phone booth pictures
and this picture of the floor
and these of the ceiling in the hope that at some future date, the arcade will be repurposed.
And walking down the street
we decided (guided by the guide book) to stop at this coffee shop
where elderberry lemonade
and iced coffee
made Suzanne
and me happy
as we admired the bar
and the ceiling
before walking by a renovated arcade holding an elegant restaurant
on our way to a park with regulations
and beautiful flowers
