Budapest 2

Budapest Part 2

10 - 19 January

We've had another good week or 10 days since last posting in this pretty, white, snowy city.
Just as the previous week's snow began to melt, we had another dump so a few more cautious walking days!
We're thankful that Europe's oldest Metro line, the M1 here in Budapest, is only 50 metres away.

The ice on the river is something to see! It's drifting down from higher altitudes up river and has caused the closure of the river to smaller vessels. Where the ice meets docked boats, the ice flow extends hundreds of metres as it's trapped by the vessels.

It's not typical and has made the news.

We headed out to Aldi to do a bit of a pantry stock-up, but without Emily in tow we (fortuitously) took a wrong turn that took us past the holocaust museum. It was a terrific (horrible - you know what I mean) exhibit.

Our accommodation is right near the border of the ghetto.

One day when we were near the cathedral we read that there was a concert scheduled. There's something about being in a church while there's music (organ in this case) and singing. It was a great experience. We went to a local pub on the way home and had a pre-dinner drink. (We're doing most of our cooking at home... we're away for a long time so eating out each night, as we might typically do on a holiday in Europe, isn't really viable.)

We headed off one day to Momento Park in one of Budapest's outer suburbs.

The end of the war saw the arrival of the Soviets, which brought different fear and violence for many. Come the end of the USSR, the government took all the statues that were erected to honour Soviet "heroes" and relocated them to one central park and displayed them there. I really like the way Hungary has owned their past - as mentioned previous post re the Arrow Cross bastards. 

On our walking tour we learnt that a couple of sculptors had placed small bronze statues all around the city. A bit of research and we spent one day wondering the streets near us (with mandatory coffee and cake stop) seeking out these cute little artworks by Mihály Kolodko, a Ukranian artist, who creates and hides these little artworks and installs them around the city.

On this same tour, we heard about Liberty Square. The tour leader glossed over this a bit and we said we'd return.

In 2014, the government erected a monument to "commemorate Hungary's German occupation". Many people were outraged at the government's take on this period and a belief that they were attempting to rewrite history, and as a result there's an unofficial protest where people have left momentos and histories relating to how their families' lives were directly affected.
So glad we went back.

We re-visited the Buda side for a wander one day (we're staying in Pest). Milder weather when we set out, so we dressed less warmly. However, a couple of hours later the cold arrived so... hot chocolate it was :) 

Many of the historic buildings here and in Pest (including our accommodation) were damaged towards the end of the war in 1944 as well as in 1956. Until you see the before and after shots it's hard to believe the extent of the damage.

With the release of the movie Nuremberg, and with us heading to Berlin next week, we watched an older Nuremberg movie on Netflix one afternoon. Looking forward to seeing the new release - unfortunately not released in Germany until after we are back in Australia in March.

There's a huge Central Park in Budapest. It has a massive ice skating rink, a castle, a very funky Museum of Ethnography (think huge banana half buried in the ground) housing a very accurate 3D map of Budapest city.

About 15 minutes outside Budapest is the town of Szentendre. It's on the Danube, and is known for its baroque architecture, churches, colorful houses and narrow, cobbled streets.

Very snowy - just love watching and hearing children playing in the snow.
We caught a train there that looked and felt like it came straight out of the Soviet Union circa 1950. At least it was well heated :)

Our last day in Budapest was a beautiful, still, blue sky, sunny day. John spent the day chasing more little brass statues while Robyn explored elsewhere, and we met after lunch at a rooftop bar near the cathedral for one final drink before leaving tomorrow.
Funny thing - well not funny, but anyway - our waiter grew up in the house next door and told us about how our building here was  the subject of a premeditated explosion on September 24, 2016 when a nail bomb was exploded as a targeted attack against police officers.

We've also had a few catchups with our kids - good to touch base and hear that they're all well and happy.

Train tomorrow morning to Munich for the night, a stop-over on the way to Berlin.