Sunday, September 7 Our Last Day in Budapest
After breakfast, we went on a brief walking
tour with our Trip Leader along the elegant Andrássy Avenue, home to the
opulent Neo-Renaissance Hungarian State Opera House, followed by a subway ride
to one of Europe's oldest legislative bodies, the imposing riverside Hungarian
Parliament Building. Here, we met with a witness to the Hungarian Uprising of
1956, a time when students and workers took to the streets of Budapest in the first major threat to Soviet
control of the region.
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| Hungarian Parliament Building |
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| Remembering 1956, the first tear in the Iron Curtain |
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The man standing on the bridge is Imre Nagy. In 1956, Nagy was nominated
by the people to become the new Prime Minister during the uprising in
1956. When the Soviet troops invaded he was arrested along with
thousands of others and eventually executed. He was buried in a mass
grave. In 1989, he was reburied following a ceremony in Heroes' Square .
Hungary erected this statue of Ronald Reason in Freedom Square honoring him for his role in helping to end communism. Mr. Reagan was remembered for “bringing the Cold War to a conclusion, and for the fact that
Hungary regained its sovereignty in the process,” the Hungarian
government said in a statement. The statue faces the US Embassy.
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| Ronald Reagan |
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| Shoes on the Danube Bank |
It honors the Jews who were killed by fascist Arrow Cross militiamen in Budapest during World War II.
They were ordered to take off their shoes, and were shot at the edge of
the water so that their bodies fell into the river and were carried
away. It represents their shoes left behind on the bank.
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| Chain Bridge |
The Széchenyi Chain Bridge is a suspension bridge that spans the River Danube between Buda and Pest, the western and eastern sides of Budapest, the capital of Hungary. It was the first permanent bridge across the Danube in Hungary, and was opened in 1849.
Then, we boarded the bus again and headed outside
Budapest to the picturesque town of Szentendre. We enjoyed an
included lunch at a
local restaurant “The Golden Dragon” (Aranysarkany Vendeglo), took time to admire the Baroque buildings and well-kept merchant homes encircling
the Main Square
and wander the winding, cobblestone streets to discover Szentendre's wealth of
architectural treasures. I bought one
small package of paprika for 1.5 Euros
and some slippers for Noah to match the folk costume we purchased at the
Central Market Hall. I would have bought
paprika for all my daughters, but we didn’t have any more Hungarian money or
Euros left.
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| Golden Dragon Restaurant |
As soon as we returned to Budapest, Dave and I set out to find the nearest Starbucks to get a Budapest mug. We found one near St Stephens Basilica, which was quite close to the hotel. It was a
neat area with lots of coffee shops and restaurants with outdoor eating areas. Too bad we didn’t have a chance to spend more
time there.
We had to get back to the hotel for a Farewell Drink where we received a
photo of the group taken in front of the State Opera house,
followed by a Farewell Dinner at a local restaurant with lively
Hungarian gypsy
and classical music by a wonderful violinist and pianist to celebrate
our
Bohemian journey.
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| Our Trip Leader Tereza and our bus driver |
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| Violinist at our farewell dinner |
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Monday, September 8, 2014
We had to get up at 2:30 am to get the bus to the airport
for our 6:10 am 2 hour flight to Amsterdam,
4 hour layover, and then 10 hour flight from Amsterdam to Seattle. I slept a little between Budapest
and Amsterdam,
but couldn’t sleep at all the rest of the trip.
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