Budapest

Budapest actually consists of what used to be two different cities, Buda on one side of the Danube, and Pest (pronounced pescht) on the other.  The Chain Bridge uniting them was built by one of the Hapsburgs (Joseph, I think) because he was in Pest when his mother was dying in Buda on the other side of the river.  Since it was the middle of the winter he couldn't cross the Danube, due to ice floes, and was unable to get to see her before she died.  Being a King of virtually unlimited resources, he decided that wasn't going to happen again, it was time for a real bridge, and 20 years after the bridge was completed the two cities became one.

Although the country of Hungary is about the same size as the state of Indiana, it seems that warring factions have been trying to conquer it since, well, since I couldn't quite make out when. I think it was first the Turks, then the Ottomans came and burned the place down, then the Magyars (I probably have this in the wrong order), several fortresses have been built up and then blown up or burned down, the Hapsburgs ruled for about 500 years, but then came the Germans and the Soviets drove off the Germans but then they forgot to go home for 50 years.  It's really very confusing.  I'll have to read more about it, the guide had a pretty thick accent (but his English is 100% better than my Hungarian).

It is a city of beautiful palaces, bridges, opera houses, monuments, academic and parliamentary buildings, contrasted by bullet holes in many of the buildings and rubble or ruins from whoever last tried to seize it.  These guys have had a tough time of it over the last 1500 years, but they just keep trudging on.

There is one very disturbing monument, the shoe monument, which commemorates where the Nazis lined up Jews in on the bank of the Danube and had them take off their shoes, then shot them so their bodies would fall in the river and be carried away. Just another tragedy amongst so many, but this memorial is very poignant. There are a number of other monuments to those who were lost in the Holocaust, but this one really brought it home.   I know I'll never be able to truly conceive of the horrors, there is absolutely nothing in my personal life I could begin to compare it to - I've never lived through years of terror and brutality - but this monument spoke to my heart.


On to happier thoughts.  Now who would have thought to bring a bathing suit to Budapest in December?  Silly me!  There are three thermal spas on the Buda side that are very popular.  If I were going to stay here any longer a bathing suit would have to be my next purchase.

As it is, I'm going home tomorrow morning VERY early, my cab will be here at 5:45 AM, so I've said all I'm going to say for tonight.  I don't even have the energy to download the weird souvenir of the day.  But maybe I can do it during my layover in Philadelphia tomorrow.

To those who have read my blog, thank you.  I hope it helped bring the experience to life for you and that you'll have the chance to do a similar trip in the future.