(Author's warning - this blog is long. Make sure you have some time to read it. It was a fun one to write.)
We realized recently that even though we have been to
Hungary five times, this is our first time to be here since 2016, before we started
blogging. So, many of you may know very little about Budapest and why it’s such
an attraction for us. We'll show a few highlights of this special city.
What makes Budapest is the people. We have several friends here that we have cultivated over the years. One lives in a very small town about a hundred kilometers from Budapest. Another is a realtor in Budapest and in the Balaton region. We got a chance to spend time with both on this trip.Thank you Patricia and Erika for joining us even if only for a short while.
Everywhere you turn, there is someone who is friendly and welcoming. The younger crowd almost all speak some English and with Zsuzsa's Hungarian, we are never at a loss for conversation.
During our stay in Budapest, we had the pleasure of having Malcolm's two daughters and their husbands join us for five or six days. It gave Zsuzsa a chance to show off 'our Budapest.' It also gave us a chance to play tourist again and visit some of the sites we had not visited in years. This post is about those sites.
But first, a little architectural history – Much of Budapest was built during
its grandest era. The 1867 Austro-Hungarian Compromise was an agreement with
Vienna and the Hapsburgs where Budapest became a co-capital of the Empire. At the same time one of
the greatest queens of Hungary, Queen Elisabeth (Erzsébet), who was Empress
Elisabeth of Austria, was crowned in Matthias Church. The Queen was known informally as
Sisi.
Sisi loved the Hungarian people. She even learned the
language. She loved staying at Buda Castle and her youngest daughter, Maria
Valerie, was born at the palace. This dual role of Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary enabled her to get Vienna to help fund a lot of the growth of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary. The reason why Sisi’s reign was so important is because this is when Budapest was transformed into a major cosmopolitan city. Budapest was determined that they were going to outshine Vienna and build they did.
Budapest building boom was at its peak from approximately
1867 until the start of World War 1. One of the reasons for this was to celebrate their 1,000th birthday of the Hungarian nation which is considered to have been founded by Arpad in 896. This was the year that the Magyar tribes (led by Árpád) settled in the Carpathian Basin.
Here are a few examples of Budapest's sites.
The
Parliament
We were unable to tour the parliament directly, but our guide on one of other tours told us that during the course of construction over 100,000 people were involved. What a project management nightmare.
Darren, Malcolm, Zsuzsa, Heather
Shoes along the Danube is a very moving memorial to all of the Jews who lost their lives during WWII as they were lined up along the river, shot and fell into the river.
St
Stephen’s Basilica
The inside of the dome. Heather and Darren went up the stairs and Malcolm and Zsuzsa took the elevator. We ended up on opposite sides of the inner dome.
The dome has a two-part structure. The inside top of the cathedral and then the outer dome itself.
Hard to see but the mummified hand inside this vessel is purportedly the hand of St. Stephen.
If you zoom in on the picture on the left, you will see gridlines. This is an example of the oil paintings that were prepared for making the mosaic tiles for the inside of the cathedral. The oil painting is only a sketch, it was broken into tiny squares then scaled up. If you look closely at the picture on the right, it is actually a mosaic and not a painting. The ceiling is filled with mosaics.
The stairway coming down from the dome.
Since we were right there, another Rosie's ice cream was in order.
The
Opera House
We were not able to see an event but we enjoyed the tour. We even had a little entertainment as the two people on the left sang to our group a little opera.
The
Liszt Academy
This is a picture from our balcony of the Liszt Academy. We were able to take in two performances in the great hall. When we left the door open, we would often hear practice sessions going on. The upper two window would often be open with piano, violin and other music just drifting to our ears. Beautiful!
The
Széchenyi Baths
This is one of the outside pools. There are three. There are also a number of indoor pools ranging from hot to cold. Relaxation, however you find it.
Both of our sons-in-law were able to play a game of chess against one of the local chess players, the regulars. Can you guess the outcome?
The actual front entrance to the medical side and massage side of the spa. Everywhere you look here is regal, but old. There's so much repair work to be done. We only wish the walls could talk.
St Matthias Church
According to Church tradition, it was originally built in 1015. There are few remnants from the original church and the present structure was built the second-half of the 14th century and extensively renovated with the rest of Budapest in the late 19th century.
Fishermen's Bastion
In an area behind St Matthias Church, there is Fishermen's Bastion dedicated to the fishermen who used to fish the Danube below as well as help guard the castle.
Great pictures of the girls and the Parliament in the background.
Central Market Hall
Central Market Hall is a combination of tourist site and working market. There are fresh meats, fish, and produce as well as vendors selling souvenirs and paprika, lots of paprika! The second floor has a restaurant and food stands and more vendors selling souvenirs.
Speaking of paprika, that reddish dust of a seasoning that comes from Hungary, we were surprised to learn that most of the paprika that is sold in grocery stores in Hungary is from Spain or China. We actually bought some at the grocery store from Spain. Originally the peppers used in making paprika were from central Mexico and Central and South America. How it made its way to Hungary is a story for another day. But suffice it to say the the highest quality of paprika comes from Szeged and Kalocsa. So if you find yourself in a Budapest market, read the back of the paprika package and make sure it is 100% Hungarian made.
The Chain Bridge
The Chain Bridge is one of the earliest bridges to span the Danube connecting Buda and Pest. It too is a symbol of Budapest.
Sculptures Everywhere - Recognizing their Heros
Ronald Reagan may have told Mr. Kruschev to 'tear down that wall!' but Ferenc Puskas is more famous. He was the greatest Hungarian footballer (soccer) who led the 1953 and 1954 Hungarian team against the English team and beat them twice. We heard Mr. Puskas' name in more places than we heard President Reagan's name.
The inventor of the Rubik's Cube, Enro Rubik, was a Hungarian professor who was trying to help his architecture students understand three-dimensional geometry.
Sisi is still highly regarded and one of the true heros of Budapest.
Ruin Pubs
Ruin pubs came into being after the fall of communism. An enterprising person or group would start them on vacant or destroyed building sites. I don't think anyone knew who owned the land. They may start by bringing some cases of beer or maybe a keg and sell the drinks on the vacant lot. From those humble beginnings, there may be tables and chairs brought in. Then some more overhead protection from the elements. There were many. All popping up from the ruins. The first ones we saw were in 2011 and some were very rudimentary, just a table on a vacant lot.. The most iconic is Szimpla Kert. These are pictures from the inside. It is hard to imagine the scope of this place. At night, it is packed. These were doing the day.
Restaurant lecho on the left and our homemade on the right. Both were outstanding.
Hungarian's version of salsa is Eros Pista. It is served right at the table.
One of our favorite dishes is the eggplant spread.
Miscellaneous
Zsuzsa and Malcolm spent some time getting around via the subway. The transportation is first rate.
Szentendre is a small village about 12 kilometers up the Danube from Budapest. We took a boat there and back with Darren and Heather. Just a neat, laid-back village. A little touristy, but that's what we are so, we enjoyed it.
The Language
Hungarian is a unique language, its closest relative being Finnish. This is believed to be the language brought from over the Ural Mountains. This makes sense. The neighbors to the Ural Steppes were the Finnish and tribes that deal with each other pick up words from each other. A few of the Hungarian words derive from Iran. It's not unlikely that they traded with others.
We have mentioned before that this was Zsuzsa’s first language. But she only learned to speak it. She did not learn to read or write in Hungarian. The language is not phonetically friendly. You can’t just sound out from the spelling and know the word. So, learning to read it has been difficult.
The word of the day is agglutinative. One factor affecting the Hungarian language is that prefixes and suffixes may be added to words to make a long single word that has meaning. The longest word in Hungarian is:
“Megszentségteleníthetetlenségeskedéseitekért”
It means: "For your (plural) continued behavior of acting as if you could not be desecrated." But it’s main use is the same as “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” meaning that it’s real pleasure derives from being the longest word and kids love that concept.
Also, Hungarian does not have a gender making it easier in that context.
A few words that Malcolm can say include:
Thank you – Köszönöm szépen
Check please – a számlát kérem
Good day – Jó napot kívánok
Good evening – Jó estét
No – nem
Yes – igen
Good bye - Viszlat
Obviously, Zsuzsa's vocabulary is much larger but probably doesn't includes that long word above.
On Being Hungarian – By Malcolm
Writer’s caveat – Most of this is based on observations and
editorial opinions, but you learn a lot by being married to a Hungarian for
almost 50 years and I know that Zsuzsa will kill me for writing this post, but
here goes.
Hungarians are a lot like Texans. They have managed to lose
wars and still be winners. They are both survivors. They have each written
their own history full of semi-truths and myths. A history that is both
glorious and colorful. They both tell beautiful stories. As unique of a history they claim, their current DNAs do
not stem from that original history of Arpad and Sam Houston, but from the assimilation of the locals there before them and assimilation of those who come after. They are braggadocious in different
ways; Hungarians being a little softer spoken about it than Texans. But as a confession, most of the rights to brag were well earned.
On Being Hungarian - By Susanne
It's OK Malcolm. We have an almost 1,000 year start on those new, up-start, Texas whipper-snappers. And we're still here. So we have earned the right to brag.
Wrap Up From the Trip
The final word of the day is serenity. "Serenity, the quality or state of being calm, peaceful, and untroubled. It represents a deep sense of inner balance and emotional clarity that remains steady even in the midst of life challenges." More than anything, Budapest for us is serenity, and we hold it in awe and amazement. It touches our souls.
As we complete this writing from the comforts of our home in New Mexico, we thank you for joining us on this journey. Leave any messages or questions you may have on this blog and we'll answers any that we can.
Viszontlátásra or, simply, viszlat!
(The quote above about serenity is from a friend's post to Facebook a few days ago. Thank you James Joye.)
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