Yesterday was a completely full day of exploring Budapest. We woke up at around 9 and walked down the street to a cute little cafe where we had cappuccinos and delightful pastries that rival the ones I was eating in Paris. I may break out from all the butter we ingested yesterday but I don't care. The chocolate croissants were so good!
After breakfast we walked over to the Parliament building but were denied access by the guard at the gate. Apparently you have to sign up a day in advance for guided tours, so we decided we'd move on down the Danube.
We walked along the river to the most famous and beautiful bridge in the city called the Chain Bridge.
Here we crossed over to the Buda side of the city where we took a vernicular up the huge hill to the enormous castle that overlooks the city.
Here we crossed over to the Buda side of the city where we took a vernicular up the huge hill to the enormous castle that overlooks the city.
Once on top we took in the amazing view and walked around the area for a bit. We stopped at a confectioner's cafe that is famous for creating the Linzer Tart, though we decided to just have a coffee.
The castle hill is one of the only attractions on the Buda side of Budapest, so we crossed back over the Danube and made our way towards the famous Great Synagogue in Pest. The Dohany Street Synagogue is the largest synagogue in Europe and is a beautiful example of Byzantine-inspired architecture. We were both eager to learn more about Hungarian jewish history, but first we had to find some food. With the chocolate croissant level at zero we were running on empty, and stopped at the first place we walked into, a cafeteria type restaurant across the street from the synagogue.
After a healthy and comforting meal of chicken and mashed potatoes, we made our way out again and over to the synagogue for a tour of the building and grounds. Our tour of the synagogue was lead by a Hungarian Jew who's Catholic father hid 200 Jews (including her mother) in the Budapest ghetto during WWII. She was quite proud that her father was honored this same day by the Hungarian government for his bravery and righteousness.
The Synagogue was like no other temple we'd ever seen. First of all, it was enormous, only a bit smaller than the Emanuel Temple in New York. Back before WWII almost 1,000 people came to pray here every Shabbat. Second, the architecture of the building was truly stunning. Whereas most Synagogues we've seen are quite simple, this one was so ornate it could have been a Cathedral or Basilica. Apparently the Hungarian Jews who built the building 1854 tried to assimilate as much as possible while still retaining their Judaism, and the Synagogue was built to resemble a Hungarian Church.
After visiting the Synagogue we made our way to the Szechenyi Baths via the famous Andrassy Avenue. By the time we reached the largest thermal baths in Europe we were exhausted, and ready to get our soak on.
We tried out several different natural hot tubs, including one that had an artificial swirling vortex. It was so cool. The water would pull you in like a merry go round and swing you around endlessly until you wanted out.
After a couple of hours in the hot tubs, we dried off and began our quest for dinner. A Hungarian classmate of Deborah's had given us some dining recommendations and we made our way towards the Oktogon square.
We eyed a nice looking pizzeria, but next door several hundred Hungarians dressed in suites and dresses were congregating in front of a beautiful building. We found out that the Dohnanyi Orchestra was about to perform, and a man offered to sell us his tickets. On the spur of the moment we suppressed our food urges and exhaustion for a bit of Beethoven and Brahms. The concert was amazing, and definitely a cultural experience for us. After each piece the audience would clap in rhythmic unity that was quite strange to us.
Well, after the concert we ran back to the pizzeria with hopes that it would still be open at 10:30 pm. Luckily we were welcomed in and each had a pizza and a beer for dinner. Afterwards, we boarded the tram back to our place and collapsed in bed.
Posts
1 comment:
Looks awesome!
Post a Comment