Tuesday, November 02, 2004
FW: leaving budapest
Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 09:06:37 -0800 (PST)
Our last day in Prague was nice, we slept in then went to see the jewish
musuem and cemetery. The first thing we saw was the synagogue that has all
the names of Czech holocaust victims on it. that was pretty moving. It also
had an exhibit that included the artwork from some children in the
concentration camp.
then we saw the old cemetary and then moved on to the burial society
building that had an exhibit about burial rituals which was very
interesting. Finally there was the newer synagogue that houses a musuem
about jewish life and history in the czech republic since the middle ages.
The next morning we had to get up early to make the train to budapest.
Unfortunately we couldnt get a night train so we had to spend the entire day
on the train. We arrived in budapest around 7pm. Finding our hostel wasnt
that difficult though and it is nice, clean and had a laundry service which
was nice becuase we were really in need.
The first full day in Budapest I wasnt feeling like doing much so we slept
in then wandered around. We saw all the main sights but didnt go in
anything. We did go to a market though which was intersting to walk around.
The second day we went on a walking tour where we heard more information
about the sights we had seen the day before. First we saw the Heroes Square
with monuments to all the old kings and leaders. Also the castle in the park
which we had seen the day before, we learned why it is so strange, is that
it is a recreation of one in the countryside that was built for a festival
years ago. Also we saw the most beautiful of the bath buildings. We got a
peek at the outdoor pools. Then we saw the opera house and st stevens
cathedral which is the second largest in the country and very beautiful. We
got a peek inside at the relic of st steven's mummified right hand, and at
the altar where there is a statue of st steven instead of one of jesus or
mary.
From there we had our first lunch at mcdonalds since coming to europe. Rick
steves (the travel guide writer) says that every american will at one time
go to eat at mcdonalds in europe, but we didnt think it would be us since we
dont even eat there at home. but the tour stopped for lunch there, so we
didnt really have a choice. After lunch we walked past the synagogue which
was gorgeous and saw the memorial weeping willow with a leaf for every
person killed in the holocaust in hungary, then across the chain bridge (the
first permanent bridge to connect buda and pest which was completely
destroyed during the war and rebuilt - like most of the city almost 80% in
fact) and we saw Parliament building, which is huge and it was interesting
to learn that more than half of it is never used becuase hungary only has
400 members in parliament. From there we went up to the castle where we saw
some great views of the city and got to see the palace up close. Finally we
ended at the hungarian wine
association where we tasted some wines. I was really excited because
hungary is known for their wines and there were 36 to taste. unfortunately
we tasted a lot! But it was fun. So today we didnt feel too good. We slept
in then walked around looking for breakfast, but it is Sunday so almost
everything was closed. And it is a good thing that we are travelling
tommorrow becuase it is a holiday - all saints day or something, and
everything is closed tommorrow too. After lunch we went to the baths
finally. And that was really neat.
They have a mens side and a womens side so we couldnt be together but it was
neat anyway. they had a steam room, a warm pool and a hot pool and a cold
plunge pool. and you just take turns in each moving on when you feel like
it. I really liked the steam room and taking a plunge in teh cold pool then
into the hot pool - it made my skin tingle. We spent a little over and hour
there, and I felt so refreshed and relaxed! Then we had a Thai dinner, which
was probably the best we had in hungary. Tommorrow we move on to vienna then
warsaw.
Megan and Seth
Our last day in Prague was nice, we slept in then went to see the jewish
musuem and cemetery. The first thing we saw was the synagogue that has all
the names of Czech holocaust victims on it. that was pretty moving. It also
had an exhibit that included the artwork from some children in the
concentration camp.
then we saw the old cemetary and then moved on to the burial society
building that had an exhibit about burial rituals which was very
interesting. Finally there was the newer synagogue that houses a musuem
about jewish life and history in the czech republic since the middle ages.
The next morning we had to get up early to make the train to budapest.
Unfortunately we couldnt get a night train so we had to spend the entire day
on the train. We arrived in budapest around 7pm. Finding our hostel wasnt
that difficult though and it is nice, clean and had a laundry service which
was nice becuase we were really in need.
The first full day in Budapest I wasnt feeling like doing much so we slept
in then wandered around. We saw all the main sights but didnt go in
anything. We did go to a market though which was intersting to walk around.
The second day we went on a walking tour where we heard more information
about the sights we had seen the day before. First we saw the Heroes Square
with monuments to all the old kings and leaders. Also the castle in the park
which we had seen the day before, we learned why it is so strange, is that
it is a recreation of one in the countryside that was built for a festival
years ago. Also we saw the most beautiful of the bath buildings. We got a
peek at the outdoor pools. Then we saw the opera house and st stevens
cathedral which is the second largest in the country and very beautiful. We
got a peek inside at the relic of st steven's mummified right hand, and at
the altar where there is a statue of st steven instead of one of jesus or
mary.
From there we had our first lunch at mcdonalds since coming to europe. Rick
steves (the travel guide writer) says that every american will at one time
go to eat at mcdonalds in europe, but we didnt think it would be us since we
dont even eat there at home. but the tour stopped for lunch there, so we
didnt really have a choice. After lunch we walked past the synagogue which
was gorgeous and saw the memorial weeping willow with a leaf for every
person killed in the holocaust in hungary, then across the chain bridge (the
first permanent bridge to connect buda and pest which was completely
destroyed during the war and rebuilt - like most of the city almost 80% in
fact) and we saw Parliament building, which is huge and it was interesting
to learn that more than half of it is never used becuase hungary only has
400 members in parliament. From there we went up to the castle where we saw
some great views of the city and got to see the palace up close. Finally we
ended at the hungarian wine
association where we tasted some wines. I was really excited because
hungary is known for their wines and there were 36 to taste. unfortunately
we tasted a lot! But it was fun. So today we didnt feel too good. We slept
in then walked around looking for breakfast, but it is Sunday so almost
everything was closed. And it is a good thing that we are travelling
tommorrow becuase it is a holiday - all saints day or something, and
everything is closed tommorrow too. After lunch we went to the baths
finally. And that was really neat.
They have a mens side and a womens side so we couldnt be together but it was
neat anyway. they had a steam room, a warm pool and a hot pool and a cold
plunge pool. and you just take turns in each moving on when you feel like
it. I really liked the steam room and taking a plunge in teh cold pool then
into the hot pool - it made my skin tingle. We spent a little over and hour
there, and I felt so refreshed and relaxed! Then we had a Thai dinner, which
was probably the best we had in hungary. Tommorrow we move on to vienna then
warsaw.
Megan and Seth
