Saturday 29 November 2003

After breakfast we have again coffee at Gerbaud. At the Tourist Info we ask for directions to the Statue Park. The receptionist looks a bit troubled and asks if we really want to go there since it would be a complicated journey. We insist and get some instructions. We take a red numbered bus #7-713 from Ferenc Tér to Étele Tér (terminus). There we change to the yellow Volanbusz in the direction of Diösd-Erd (bay 7 or 8). We have to buy a ticket in the terminal building as our week pass is not valid on these busses. The bus brings us exactly in front of the entrance to the  Statue Park or Szoborpark. It is not that complicated after all. During the transition from communism to democracy in 1990, the city districts were allowed to decide what to do with the statues in their area. Those statues that were removed ended up here. The park opened its doors in 1993. There are huge statues of Marx, Engels and Lenin. Also Hungarian leaders like Bela Kun (who was secretly shot in Moscow on Stalin's orders) and Jenö Landler (who lies buried in the Kremlin wall) are represented. Here we find the statue of the Russian soldier that once held the liberty monument company on Gellért Hill and some 25 other socially-realistic top pieces. The most telling statue is the one commemorating the Republic of Councils of 1919, based on a revolutionary poster from that year representing a charging sailor. Also impressive is the memorial for Bela Kun who is surrounded by a crowd of workers and soldiers. The removal from the city of the monument in honour of the Hungarian Brigade in the Spanish Civil War, caused much controversy, which was hardly ever the case for the others. The collection is impressive but laid out in a very basic setting, located in a forgotten outpost of the city. After about 40 minutes we have seen it all. The souvenir shop sells nostalgia from the red past.  

We take the busses back into town, have lunch and prepare for a visit to the  Géllert baths. These are based at the  Géllert hotel near the  Géllert bridge. A beautiful Art Nouveau building with thermal water. There is a bubbling swimming pool and a couple of thermal baths. Entry for both costs a hefty HUF 2100 (€8.50). If you stay less than 2 hours you get HUF 900 (€3.60) back as you leave. If you stay under 3 hours the refund is HUF 600 (€2.40). The Gellert baths are visited by lots of tourists and all signs have English and German translations. Entry ticket is a plastic card with a bar code. Here too, you are guided to changing cabins who are locked after you by an attendant. You receive a metal number plate on a short cord. The number does NOT correspond with the number of your cabin, it is written by the attendant on a slate inside the cabin (as proof). You have to make a mental note of your cabin number. We go to the pool (bathing suit obligatory), which is cool and bubbly (not smelly). After having done some lanes of breast stroke we go to the thermal baths, which are separate for men and women. The men walk around in a loin cloth leaving the buttocks uncovered. There is a large pool of 38°C/100°F and one of 36°/96°F. Besides that there is a steam room (very hot) and a cold plunge pool (18°C/64°F) and dry saunas of 60, 80 and 90°C (140/176/194°F). A tour around the baths, steamrooms and saunas makes us very relaxed and at ease. The atmosphere is very relaxed too (not cruisy at all like the Király). After more than 90 minutes we are satisfied and make for the exit.  Upon leaving the building the turnstile gate produces a receipt which we have to present to the refund cashier to get our refund. We go for a drink at the Amstel River cafe and after that to the guest house. 

We take a break before we leave for dinner. We have booked a table at the Arcade restaurant in Buda. We take the metro to Deli Pu railway station from which it is a 10 minute walk. We end up in a residential area where we least of all expect a decent restaurant. Just when we think we have completely lost our way we find ourselves in front of the restaurant that looks quite stylish and sophisticated.  Service turns out to be excellent and the food is well prepared and delicious. Lamb cutlets, Salmon Tartare. The pace between courses is - just like yesterday - a bit high and in less than no time we have completed the 4 course dinner. We leave the place 90 minutes after we arrived - satisfied about the food and drink. 

After the meal we take the metro back into Pest. We go to the Cappella bar. It is supposed to be a gay dance club. Once inside we find there is no seat left and the place is full of straight young couples. We leave and take a taxi to the Angel bar. This is  a 100% gay dance club. An entertaining drag show starts at midnight. After that we dance the night away on the clubs dance floor. Good atmosphere and many cute men. Some time after 2am we call it a night and leave. , 

Sunday 30 November 2003

We start with coffee at Gerbaud. From there we walk to the Dohány synagogue. This is supposed to be the largest synagogue in Europe and the second largest in the World. The building was designed by a gentile Austrian architect in a Moorish-Byzantine style. This was a popular style around 1850. We buy a ticket for the English tour. The main hall is impressively large and richly decorated. The lay-out reflects the synagogue's Neolog identity, a Hungarian Jewish denomination with elements from the liberal and conservative traditions. We are allowed to take photos, but this implies a donation towards the upkeep of the building. At special request the ark is opened we are allowed a peek on the thora rolls. 

The tour continues along the cemetery for the victims of the 1944/45 winter in the ghetto. Behind the synagogue is a courtyard with a silver "weeping willow" in the middle. Each leaf carries the name of a family that fell victim to the  holocaust. There is also a plaque in honour of the Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg and other helpers of the Jews in the 1944 and '45, who saved many from a certain death. Finally we are lead into the Jewish Museum. The museum has 4 rooms. The first room contains religious items for the Jewish holy services, like thora rolls. The second room is devoted to Jewish holidays. The third room shows aspects of Jewish daily life, while the last room is dedicated to the holocaust in Budapest. An elderly gentleman leads us through the rooms and explains the exhibits from first hand experience, with lots of interesting details.  He stresses that the prosecution of the Jews did not start until 1944 when the Germans helped the Hungarian fascist movement, Arrow Cross, to seize power. The SS under the leadership of Adolf Eichmann could never have been so effective without the active help of the then Hungarian government. Especially the Jewish population on the countryside has been all but decimated. 

After the visit we have lunch. Then we take the tram to the Margarit-island. This island lies in the middle of the Danube and can be reached by a bridge connecting Buda and Pest.  It is a fairly big island and a popular for a Sunday stroll, especially with joggers. There are several sport facilities. We rent a bike (battered to put it mildly; one of them has a broken chain before we leave the rental place) and cycle the 5km around the island. It is a nice little tour with a view of the city. After the ride we take the tram along the ring road towards the Oktogon square. From their we walk back to the guest  house via Andrassy ut ("Budapest's answer to Broadway").  

At night we have cocktails at the Meridien hotel, followed by a simple meal in the Amstel River Café. We take a last evening stroll along the Danube and enjoy the lovely view on nicely lit palace, castle hill and Chain Bridge. We take the metro from Vörósmarty tér back to the Opera and walk back to the guest house. 

It was a gray, yet dry day with temperatures around 10°C/50°F.

Monday 1 December 2003

Breakfast at the guest house, followed by coffee at Gerbaud. This has been our morning routine here in Budapest. Now is time to some shopping. We buy some shoes for Erik at HUMANIC. They are fairly cheap. Let's hope they are any good. We walk along the Vaci ut, the main shopping street in downtown Pest. The stretch between Vörosmarty Tér and Ferenc Tér is very busy and lined with chain stores. Beyond Ferenc Tér it is quieter, the shops are of better quality and the street has more atmosphere. We pass the old Town Hall and continue towards the big  Market Hall. On the ground level of the Hall we find mostly stalls selling meat, vegetables and fruit. The galleries of the upper level are more for textiles, be it mostly of the touristy variety: lots of embroidered table cloths and aprons.   

We wander along the Danube again towards the centre and have a snack at the Mac. Finally we take Andrassy Ut towards the Opera and from there to our guest house. It is time to leave for the airport. The guest house owner calls us a taxi. Not our favourite Fötaxi but a cheaper one. After a few minutes a battered Opel Astra estate pulls up in front of the guest house. We get in but the metre is not running. We ask for the price, and get a quote for HUF 3000. Not bad, in any case less than we paid on the way here. What then follows is a hair raising high speed race through numerous narrow streets and alleys. After a couple of minutes we have completely lost track of where we are. After 15 minutes we reach the highway out of town, which encourages our "Ayrton Senna" to go even faster. We overtake left, right and center and are very much relieved when we reach the airport in one piece.

Checking in for our flight seems to take forever. At least 10 to 15 minutes per passenger. We have to wait a while before boarding. We land in Amsterdam around 6.20pm. Our suitcases appear soon after that on the conveyor belt and we can catch the 6.40 train home.