Sue's Travels: Danube Trip - 1 September 2011

We are scheduled for a bus tour of Budapest concentrating on the Buda side of the city. We took off at about 9:00 am which was the scheduled time. We went to the Buda side, where we went to the Fisherman’s Bastion first. I got some great views. From there we went to the Buda Hill where the Statue of Liberty resides. It was originally built by the Hungarians at the direction of the Russians. While the people liked the “Statue of Liberty”, they did not like the statue of the Russian Soldier or the red star. After the Russians left in 1991 (or was it 1989), the Russian Soldier and the red star were removed and placed in a special place of “hated” images. We walked back to the bus and were driven back to the Pest side of the city. We got off the bus and walked to the market place which was where it was suggested that we shop, because prices would be lower. You were supposed to be able to bargain, but for the most part I was not successful and paid the asked price. I need to buy a toy for Avi and something for Micah.

Going ashore for our tours. Elizabeth Bridge in background

View of other side of river

View of Fisherman's Bastion from bus

St Mathis Church at Fisherman's Bastion

ornate tower of St Mathis Church

St Steven statue located in Fisherman's Bastion

Raven which was symbol of King Mathis

View of Parliament Building from Fisherman's Bastion

One of the seven towers located in Fisherman's Bastion

Buildings on other side of Danube (Pest Side)

Me on Fisherman's Bastion with Parliament building in background

Statuary next to staircase leading off the Fisherman's Bastion

Statuary on other side of staircase with Bette to the left of them

View of Budapest from Buda Hill which is where the Citadel is located as well

Ship, Der Kleine Prinz, as seen from Buda Hill

Ship from Buda Hill with Pest in background

Hungarian Statue of Liberty

To the Right of Statue of Liberty, fighting evil

To the left of Statue of Liberty is the statue of Victory

Portion of Citadel with bullet holes

Walking down street heading to market building

Along the street heading to the market

Market building and our guide Dushan

Inside Market, where I bought Paprika for Marla

View of interior of Market

From the market, Bette and I went to the Dohany Synagogue. We took a tram to Astoria, which was two stops from the market and promptly got lost. We eventually found the synagogue and I was impressed with its beauty and grandeur, both inside and out. We had to buy ticks which cost about 10 Euros a head. There was an English speaking guide who provided information about the synagogue. It is NeoLogue, which a Hungarian thing. Men and women do not sit together, but they have an organ which is played by a non-Jew. Behind the synagogue they have a memorial to those killed in the Holocaust as well as a memorial for Raoul Wallenberg, who is credited with saving a significant percentage of the Hungarian Jewish Community. Bette and I were running late and had to be back at the ship by 3:00 pm. The young lady at the information desk helped us to get a taxi which cost 5 Euros to get back to the ship. We couldn’t take the tram and walk, because Bette had fallen in the synagogue. She was so excited about the beauty of the synagogue that she wasn’t looking where she was going. Fortunately, she did not appear to be seriously hurt.

Despite the fact that I had missed lunch, the waitress was kind enough to serve me the main dish that had been served at lunch.

Arrived at the Dohany Synagogue

Me in front of Dohany Synagogue

Exterior view of Dohany Synagogue

Plaque on Synagogue

Exterior View

Interior of Synagog

Woman's Balcony

Ceiling Views

Ceiling View

Interior View

Where Rabbi speaks

Back of Synagog

Back of synagogue

Eternal Light over ark

Schedule of events

Memorial for those who died in the holocaust

Winter Synagogue

Memorial to Raol Wallenberg

Memorial tree for those who died

Back of Synagogue Building

Caption on Holocaust Memorial

Marker to indicate where Theodore Herzl's home was

Something about Chaim Herzog

Me on the way back to the ship

At 3:00 pm, we took off for Puszta Horse Farm and Equestrian Show. I slept on the bus on the way there. My back hurt and I was tired from lack of sleep. We were served a biscuit and slivovitz. I took the one with the apricot. It was good. From there we went on a carriage ride through the “woods”. It was a bit bumpy but I found it fun. Then we were taken on a tour of the animals that they kept and the horse stables. There is a white line in the stable which we were told not to cross because the horses could kick that far. Then we went to the Equestrian show, which was very impressive. They drove carriages around the track to show how well the drivers were able to maneuver and control the horses. Then the archer on horseback came on. He was able to hit targets while galloping around the field. There were examples of how well the riders could control horses even with loud and I do mean loud snaps of their whips. They had a rider standing on a horse galloping around the field controlling five horses. Then two ladies came out; one was riding side saddle and the other did dressage. All in all worth the time. We then headed back to Budapest, where we boarded ship and had dinner.

We were scheduled to leave Budapest for our next stop in Mohacs at 8:45pm. We did pull out and went up and down the river to see the city by night. We had all gone to the upper deck to watch the sights. Upon attempting to dock where we had been, our ship collided with a French ship. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but a window in the dining room was smashed. I checked the window in my cabin because it could have been damaged, but fortunately wasn’t. It was an exciting end to an interesting and busy day.