Finding Faith in Budapest

As you travel, you never know where you will find stories of faith that will amaze you. Such was the case in Budapest. Hungary is predominantly a Roman Catholic country, and the largest church in Budapest is an amazing structure with an interesting history. St. Stephen's Basilica, named after the first king of Hungary who converted the Hungarians to Christianity, holds 8500 people.

Started in 1851, the church, built in a Neo-classical style, took over 5 decades to build. The dome of the church collapsed in 1868 and the church had to be rebuilt almost from scratch, but when completed it was definitely a stunning masterpiece.

The most sacred treasure of the church is the mummified right fist of St. Stephen which is on display in a side chapel in an ornate glass reliquary.

One of the most moving parts of our trip to Budapest was the time we spent in the Jewish Quarter, which has seen a tragic history, especially during the Holocaust period of this last century. Our tour started in the Dohány Street Synagogue, which is the second largest synagogue in the world,  just behind Temple Israel in New York City. Today, the Jewish community stands strong, with around 100,000 Jews calling Budapest home. The Quarter is home to 20 synagogues and prayer houses, schools, restaurants, and  a hospital.

The Dohány synagogue seats 3000 people and was built in 1859.

The wives, mothers and daughters assemble on the balcony level so that the men can worship without distraction.

At the beginning of WW II, some 240,000 Jews made their home in this area with 125 active synagogues, but all that was to change, when in 1944, the Germans installed a Hungarian Fascist party, the Arrow Cross Party, who set up a reign of terror. Over half of the Budapest Jews were lost in the last year of the war.

In the Garden of Remembrance, some 2281 people are buried in 24 mass graves right beside the synagogue, even though this was against Jewish law to be buried so close, but there was no other option at the time. The synagogue served as a detention center for many. As many as 20,000 Jews met their death when they were forced to march to the edge of the Danube River, and then shot and thrown into the river. Tens of thousands were assembled to go on death marches to concentration camps. Thousands died on the march, either from being shot or from starvation.

The remaining Jews left behind were gathered into an area called the Jewish Ghetto and enclosed by makeshift walls to contain them, where they suffered horrible conditions, lack of any medical care, insufficient food and frigid winter weather. 100, 000 people lived in these appalling conditions until liberated by the Soviets in January of 1945.

In the gardens behind the synagogue stands a metal weeping willow tree, a memorial to the 600,000 Hungarian Jews killed at this time. American actor, Tony Curtis, of Hungarian-Jewish descent, founded the Emanuel Foundation which restores Hungarian synagogues, and their group erected this memorial. The silver and stainless steel sculpture also represents an upside down menorah.

The names of victims are engraved on each of the leaves and remain as a chilling reminder of how wrong things can go when a society goes so far astray.

We stood in silence and respect as the truth of the story made its way into our hearts. The Hebrew inscription on the black granite archway sums up their loss, 

"Is there a bigger pain than mine?"

A sober and  moving memorial to so many lives wasted.

A Hot Bath, Anyone?

You can't visit Budapest without trying the baths. In a city that is built on a thin layer of earth above 118 thermal springs that power the city's bath houses, taking the baths is one of the treats of your visit, as well as a chance to experience the local culture.

Of the 15 public thermal baths in the city, we decided to "bathe" at the Széchenyi baths, the largest in the city as well as the largest spa in Europe. 

Its thermal springs were first discovered in 1879, and the stunning architectural structure that holds the bath house was built in 1913.

Known for its vast bath complex, there are three outdoor pools open year round.  Two of them are hot soaking pools with temperatures of 30º and 38º (86º F and 100.4º)

and one is a swimming pool with a swimming tube--a whirling corridor that is extremely popular.

Budapest's thermal waters were first enjoyed by the Romans as early as the second century, but it was later during the Turkish occupation of the city in the 16th century that the bath culture began to flourish.

Indoors we found saunas and 15 pools of varying temperatures

from very warm to very cold

where we enjoyed taking the baths with the locals. In addition to the relaxation of spending a day in the bath, the minerals in the waters are very therapeutic and felt marvelous after all the walking we had been doing to cover all points of this beautiful city.

And if you get tired of all that soaking, you just might enjoy an afternoon game of chess like these local friends were doing. 

Checkmate!

Market Time in Budapest

I always say you can't know the culture of a country until you go to one of their markets, so that's what we did one sunny day in Budapest. Our destination was the Great Market Hall

where we shopped with the locals,

admiring beautiful linens,

before getting serious about the choices of food. Sausages were in abundance everywhere we looked,

and the selection of fruits and vegetables was a panorama of color.

It was hard to resist the breads and pretzels,

and there were at least 10 flavors of strudel to choose from. Ten flavors--how can you choose!

Of course, Hungary is a major source of paprika

which is a spice made from grinding dried fruits of Capsicum annuum (bell pepper or chili pepper.) Hungarian paprika is available in 6 grades, from a delicate and sweet flavor to a very spicy taste.

It's a primary ingredient in Hungarian goulash, which was packaged in mixes for a novice goulash maker like me.

You won't leave the market hungry, with many local delicacies to try, like stuffed cabbage rolls

and Hungarian "hot dogs."

Goulash is on every menu, so of course, we had to try it while we were there,

along with wiener schnitzel--the Hungarian "chicken fried steak" --which was delicious.  So delicious that I chose it two nights in a row.

After dinner one evening, we had saved room for apple strudel, which we thought was the best of the best, until....

we tried the sour cherry strudel from the market. Divine!

Those of you who enjoy traveling know that to truly experience a country, it's your responsibility to try the local flavors. No doubt that we did our job there!

More about Budapest soon....

Checking off the bucket list

We're using some of our holiday time this year to check a few things off of our bucket list. For some time now, we have wanted to visit Budapest, since we never found time to get there when we previously lived in Europe in the early 90's. Not wanting to miss it this time, we planned a long weekend, and off we went to Budapest.

Divided by the serene Danube River, the towns of Buda and Pest were not officially merged until 1873. The beautiful House of Parliament on the banks of the river is often compared to to the House of Parliament in London--very similar styles.

From the Pest side, we strolled across the Széchenyl Chain Bridge to the Buda side to get a closer look of Castle Hill.

The views of the city were incredible from Fisherman's Bastion,

and the whole Castle District had treasures at every turn,

one of the most beautiful being the Matthias Church

which has hosted several coronations, as well as royal weddings and baptisms. Just one example of some of the distinctive and beautiful architecture of this city,

that you stumble upon while strolling the city streets.

One of the last buildings we spotted not far from our hotel was the Museum of Applied Arts, whose exterior rivals its collection. Built in the 1870's, it remains a lovely example of Art Nouveau style.

One can't help but notice the juxtaposition of architecture throughout the city center as you walk its streets. Having been under Communist control until 1989, the country is still struggling to reclaim its earlier glory.

There is an abundance of resilience among the Hungarians going forward to forge their way as a major power in this century.

Its future lies in the Hungarian people, whose future is bright. With treasures like the landmarks we saw in our visit there, the door is open wide. 

So much to share about this lovely city and I hope you'll come back to future posts to read and see more about their markets, their baths, and some of its interesting heritage.