Budapest
We woke up early yesterday morning (6 am) so that we could catch the early train to Budapest. The train ride was rich with lovley scenery and after three hours were were deep behind the (former) iron curtain at Budapest Keleti train station. After deciphering the bizarre metro system, we grabbed a bus to the central tourist area.
We got off near a big old church called St. Stephens. It was really pretty with a big square out in front. Then we walked over to the Chain Bridge that crosses the Danube, where the city was putting on some sort of breakdance-baton twirling-traditional Hungarian dance show. The bridge was closed to cars and was really packed with Austrian and German toursits. We made our way across the bridge to the foot of the tram up to Castle Hill, but the line was so long we decided to find some lunch first and see if the line would die down.
We walked really far down a street trying to find something acceptable to eat, but as most of the menus were in Hungarian we had a lot of trouble. Finally we came upon a Spar (Austrian grocery store chain) where we got some great smoked Gouda and baked goods. After that, we walked up Castle Hill to the remains of medieval Budapest. We walked around up there for awhile, admiring the great views of the city, which is surprisingly beautiful for a former Communist city, and exploring the old cobblestone streets.
After that, we walked back down and made our way to Andrussy Blvd., the main street of Pest (Buda and Pest are the two parts of Budapest on opposite sides of the Danube). It made me think of a really dirty Paris - a lot of the buildings were black with pollution, but the street had really nice trees and cafes. A few blocks down Andrussy Blvd., we came to our destination: the House of Terror, a museum documenting Nazi and Soviet war crimes against Hungary housed in the former headquarters of the Nazi and Soviet secret police. It was really interesting and beautifully laid out, but most of the stuff was in Hungarian so some of the effect was lost on us.
After that we caught the metro back to the train station for our evening departure back to Vienna. On the train back we shared a compartment with a 21 year old Slovakian student at the U of Vienna. He told us all about living in Europe and we told him a lot about America. We tried to persuade him to do his graduate work in the USA but he did not seem convinced.
We got back to Vienna late, and went right to bed. Today we woke up and went to Spar for breakfast and now are using the wonderfully free internet at the hotel. Today we are going to rent bikes and see Vienna some more, go to a Viennese amusement park, and see a free Bach concert at some festival near our hotel. Tomorrow we leave to Innsbruck.
Jim and Carrie
We got off near a big old church called St. Stephens. It was really pretty with a big square out in front. Then we walked over to the Chain Bridge that crosses the Danube, where the city was putting on some sort of breakdance-baton twirling-traditional Hungarian dance show. The bridge was closed to cars and was really packed with Austrian and German toursits. We made our way across the bridge to the foot of the tram up to Castle Hill, but the line was so long we decided to find some lunch first and see if the line would die down.
We walked really far down a street trying to find something acceptable to eat, but as most of the menus were in Hungarian we had a lot of trouble. Finally we came upon a Spar (Austrian grocery store chain) where we got some great smoked Gouda and baked goods. After that, we walked up Castle Hill to the remains of medieval Budapest. We walked around up there for awhile, admiring the great views of the city, which is surprisingly beautiful for a former Communist city, and exploring the old cobblestone streets.
After that, we walked back down and made our way to Andrussy Blvd., the main street of Pest (Buda and Pest are the two parts of Budapest on opposite sides of the Danube). It made me think of a really dirty Paris - a lot of the buildings were black with pollution, but the street had really nice trees and cafes. A few blocks down Andrussy Blvd., we came to our destination: the House of Terror, a museum documenting Nazi and Soviet war crimes against Hungary housed in the former headquarters of the Nazi and Soviet secret police. It was really interesting and beautifully laid out, but most of the stuff was in Hungarian so some of the effect was lost on us.
After that we caught the metro back to the train station for our evening departure back to Vienna. On the train back we shared a compartment with a 21 year old Slovakian student at the U of Vienna. He told us all about living in Europe and we told him a lot about America. We tried to persuade him to do his graduate work in the USA but he did not seem convinced.
We got back to Vienna late, and went right to bed. Today we woke up and went to Spar for breakfast and now are using the wonderfully free internet at the hotel. Today we are going to rent bikes and see Vienna some more, go to a Viennese amusement park, and see a free Bach concert at some festival near our hotel. Tomorrow we leave to Innsbruck.
Jim and Carrie
posted by Behavior Analyst | 2:41 AM
1 Comments:
Hi Carrie and Jim, Well, I thought your blog was fun before but I LOVE the photos! I think it is so cool that you are seeing some off-the-beaten-track places --like Buda and Pest. I leave for Mohonk today. Love, Mom
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