Budapest

I found the Holocaust Memorial Center worth a few hours. Interesting and informative (and of course, moving).

We all enjoyed the Hospital in the Rock musuem http://www.sziklakorhaz.eu/en a hospital that was built during the second world war in the natural cave system under Castle Hill. The hospital was later used as a Cold War bunker, a very interesting place particularly for those interested in war history.

Gee, where to begin.......

Start by walking down the streets where you will note two things of interest;
bullet holes in the walls. Some memorialized relics of the 56 Revolution: https://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g274887-d276817-i122679981-Parliament-Budapest_Central_Hungary.html

Other remnants of WWII: http://www.goworldclass.com/images/hunBudaBuildingBullets.jpg

and Stolpersteines on the ground. http://www.stolpersteine.eu/en/ and https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=10iI5XWjOFgiEHDfgYc1qt--IMmE&hl=en&ll=47.458412996503206%2C19.055313499999897&z=12

Then the Hospital in the Rock. First a war hospital, later a Soviet fall out shelter. http://www.sziklakorhaz.eu/en This is about 2/3rds worth the visit and 1/3 hokey modern nonsense. Go, the 2/3rds is more than worth it.

Yellow Star Houses: everyone knows about the ghetto, but Jews were also entered in market apartment houses. Some because they were being used as labor and some because the ghetto was just too full and some were just steps on the way to the ghetto. Look at the sheer number of houses and the size of the ghetto and understand how many died: http://www.yellowstarhouses.org/ Thee is a script on this page that loads incredibly slow. Just wait.

The ghetto. Outlined on the previous link. When you walk down the street and cross that line that was once the wall, remember: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-680-8285A-08%2C_Budapest%2C_Festnahme_von_Juden.jpg the same point on the same street (Wesselényi utca) today: https://www.google.com/maps/@47.5023872,19.0719135,3a,75y,272.75h,89.58t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sNtG0DvwQm3wPW-kuigMSlg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en Just guessing by the way the prisioners were walking it is possible that they were being marched to the Jozsefvarosi train station which the Nazi's used for the deportation to Auschwitz. Here is Wallenberg at the station: https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/media_ph.php?ModuleId=0&MediaId=1329

Then there is the Shoes on the Danube memorial http://visitbudapest.travel/articles/one-of-budapests-most-moving-memorials-shoes-on-the-danube/ and countless memorials and plaques to the terror of the Nazi’s and Russians located through out the city.

Then if you are a total history nut, you can drive a Soviet tank: http://tank.hu/ Great people by the way.

But if your interests in WWII history is strong you might consider hiring a guide that can take you to these and a lot of other small, but important, locations….. I guess my point is that Budapest is a living, functioning museum where you can still touch the history.

Ooh! So many good websites to peruse! Thanks!

The Museum of Applied Arts is a few minutes' walk from the Holocaust Center and worth going in - the only way to describe it - you feel like you're inside a wedding cake. It looks like the Postal Museum has reopened. It is really interesting. I enjoyed the Ethnography Museum too. You'll get a good look at St. Stephen's Basilica (Szent István) if you go to an evening concert there. I visited during the day, and it was lit only by natural light, cloudy day. I was much more impressed when I saw it in the evening. And take a ride on the No. 1 metro.

Hi,

If he is into war history, make sure you see the Military History Museum on Castle Hill. It's all in Hungarian, only a bit in German. Very revealing and interesting, I have been there twice. It has the document showing the reply in its entirety in Hungarian with the German translation by Hungarian Minister President to the Austrian Foreign Minister on the topic of the Monarchy's determination to send the ultimatum to the Serbs in the July Crisis of 1914. For this ultimatum to be sent, the acquiescence of the Hungarian Minister President was crucial.

Signs pointing the way to the Museum are in English. Another site you may want to see connected with war history is the Memorial monument on the German Invasion of March 1944. That's recent, ie, with in the last few years and was controversial. See the Soviet Memorial too. In Vienna you can see the Soviet Memorial too, just ca 3 mins or so straight up from the Schwarzenberg Platz and its statue of Schwarzenberg. The Mathias Church is a historical, the last Habsburg was crowned there.

Hungary is one of the safest places in Europe according to UK Government body

János Lázár, the minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office, said the prime minister has expressed his wish to his government that the country must make the top ten list of the world's safest countries

http://abouthungary.hu/news-in-brief/hungary-is-one-of-the-safest-places-in-europe/

I liked both the ethnography museum (not sure what the name is - near the parliament) and the Post Office Museum, which is not about stamps.

You don't mention it, but there's wine. . . Hungary's are excellent.

PS - you're going to love it. I'm going back in a couple weeks for a second dose.

1 - WOW, I could not see all that in 3 weeks!
2- James, Although I am not a history buff - my husband absolutely is - so I am copying/pasting thee sites for him later.

3 - I am going to drive a TANK for sure - that is on my TOP 3 things to do. I am seriously ridiculously excited about this!

Tanks? You and my wife. Check your PM for some photos......

James -
here is my summary of all I have learned from you - tweaked to my own likings of course.
By the way, I have started Hungarian (Madgar) language via Piemsler via my iphone. SO different from French and English.

PS - I will check the message. My husband was a Marine for 6 years - only sent to Okinawa - but he will love the tanks too - but not nearly as much I will.

"Budapest is a living, functioning museum where you can still touch the history." James (Rick Steve's Forum)

THINGS TO DO
• Christmas Markets
• Drive a Soviet TANK.
• Castle District (Gellert Hotel and Bath) Castle Hill Funicular
• Antique shops Falk Miska utca
• Gozsdu udvar (nightclub) on Saturday and Sunday morning
• The Opera House (temporarily at Erkel Theater)
• Opus Jazz Club
• Great Market Hall and smaller market halls
• Széchenyi Bath House/City Park/Zoo (M1 Metro Széchenyi fürdő)
• Tour of Parliament
• Andrassy ut Embassies/Mansions

• Great Synagogue Tour, Jewish Ghetto, Yellow Star Houses
• Hospital in the Rock
• Wine Bars

SIDE TRIPS
• Estergom, Visegrad & Szentendre The Danube Bend (All Day)
• Archabbey at Pannonhalma (Hire a driver)
• Margaret Island
• Gior
• Bratislava
• Pecs
• Kiev
• Etvek Wine Country Tour with Dinner (all day)

DRIVERS
• Andrew ILLES—Private Guide http://www.guideinbudapest.com/ +36 70 365 4577 László MÁRKUS
• SilverWings Chauffeur Service http://www.silverwings.hu/ +36 20 934 6346

MORE DETAILS
• Revolution: https://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g274887-d276817-i122679981-Parliament-Budapest_Central_Hungary.html
• Other remnants of WWII: http://www.goworldclass.com/images/hunBudaBuildingBullets.jpg
• Stolpersteines on the ground. http://www.stolpersteine.eu/en/ and
• https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=10iI5XWjOFgiEHDfgYc1qt--IMmE&hl=en&ll=47.458412996503206%2C19.055313499999897&z=12
• Hospital in the Rock--- Soviet fall out shelter. http://www.sziklakorhaz.eu/en
• Yellow Star Houses:: http://www.yellowstarhouses.org/
• The ghetto.: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-680-8285A-08%2C_Budapest%2C_Festnahme_von_Juden.jpg
• Then there is the Shoes on the Danube memorial http://visitbudapest.travel/articles/one-of-budapests-most-moving-memorials-shoes-on-the-danube/
• Soviet tank: http://tank.hu/

PDF DETAILS WITH PHOTOGRAPHS OF THINGS TO DO
http://vasvarirentals.com/pest/budapest_vol1.pdf
http://vasvarirentals.com/pest/budapest_vol2.pdf

On WW2 reminders in Budapest, there is also the Red Army Memorial (for the Russians) and the Memorial on the German Invasion of 1944...recent and controversial one when it was finished.

Jet13, Sounds like i need to get a life..... :)

Fred, the German Invasion Memorial is still "controversial" The walkway is lined with memorabilia of the victims of the Arrow Cross left behind by the protesters. Generally there is one or two still hanging out with a sign. I understand, but have mixed feelings about it.

Jet13, to make the indoctrination complete you need to down load music from Katya Tompos's album called: Keresztül Európán (Amazon has it for download) and music from the Budapest Klezmer Band. You might have to purchase a disc, but Amazon may have down loads here are their albums https://www.discogs.com/artist/1706681-Budapest-Klezmer-Band It's all very good but Le Chajem Rebbe is my favorite album.

Thanks for the update. I only read that when the Invasion Memorial was set up some years back controversy raged over it with arguments going back forth whether it should be there in the first place.

Fred, this is consistent with what I saw a few months ago: https://holeinthedonut.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Hungary-Budapest-German-Invasion-Memorial.jpg

Ruin pubs are a Budapest special thing. They are pubs with fantastic crazy decoration - chairs on the ceiling, weird decorations. There are 4-5 that are great. You can go at 12:30 at night, and have dinner, and a drink - filled with lots of hip folks.

Unfortunately the Budapest Klezmer Band doesnt have any downloads that i can find. But here is a sample: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_1_13?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-music&field-keywords=budapest+klezmer+band&sprefix=budapest+klez%2Cdigital-music%2C188&crid=3IX4HX0SZQ5XR

And here is a great video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VdoHnidz70 These guys are magnificent!! If they arent playing when you are in town (and they dont play nearly often enough), you can get something similar on Friday night at Spinoza's Cafe (make a reservation for the dinner and concert)

Not to forget Kátya Tompos. In Hungarian she would be known as TOMPOS Kátya. They do the last name first, unless they dont want to confuse westerners in which case they do the last name second, which seeing how sometimes you cant tell a Hungarian last name from a Hungarian first name becomes more confusing and so quite often they will do the last name in all caps. Clear? Clear as Goulash (Hungarian: gulyás)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpAT-PHdw5g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYQsvYSKJFo
And this one you play when you are alone with your husband late at night…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-wq6QX7bMA

Saw her at the Opus Jazz Club a few years back. Excellent performer.

I'll check out the music! I watched a Hungarian film on Netflix today. I think I understood three words in 1.5 hours!!!! Lol

Here is what we did
http://www.gadtravel.com/2016/10/hungary-tokaj-etyek-budapest-slovakia.html

Beautifully done Mark!!!

Loved the photos Mark. Thanks.