Alison Wanders: Budapest: Genteel and Genteelier

Sunday started out with a mild disappointment. We were meant to tour the Parliament building, but it was closed today for an unknown reason. We'll be back tomorrow! We then toured the area around the Parliament, known as Leopold Town, which is filled with lovely buildings and memorials.

This is a memorial to Imre Nagy, the Hungarian politician who became the reluctant leader of the 1956 Uprising against the communist party. When the Soviets violently put down the uprising, they arrested and "tried" Nagy, found him guilty, then buried him face down in an unmarked grave. Then they did everything possible to erase his memory. In 1989, when communism was on the outs, the memory of Nagy was resurrected, his body exhumed, and he was reinstated as a hero. Here Nagy stands on a bridge, symbolizing the hope that he could find a political middle ground between the East and West.

Me and Ronald Regan. This statue was placed here last year to commemorate Regan for “bringing the Cold War to a conclusion, and for the fact that Hungary regained its sovereignty in the process.”

A very rare Soviet War Memorial, commemorating "Liberation Day": April 4, 1945, when the Soviets forced the Nazis out of Hungary (and brought their own form of oppression...)

The US Embassy

St. Istvan's Basilica, where we attended mass. Hearing mass in Hungarian was fascinating! The organ and the choir were positively spectacular. It was one of the best musical masses I've ever attended.

We also got to go into the columbarium in the basement.

A just-for-fun statue of an Austro-Hungarian police officer.

A nice view of St. Istvan's.

The interior of the Gresham Palace, with a Four Seasons Hotel.

A nice view of the chain bridge.

A Hungarian pigeon!

This is one of the main things I wanted to make sure I saw in Budapest. Mike and I walked along the Danube Promendade to get to this Holocaust Memorial. It consists of 50 pairs of bronze shoes, commemorating the Jews who were killed when the Nazi's puppet government, the Arrow Cross, came to power in Hungary in 1944. Many were sent to concentration camps, but the Arrow Cross massacred some in this spot, shooting them and letting their bodies fall into the Danube. In the Museum of Terror, they play of a video of the icy river flowing along, which you hear the occasional splash...splash...splash. A beautiful memorial for such a devastating moment in Budapest's history.

We walked across Chain Bridge and back. There were fantastic views on either side!

Back at the Christmas market (can you tell it's my favorite?) I picked up one of these bad boys, which I've learned is called a kurtoskalac (accents not included). It reminded me, oddly, of those pretzel dogs from Auntie Ann's, although this was sweet and glazed with vanilla. And cooked over glowing coals while rotating slowly on hot iron rods....mmmmmm

Never have I been so happy to see a McDonalds in Europe. This was the first McDonalds behind the Iron Curtain. Imagine living in Budapest under Soviet rule, and this little slice of the West shows up. This fast food restaurant represented freedom and a glimpse into the West. Although the line went around the block to get a hamburger, so this wasn't really fast food!

NY Classic.

I bought some "Freedom Fries"

There is this gorgeous, nearly completely abandoned shopping gallery called the Parisian Courtyard. It's positively stunning inside, but because it's a protected landmark, no one can afford to restore it to its original state. So it's just open for people to wander through in the dark, catching glimpses of fine carved wood and old shop signs, and small sparkles of light working their way through the dusty glass...

Mike took a panorama on the ceiling.

We took a break at Central Kavehaz, where I had a very famous Gundel palacsinta, basically a crepe stuffed with walnuts and raisins.

I loved this little group of women!

Liberty Bridge, with the Gellert Baths in the background. (I hope to take the waters...and maybe a massage...there tomorrow!)

The Grand Market...which was closed....because I did a terrible job of planning our Sunday....

After a brief break at the hotel we were off the the Hungarian Opera House for a spectacular performance of Rigoletto. Although they sang in Italian and the subtitles were in Hungarian, it was easy to follow along, and the performances were top notch. "La donna e mobile...!!"