We have arrived!

Budapest Friday 4/26

It has been a whirlwind since we boarded our first flight in Jacksonville.  Basically we had no layovers, literally going from one flight right to the next - Dulles, Frankfurt, Budapest.   Our friend, Csilla, was waiting for us at the airport.  She whisked us through the city - small cars, lots of traffic - to her apartment where we would be staying.   The plan, to avoid jet lag, was to stay awake until late evening and we were beginning with lunch.  The flight from Dulles to Frankfurt was 7 hours.   We watched a couple of movies and maybe an hour of sleep, but our excitement kept us awake.  The time here is 6 hours ahead, so noon in Budapest is 6 am in Jax.  

Csilla fixed us a delicious Hungarian dish for lunch - chicken simmered in a sauce, rich red with paprika and spicy peppers, served with dumplings. We had the most beautiful fully ripe strawberries for dessert!  Once fortified, we were off for an afternoon of sightseeing.  It is spring in Budapest - a most glorious spring!   The winters are harsh here, but now the trees, bare all winter, have the fresh bright green of spring. Fruit trees are blooming - cherry and pear - lilacs full with blossoms of fragrant purple and forsythia with sprays of bright yellow remind me of Virginia.   

Budapest was/is actually two cities - one on each side of the Danube.  Buda, where we are staying, is lush and green, the streets quite and birds singing everywhere.  From the table in front of the garrett window where I am writing, I can see the steps leading up to the Vienna Gate - the beginning of the Castle District and the old city.  Pest is the business commercial center with long promenades, squares and parks, and it is busy - not the quiet of this Buda neighborhood.  

To begin our tour, Csilla ( pronounced Chelya) drove us to Gellert Hill - the highest point in the city, to see a panorama of Budapest and the bridges connecting its districts.  My tired brain was desperately trying to remember the landmarks and orient myself.   We walked past the citadel at the top to see the Liberation Monument - similar to our Statue of Liberty - a woman with palm branch held high towering over the city.  It was meant to celebrate the liberation of Hungary by the Russians in 1945, but now it seems to symbolize the liberation of Hungary from all foreign domination especially the Russians.

Now that we had the layout, we came back to the apartment and climbed the steps to begin our walk of the Castle District.   Here the narrow streets leading to the square are lined with huge, once single family homes, bearing amazing arched doorways, elaborate ironwork ornamentation, built on the foundations of the ancient town surrounding the castle.  The square is dominated by Matyas Church, an elaborate neo-gothic masterpiece that we hope to attend on Sunday.  In the center of the square is the monument of the Holy Trinity (1715) in  celebration of the end of the plague.  Here I must interject that almost everything in Budapest is restored in some way, for their have been many conquerers.   First came the Romans, then Goths and Huns, followed by the Turks, the Christians, the Germans after 1944, and finally the Russians, driven out in 1989.  It is hard for me to imagine these magnificent buildings and bridges in ruin and, in many instances, ruble.  The pain of that destruction for the people of Budapest must have been overwhelming.  But palaces, churches, bridges have been rebuilt, and if not completely, a stone wall, a niche, a bas relief, an archway or window from the old incorporated into the new.

We continued our walk to the Royal Palace (now the Hungarian National Gallery) built on the ancient castle foundation (1267AD).  I did say old. 

The day had been warn, like Florida, and by 6pm we could hardly stay awake.  But not the plan.   Csilla left us and her daughter, Esther, who had interned with Tom in the summer of 2011, would not be home until 8:45.   So after refreshing at the apartment (dozing while reading the guidebook) we set out on our own adventure - the castle district at night.   The lights were simple magical illuminating all our landmarks!   

I will attach pictures when our internet issues are resolved!      

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