Full day of sightseeing today, starting with a bus tour of both Buda (the smaller, hillier side of the Danube) and Pest (the larger, bustling side). We started at Castle Hill and the statue of St. Stephen, who united and brought Christianity to Hungary. The view is tremendous, and is dominated by the huge Parliament building across the river in Pest. After the tour--which included many other sites including Hero Square and lots of history--we visited the Bela Bartok Unitarian Church (the 2nd Unitarian Church of Budapest) and met with the minister, Sandor Leta. Then it was time for a delicious lunch to replenish our batteries.
The afternoon's highlight was a visit to Dohany Street Synagogue, the largest in the world after New York City's Temple Emanu-El. The very moving weeping willow statue is a tribute to the Jews of Budapest who were killed in the Holocaust (the street itself was the border of the Budapest Ghetto). Finally, a visit to the Central Market and some shopping polished off the afternoon. A hard day to top, but Marta and Mary were planning just how to do that tomorrow on the subway back to the hotel!
Loved seeing the photo of you, Marta! Ibsen misses you — and he is learning a very useful new trick in Connecticut at my Mom's place. I hope he retains it so he can show off when you come home.
ReplyDeletestunning sculpture. It looks like a water fountain at first, but I don't think it is. Indeed moving even in the photo.
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