First stop today: the First Unitarian Church of Budapest and its minister, the engaging József Kászoni-Kövendi. The elaborate and very high pulpit is truly unique, and the sanctuary is two floors above street level. The church building was built at the same time as the Parliament building.
Other stops that we all visited were the Museum of Terror (located in the former secret police headquarters) and the Budapest Opera House. Talk about a contrast! Luckily we did the beautiful, ornate Opera House last and were even treated to a 5-minute concert. The Terror Museum was cool, but truly terrible, complete with cells in the dungeons and execution rooms with gallows. Chilling.
Other places we visited today individually or in smaller groups included the Museum of Applied Arts, Museum of Hungarian Photography, the Franz Liszt House and Museum, Margaret Island, several folk art markets, the Geller Baths, and a Danube River cruise. The last few pictures below are from the evening cruise, for which the weather couldn't have been better---sunny and cool.
Tomorrow we are in for a 7.5-hour train ride to Koloszvar (Cluj), Transylvania, and I'm not sure about availability of internet connectivity there---but I'll try to post something as soon as I can.
Great pictures, Mike! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteLooks like a great adventure so far! I'm jealous
ReplyDeleteSounds like quite a day on Thursday! The contrast of the worship spaces, the interrogation spaces, and the blue Danube (is it blue?) must've been nearly overwhelming.
ReplyDeleteI was so glad to be able to Skype video-chat with Marta since the Budapest Hotel Fabius had wifi in her room. Cannot wait to hear word from Romania. Don't forget I signed up for a Romanian phone number on Skype — it'll be an in-country call and ring through to my laptop and iPhone. Marta has the number in an email I sent her. Call me!