A Walk Through Budapest
| Our first night stayed at the Gellert, the largest and most famous of the great old hotels of Budapest. As it was February, my request for a "superior room" resulted in just that. The rooms was large and the balcony and view was fabulous, even though the furniture was still a little Soviet retro. The Gellert is one of the many spas in Budapest. I didn't partake of the special pools or the "energetic massage," but enjoyed the traditional pool at seven in the morning,, where my guess is I was the youngest person by at least ten years... |
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| On our walk last night across Castle hill we got a sense of the Hungary's eclectic past. Below is a broken Roman column, part of a current archeological dig. Note the monument to some Magyar hero in the background. |
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| I was fascinated by this famous Synagogue with, go figure, two Minarets. I had had an interesting discussion with the guide at Parliament when I asked her about the fresco in the middle of the ceiling which selebrated the annexation of Hungary by Austria in the 19th century. "Did they ever consider painting over that?" I asked, thinking about the checkered history of the twentieth century including Soviet domination. She seemed puzzled by the question and replied that no one would do that -- it was part of their history. |
| A view of Castle Hill borrowed from an Internat site. While Nikki tried more than once to get a picture with this view, which is also glorious by night when it is totally lit up, it was just too foggy most of the time. |
