Budapest, the last stop on the first voyage of the cruise

We arrive in Budapest, Hungary, the last stop on the first voyage of the river cruise.  Budapest is situated on both sides of the Danube River, with Buda to the west and Pest to the east.

On our guided tour, we stopped by Heroes' Square, with its Millennial Column set off by equestrian statues of the Magyar leaders who conquered this region in the 9th century.

The adjoining colonnade displays more statues of kings, dukes of Transylvania, and liberty fighters who influenced the history of Hungary.

We stopped for a talk with a gentleman who has been helping with the refugees coming through the country.

In Buda we visit Castle Hill, where a massive castle, including its protective ramparts, has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Mostly destroyed during World War II, the Royal Palace has been restored, approximating its former splendor and now includes the Hungarian National Gallery.

Church of our Lady was formerly used for the coronations of Hungarian kings.  Its popular name of Matthias is in recognition of the Renaissance king who ruled in the 15th century.

The statue of the Holy Trinity was built to celebrate the end of the 1691 plague, and citizens hoped that it would protect them from another epidemic.

The sculpture at the top represents the Holy Trinity.  It sits on a sturdy pillar decorated with statues of little angels and below large statues of saints.

From Castle Hill on the Buda side, the imposing Parliament Building dominates Pest on the opposite side of the river.

The Fisherman's Bastion was built at the site of an old rampart that, during the Middle Ages, was defended by the guild of fishermen, who lived nearby in Vizivaros, at the foot of Castle Hill.  Thus, the name of the bastion.  An old fish market also sat at this location during medieval times.

From the top of the bastion there is a splendid view of the Danube river and over Pest.

In the afternoon, we headed to the Pest side and wandered around on our own.

We headed over to the Basilica of St. Stephen, Budapest's largest church.  Fifty years in the making, it is dedicated to St. Stephen, the first Christian king of Hungary.  His right hand, the country's most important relic, is enshrined in one of the church's chapels.

The incredibly ornate interior features about fifty different types of marble, elaborately decorated chapels, and many sculptures.

Oh, did we see a dome that we could climb?

If there is a dome, we must climb it.  So we walked up 302 steps to the terrace around the dome to enjoy a panoramic view of Budapest.

That evening we attended an Hungarian Folklore Show.  It was excellent.

Upon our return to the ship, we had a wonderful view from the deck of the Parliament building all lit up.

The next morning we headed out to cross the Chain Bridge to explore Pest on our own.

This bridge was the first permanent bridge in Budapest.

It takes us across the river where we will walk along the banks of the Danube to the Parliament building.

Along the way we come to the Shoes on the Danube.  It is a memorial to the Budapest Jews who were shot by Arrow Cross militiamen between 1944 and 1945.

The victims were lined up and shot into the Danube River.  They had to take their shoes off, since shoes were valuable belongings at the time.

The memorial was created by Gyula Pauer, Hungarian sculptor, and his friend Can Togay in 2005.  It contains 60 pairs of iron shoes, forming a row along the Danube.  Each pair of shoes was modeled after an original 1940s pair.

This is considered to be Budapest's most moving memorial.

We then reached the Parliament Building.  Our river boat is parked directly across the river from it.

Construction of the Parliament House started in 1885.  When it was completed 17 years later in 1902, it was the largest parliamentary building in the world.

The building's facade is magnificent, decorated with 88 statues of Hungarian rulers, pointed arch arcades and numerous gargoyles, spires and Gothic ornaments.

We took a tour of Parliament; the interior is as stunning as the exterior.  

 We were fortunate to see the changing of the guard while on the tour.

They guard the coronation crown.  The crow was originally given to St. Stephen for his coronation in the year 1000.

In 1989 Hungary adopted a new constitution based upon a legislature with just a single chamber, the National Assembly.

The tour was excellent.  It ended in the museum that displayed models of the parliament and displays showing the construction of the building.

We then headed over to the House of Terror.

This was long the headquarters of communist Hungary's secret police.  Now a museum, it documents a terrible story.  When the Communists moved into Budapest, their secret police took over the Nazi secret police headquarters.  It was here that Hungarians suspected of being an enemy of the state were given sham trials, tortured, and routinely executed.

Monuments somberly greet visitors to the House of Terror.  On the left:  In memory of the victims of the Arrow Party Terror.  On the right:  In memory of the victims of communist terror.

The video playing in the entrance to the ticket office has the immortal words “we can forgive but we can never forget”.

The museum's atrium features a Soviet tank and a vast wall covered with portraits of victims of this building.  Exhibits throughout the museum  charts the two terrible tragedies in Hungarian history; the Nazi brutality and the communist terror rule. The majority of the museum is devoted to the latter because this lasted until 1989, and thus many more years than the Holocaust.

Photography was only permitted as far as the atrium.  The photos on the wall behind the tank are those of victims.

Leaving the museum we pass by a poignant finale.  The "walls of victimizers" are lined with photos and biographical information on members and supporters of both the Nazi and communist secret police--many of whom are still living, and who were never brought to justice.

Visiting the House of Terror was a particularly meaningful experience and a powerful reminder that we should never let this happen again.

It was then time for a lunch break.  Bookcafe' is located on the second floor of the former Paris Department Store, which currently houses the Alexandra bookstore. 

The cafe' is decorated with beautiful chandeliers and a fresco-style ceiling, painted by Karoly Lotz.  His paintings also decorate the rooms of the Parliament building.

The grandiose, palace-like interior makes visitors feel like they are in the residence of an aristocrat.

After lunch we walked over to the Great Jewish Synagogue.  It is the biggest in Europe and the second biggest in the world.  It was built in 1859 just outside what was then the city limits.

We did not go inside the synagogue but instead made our way to the Memorial Garden.  When the Soviets liberated the city from the Nazi occupation, a mass grave was dug here for the bodies of an estimated 2,281 Jews.

The trees and headstones were added later by survivors.

The angular sculpture on the pedestal represented a forced march with clearly defined figures at the front, melting into a blocky form at the back.  When the Nazis took over Hungary, they wanted to quickly transport as many Jews as possible to death camps.  The trains could not take them away fast enough so they were made to march hundreds of miles to their final destination--the death camp.

In the garden behind the synagogue is the Tree of Life.  This was erected in 1990 soon after the fall of communism made it possible to acknowledge the Holocaust.  

The willow makes an upside down menorah.

 Each of the 4,000 metal leaves is etched with the name of a Holocaust victim.

The symbolic grave is that of Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish hero who did whatever he could to save tens of thousands of Jews from the Nazis.

In the big stained-glass window that stands near the grave, the fire symbolizes the Holocaust and the curling snake represents fascism.

That evening we cruised along the banks of Budapest and took in the beauty of the city all lit up.

In the morning we would leave the ship and head to Prague, Czech Republic for 4 nights and Vienna for 3 nights before resuming the river cruise.

To continue reading about Prague, scroll up toward the top of this page and click on the link in the right-hand column entitled:  "Prague, Czech Republic".