I'm "Hungary"
Well, I have made it back "home" to Leuven after two great weeks on the road. I will share my adventures in a couple of posts over then next few days so none of them get too long.
After my wonderful experience of the Easter Vigil at Notre Dame in Paris I headed East for Easter Week. Destination - Budapest, Hungary. I had never been to Hungary or any of the Central European countries except Austria so it was a new experience. I began with an overnight in Cologne, Germany. Unfortunately many things were closed on Monday and I only had a short afternoon in town. In addition, the weather was cold, rainy and I woke up to light snow on Tuesday morning. This picture is the famous Cologne Cathedral which is one of the few buildings not heavily damaged by bombing during World War II. It houses the relics of the Three Kings who came to adore the infant Jesus. (Check Matthew's Gospel if you want the whole story!) It is very dark on the outside but is typical of Gothic architecture - tall, inspiring and very beautiful. It is hard to believe that these Gothic buildings were built in the 12th - 15th centuries. Notre Dame and Sainte Chappele are other examples of Gothic architecture. As is Ely Cathedral. All of which can be seen in earlier posts. Unfortunately most are not conducive to pictures inside because the windows do not let in a lot of light. After seeing the Cathedral and treasury I walked around town for a bit. I had dinner along the Rhine river - sausage, sauerkraut and potatoes - just like growing up (the food, not the setting!). I turned in fairly early since I had to get up for an early train the next day.
As I made my way to the train station I saw the light snow on the ground. Throughout the day I would see snow as we travelled across Germany and Austria. In some valleys it was green and then we would go through a tunnel and it would be snowing. A very wierd day weather-wise.
Finally, I made it to Budapest about 9 p.m. and checked into a hotel near the station. The next morning I began to walk to the hotel where I was to meet Fr. Bernie Nolan who was travelling by air rather than train. The map looked like a straight shot down to the hotel but there were several underground passages in order to traverse streets. Unfortunately, I took a wrong turn as I came up one of them and ended up going in the wrong direction. By the time I realized it I had travelled a fair way and had to wind my way around until I got to the hotel. What should have been a 20 minute walk turned into an hour and a half! I took a taxi to the train station on the way out of town.
That day we took a little walk to get our bearings and made some decisions as to what to see. The more I travel the more I find that to run from place to place and try to see everything just tires me out and I lose track of what I am seeing. I prefer to choose a few things to see, spend more time and get a feel for the city and the culture. I figure I always want to leave a couple things to see the next time I visit. Of course, who knows if I will get back but it does make it a little more manageable for me.
We spent one day along the Danube. Budapest is really two cities - Buda and Pest. We stayed in Pest. They were linked only in the 19th century and became one city. I suspect if we had had more time we would have been able to recognize the differences in culture and approach between the two cities. On the hill in Buda is the castle. This view shows Pest from the hill top. There is a beautiful church on the hill - St. Matthias. The interior walls are covered with decorations. It was incredible. We also visited the history museum and saw an exhibit about Matthias Corvinus who was an early ruler of the area. That afternoon we took a cruise on the Danube which had a nice commentary about the history and culture of the two cities.
The next day we visited the Synagogue. It is the second largest synagogue in Europe. Space for 3000 to sit and 3000 to stand. It was most impressive as you can see from the picture of the entry portal. We took a tour which explained the construction of the synagogue, how it is used and a little about the history of the Jews in Hungary. Of course, many were killed in the camps during World War II. There was also a memorial garden and a small museum with Jewish artifacts. The tour guide explained how they were used in Jewish daily life and worship.
On Sunday morning we went to Mass at St. Stephen's Basilica which you see here. Of course Mass was in Hungarian so we did not understand the homily, etc. The music was very nice and a magnificent organ postlude. There were both pews on a platform raised off the floor about two inches and chairs. The pews were in the front and the chairs behind. We noticed most of the folks coming in and taking places in the pews - sitting in the front of the church, not a very Catholic way of doing things! However, as Mass proceeded we definitely felt the chill in the air. We began to suspect that the space under the pews was heated which would account for the premium people placed on those seats. I don't know if it is true or not but it seems possible. The rest of the day was spent walking through a street fair, eating lunch and preparing to leave. I left Budapest for Vienna midafternoon and from there caught the sleeper train to Rome. I had reserved a double sleeping compartment and had it all to my self. Nice!
Watch the coming days for our adventures in Rome.
After my wonderful experience of the Easter Vigil at Notre Dame in Paris I headed East for Easter Week. Destination - Budapest, Hungary. I had never been to Hungary or any of the Central European countries except Austria so it was a new experience. I began with an overnight in Cologne, Germany. Unfortunately many things were closed on Monday and I only had a short afternoon in town. In addition, the weather was cold, rainy and I woke up to light snow on Tuesday morning. This picture is the famous Cologne Cathedral which is one of the few buildings not heavily damaged by bombing during World War II. It houses the relics of the Three Kings who came to adore the infant Jesus. (Check Matthew's Gospel if you want the whole story!) It is very dark on the outside but is typical of Gothic architecture - tall, inspiring and very beautiful. It is hard to believe that these Gothic buildings were built in the 12th - 15th centuries. Notre Dame and Sainte Chappele are other examples of Gothic architecture. As is Ely Cathedral. All of which can be seen in earlier posts. Unfortunately most are not conducive to pictures inside because the windows do not let in a lot of light. After seeing the Cathedral and treasury I walked around town for a bit. I had dinner along the Rhine river - sausage, sauerkraut and potatoes - just like growing up (the food, not the setting!). I turned in fairly early since I had to get up for an early train the next day.
As I made my way to the train station I saw the light snow on the ground. Throughout the day I would see snow as we travelled across Germany and Austria. In some valleys it was green and then we would go through a tunnel and it would be snowing. A very wierd day weather-wise.
Finally, I made it to Budapest about 9 p.m. and checked into a hotel near the station. The next morning I began to walk to the hotel where I was to meet Fr. Bernie Nolan who was travelling by air rather than train. The map looked like a straight shot down to the hotel but there were several underground passages in order to traverse streets. Unfortunately, I took a wrong turn as I came up one of them and ended up going in the wrong direction. By the time I realized it I had travelled a fair way and had to wind my way around until I got to the hotel. What should have been a 20 minute walk turned into an hour and a half! I took a taxi to the train station on the way out of town.
That day we took a little walk to get our bearings and made some decisions as to what to see. The more I travel the more I find that to run from place to place and try to see everything just tires me out and I lose track of what I am seeing. I prefer to choose a few things to see, spend more time and get a feel for the city and the culture. I figure I always want to leave a couple things to see the next time I visit. Of course, who knows if I will get back but it does make it a little more manageable for me.
We spent one day along the Danube. Budapest is really two cities - Buda and Pest. We stayed in Pest. They were linked only in the 19th century and became one city. I suspect if we had had more time we would have been able to recognize the differences in culture and approach between the two cities. On the hill in Buda is the castle. This view shows Pest from the hill top. There is a beautiful church on the hill - St. Matthias. The interior walls are covered with decorations. It was incredible. We also visited the history museum and saw an exhibit about Matthias Corvinus who was an early ruler of the area. That afternoon we took a cruise on the Danube which had a nice commentary about the history and culture of the two cities.
The next day we visited the Synagogue. It is the second largest synagogue in Europe. Space for 3000 to sit and 3000 to stand. It was most impressive as you can see from the picture of the entry portal. We took a tour which explained the construction of the synagogue, how it is used and a little about the history of the Jews in Hungary. Of course, many were killed in the camps during World War II. There was also a memorial garden and a small museum with Jewish artifacts. The tour guide explained how they were used in Jewish daily life and worship.
On Sunday morning we went to Mass at St. Stephen's Basilica which you see here. Of course Mass was in Hungarian so we did not understand the homily, etc. The music was very nice and a magnificent organ postlude. There were both pews on a platform raised off the floor about two inches and chairs. The pews were in the front and the chairs behind. We noticed most of the folks coming in and taking places in the pews - sitting in the front of the church, not a very Catholic way of doing things! However, as Mass proceeded we definitely felt the chill in the air. We began to suspect that the space under the pews was heated which would account for the premium people placed on those seats. I don't know if it is true or not but it seems possible. The rest of the day was spent walking through a street fair, eating lunch and preparing to leave. I left Budapest for Vienna midafternoon and from there caught the sleeper train to Rome. I had reserved a double sleeping compartment and had it all to my self. Nice!
Watch the coming days for our adventures in Rome.
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