Budapest Hungary

Great Synagogue
Holocaust Memorial
Citadel

Danube Flooding
Labyrinth

Statue Park
Szechenyi Baths
Vizsla Dog

Great Synagogue: This is the largest Synagogue in Europe and was built between 1854-1859. It has three naves. Following orthodox tradition, it has separate galleries for women. It can accommodate up to 3,000 worshippers. Eddie had to wear an yarmulke on his head in order to enter.

Holocaust Memorial: The sculpture of a weeping willow was unveiled in 1991 in memory of the 600,000 Hungarian Jews killed by the Nazis in World War II.

Each leaf of the willow contains the name of one of the victims. These are photos of 3 of the several plaques at the base of the memorial.

The rocks placed in the containers represent prayers for the person.

Citadel: After the suppression of the uprising of 1848-1849, the Habsburgs decided to build a fortification on this strategic site. Constructed in 1850-1854, the Citadel housed 60 cannons, which could, in theory, fire on the city at any time. In reality, from its very inception the Citadel did not fulfill any real military requirements, but served rather as a means of intimidating the population.

The Liberation Monument statues are located at the Citadel. They commemorate the liberation of Budapest by the Russian army in 1945. The center statue is a woman holding a palm leaf, while the other statues represent 'Progress' and 'The Battle of Good and Evil'.

The arrival of the Russians in Budapest was a liberation but also the beginning of Soviet rule. After Communism's fall, a figure of a Russian soldier was removed from the monument to Statue Park.

Danube Flooding: These are some photos of the Danube river starting to rise and flood. When we arrived, it was not flooding, by moving very fast. When we returned from Vienna 4 days later, it was just beginning to flood. We talked to our friend Rita who lives in Budapest and she said it floods every spring and would get much worse.

Labyrinth: The Labyrinth is located on Castle Hill on Lord's street. House number 9 is the entrance. This is an expansive complex of cellars, dungeons, springs and caves that run beneath Castle Hill. We really had a good time exploring this area. it's very cool and has water dripping from the ceiling in the caves.

At the end, before you exit through one of the two small doors, be sure to first take the larger door to the right and enter the completely dark area. In this area, after your eyes adjust, you must find the sun by following the pinpoints of light.

Statue Park: In 1991, Budapest's City Council decided to gather in one place 41 Communist monuments which had formerly occupied prestigious locations in the city. Behind a red-brick wall, six rings of monuments are arranged on the site. There are statues of Karl Marx, Lenin, and others. A statue of a Russian soldier removed from the Liberation Monument can also be seen in the park.

The park has its own shop which sells books, posters and other paraphernalia connected with the Communist era.

Szechenyi Baths: These baths are the deepest and hottest in Budapest. The water reaches the surface at a temperature of 180 F. We spent a couple hours at the baths one day just relaxing. We really enjoyed this and will definitely return next time we are in Budapest. Budapest has several thermal hot springs and this is just one of them. There are several different temperature pools from hot to extremely cold. There are also wave and bubbles pools. Here we saw men playing speedy chess in the pool. Yes, all the men seem to wear speedo's no matter how old or out of shape they may be. At the spa, you may also have body massages, mud therapy and other treatments.

Vizsla Dog: This is a Hungarian Vizsla. We really like this breed of dog and are considering one in the future. We had neighbors in Denver who had one and really liked it. They are smart and easy to train. Where we are living now in Windsor, we cannot have a dog; we will have to wait.

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