13 Nov '10
Interesting points:
-Hungarians are related to Attila the Hun
-Buda is Attila's brother
-Budapest was originally known as Pestbuda. They changed the name simply because Budapest sounds nicer.
After breakfast, we headed for Budapest, Hungary. We were supposed to stop in Gyor, but Katka decided that there was no time for that, so we headed straight to Danubius Hotel, which is a nicer hotel that the first.
We had lunch, then went to Momento Park, which was filled with many statues from the communist era. We also went to St Stephen's Cathedral to admire the grand interior. The nearby souvenir shop which these gorgeous but super expensive carved and painted eggs - gorgeous but super expensive. I got Mum 2 embroidered doilies.
After dinner, we went for the Chopin recital at Palace of Art. I sat between Ms Chuah and Mei, both of whom kept falling asleep. Everyone was falling asleep actually. I felt pretty dead myself, except a sweet I took during the interval kept me awake in the next half. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't exciting and I guess we were all jetlagged.
14 Nov '10
Our first stop today was a synagogue. Or as our local Hungarian guide Maria Gabriella pronounced it, zynagogue. Within the area of the synagogue, which had been inside a ghetto, there lay the graves of many Jews who had died during WWII. We also saw the remains of the ghetto wall.
We then went to a church, beside which sat a statue named Anonymous who is supposed to give you fortune in love when you touch her pen.
After that, we headed to Hero's Square.
The next stop was House of Terror, which was about life under the communist regime in Hungary.
We then headed for lunch. While leaving the restaurant, the bus got stuck at a dead end in a road and tried to turn, but a car was in the way. Martin, our bus driver, went out and literally lifted the car onto the curb! Funniest moment ever! (And Maria Gabriella said that a Hungarian's favourite pasttime is to park wherever he wants.)
We then went to the Holocaust Memorial Centre.
After that, we went to a music museum, then Mathiass Church, and then the Fisherman's Bastion. Gorgeous fairytale-y towers! I bought some marzipan for the family there.
We went back to the hotel for dinner, then went for the Gone With the Wind ballet. I was falling asleep during Act 1 (jetlag) but after catching a nap during the interval, I remained wide awake for Acts 2 & 3. Intervals are amazing. If they had them earlier, I wouldn't have missed so much. Anyway, it was good, but it seemed like a ballet-mime meshed together, than a pure ballet. There was so much acting too - slapping, and gosh kissing, which I've never witnessed in a ballet.
It's funny how Hungarians clap in synchronised rhythm. They all fall into the same beat after a few seconds.
It's funny how Hungarians clap in synchronised rhythm. They all fall into the same beat after a few seconds.
15 Nov '10
We went to a cave today. It was perhaps a shade colder than the Australian cave our family visited last year. Also very wet - humidity level 98%. They played a "concert" for us, which was basically music and lights, while we enjoyed the cave's acoustics.
Outside the cave, there stood a playground made entirely out of wood and rope, the old-fashioned sort you might imagine children running about in in storybooks. The swings had a back, like a chair, so you wouldn't have to worry about falling backwards, only that made it hard to push yourself off the ground, so you needed someone else to do it for you.
Outside the cave, there stood a playground made entirely out of wood and rope, the old-fashioned sort you might imagine children running about in in storybooks. The swings had a back, like a chair, so you wouldn't have to worry about falling backwards, only that made it hard to push yourself off the ground, so you needed someone else to do it for you.
We spent the rest of the day on the bus because we crossed the border to Slovakia after the cave. Slovakia is really hilly and we took all the small roads. We've still got our tour task to finish: Write a short composition entitled 'One Day in Paradise' about a regular day in communist Budapest. Kim, Moon and Abigail are bunking over.
Subsequently, I neglected to write about the following days as they got busier. I merely noted that we later got into trouble over the bunking over, and that the John Williams concert we attended was marvelous, albeit I fell asleep during the Harry Potter part, again due to the jetlag. This resulted in Ms Tsien frowning at me and everyone beside me giggling. It was nevertheless a wonderful experience - hearing the movie music of John Williams being performed live is thrilling to say the least.
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