Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/587643
ByLeonardStohler My hotel was onDo- hany Street, the site of the rebuilt Dohany Syn- agogue. It is claimed to be the largest synagogue in Europe. It has an un- believable museum and tribute to estimates as high as 700,000 Hun- garian Jews who were killed by the Nazis. The "metal tree" which has the names of those mur- dered by the Nazis on its "leaves" is a memorable place to visit. The court- yard also has a memorial to those who helped Jews (their neighbors) escape the SS. I passed this syn- agogue as I left my ho- tel for the center of Pest. This is a Jewish area in the city of at least one other synagogue. The Prime Minister of Hun- gary since May, 2010, is Viktor Orban, of the na- tional conservative rul- ing party Fidesz. He seems to strongly favor the Roman Catholic heri- tage, however. Of course, a ruling party means it has more seats in parlia- ment than the other par- ties and does not mean a majority of Hungarians agree with his biases. On Gillert Hill, seen from almost anywhere is the Statue of Liberty. This area commemorates the victory of the Soviets over the Nazis. It is the only place in Budapest that the Soviets are recognized, I believe. Hungary gives credit to Ronald Rea- gan for its freedom from the Soviets in 1989. I per- sonally think it is a great symbol of freedom and most modern Hungarians see it as such. This area is a wonder- ful place to view the city above the Danube River with its major landmarks including the bridges. It is really a breathtak- ing view. From this van- tage point, I marveled as I stood in the midst of such beauty to recall its his- tory and wondered how it could be so wonderful after all the conquests it had experienced. Walking along the area where the famous Matth- ias Church you will find wonderful museums. I had fully intended to visit some of these museums but found that two days in Budapest were not enough. The view — the color of the roofs and the number of massive build- ings — left me almost breathless. Walking down from the Matthias Church area, I am able to view the mag- nificent parliament build- ing that was constructed in Neo-Gothic style after the Hungarians became a part of the Austrian Em- pire. They sought to build one greater than the one in Vienna (Wien) and they did. It is marvelous inside. It is also known as the Holy Hungarian Crown. I had taken a tour of it that morning. Before I left on the trip, I planned to return to the river after dark to take photos of the Chain Bridge and hillside. I had taken my own tripod, not realizing that the soft- ware in my new camera made that mostly unnec- essary, as it took 4 rapid pictures and then merged them together into a rather sharp photo. On this trip, I decided I could find the river by de- viating from the marked route. What a mistake! Those streets did not lead to where I thought. It is a triangulation nightmare as the streets and the river got the best of me and I was lost, not find- ing the river. I did end up at a square with a beauti- ful Catholic Church with people celebrating mass. Across the square was a California Coffee Com- pany Café where I got my bearings after using the compass on my iPhone and consulting the map I had. So I arrive at the river at the Intercontinental Hotel where we had met for the tour the day be- fore. What a surprise I found there. There is quite a distance from the entrance of the hotel to the street. There were many prostitutes mak- ing their offers in that space. I hurried to the river's edge and got the two photos shown. Un- der the Chain Bridge I came upon the only non- refugee homeless person I saw in Europe, asleep under a blanket. After spending some time en- joying the views of this magnificent city, I started back. After passing the hotel, I entered into a covered area next to the street about tw0 blocks long and immediately I heard the sound of high heels behind me. They were getting closer. I re- alized what was happen- ing and then the "lady" was beside me. I shook my head no, continuing to walk on. I then could see the Ferris wheel. I had taken a trip on it the night be- fore after eating dinner nearby as I wanted to see the city from a high van- tage point. It was a great ride, but it stopped just short of my carriage, so I did not get the view I had hoped for. I could see to the sides but not straight ahead. As I walked ahead, the Ferris wheel was some distance to the right, but Dohany Street was not easily found. I came upon four young Ameri- can women waiting for a green light. Together, we tried to find out where I needed to go after we had gone across the intersec- tion. We were in agree- ment that I needed to re- cross the street and then continue to the right. I did that and soon passed bars and stores I recog- nized. Finally, I get to my hotel after an eventful evening. An observation I made is that a large num- ber of the younger peo- ple in Budapest spend their evenings drink- ing and smoking. There were many single people in groups but lots of cou- ples also. It is a romantic city. They are not allowed to smoke inside so they go outside. As I walked down the sidewalks there were several out- side smoking. The side- walks are often narrow so I had to walk around them. The weather was so grand that I liked to eat outside, but several times the smoke was a real nui- sance to me. TRAVELOGUE Budapest:Whataconflictedandbeautifulcity,partII PHOTOSBYLEONARDSTOHLER Gillel Hill Refugee migrants BUDAPEST » PAGE 7 | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2015 6 A ★