Our first full day in Budapest was quite an adventure. We purchased a family metro pass and jumped on the subway to the Dohany Stop. Dohany Street Synagogue is the second biggest in the world behind Temple Immanuel in NYC. It was built in the mid 1800’s and is still and active place of worship today. The Synagogue can hold 3,000 people and there is one Rabbi on staff.

We took a tour of the building and gardens. Liam and Robert had their hats, but Seamus was given a traditional Kippah to cover his head. Unlike in the Christian church where men remove their hats, in a Synagogue men must cover their heads. Faywen and I only had to cover our shoulders, which our dresses already did so.  The inside was very ornate with a main floor for the men and 2 levels of tiered balconies for the women and children. Placed near the front was the Ark containing the Torah and other holy Mikra as well as an ornate covering cloth, which was made of gold and red velvet.

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During WWII the Budapest Jewish Ghetto housed 220,000 Jews from the city and countryside. Many died from starvation, dysentery, were transported to nearby concentration camps, or were outright killed in the ghetto. Those who died in Budapest were buried in a mass grave in the Synagogue courtyard gardens.  Today it is a lovely memorial garden and contains the names of those who died.

Outside we saw three memorials. The first was a modern stain glass panel. The second was a plaque with engraved names of gentiles that helped save Jews from persecution. The third was a metal silver Holocaust Tree whose branches were an upside Menorah. The leaves were engraved with names. All three memorials sat in a pretty garden oasis in the midst of the city.

We visited the cellar museum, which had photos from the time period and then the Jewish Museum, which was next door. Inside the museum were artifacts from Jewish settlements from as far back as 300AD all the way through modern times. I liked the 12 stain glass windows from the old Budapest Jewish high school that survived the Communist takeover in the late 1940’s. I’m glad the kids were able to visit a real Synagogue and learn about Judaism in Budapest.

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After visiting the Synagogue we ate at a local Kosher Deli and then caught the subway to Hero’s Square. Built in the late 1800’s as a memorial to celebrate Hungary’s 1,000 yr. old birthday, the square depicts heros from Hungarian history. Victory stands holding her palm leaf of peace in the centre. The 7 great Magyar Chieftains of ancient Hungary surround her. The two colonnades have statues depicting Hungarian kings and saints.  

Behind the square was a lovely little lake and garden park. Along the edge of the park sat a quirky complex of buildings. Mr. Ignac, was a 19th century architect. As a tribute to the Hungarian people, he built Vajhandjan Castle for the millennial celebrations in 1896. It was originally made of cardboard and plaster. The display showed the various building styles from the 13-19^th centuries throughout Hungary. It was so popular with the people that wealthy entrepreneurs and even locals donated to have the structures constructed for real!  The buildings now house the Agricultural Museum, Concert Hall, and reception venues. The gardens were amazing and there were lovely statues of famous Hungarians, including one of the well-known early Hollywood actor, Bela Legosi! The cool park grass was also a nice place to take a short nap before walking to our next destination!

We took a short subway ride to the Opera House only to discover it was under renovation. From there we walked to Liszt Square. The composter was born in Hungary and the people still love his music! Ferenc or “Franz” Liszt was a flamboyant pianist and ladies man, the Elvis Presley of his time!

Nearby we had a delicious ice cream and meandered through Liberty Park, saw an ex-Soviet monument, the American Embassy, and the house of Janos Von Neumann (John Neumann) who was a very important mathematician and considered to be the father of Computer Science.

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Once back at our apartment we cooled off and rested before walking a block to a local restaurant called Mango Cowboy. It was there we discovered that Hungarian spices are really hot! Liam had the Hungarian BBQ wings. Needless to say I was fanning Liam as he sweated and turned red after eating a few of the wings. It was lovely sitting outside watching folks walk by and listening to the live Latin American music from the Peruvian café next door…truly a cross-cultural experience while sitting at a table in the streets of old Budapest.

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