Today is our last day in Budapest, and Hungary for that matter.  Tomorrow morning, bright and early, we hop on a 10 hour train ride through the Hungarian and then Romanian country side where we will end up in the city of Sibiu, Romania.

Today we wanted to take it easy, see a few things that hadn’t had the chance to yet, including the Dohány Street Synagogue and adjacent Tree of Life Memorial.  The Synagogue is the second largest in the world, behind the Temple Emanu-El in New York City.

We decided that we didn’t really want to pay the entry fee, or the fee to take photographs, so we opted to walk the perimeter, as we had read about the Tree of Life around the back and really wanted to see it.  The Synagogue housed thousands of persecuted Jews during WWII and was part of the Budapest Ghetto.  About two thousand Jews died during the winter of 1944/1945 and were buried in a mass grave in the courtyard, which is now a memorial garden.

We headed around back to find that the Tree of Life (officially known as the Memorial of the Hungarian Jewish Martyrs) was fenced off, so we had to observe from behind a gate. The Tree of Life is a steel structure in the shape of a weeping willow, designed by Imre Varga.  The shape also represents an upside down menorah.  Each leaf bears the name of a Hungarian Jew killed by the regime, and in the middle is a special memorial to Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat who took the position of ambassador in Hungary and used his powers to issue Swedish passports to persecuted Jews during the War, effectively saving tens of thousands.  Sadly, Wallenberg was accused of being a spy by Soviet Forces, arrested and eventually executed.

We thought that the memorial was beautiful and thoughtful, and a shame that you had to pay to approach it and really admire and give it the respect it deserves.

After the synagogue, we got back on the subway and travelled one stop to Deák Utca because Pa had read about a really cute ice cream place where your cone looks like a rose.  On the walk to the shop we noticed a sign that said BUDA FCKN PEST.  Intrigued, we went in and found clothing, underpants, shot glasses, lanyards, all sorts of merchandise bearing that slogan.  So naturally, I bought a night shift appropriate t shirt.

We found the ice cream place called Gelarto Rosa and HAD to get 2 different flavours to show the contrast of the flower, of course.

We finished our ice creams and ambled through the square at St Istvan Basilica where there was a chocolate festival taking place.  There were stall upon stall of vendors selling, chocolate, cakes, jelly beans, donuts, waffles and even some sausage and burger stands.  We grabbed a seat at a cafe and had some drinks and people watched the festival revellers and tour groups.

Next we headed to Liberty Park, a large green space with monuments dedicated to the uprising of 1956 as well as several heavily Soviet inspired anti-fascist pieces.  There was also a fountain in the shape of a square that had sensors so that if you got close, the water would turn off for a few seconds so you could step into the middle of it.

After a pit stop at our hotel to pack our things for the train ride tomorrow, we picked up provisions at a nearby grocery store (pretty much just beer and candy) and headed to dinner, back to the Budapest Biztro as it was close to our B&B and offered authentic Hungarian cuisine.  For our last meal in Budapest we dined on gulyás, dobos torte and palinka in the shadow of the illuminated Parliament building.

Today we woke up to another warm and sunny day in Budapest.  We decided that after breakfast, we were going to take the M1 Metro Line to Heroes Square, the very end of Andrassy Utca, which is like Budapest’s Champs Elysées.

The M1 Metro Line is significant as it is the oldest underground metro line in continental Europe.  Although they don’t have the beautiful art deco signage that the Paris Metro has, the M1 is very nicely built and maintained, fast and clean, and unlike the Paris Metro (and the Skytrain, for that matter), doesn’t smell like piss and armpit.

Getting off the M1, we headed above ground to the vast Hösök Tere, or Heroes Square, a monument erected in 1896 to commemorate Hungarian heroes such as the 7 Magyar founders at the base of the column, notable leaders between the columns, odes to war, glory and knowledge, work and wealth, and peace along the top, and finally the Archangel Gabriel at the top of the centre pillar, holding the Hungarian holy crown in his hands.

After ogling the grandeur for a bit, we hopped back on the M1 and exited at the Oktagon, which is a major intersection and not some sort of fighting ring.  Hopping on another tram, we headed south until we reached the opulent New York Cafe.

The cafe is an hommage to the Hapsburg years of yore, and we all agreed that it had a similar feel to the Sacher Cafe in Vienna.  The menu boasts some breakfast items but the establishment is more notable for its desserts, so Ma had some cake and Pa and I each had an ice cream sundae.

Soon after we ordered, the band in the corner started to play, and of COURSE they played the Danube Waltz by Johann Strauss.  The whole situation – fancy, overpriced dessert, ostentatious surroundings, and schmaltzy Austrian music – put the biggest grin on my face.  The place was full of tourists and a large group of them couldn’t seem to get enough of the band, clapping on 1 and 3 to If I Were a Rich Man.

After 20 minutes and some tunes by Hungary’s native son and fan of diminished sevenths Franz Lizst, the band took a break and out came the pianist, playing hits by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber and Burt Bacharach (sadly did not take requests so I couldn’t hear the lounge piano version of Little Red Corvette).

We finished our desserts and lemonades, paid the hilariously expensive bill, and were back in the sunshine in the 21st century, heading back towards the Oktagon and Andrassy Utca.  We decided we wanted to stroll down Andrassy and peer into the windows of all the fancy watch and shoe shops, and popped into the Hungarian State Opera house:

After some more ambling, we decided to find the home base for what our activity would be later in the afternoon – a Danube craft beer river cruise.  We still had a bit of time to kill, so we grabbed a shady table on a beautiful patio, sipped on green apple lemonades, ate some fries with mayonnaise and people watched (were also unreasonably enthralled by the city worker repairing a wonky area of cobblestone).

When it was time, we met up with our group and headed for the boat at the base of the Chain Bridge.  On this cruise, we were to each get 5 beers and then we could pick a full bottle of our favourite to have at the end but because Ma doesn’t care for beer, Pa and I split her share.  This experience had two of my favourite things – beer and boat cruises.

I guess not everyone had a great time.

It was cool to be able to see some of things we’ve already seen from a different angle, and also see some of the things we wouldn’t be able to fit in due to time constraints.  After 1 1/2 hours and around 7 1/2 beers, Ma and Pa helped me back to the B&B so that I could drink some water, send an embarrassing text or two, and sweat out some of the boat cruise, and dry up enough to write a somewhat comprehendible blog post.

In my jet lagged state I totally forgot to write about the show we witnessed at Pearson Airport.  So here it goes:

Because we had a 5 hour layover, we decided to see up camp at our terminal and read for a bit.  We were sharing the terminal with people who were flying to Lima, Peru, so the area was full of crunchy granola-type, dreadlocked individuals.  Lots of talk about the universe and how humans produce ENERGY that attracts OTHER HUMANS, etc etc.  So then the Peru people get their boarding call, line up and board.  OR SO WE THOUGHT.  My back was to the gate, so I couldn’t see who was coming or going, but I soon heard what I thought was soft laughter coming from the gate, but it soon got a bit louder, followed by a “please.  PLEASE.  You HAVE to let me on.  PLEASE!”.  So I turn around, and here is one of our blonde patchouli scented travellers, pleading with Air Canada staff.  The soft sobbing and begging escalated quickly into absolute HYSTERICS, probably more hysterical than anything I’ve heard on the phone at my job, and I get yelled at professionally.  She started raising her voice and crying even harder, “PLEASE.  I PAID SO MUCH MONEY FOR THIS FLIGHT.  YOU HAVE TO LET ME ON!  (SOB SOB) YOU HAVE TO LET ME ON!”  At this point Ma, Pa and I assumed that she had gotten there too late, which we thought was odd because we had seen here waiting there with everyone else.  She then started to almost scream “I HAVE BEEN TO 13 COUNTRIES.  WHYYY.  THERE MUST BE SOMETHING I CAN DO.  (SOB SOB, SIGH, SOB).”  I thought that security was going to have to come because it was getting out of hand, and the histrionics were making me feel pretty uncomfortable.  She then did that thing that some people do where they call someone and put them on speaker phone for all to hear, so as she’s marching out, screaming and crying, we hear her tell someone “THEY WONT LET ME ON BECAUSE MY PASSPORT HAS WATER DAMAGE!!  AH-BWAAHHHH HAWWW HAWW”.

So I supposed the lesson to be learned here is keep your passport in a cool dry place, as per the instructions within the passport (although, that may be the part that incurred the water damage so she couldn’t read it).

This morning we woke up bright and early.  Really early.  So we were able to get ready for the day slowly and leisurely and decided we were going to have a day where we didn’t do or see much.  Which ended up being a lie.

Before I delve into the day, here are my initial impression of Hungarians: First of all, they are INSANE drivers.  We’re learned that in order to get anywhere, you have to be a very aggressive pedestrian.  Secondly, Hungarians are warm and genial people.  Everyone we’ve talked to so far has been very friendly and seem to know some things about Vancouver.

The first thing we decided to do today was to check out the outside of Budapest’s famous Parliament building.  For a fan of gothic architecture such as myself, I was excited to see the building up close, and I was not disappointed.  There is beautiful little ornate detail all over the building, even included in the wrought iron gates.

We walked in front of the building, which faces the Danube (of Blue Danube fame.  Spoiler – it’s not blue) and offers a great view of the Chain Bridge (Szechenyi Ianchid) and the Buda side of the river (we stayed on the Pest side.  Since Buda + Pest).

The Chain Bridge was building the 1800s by a Scot and destroyed twice, the most recently being by the Nazis in WWII.

After checking out the outside of Parliament we ambled down the riverside promenade to get to the Chain Bridge.

One of the things that we wanted to see in Budapest we came across on our walk of the promenade – the Shoes Monument.  The art installation is several dozen pairs of bronze shoes affixed to the promenade banks to represent the Hungarian Jews who were massacred by the fascists, shot along the Danube and left to fall in and let the current take them away in 1944 and 1945.  I expected it to be very sad, but it turned out to be a devastating memorial – just a row of empty shoes, some adorned with flowers, others with stones.

Once arriving at the Chain Bridge we decided to cross it later in the afternoon, so we instead bought our train tickets for our train ride into Romania on Saturday, and then walked the long and touristy pedestrian only street of Vaci Utca.  Our innkeeper told us to avoid eating or buying anything on Vaci as it’s just a tourist trap, so we just walked the length of it, dodging workers trying to pawn off Dead Sea soaps and Thai massage.

At the end of Vaci Utca is where we wanted to end up for lunch, pretty much right at lunchtime – the Great Market Hall.  For my Vancouver friends, picture Granville Island Market but cleaner, with less fish and more chatchki.  The Market is actually a functional place where locals go to buy produce, meats, cheeses, tea and of course, paprika.

The upper level of the Market houses all the trinkets you could ever want to buy in Budapest – communist kitsch t shirts, shot glasses, lace, folk art, magnets and more – but it also houses a few places to eat, which is where I got my first try of a real, classic Hungarian meal – Goulash (or gulyás as it’s spelled here).  For those of you who are unaware, goulash is a soup made of a delicious red broth of paprika and beef, potatoes and some vegetables (I think I found a carrot!).  Ma, Pa and I all decided to partake and remarked at the delicious, slightly hot flavour of the the soup.

We picked up a few paprika souvenirs and left the hall, bearing left so I could get a shot of the stunning Szabadság hid, or in English, Liberty Bridge.  Although the Chain Bridge is famous and quite beautiful, I LOVE the Liberty Bridge because it is everything I love in Art Deco Architecture – fashion and function.

We decided it was time to cross over to the Buda side of the city, so we took one of the delightful little yellow trams (pictured above) back to the Chain Bridge and crossed it on foot.  It was amazing to see how broad the Danube actually is and to count all of the Viking-type cruise ships moored along the banks.  The bridge itself is wonderful, and is guarded by two lions on each end.  I loved the lions because they reminded me of my favourite bridge back home – the Lion’s Gate – but these Budapest lions represent strength, a characteristic I would heartily agree fits the Hungarian people after what was a brutal 20th century for them.

Once on the Buda side, we walked directly towards one of Pa’s priorities on this trip – the funicular.  Pa LOVES funiculars.  Today I asked him why he doesn’t like cable cars as much – they’re not on a track.  Then I asked why he doesn’t like trams as much – they don’t go uphill.  I suppose something about a track that goes uphill that captivates him (engineers, am I right?).

After our very short and very uneventful funicular ride up the hill, we decided to check out Buda Castle.  Apparently the inside is pretty drab, so we walked the courtyard and then noticed a cafe – with ice cold beer and everything, overlooking the Danube with a view of the Pest side.  We grabbed a table in the shade (by this point it was pretty hot out), ordered some cold ones and relaxed.

We paid our lovely waiter and hoofed it over to two big Budapest landmarks – Matthias Church and Fisherman’s Bastion.  Fisherman’s Bastion is a white structure with 7 turrets representing the 7 Margyar who were led to the area by the Turul (eagle) and where the Turul dropped his sword is where they founded Budapest.  The structure itself is pretty cool, but VERY popular with tourists, so it was an ‘elbows out, I wish I had learned to say MOVE in 50 different languages’ situation.

We were starting to slow down at this point, the heat and the jet lag starting to get to us, so we hopped a bus and headed back over the Chain Bridge, then onto the tram and back to our hotel to rest up before dinner.

For dinner we headed to a restaurant recommended by our innkeeper, a place called Budapest Biztro where I had another local delicacy, chicken paprikas, which is roasted chicken in a creamy paprika sauce – excellent.

Aaaand we’re off!  Day 1 of Ma, Pa and my 2017 Eastern Europe fantasy and friends, I cannot guarantee this blog post will be of any high quality or standard due to lack of quality sleep.

We left Langley for YVR at 0300hrs, flight left for Toronto Pearson at 0700hrs PST and arrived in Toronto at noon.  We had a 5 hour layover (where we witnessed a SHOW, more on that at the end) and boarded the Toronto to Budapest flight.  What we didn’t realize, is that our travel agent booked us with Air Canada Rouge, their discount airline, and they definitely took the label “discount” to heart!  After 8 hours of TV free flying under our belts, we arrived in Budapest at 1230 hrs, grabbed a cab and checked into our residence for the next 4 days, Anabelle Bed and Breakfast.  We decided that, because we were travelling for so long, we wanted to do something relaxing, so we had lunch at Budapest’s Gozsdu Udvar, which is essentially an outdoor, partially covered bar mall.

We decided on this cute little place with vibrant tiles and floral tables.  Pa and I partook in our first beers of the trip, and Ma and I had crêpe sushi for lunch.

After our meal we were totally exhausted but didn’t want to return to the hotel as we wanted to try and stay up to a relatively normal time (currently failing at that.  It’s 1800hrs and I’ve fallen asleep on my keyboard no less than 4 times) so we decided to check out a low key, low energy landmark in Budapest – a ruin pub.  Ruin pubs were the city’s solution to dark and dank alleyways and courtyard type spaces.  We went to the original – Szimpla Kert.  Szimpla Kert is tucked down a little side street, decorated in, well, junk.

A small hallway offering bathrooms and hookah lead to an open 2 level courtyard full of benches and high tables.  We grabbed a bench and ordered a few beers, still desperately trying to stay vertical.  Besides being so sleepy, we really enjoyed the space and atmosphere – very chill, people brought their dogs, no one seemed to bother each other.

We found ourselves a cab with perhaps the most delightful driver (“Ah!  Vancouver!  With the Olympics and the peoples and the Canucks hockey!  Toronto has a hockey too!”) and headed back to our beautiful little B&B, tucked into a building right beside Parliament.  We tried our best to watch some TV, chat, write, read, SOMETHING to stay awake, but Pa was snoring literally 15 seconds after hitting a chair and by 1900hrs, I couldn’t take it any longer, crawled into bed and was asleep instantly.

Valentine’s Day was a grey one.  This year Vancouver saw an unusual amount of snow and Valentine’s Day was in the middle of one of the melts.  I headed down to my favourite spot (Spanish Banks), but decided to shoot closer to the city at Locarno Beach.  It was cool, wet, a little breezy and there was a bald eagle, out for the hunt.

I particularly like the last shot in this set because it kind of sums up Vancouver pretty well – beach, ocean, mountain.

As previously mentioned, by favourite place to shoot in Vancouver is from Spanish Banks.  Mostly because it’s beautiful, but I’ll admit, it’s easy for me to get to and there’s always lots of parking.  However, on a dreary December day I decided that I would bite the bullet and try Kits Beach.  As it turns out, it is also easy to get to and there’s parking there as well (at least in December).  What Kits Beach offers that Spanish Banks don’t is a closer view of Downtown.  There is also a different angle of the city and the beaches, so it was fun to get some different views.  Another added bonus, I met SO MANY dogs!

I stayed there for a few hours and caught the gloomy sunset.

Well, it’s been almost 6 months since we came back from Germany and the reason I didn’t post our last day was because I had run out of gigs for photos on this blog server and had to buy more!  I finally bit the bullet and decided to do it, so here, finally is our last day in Germany, spent on Museum Island at both the Pergamon Museum and the Neues Museum followed by riverside pizza lunch…

…then I creeped on THE most beautiful bride I’d ever seen…seriously, everything was perfection…

Then we spent the afternoon at the East Side Gallery, the famous stretch of Berlin wall that is now covered in street art.  East Berlin definitely had a different vibe than the east side, a little younger, edgier and hipper.

After walking the length the Gallery, we hopped on the S-bahn and headed back towards the Brandenburg Gate for one last look and to spend some time in the emotional and sobering Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.  The memorial is rows of rectangular concrete slabs set on uneven ground.  The number of slabs isn’t representative of anything, but when you walk into the middle of the memorial, the city around you disappears and you’re surrounded only by what looks like coffins.

After paying our respects we got back on the S-bahn and headed back to the Charlottenburg neighbourhood for dinner and sleep.