Budapest

Have a list of what to do yet in Budapest and time to get started. First the Jewish walking tour of Budapest. The Jewish section which is now quite small after WW11 is close to my apartment. Met the group of about 20-25 at 10AM. The first hour was the history of Jews in Hungary (Summary: protected by Germany {as Hungary was allied with the Axis powers} until almost the end of the war, 1944, when the Hungarian government was thinking about "changing sides" - then Budapest was occupied and estimates of 600,000 Jews transported and/or killed in 6 weeks) and sites of synagogues in Budapest. The 2nd half of the tour included the very recent past 5-6 years in the development of the Jewish sector with restaurants and Ruin Bars. Many of the old alley ways, now lined with cafes and bars. The newest fad in Budapest is the Ruin Bars. They are old dilapidated buildings that have been turned into quirky, fascinating bars and are hugely popular. We visited the original - Szimpla - it is many levels, amazingly decorated with pop art and old furniture. Many have warrens and mazes that open into courtyards. Check on-line for images as this explanation is inadequate. I plan on visiting again Saturday night. And yes, for those of you who look at pictures first, the Rubik's cube was invented by a Hungarian

Then to the Central Market. A very large building and hundreds of stalls and vendors. It seems to go on forever. Their "food court" was a zoo of many stalls with delicious looking food - so hard to choose. I ended up going to a cafeteria (more places to sit) and had a goulash tasting menu. (3 types of goulash and some sauerkraut and pickles. Apparently there are a lot of ways to make goulash. Wandered the market for awhile, buying the obligatory paprika and back to home to do a wash. Need time for it to dry on a rack before I leave on Sunday.

Out in the early evening for a classical music concert at the Matthias Church. (Picture posted previously). This was all strings - 4 violins, a cello and a bass. It was terrific. Most all well know classical music. Out to find dinner. Public transport here is great, combination of trams, buses and metro - and inexpensive. Went to an area near my place that I had not yet explored and had a late evening salad with some good Sauvignon Blanc.

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