Budapest by Day

Last night, with all of her Christmas lights, blazing, Budapest was magical. Today in the daylight, she was no less wonderful. Actually, this place is two cities – Buda on the right bank, and Pest on the left bank of the Danube River. Here, in the Hungarian language, they call the river the Donau.

We started on the Buda side, older, greener, more elegant, and more mountainous than the area across the river. The castle district was itself a Christmas card. The spire of Saint Matthias Church caps a dozen stunning neoclassical buildings scattered around its base. Actually, these old monumental structures are new, but no less classic than the identical structures they replaced. Many of the palaces here built in the 18th and 19th centuries were destroyed in World War II. The country is in the middle of a 25-year-long program to rebuild these glorious old buildings exactly as they were when they were new. The result is striking. Some of these buildings now house government departments. Others are office buildings. All are majestically, beautiful.

The government is careful to consult old drawings and engravings, assuring that the new buildings are exact replicas of their predecessors. Through her connections with the Hilton family, Hungarian actress Zsa Zsa Gabor arranged for the construction of one of these old palaces as a hotel even while the communist regime was still in control here. As they were rebuilding the structure, the builders discovered the ruins of an old monastery beneath the palace. They rebuilt it, monastery, and all, and now it looks as though it has been standing there since good king Stephen cut his teeth.

The pest side of Budapest, (pronounced pesht) is the flatter commercial side of the city that contains Hungary‘s wedding-cake parliament building.

We stopped again at the most powerful monument I’ve ever seen, the somber “Shoes on the Danube.” In 1944 the Hungarian Arrow Militia, controlled by a Nazi army, brought Jews here to the riverside, about 100 at a time. They removed their victims’ shoes, which were valuable. Executioners tied Jews together, stood them by the river, and shot every other person. They fell into the river, pulling their neighbors with them. Thus, the militia killed over 3,000 Jews, using half of that many bullets, saving ammunition. Now bronze replicas of 1940-era shoes sit silently on the sidewalk, lining the riverbank. They give silent, powerful testimony of man’s inhumanity to man.

We passed the elegant Opera House with its façade featuring native son Franz Liszt, the very first superstar in the western world. At the piano keyboard he shook his glorious mane, making women faint at his concerts.

From there we were taken to the Heroes’ Monument honoring the Magyar rulers who occupied this area in the year 896. Now there are monumental statues, art museums, and a busy ice-skating rink in the huge plaza. In warmer seasons the ice rink is a shallow lake where picnickers can rent rowboats.

We wound up at the Christmas market at Saint Stephen’s Basilica, which we found by accident last night by just snooping around the city. What an extraordinary and Beautiful place Budapest is! It’s artistic and cultural contributions to our world our virtually incalculable. It is such a blessing to come to this remarkable place!Read more