Irish Promises....

Okay.

I promise.

Ireland story to come.

Promise.

Picture while you wait?

Tim Hortons? in Belfast? Really?








How about a flooding DUNA? (notice the water covered street sign?).

Bangor, Ward Park, County Down, Northern Ireland

That is where my destination was this weekend.

To get there I had to use three different currencies, cross one real border and two cell phone borders (well, I think based incomprehensible Hungarian cell phone company text messages indicating something about the price of using my phone). I had to take a plane, a train, a bus and several automobiles, and change time zones (and then all that on the way back). But I made it and it was awesome.

You're probably wondering what the heck possessed me to go to such great lengths to visit a town, well, a park, in outskirts of Belfast City....well, I went to see Snow Patrol......with a Vero, a friend I met in first year university from Argentina.

I booked a flight to Dublin way back when, and remembered that Vero was in Dublin, and well, that same weekend Snow Patrol was playing in Bangor, and well, when you are hop scotching around Europe with nothing more than a 20litre backpack, this is totally normal, right? Me, Vero, Augustina, Maria and Jimmy did it. (can you tell we are at a concert in Ireland?)

To start the purpose of this post (to tell about my adventures on the Emerald Isle), I first must talk about the concert.

It was AMAZING. Most people know Snow Patrol as the band who sings 'Chasing Cars' made famous by that one Grey's Anatomy episode year back.....but I have their whole album and they are awesome and well when Vero mentioned that they were going to be in Bangor playing an outdoor concert I thought it would be great to go an see them live. Several other NI bands were there too for the festival, including Lisa Hannigan, (who was like a fusion of Serena Ryder and Sarah Maclachlan) and she was amazing too!).

Now Back to Snow Patrol: The band, who met at university, actually hails from Northern Ireland (all I knew is that they were from the UK), the lead singer is actually from Bangor, where the concert was. You could just tell from his utter happiness throughout the concert, his constant smiling and bashful giddiness that he was proud to be home, playing to a sold out crowd, playing for his Parents and his three year old Niece, in an outdoor park, on his home turf. It was the first time I saw a rockstar genuinely smile on stage. You can just see it on his face....he's excited...

Did I mention that this concert was actually the biggest concert in the History of Northern Ireland? yup more than 40 000 strong, with least One Canadian, Two Argentinians and Two Venezuelans were there to hear them ROCK! ( this concert was bigger than U2!). So there we were, singing with Snow Patrol, right up close, and it was great. THere was even fireworks at the end (which I can say, was very unexpected).

There was also a moment that I realized that I was not in Canada any more. Yup, at the end of the concert, I said 'one more song', the crowd said "Play another jig, play another jig!, Play another jig!". The band came out, and played another three :).

(P.S. Entering the land of English speakers was fantastically wonderful too, you would not believe the detailed questions I asked people....just because I could...more about that later...)

It's June---cukrászda time!

SO I am a day late in posting this exciting news, but who cares, It's JUNE. Summer's coming (actually I hear it's arrived in Ontario at least), it's my birthday, its half way to Christmas, its almost through allergy season...its...its...JUNE :)

It's...... also raining here in Budapest. It has been raining for one week, but things are looking up as it promises to be 'partly clear' by Friday.

Hooray!

This afternoon I decided to walk home in the drizzly weather. I felt like I have been stuck inside for so long now, that I just needed some fresh air...however, walking home also makes me walk into temptation. That is right, the wonderful world of cukrászda's. These are pastry and cake shops, and unlike bakery's in centretown and Parkdale,---they sell cakes and Kremes and Meringues and cookies by the slice, piece, portion, and DB (decagram), with each one costing between 50 and 250 HUF. They also have the packaging down to a science, where they have figured out how to package said 'one' piece of cake in such a way that it can safety be taken home to be eaten in it's original form. (it is a plate, cellophane, Subway Sandwich/Harvey's style wrapping technique). Do you like the details?

I was telling my dad (and well, everyone) about the pastry smells in this city (trust me, you can't walk more than about a block without at least passing by a pastry chain called Princess or Fornetti..or a pékség for that matter....it is also impossible to get off a train at metro station and NOT see one (or smell) one at the top of the escalators...they bake them on site....) anyway, my dad reassured me that it is genetic, that my aunt and grandmother both could smell a bakery a mile away. I guess I have inherited this trait. :)


After walking over Margaret Hid, watching constructions going on the bridge, I decided to detour just on the pest side of the bridge. I had always noticed the bustling side streets while riding the tram, and I thought, 'hey, here's my chance'. However, soon enough, my detour found me right smack in front of the Vanillia cukrászda. A cute little pastry shop. I quickly examined the interior, and 'the goods' and the 'patrons'. The goodies looked scrumptious , and there was a good enough amount of locals inside to conclude that the place was good.

I thought about it for a second, thought about my health, my happiness, and the rain, and well, I just couldn't resist the wafting smells of butter, sugar, flour, creme, and yummy-ness. Plus, it was a learning experience, I do have to practice my Hungarian speaking and reading, right?

(On that note, I am getting better at ordering in three words or less, plus while I still understand pretty much nothing, I can now pronounce key pastry ordering syllabus and words such as 'SZ' which is a schhhhh sound, and Egy (like Egg), which means one (for full clarity, I also hold up my thumb, with is the non-verbal way of saying one, holding up 'the pointer' figure will get you two)). Kreme is (well I pronounce it like in french, and well, that seems to work :)). )

At the cukrászda, I couldn't decide between a Fluffy meringue biscotti shapped torta with a layer apricot and a square of chocolate cherry torta with custard, so I got both.

They are sitting in my fridge for dessert.... with noticeable bites marks missing ( Of course, taste testing is a must in these situations)... Perhaps when they reemerge I will take a picture for all interested parties.....

Monday Morning just got better!

Today is Monday. The first day of the week. (duh?).

Today is also the day that there were freebies on the metro. Yes, along with my free hungarian 'metro' newspaper (which I practice reading...er...pronoucing but not understanding...), I got a free pen! I have no idea what the company is for (it's called Algoflex FORTE), but it is neon green and it has a light up light bulb on top...in terms of free givaways---its pretty high up there on the list...I have been using it all morning....I am now the crazy intern with the flashing pen (I guess the 'freebie' part is the fact that the light sort of has a mind of it's own, and decides when it wants to light up and when it doesn't...so it has been going on and off all morning).

Today is also a new post day, where I should probably get everyone caught up on the weekend of festivities here in Budapest....this weekend was BIG in terms of European pop music. Yes, that is right. It was EuroVision! So, for those who are not familiar with Euro vision, it is a singing contest where EU countries, plus those in their surroundings (like Switzerland (who actually didn't make it to the finals)Bosnia and Herzegovina, Azerbaijan, Israel, Russia), all send a singer and a song to compete for the top prize. It was sort of like a mix between American idol and America's got talent....I never knew what to expect! Some of the acts were really good, while others were very high on the 'entertainment' factor.....I really liked Apricot Stone, by Romania....

However, the WINNER was Germany! The singer's name is Lena, and she sang the song 'Satellite ', an English language song....It it very very catchy! in fact, I have been playing it all day! "Like a satellite, I'm all around you' ...okay, here Here's the proper chorus....

(Tempo(2/4..i think): tune: da (rest). da.(rest)da.(rest) dadida.(quarter rest) da. (rest)da.da.dadida.) (if this makes no sense, please do us all a favour and YouTube it :))
The Lyrics:

Love, Oh, Love
I gotta tell you how I feel about you
Cause I, Oh, I Can't go a minute without your love
Like a satellite I'm in orbit all the way around you
And I would fall out into the night
Can't go a minute without your love"

I was introduced to Euro vision by some of the other interns in Budapest. We were all gathered at one of the interns flats, and had pizza, salad, Hannah Montana sour cream and onion rings (no I am not kidding, they also come in Disney's Cars theme as well), and had a grand ole time. Most (if not all) are from European countries, so they were all very happy to answer all my (rather silly and million detailed) questions, and of course give the cultural background, insights, and explanations throughout the whole show! There was also a Euro vision pop quiz. As I was an 'observer' for the night, I was paired up with a very knowledgeable delegate, who was an expert quiz master on the topic of Euro vision (and I got a bit of a history lesson). Euro vision has been going on for YEARS! (and to think, I thought American Idol was novel when it first entered the airwaves way back when....2002?)...I guess it did come from the British version of Pop Idol...but I didn't know that until after the fact anyway...

Euro vision ended around midnight, which is also about the time that the clubs and bars go a roaring! So we decided to go out to this outdoor club in Buda. It was slightly interesting. It looked and felt like an amusement park, you had to pay to get a ticket, then put it in the turnstile to enter the 'club' (it was all outdorr, so really to get onto the grounds), when you get inside there were portables that where the washrooms (like those makeshift outdoor concert washrooms). The place was designed so it has a much of 'dance floors' all playing different music. There are also several terraces/patios with chairs and bistro tables in between, every little 'stall/stand/hit' sold beer, soft drinks, and mixed drinks, and there were colourful flashing lights every where, one person person in the group labeled it 'an amusement park without rides', he captured the look and feel beautifully!.

The music was also incredibly....achlectic...It started out like a typical club, dance hall, playing the standard top of the Euro charts, Lady gaga, Timbaland, Micheal Jackson etc. Then, well, then it changed to Back Street Boys "As long as you love me". (and for those interested, I still remembered ALL of the words, including Nick and Bryan's solo's). When BB came on, I instantly had visions of Hooley's (the best worst bar ever in Ottawa). I thought to myself, "hey, maybe this place will be the best worst bar in Budapest).

Then, well, then that vision faded...as Hungarian pop music came on, followed by a very horrible cover of 'eye of the tiger'........the vision completely disappeared when Jail House Rock, followed by Jitterbug, then.....the beginnings of the soundtrack to GREASE LIGHTENING......was chosen by the DJ as the 'next play list'....at that point all Hooley's comparasons ceased....this was also when we decided to call it a night....we weren't party poppers per say...it was after 3 ! (I will note that the place was still a'boppin').

Sunday was filled with me traveling to Obuda, the 'old' part of Budapest where the Celts settled! (it started to rain, so I didn't get much exploring done). I went to a very very very (times a million) good bakery and got a pastry and headed home. I stopped at a the West End Mall, (which I think was probably the size down town Ottawa.....) and looked around. I had heard that the very first (and only) Starbucks in Hungary was there, and well, after the rain, and with a pastry in tow, nothing would have made that moment better than a Bold Drip Coffee (which is a rarity in Hungary, in fact, the only drip coffee I have seen is flavoured, and there have been two choices so far, they 'brew' one flavour a day, so far it's been Rum and Raisin and Chocolate Truffle....eeeeewwww.....). The Starbucks wasn't open yet (but later on I saw staff leaving, so perhaps, they were on a training day, which means it will open soon!).

Zsinagoga---The Great Synagogue

Budapest is home to the 2nd largest Synagogue in the world (behind New York City). I decided that it might be cool to check it out. I had never been inside a Synagogue before, and well, I didn't really know what to expect at all....so off I went. It was beautiful inside. It did look a lot like a a Christian church, with a couple of things that gave away it's synagogue-y-ness.

Before the Holocaust, 25% of the population of Budapest were Jewish, however, just two months after the Natzi invasion of Hungary, Jewish people were sent to Auschwitz, many of these people worshiped at this very synagogue. 600 000 Hungarian Jews were killed. After the war this synagogue lad vacant for 40 years. However, after the fall of communism, a renewed interest, and a lot of 'American Jewish donations ' (as the tour guide explained) completely restored the church to its original form. The Synagogue wasn't completely destroyed because the Natzi's used it for their own purposes. They attached antenna's to the top of the two towers, and stored horses in the nave.....

As the guided tour of the Synagogue was about 1 buck more than just paying to enter, I decided to take the tour. It was in English, and our tour guide was really cool. Her late father was recently awarded a special distinction for hiding Jews in the Budapest Ghetto during the Second World War. He was Catholic (she clarified that her mother was Jewish), and so from what I understood, he would have had more mobility and freedom (loosely defined here). Anyway, I was the only person in the group who had never been inside a Synagogue before, but it was okay as she went through the history of the building, and key historical facts directly related to this Synagogue. I was beside an Israeli women and her Rabbi husband on my left, and a Romanian man and his wife (who translated from English to Romanian). It was pretty fascinating.

The Synagogue was built in 1859 and is loosley designed based on the biblical descriptions of the Temple pf Solomon in Jerusalem. As this is the first time I've ever been to a Synagogue, I can't really speak to how this one looks so much more like a church than others, but I was assured that it did by several reliable sources. :)
One of the reasons why this synagogue does have many similarities with Christian churches is because it was supposed to be in recongition of the efforts for integration and assimilation of the Jews who moved and settled in Pest throughout the late 18th and 19th centuries. It is located in the old Jewish Quarter of Budapest (which was also the Ghetto that Jews were forced to live in during WWI).

The synagogue can hold something like 3000 people in one service. The men sit on the ground level, and the women and children sit on the 2nd and 3rd floors (on High Holy Days), but I am not sure if they sit separately on a regular basis. According to the tour guide, the seats in the upper galleries are designed in such a way that you can't actually see who is sitting on the ground floor (or who is across in the other galleries for that matter). She said that the reason why it's like it is because the purpose of prayer, is to prey, and well you can't do that properly if you are checking out who is here (and who isn't). I really liked this tour guide :). (the women in the green sweater was the tour guide).

Behind that red cloth that looks like an 'alter' (sorry I didn't catch the proper term for it)...there are 25 scared Torahs (For safe keeping, they were actually buried in a cemetery by Catholic priests during the war). The chairs that are in that area are reserved for VIP only (the tour guides words, not mine)You can also see the Organ (this is not an orthodox synagogue), which was played by Franz Liszt during the inauguration of the synagogue!

After the tour of the synagogue (with plenty more details :)), we were taken outside to a courtyard where there was a cemetary. Here is where the Jews buried those who died in the Budapest ghetto during the Holocaust. There are some headstones here, but there are actually thousands of people buried here. In the early 1990s (during the renovations), the public was allowed to come an etch the names of any family members that they new were buried here. The Jews were sealed into a ghetto (by large stone walls they had to build themselves) behind the Synagogue during the occupation, and had nothing, many perished.

The passage way leds to the Tree of Life, a memorial designed by Imre Varga. It is supposed to be an upsidedown mennorah, with 4 000 leaves, all etched with the name of a victim in the Holocaust. It was really intricate, and the garden itself was very quiet and peaceful.In the garden there are also other monuments to commorate not sure Jews who perished, but also non-Jews who saved Jews during the war. The most famous person (at least in Hungary), was the Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg who, during the war, saved something like 35 000 Jews from Hungary by issuing them 'travel passes', or 'Wallenberg Passports' and set up houses for the safe passage of Jews out of Hungary. they were deemed 'safe' as Wallenberg flew the flags of Sweden and other neutral countries in front of these houses. He also follow the death marches (where Jews were made to walk hundreds of miles to camps), as well as the trains to Auswitz, distributing food and clothes and even, pulling people off the trains. He was quite a man. Sadly, he was arrested by Soviet troops, and out of confusion was sent to a gulag, where they think he died. There is a grave in this garden (along with other people's names close by) as a memento to him. One of the names is the name of the father of the tour guide. After the 'tour' the tour guide went off course and took us to the place where the they found parts of the original Ghetto wall. They found it in a construction site......and rebuilt part of it. To give you an idea of how much history is literally in people's backyards, to get to the actual wall (and plaque), you have to go through the atrium of a private apartment building to basically the back of the house.

It's really neat that the history of this region old, yet also so new, so raw, and so much woven into the daily lives of people (whether they realize or not).

Parliament and Traffic....am I in Ottawa?

Hello Hello,

This weekend is a long weekend. You can tell because the city isn't as busy as normal. Lake Balaton isn't too far from Budapest (1.5 hours driving). Apparently this is where the 'locals' go in early summer (before it become too full of tourists). This weekend, I thought about doing a couple of day trips to some local towns outside of Budapest, but then I just decided to stay here and relax. The weather has been just gorgeous, and I have taken advantage of this. After work on Friday, I decided to go over to Leopold Town (where parliament is) and take in more sights around there. Really I find that area very pleasant just to roam around, and well it was so nice outside, I couldn't resist.

I took a tram that runs along the Danube, with perfect views of the Buda side of the city. I had to pinch myself to make sure that I was actually on the rickety old tram, speeding down the Danube river. It was such a great feeling. I got off a Kossuth Ter, and walked over to parliament. My first stop was the gate near the Danube.

There was a really neat statue there. It is of a famous Hungarian poet, and the statue is supposed to a reenactment of one of his poems, sitting beside the danube on a blistering hot summer day'. It was a pretty cool statue (the details were Fabu! it was kind of haunting actually). I must also note that the statues in this city are all that detailed! They are just great!

Then I walked up to a barrier to look at the Buda sky line. This is the barrier, and what I saw as I was approaching the barrier.

When I got there I was immediately taken out of tourist la la land when I saw there was a huge traffic jam...... and of course the source of the traffic jam (I, of course, took a picture). What I found most interesting about this (besides the hilarity of watching a man push a car down a one lane city highway, while cars mount behind him), was the fact that cars were backed up by miles, I heard not a single car horn. No one was screaming, no one was shouting. It was very odd. I bonded with the security guard, who also thought the whole situation was funny :).


Then I decided to wander.....I had my RS book with me, so I looked to see if there was anything interesting to near where I was. There was.


This is the Postal Savings Bank. Designed by a guy named Odon Lechner. The roof top is spectacular, and uses colored mosaic tiles that are very 'Hungarian'. The molding on the top is supposed be look like bee hives, because hives are where bees store their honey, and well, this is where people were to store their money, so apparently there is a connection. Lechner is reported to have answered the following question "why such an intricate roof" by stating "i did it to please the birds". Amen.

Near there was St. Istvan's Basilica. Built in 1896 for the Hungarian millennial celebration, it isn't old (for european standards). There were three architects, with three different 'styles', which are reflected in the look and feel of the church itself. Neoclassical, Neo-renaissance and Neo-Baroque. I am not sure what that actually means, but you can tell that the design of the Basilica isn't exactly fluid....



The inside was really nice too (the statue in the middle is St. Istvan, who was the Magyar who converted the tribe to Christianity, at the time, Catholicism was the only 'choice'. The church also houses......the mummified right hand of St. Istvan. Yes, his"holy right hand" is still there in that little box that looks like a small house.


After I left the Basilica, I walked down the Zrinyi Utca. It's a pedestrian street filled with lots of eager tourists (and their camera's)....I stopped in front of a funny little statue. I am not sure what is is (RS didn't mention it, and there wasn't a plaque), but I thought it was cute. There were four Spanish people taking a photo while I was there, and the Spanish man asked if I wanted him to take a picture of me with the camera. I said "si si". He smiled :). This is the photo, while it was being taken I was wondering if I would get my camera back, or if he would run away with it. He didn't. :).

The end of Zrinyi Utca is the Danube river right by the chain bridge. You can still see the Basilica, it's huge eh?

At the bottom of the street I also saw a Canadian flag flying in front of the four seasons hotel....it was sort of exciting......then I wondered over to Vaci Utca (the huge shopping street), got 'stuck' in H & M due to a freak rain storm....and then headed home.....er...via three or four other shops....

The Prison Network and the Museum of TERROR

Hello Hello!

Everyday I walk from the Metro station to my office and thanks to European windy streets, I am able to take a million different routes and I take full advantage of that in the morning. (it could also be that I haven't had enough coffee and so I sort of walk in the general direction, and try to stay on course....which sometimes doesn't work as well). This morning my route took me past the Budapest Jail (I knew it was the Jail because J told me so on my first 'guided' tour of my immediate work surroundings). She even said that it is common to hear hooting and hollering from the prisoners- on occasion. Now, I have never been to jail (parental point!), nor have I ever really been to, or accessed, or seen up close any form of fully functioning jail. This one is 6 floors and takes up a full city block. The point is, it's cool. Max told me that in Europe it is common to have large, fully operational jails in the city centres....I guess we north American's take advantage of all the space we have....or I am totally ignorant of any jails located in Urban areas of Canada (which is completely possible).

Anyway, back on track...this morning, they were transporting prisoners from the jail. It was pretty cool as they had a barricade over the street (perhaps to deter prisoners who want to 'wander off'). There were also about 4 officers standing and waiting...... Then I took a closer look at the jail, and noticed a gold plaque. It was a commemoration for something. When I got to work I googled it and well like almost everything in Europe, it has a history. The jail was used for some very unpleasant times in Hungary's past, including the site of torture and interrogation during the communist era. I also found out that the area where the jail is located, in Nagy Imre ter is also the headquarters of a lot of the Budapest crime and justice services. Nagy Imre (remember him from the parliament?), well, in the building across from the ter, is where he was sentenced to death in 1958 for the wrong doing committed during the uprising of 1956. This uprising occurred in Budapest, and was directed towards the communist regime that was ruling the country (He was one of the dissidents in the uprising...leading the anti-communist groups).

This little segway also very conveniently leads right into the Museum of Terror post, which is the museum that Max and I visited when he was here! The Museum of Terror is also a jail, but it not operating (as it is a museum). It presents the history of the building (that was first used by the Natzi's (the Arrow Cross party) for holding, torturing and killing people, and then by the Communist regime, to well, achieve the same ends).

There was a short 'intermediate' period in between, where the jail was used as a 'club house' headquarters for the communist youth groups as well. In giving the history of the building, they also present the history of the 50 years of occupations, the life and culture at the time. There were three floors. and a basement 'cellar' where all the torture chambers were located. You first have to make your way around the second floor,  where there is an exhibition of the occupations of the Natzi's and then the Soviets. It also give a coles notes version of 20th century Hungarian military history.  There was also a section with old propaganda...which I thought was really cool. Then you make your way to a very slow elevator down to the basement, while watching a movie about the torture cells. It was very sombre, dark, and cold. The third floor was not open to the public and the first floor is the main lobby with a couple of things to see (this is also the only floor you are allowed to take pictures in).

The picture on the right is what you see as soon as you walk into the main part of the Museum. The faces on the wall are of the people who were killed in the prison, a grim reminder of the victims of the prison.... The tank in the middle of the atrium is a Soviet T-54 tank, "symbolizing the looming threat of violence that helped keep both regimes in power." (RS).

Sorry no more photos (you weren't allowed to :()).