Cranberry juice & Sensodyne
Friday, July 11, 2008
Budapest, Hungary
Rest Day
Rest Day
X+--Split in two by the Danube, Buda Castle sits on the west bank high above the river and Pest (say "Pesht") is on the lowland across the river. You"ll want to visit the castle, the parliament, and just wander the banks of the Danube which so dominates this city. Enjoy a relaxing day and give your legs a rest!
Well, I didn’t give my legs a rest, that’s for sure. I spent four hours walking the city, not tourinig its high spots but shopping with Judy, who went into every grocery looking for cranberry juice, paprika, and Sensodyne toothpaste etc. She was also after a Herendon piece of porcelain to go with her table runner and finally found one, a tiny piece for $80—on her credit card this time. Alas, when she got the dish back to the hotel room, she found that it did not match her runner at all.
The only “touristy” thing we did was to tour St Stephen’s Basilica. We took the elevator to the top where I stayed very close to the wall while taking photos over the city. The views of the parliament and some of the intricate church rooftops were wonderful, as was the steeple with the cross at the top of St Stephen’s itself.
Hungarians call Budapest's St. Stephen's Church "the Basilica" in honor of its sheer size. It is the largest church in Hungary. It was named in honor of Stephen I, first Christian king of Hungary.
It took over 50 years to build the Basilica, which was completed in 1905. Three leading architects, two of whom died before work was finished, presided over its construction. The delay was due in large part to the collapse of the dome in 1868, requiring complete rebuilding from the ground up. After its completion, St. Stephen's was considered so sturdy that important documents and artworks were stored in it during the World War II bombings.
In 2003, a full-scale renovation of the church and neighboring square was finally completed.
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| Internet photo of front of St Stephens |
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| Internet photo of back of St Stephens |
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| Do not know what these elaborate rooftops belong too but they are beautiful |
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| Hungarian National Gallery from St Stephen's dome |
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| Height wienie me showing how high we were |
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| Parliament from the roof of St Stephens |
The incredibly ornate interior is also impressive, featuring about fifty different types of marble, elaborately decorated chapels, and many sculptures. Its massive gilt dome is decorated with religious paintings and angels. One of the chapels, the Chapel of the Holy Right, holds Hungary's most important relic,the preserved right hand of St. Stephen. The mummified hand is kept in a shrine and paraded around the streets each year on August 20, the anniversary of St. Stephen's death. |
| Altar and angel-filled dome |
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| Stained glass of St leopoldus & St Henricus; don't know how I missed getting the stained glass of Stephen |
Now I am in the hotel room typing this up and trying to cool off and improve my mood. I finally managed to get a connection to the Internet—after paying $6.50 for one half hour. I didn’t even get to read my e-mail before the half hour was up. It flashed that it was over JUST as I hit the send button to a letter.
Rather than walk some more looking for a restaurant, Judy and I ate at the buffet in our hotel again—first walking two blocks to a very nice ice cream and coffee restaurant, a common combination here. I had a Mozart Cup and Judy had a cup of vanilla ice cream with fresh raspberries on it.
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| Hotel Unio and the hotel dining room where Judy and I ate twice |
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