10/06 Friday, Philadelphia to Frankfort
We were picked up about 2:20 PM in a private car driven by “John”, with our usual bottle of Champagne and snacks. John was a former pilot with a now out-of-business airline, and his wife was a flight attendant so we had a very interesting hour's ride to the Philadelphia airport. We were early of course, but no problem because there is the Dock Street Brewpub in the terminal, so after checking in and a brief walk around the shops, we headed for the very undersized and crowded Dock Street. (It is so undersized that they couldn't possibly brew beer there, they must get it trucked in from center city). Oh well, why quibble, they have very good beer and a full service bar, so we jammed our way in and ordered Pat a Merlot and Clay a pint of "Neversink Brown". A very nice young couple was at the bar in front of us and helpfully handed Pat her Merlot. They were about to leave and just before they got up, Pat got her arm bumped and the Merlot went all over the floor, except for the sample that went on other patrons! After helping us clean up the messes, they left and we slid into the seats and ordered another Merlot. The bartender didn't indicate that he saw what happened, but he didn't charge us for the second. Needless to say, he got a nice tip!
We were supposed to have an agent from Grand Circle meet us and facilitate the boarding. That consisted of Clay finding her and getting us checked off her list! The full Lufthansa plane left a half an hour late (pretty much on time for an overseas trip!) and we had a nice flight to Frankfort. Pat had white wine and Clay a "champagne" during the drink service, although both the champagne (Henkell sect, of course) and wines were poured from 750ml bottles instead of getting the usual 187ml personal bottles. The dinner was pretty good, and again the wine was by the glass, although they came around for seconds. We were not in a good position for the movie screens and the title must have been forgettable as neither of us watched it.
10/07 Saturday, Frankfort to Warsaw
We got into the Frankfort airport at about 7 in the morning, and with the 6 hour time
differential, it was 1 AM for our tired bodies. We found our departure gate, took a
short walk and settled in for the 3+ hour wait. Other people from our tour were there,
and we had a nice conversation with Rose from Virginia who was there with her son, her
brother, and Downingtown sister, and their mates. There was also another couple with the man
wearing a Philadelphia Eagles cap and we correctly surmised that they were the ones on the
tour list from Philadelphia. We slipped into the small Black Forest Cafe for a beer and wine
(they took dollars) and went back to the departure gate to find no familiar faces waiting.
The counter attendant scribbled a new gate on the boarding pass and we rushed there, but in
plenty of time. We had another uneventful hour and a half flight to Warsaw, with a snack
and another glass of wine.
Piotr (Peter to us) met us at the airport and after getting a few zlotys from the ATM, we
boarded the bus for the trip to our hotel. It was warm and sunny and the airport was very
near the center of the city and our hotel. It is a very nice hotel, named The Forum,
although you might think it is the "Pepsi" as there is a gigantic sign on its side that is
much bigger and colorful than the hotel's name. It was built in the 80's by a Swedish firm.
We have a beautiful view looking out on the main Warsaw traffic circle with its crossing
streetcars and the 1955 Soviet-built and Polish-hated Ministry of Culture and Science,
formally honoring Stalin. It is said to afford the best view of Warsaw, because from its
observation deck, you can't see it!
Clay and a small part of the group went with Peter for a short tour while Pat rested and unpacked. The "tour" consisted only of a brief explanation of the bus ticket procedure and the location of the nearest money exchange. Clay then took a walk from the hotel which is on the main Warsaw square, stopping at an outdoor display at a military museum on the way. It seems relatively clean and as friendly as a big city can be.
You do not see the number of small cars and there are almost no motor scooters or bicycles
as in Western Europe, but gas is just as expensive, between 3 and 4 dollars a gallon. They
seem to rely on public transportation, as there are a large number of street cars and busses,
and this holds true for all four cities we visited. There are still plenty of cars and as
they don't have as many traffic lights, a pedestrian has to rely on marked crosswalks to get
to the other side- just stick your foot out and the traffic will stop. But don't get in that
habit while over here!
They held the traditional welcoming session later with Peter in the hotel's restaurant. Not
too surprisingly, the welcoming drink was vodka (or orange juice). Poland does not make any
wine, good bad, or whatever. O well, do like the Polish do- it was still pretty harsh.
While we expected a briefing on the next-days activity, we were informed that an orientation
would precede the morning's city tour. Nothing too constructive was said here, most of
the time was taken up with the tour participants introducing themselves to the rest of the
group, and the first few set the tone- it was city of origin, number of kids, trips taken
(we were pikers in this category), why this trip was chosen, etc. Ho Hum! There was
also some discussion between the participants.
We went on the bus to the Castle Square where there were two weddings going on at the same
church. Across from the church, we had dinner at the Literacka (Library), a very nice
old restaurant with Debbie, Susie, Allene, Arnold & Julia. We had a "three slaw "
salad of finely shredded cabbage, red cabbage, and carrots, and a Polish sour soup with
mashed potatoes for dipping, roast pork with a gnocchi-like dumpling in an herbed sauce
with boiled potatoes and diced carrots and peas and an apple tart. We both had the
included glass of wine and paid for another. There was a two-piece Polish band playing
while we were eating. After dinner, the group looked in the old church for mass times,
as quite a few are Catholic, and headed back to the hotel on the bus.
10/08 Sunday, Warsaw
After breakfast in the hotel (there were wonderful full included breakfasts at every hotel), we took a short walk to the building Peter called a mall. We went in one of the entrances and after going upstairs, it hit us that this was only one store, and we would have to go outside to see other stores. We usually associate an enclosed walking area with the term "mall", but we guess you could call it an "inside out mall" with the shoppers being on the sidewalk and having to enter each store from there. We walked across the street and bought some wine, beer, and snacks at Supermarket MarcPol.
Back at the hotel, the orientation was in one of the meeting rooms, and the focus was the entire tour, including the optional side trips, not just today's agenda. We filled out the side trip sheet, signing up for everything except the Chopin concert here in Warsaw. A great deal was made about avoiding pickpockets, especially in Prague, but it was the same as any other large (Western) European city, and may have been a little overdone, especially for us.
We boarded the bus for the city tour and entered Lazienski Park with its (still) lovely
flowers. The focus was the Chopin (under a willow) monument, but this was only a small
portion of this park said to be one of the largest parks in Europe. After a brief guide
talk, they took a group picture (which we seem to have misplaced) and we headed next door
for another talk at the Pilsudski Monument- the only Polish commander to defeat the
Soviets- a while ago of course. Mention was made of the adjacent Belvedere Palace, also
located within the Lazienski grounds, the past home of the Polish heads of state, but now
used as a visiting eminent guest residence. Back on the bus, we passed many Embassies
(including the USA) and crossed the Vistula to Praga, a separate town until its incorporation
into the city of Warsaw in 1791. There is the big sports stadium, now mostly used as an
outdoor (flea) market. We drove back across the Vistula and went past the Mermaid Monument,
the only monument in Warsaw that wasn't destroyed by the Germans during the 1944 uprising,
nobody knows why it was spared! The Holy Cross Church with the stone figure of Christ
bearing the cross in front has Chopin's heart (?) in one of its naves! The bus also passed
many other historical monuments and memorials to Polish heros, notably the extremely
elaborate "Monument to the dead and murdered in the East", with symbolism of many religions.
The bus stopped at the Monument to the Heroes of the Ghetto, memorializing all who died
during the German containment of the Jews under horrible living conditions starting in 1940,
and we got out for a closer look and photos. Back on board, the bus then passed the Tomb
of the Unknown Soldier, built in 1925, destroyed in 1944 and rebuilt, to commemorate all who
died fighting for Poland. After trying a few streets that were closed for construction, we
found the way back to the Castle Square. Standing at the Sigismund III Vasa Monument,
the guide explained how the Royal Castle was destroyed during World War II and rebuilt,
as was most of Warsaw. Walking now, we stopped at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist,
the oldest cathedral in the city, with a stone in the front sidewalk containing the
date of the original construction- 1370 and its reconstruction well after the war- 1956.
We then entered the Old Market Square, looking very much like the town square in any old
European city, even though it was completely rebuilt in the early 1950's. There are
restaurants and souvenir stands, and in the theater of the historical museum, we viewed
a short film about the 95% destruction of Warsaw during world war II. After the film, the
guide was taking us a little further, but since it was getting past lunchtime and the tour
was almost over, we left.
We had lunch in the Market Square at Cafe Manekin, an ordinary noodle consomme and shared
a Farmers Salad, potatoes, sausage, bacon, onions, and a couple of Piast beers (Pivas).
We entered a church, Pat thought she had found a mass, and Clay went for a walk down to
the Vistula river. The mass turned out to be a prayer service. We bought the first of many
packs of postcards as we have done on previous trips with two purposes in mind, to use most
of them as a pictoral record of the trip, and to mail to people back home especially the
duplicates. But we noticed that quite a few of these are not suitable for mailing as the
backs have a description of the scene on the front, and some are of a little smaller size
but with no place to write an address, it required finding real postcards. We stopped
at Pub Restauracja Reporter for a beer, wine (Sutter Home!) and bathroom, not necessarily in
that order. We walked back to our hotel along a pedestrian street that was bustling
with activity the previous afternoon, but being Sunday, most stores were closed and there
were very few people.
We decided to forgo the optional Chopin piano recital, and met with Arnold &
Julia for dinner at Restauracja Polska, a restaurant they had chosen a few blocks
from our Hotel. Arnold had worked for GE in Schenectady a couple of years at
the same time that Clay was there! Clay had borscht soup, Pat a mushroom soup, and
we both had a Polish braciole, beef on a sculpted hunk of rye bread. Arnold
chose a Spanish Chardonnay (after he was told they were out of an Italian Pinot Grigio-
some things are the same all over the world!), and a Beaujolais. We spent more for
the wine than for the food, we can do that anywhere but it is real easy here. Naturally,
we took the bottles, and promised Julia the corks, but we lost one on the way back, so
we gave her the corks from all bottles from then on, and mailed her a few hundred in a box
when we got home!
Patrick's Irish Pub adjacent to our hotel looked like a typical Irish bar (well a typical Irish bar in America then). So we thought we would have a drink and listen to a little Irish music before going to bed. It turned out to be a noisy country-rock music American bar with a number of young adults drinking Coors. They did have Guinness on tap, however and Pat had a Merlot and we left after the one drink. Nostrovia (cheers)!
10/09 Monday, Warsaw
There was an optional bus trip to Wilanow (Villa Nova) Palace, home of King Sobeski.
He is famous for defeating the Turks at the battle of Vienna and supposedly died from a
social disease he caught from his French wife! The guide said that Poland would be praying 5
times a day and have mosques on every corner if not for him! It was built before 1700 and
passed through many generations until it was made a property of the State after World War II.
The castle is "a gem of Baroque architecture", very ornate, and said to be the Polish
Versailles. There were many rooms with appropriate decorations, chiefly the Grand Crimson
(fabric wall covering) Chamber, the largest room with its long table and place settings.
The grounds are equally grand with statues , columns, vases, and fountains, and many
flowers replanted for the fall tourists. We had the included lunch at Restauracja Wilanow,
adjacent to the Palace. Pat also visited the small church on the property.
Back at the hotel, we took a walk and found an internet cafe and sent E-mails to Penny, Sue, Chris, and Bill. We ran Internet Explorer, displayed the AOL home page and were able to access our E-mail. The cost was less than a dollar for the 15 minutes.
The bus left for the home-hosted dinner, a ride south of Warsaw for about an hour and a half.
The home is that of the Warsaw Grand Circle tour director Wanda, our tour guide Peter's Aunt.
They bought this dilapidated manor for a song with the promise to restore it within two years.
It is very nice, they have done a wonderful job so far with the entire family's help, and
this resolves the group wondering how all 40 of us are going to fit into one place. We
had a champagne welcome on the porch and were seated at 4 or 5 tables in two rooms. The
dinner was wonderful with mushroom soup, roast pork, cauliflower, mushroom stuffed pierogies,
boiled potatoes, tomatoes, and the usual 3 slaw salad. There was also red and white wine
(Hungarian/Romanian). We also had a choice of vodkas, a fruit flavored and a "premium" that
had a stalk in the bottle, and both were a significant improvement over the welcoming drink
in the hotel! Wanda opened the gifts, usually something representing the part of the U. S.
of the giver. Ours was a Philadelphia coffee table book and Pat included a Gryn flashlight
and a First-Federal address folder.
10/10 Tuesday, Warsaw to Czestochowa to Krakow
The bus was not due to leave for a while, so we went for a short walk around the hotel, and noticed a small wall around the corner from the entrance with inscriptions to memorialize Poles that were killed by the Soviets. At least that's what we think it is, it was in Polish of course.
We then boarded the bus for the trip to Czestochowa. They have pretty decent roads and we
enjoyed the countryside, mostly from the tollway and good 4-lane roads. Of course, the
roads between the big cities are probably better than most, as they are in any country.
There are many farms, with fruit trees and vegetables, not surprisingly with cabbage being
prominent.
We arrived in Czestochowa at Jasna Gora (Bright Mountain) in mid morning. The place is hugh
with a complex of buildings, both for religious functions and some just for the tourist
influx. The church of the same name in Doylestown has an identical appearance, but is of
course much smaller. There is also a Pauline Monastery here and we had a priest tour
guide who took us through the Treasury, a museum with many valuable religious artifacts
including offerings from Popes, Kings, and others. There is The Basicila of the Assumption
of the B. V. M., but the Black Madonna is in a small chapel, and we entered at the front
and looked over our shoulder at the icon, snaking our way along the side to the
back while a mass was in progress! The small chapel was crammed, with many wheelchairs,
and a funnel of worshippers that extended well out of the overflowing chapel, and they
must have been barely able to hear and surely could not see. The tour not only ended in
the traditional gift shop, but the non-buying browsers were politely requested to wait
in the corridor! After the visit, we were taken outside where there was an elevated roofed
altar and grounds for 200,000 worshippers. The tour ended with a visit to a museum in
one of the outbuildings with exhibits documenting famous people visits, both religious
and secular, and once outside- a suggestion by our tour guide for a little more shopping!
The included pedestrian lunch was at the Hotel Polonia in the town of Czestochowa, it had
a somewhat more american feel, with vegetable soup, the 3 slaw salad (this was Polish,
for sure), chicken cutlet, and boiled potatoes. We sat with Natalie and Angela, the New
Yorkers that live in Florida now. Again, it was a little bit of a hassle to supplement
the included one glass of wine, but we persevered, and they only cost an American buck each!
The bus ride to Krakow was uneventful and we arrived at our hotel about 4 o'clock. The
welcome drink this time was grape juice(!) before the bus ride into the old town. We are
situated a little ways outside the town and would have to take the public bus to get
anywhere. We never had to do that because the tour bus was always available. The focus in
Krakow is the large town square with shops and restaurants. At the center is "Cloth Hall",
a large building with clothing and jewelery shops on each side. We bought a few things and
sat in an outside cafe and had a couple of upscale Palm beers. Philly's Fred & Judy
stopped over and we chatted while waiting for everyone to assemble so we can walk as a
group to the bus and ride to our hotel.
The dinner was included and in the hotel. While they were pouring the now familiar one
glass of wine, we ordered a bottle of the same stuff, and it was served and paid for in
cash- no problem. The fare was a little better with vegetable soup, the also now familiar
3 slaw salad (you needn’t worry about getting enough roughage in Poland), a mushroom and
onion stuffed beef, and a potato ball. We were promised a surprise, and it was a Polish
dance troop, with a mature leader and singer, and young dancers. We didn't have a camera,
so Clay went up to the room to get it and when he got back, there was audience participation-
timing is everything! They were very good and we got some pictures. The whirling got a
little too fast and Paul fell and hit his head. He had a pretty good scrape and was
taken to the hospital and took it easy the next day as a precaution and was fine. We were
served a light layered confection during the dancing.
10/11 Wednesday, Krakow
We were told that Krakow is the city that has the third largest Polish population with
Warsaw being the first and Chicago, Illinois the second! The bus took us on the city tour,
past the house where Schindler lived and the comment was made that Schindler wasn't the great
humanitarian portrayed in the movie, he did it because it was the best way to make more money!
We stopped at the Royal Castle at Wawel on the Vistula banks at the end of the Old Town, and
went in the Cathedral with its imposing twin towers, where there are remains of many
Polish heros. We entered the beautiful courtyard of the Collegium Maius, where Copernicus
and Pope Paul II studied, and the Pope taught.
The bus stopped at a former synagogue now a museum- the Jewish quarter has only one
functioning synagogue and like Warsaw, there is only a small elderly Jewish population.
Before World War II, Krakow had a large Jewish population, and the Soviet's abolition of
all organized religion had a great deal to do with that in addition to the holocaust.
We headed back to the old town to hear the Bugler in St. Mary's Basilica stopping in the
middle of his tune to symbolize the legend of the warning of approaching invaders he
gave centuries ago before he was shot!
We wandered a little bit before entering the Restauracja Staropolska (Star of Poland?) on a side street. There was only one other couple and a single in there, but we found few diners in the nice restaurants to be the rule, either due to us missing the local's dining time, or more likely because the restaurants we sought out were a little pricey for the average citizen (and tourist also, we guess). The waiter didn't speak much English, but we made out fine with Pat getting a sour soup and due to the menu language, a salad that turned out to be the 3 slaw staple. Clay had a beef soup and a pork cutlet and ravioli dish. We had an Egri Bikaver, the Hungarian "Bulls Blood" that we have seen many times in the States. We had to write "WC" on a piece of paper to find the restrooms however, and there was a charge- unusual in a restaurant.
The internet cafes are plentiful here too, and we did the E-mail bit again. Here we could run AOL from the Windows desktop, select "Guest", and enter our screen names and passwords. There was a message that the previous message sent in Warsaw to Sue was undeliverable. Pat called Sue at work after the ride back to the hotel on the bus, and scared her to death. She had just gotten to work and already received the Krakow message. We had checked the address on the returned message and it was correct, so the problem must have been with AOL.
We took the optional trip to the Wielicza Salt mine, just to Krakow's East about 10 miles.
We had to purchase a special sticker to use the camera at a nominal cost, but we suspect that
they don't check. It is still an operating mine, but a good deal of it, and all of what we
saw is a hugh museum. We descended down the Danilowicz shaft quite a way on a 3-stage
cramped elevator like the miners used. There are many chambers separated by long pathways
with air-tight doors at each. The chambers have many salt sculptures depicting salt mining
and other topics. Our guide was a former miner as you could see by his hard hat, and he
pointed out that the hat would protect him from falling stuff! There is a lot of
timber shoring up the chambers, but not as much as in a coal mine as the salt itself
provides pretty good support. At the end of the tour, there is a good-sized cafe with
food, beer, wine, etc., and picnic tables. Around another corner are enclosed shops with
souvenirs and much more, still all very deep underground! We used the same 3-stage cramped
elevator to ascend back to the entrance.
Dinner included with the tour was at the Halit Inn, across the street from the mine. We
sat with Arnold & Julia, and Cheng & Chen-Chen. There was mushroom soup
served in rye-bread pots- very unusual, followed by a mixed salad and beef and pierogies,
and a familiar apple cake. We had red and white wine, and a vodka with the desert. Here,
the vodka was Zubrowka, infused with the taste of buffalo grass, and has a stem in the bottle
to prove it. This was the good stuff we had at the home hosted dinner in Warsaw!
Back at the hotel we took advantage of the pool, although neither of us did more than a couple of laps!
10/12 Thursday, Krakow
After breakfast, Clay took a walk around the hotel area before the bus left for the
Auschwitz tour. On a previous passing, he saw a brick wall filled with some sophisticated
graffiti obviously put there by the students. Specifically, there was a well-drawn picture
of an abortion being performed, and getting a picture of that was the primary reason for the
walk.
An hour's bus ride to the West of Krakow is the industrial town of Oswiecim. The Germans
established the infamous Auschwitz death camp in its suburbs in 1941. Actually, there
are three camps, the original Auschwitz (the German name for Oswiecim) which was a
converted Polish army camp, two miles away Birkenau also known as Auschwitz II, and Monowith,
a slave labor camp producing synthetic rubber for the German war effort. Auschwitz I has
a visitor's center and is named The Auschwitz Museum, but they have retained the horror
of what the place really was. The entrance has the original "Arbeit Macht Frei", (Work
Makes You Free). The sign was made by prisoners and they subtly sabotaged it by making
the "B" upside down with the small part on the bottom. We saw a good deal of the camp,
with buildings having pictorial exhibits of camp activity with text in a number of languages
including English. There was also the recreation of the Execution Wall where the SS shot
prisoners and is now a focal point for victims families to lay memorials. More of an impact
is made with exhibits of confiscated personal possessions, including suitcases, brushes,
combs, shoes, baby items, eyeglasses, eating utensils, and many other personal effects. But
probably the most striking exhibit was half an entire building floor containing hair from
an enormous number of victims, all the same aged gray, the color which all hair will turn.
The pictorial displays here make a point as to the enormity of the war uses the Nazis made
of the hair.
We also saw Block 11, a prison within a prison, also known as the Block of Death. It looked
like any of the other Barracks that housed prisoners, of course, but in addition to the SS
administration offices upstairs, downstairs had such torture facilities as 28 inch square
standing cells, where 4 prisoners were shoved into a small opening in the bottom, and had
to work the next day if they survived. There also were starvation cells, and there is a
memorial plaque where the Polish Franciscan Brother Maximilian Kolbe voluntarily
exchanged his life for that of a prisoner.
There is also an exhibit displaying photos of camp commandant Rudolf Höss at various stages of his "career", and adjacent to that is the gallows from which he was hanged after the war. Also there is a re-created crematorium (the Germans blew up the original), and gas chamber where the SS first tested the murder of people with the cyclon B gas.
Finally, we entered a classroom where Kazimierz Smolen, a former Polish Catholic
Auschwitz prisoner, gave a short talk through the guide- he spoke only Polish and German.
He was 19 years old and a member of the Polish Resistance when he was captured in 1940, and
assigned the low prisoner number of 1327. He suffered many hardships, and had many jobs
including working on the construction of Birkenau, and must have been a great physical
specimen to have survived. He was a long-time director of the Auschwitz Museum, and
having spent time as a clerk, was a prime witness at the Nazi war crimes trials.
Auschwitz I started out as a concentration camp for criminals and political prisoners. But
the Nazis started the "final solution" at Birkenau in 1942, also called Auschwitz II two
miles away with the sole purpose of mass extermination of the Jews. Residents of the village
of Brezezinka were expelled and their homes destroyed. It is ten times the size of
Auschwitz I and has railroad tracks leading right into the camp with an unloading dock for
the separation of prisoners to be worked to death as slave laborers or sent directly to
the gas chambers. The familiar guard tower at the entrance now affords an excellent
view of the camp with about 60 of 300 barracks still standing, and we visited one showing
the crowded living and sanitary facilities. We were disappointed that we didn't get to go
further into the camp, especially to see the loading docks, ruins of the gas chambers and
crematoriums, and memorials at the far end. If we had known this, we could have used some
of the "standing around" time to go in a little way. The camps were liberated by the
Soviets in 1945 and the few survivors remaining were forced to "death" march to other
camps in the West. All in all, it was a very moving experience for both of us.
With all that, we missed lunch, so our guide handed out "polish power bars", and after a stop at the hotel, we went into the old town on the bus. We looked around a while with Arnold & Julia and went to dinner at U Pollera. It was a traditional Polish dinner, (fixed price) of ham and boiled egg appetizer, vegetable salad, borscht soup with dumplings, a "special dish" of beef, chicken, and pork cutlets, deep fried potato balls, and a Bananas Foster like desert. We also had a bottle of Pinot Grigio and a bottle of French Burgogne wine. The plans earlier were that we would stay downtown a while, but there was not much going on, and we had a long day, so we caught the bus back and christened the hotel bar with a drink. We asked the Irish gentleman next to us why he wasn't drinking Guinness, and he said it is only good "on draught at home!"
10/13 Friday, Krakow to Brno to Prague
We had spent all our zlotys, so the planned rest stop before the border left us high and
dry. They didn't take dollars, and the bartender suggested we use the currency
exchange, but with only a few minutes available, it would be too much trouble. At the
Poland-Czech Republic border, the Polish guard looked at our faces and passports, while
The Czech border guards took half an hour, collecting our passports and entered the
"stuff" into a computer. Why? Peter gave us honey vodka and a few candy snacks, so we
figured it must be quite a while until lunch! But it wasn't too much longer and we stopped
in Brno right along the tollway for lunch at the Hotel Veronez. It was pretty good, salad,
chicken and potatoes, glass of wine or beer, Again we bought some more wine (for dollars,
of course), and since we weren't doing anything else in town, and it would be unlikely to
get here again, a number of the party bought some postcards of the hotel at the front desk,
again with dollars, (actually a dollar), with a great deal of difficulty.
The Prague evening rush hour traffic was brutal and it took a long time to get through the
city to our hotel on the other side. They have some nice roads between the big cities
(with sound barriers yet!), but no ring roads around the congested areas to speak of, you
have to go right through the city! Although Peter said we were "right in the center", we
were not, but we were right next to the last subway stop, and hence only a few minutes
from the center. The area is somewhat plain, mostly grimy right angle Soviet architecture,
but we are quite a way from the old town and we expect that to have more character. There
was a welcoming drink in the hotel bar, this time Champagne, well- sparkling wine anyway.
It wasn't because we complained! Peter took us on a short orientation walk and
showed us how to get the tickets for the subway and pointed out a store and a couple of
restaurants nearby. We got some Czech Koruna (Crowns) from the GE machine ATM in the
subway concourse.
Since it was getting late and we had a long ride, Arnold & Julia agreed to try one of
the restaurants that Peter had pointed out, so we went directly there. It was the Grill
Billiard Club, complete with pool tables, but it was anything but an American sports bar,
as there seemed to be a lot of locals. We guess that's where players go after the bar soccer
league games! We asked for a table on the enclosed porch, but we didn't have a reservation
and we were ushered into a room off the pool area in which the waiter turned the
lights on and we had it all to ourselves. Pat had pork knuckles and chicken with onions,
Clay had a gyro without the pita, sort of a lamb casserole. Arnold & Clay had a
draught Pilsner Urquel, they call it just Pilsner here, and we all shared a bottle of white
Czech wine. Through the park next to the hotel on the way back, we saw a trash can with
bags for dog poop on the top- got to get a picture of that before we leave!
10/14 Saturday, Prague
Of course, a new city means riding the bus for the city tour, but we didn't get very far.
It stopped at the Strahov Monastery, with the largest monastic library in the
country, an unbelievable floor-to-ceiling collection of centuries-old books of Czech
literature. There are also gorgeous ceiling frescos, antique furniture, and other
historical displays. It is again a working monastery, the monks having returned after
being imprisoned by the Communist government, but this is the only area we saw.
The adjacent Church of the Assumption of our Lady, built in 1143, allows a peek from the front door, but you can go no further, as the church is open only for masses because of thievery. How can all the other churches be open during non-mass times? This didn't seem to be an area that would be subject to a high crime rate! Anyway, we could only get inside the door to look at the church through the gate.
A short walk away is the Cernin Palace, where in 1948 the anti-Communist foreign minister
Jan Masaryk fell (or was pushed) to his death trying to escape from his Czech Communist secret
service tormenters. He is immortalized with a statue on the other side of the square. The
Loretta is an extraordinary baroque place of pilgrimage resembling the house that legend says
was carried by angels to the Italian town of Loretto.
As we approached Prague Castle, the crush of spectators increased dramatically. In the
courtyard outside the castle, there were street vendors, a musical group of unknown
origin, and since the castle is the most visited site in Prague and it was Saturday,
probably a number of pickpockets. The castle is the largest in the world, started in
the 9th century and has grown with and has always been the official residence of the
Czech rulers, although the present president does not live there. At the main gate above
the guard house, there are flanking statues "Battling Titans", in quite vicious poses.
Entering the first of three courtyards, we saw the hourly changing of the guard, and
there were groups of guards marching through the courtyards at various times. There is
a second courtyard with a fountain, a painting & sculpture gallery, and a chapel.
The so-called third courtyard is really the inside of the castle and contains many
buildings, some serving Czech government functions. The largest is the Gothic St.
Vitus Cathedral whose foundation was laid in 1344, and with many Emperors and other
royalty contributing was not completed until 1929! We entered among the crush of people
and could see the beautiful stained glass windows, although not a great deal more. A
view of the chapel of St. Wenceslas, the most beautiful in the Cathedral, was impossible
to get to in any reasonable amount of time, but we did get to see it on a visit by
ourselves a couple of days later. It was suggested that we see the "Golden Lane"
originally inhabited by goldsmiths and where author Franz Kafka once lived, but is now
mostly souvenir shops. Again the crowd was so dense that we can only say that we
were there!
We assembled outside the castle and looked down toward the city where a long time ago there were wine grapes planted on the slopes. We walked (thankfully) downhill and over the Manesuv Bridge spanning the Vltava river to the old town, with the location of the subway stop and Currency Exchanges as the primary function for this. Outside of one Currency Exchange, there was a man ranting about them being thieves and warned us not to go in. The rates are clearly posted, but some charge high service fees approaching 10% and he probably got stuck with that. He was waiting for the cops- it is probably deceptive but legal- and it was agreed that he won't get anywhere. Changing currency at the hotels is usually a bad deal, and we found the ATMs to yield the best, between the exchanges buy and sell rates, with only a dollar per transaction fee, so we gave the guide her gratuity and ventured off by ourselves.
We had planned to walk to the Laterna Magica (Magic Lantern) theater to get tickets to the
Monday evening performance, as our information said that they were hard to get and available
only at the theater. But right on the Town Square, we noticed a sign at a ticket office for
a variety of shows, including our Laterna Magica! It seemed to be sort of a Ticketron,
and we got the tickets at what was the theater prices! Everywhere are the incessant
hawking of flyers for concerts with people in costumes symbolic of the particular
performance- the guidebook says these are only brief tourist shows. We stopped at the
outdoor Cafe Reykjavik, where we had a seat and a couple of Krusovice (Czech) beers.
Around the corner we found another internet cafe and E-mailed all the kids and Bill again,
and Joan and Mitch. Pat brought a list of addresses, but Clay could only remember those
of Bill and Mitch, and will bring a list next time!
The Karluv (Charles) bridge over the Vltava was completed in 1400 and contains a great deal
of statues, mostly Catholic Saints, on both sides and the entire length. After World War
II, it was made pedestrian only (of course there are also vendors and pickpockets). A couple
of statues have been refinished, but most are grimy black from years of pollution and
Communist neglect, and one black monument had a very shiny spot, obviously as a result of
people (including Pat) touching it. We later found out that it is Czech patron St. John of
Nepomuk, and are guessing that Pat should have good luck in Prague. Actually the good
luck came a few minutes later when she got a great deal on a pair of earrings!
Over the bridge on the left bank Kampa Island, heading for a restaurant we had researched,
we came across the "John Lennon Wall", a graffiti-covered whitewashed wall originally
containing surreptitiously written Beatles's lyrics as a protest against the Communist's
pop music ban. After Lennon's death, he became a pacifist hero and the alternating
whitewash and graffiti continue. We found our restaurant's address, but the name was
different, however we were hungry, so Restaurant Na Kampe was it for lunch. It turned out
very good, we both had Country Beef Soup, and Pat had Pork with Sauerkraut, and Clay had
Beef with Horseradish Sauce. We had a bottle of red Czech wine and Service was "European
leisurly" but very nice. The young couple at the next table, on a low-budget excursion
from New York, borrowed our map and we had a nice talk.
We stopped by the Church of Our Lady Victorious and the Infant of Prague statue, a wedding
gift from Italy in 1628, and counts among its many miracles the protection of Prague from
the plague. We were very tired by now, but we walked to the castle subway station, found
the ticket office closed, and got tickets from the somewhat complicated vending machine
and rode the two stops, picked up some wine at the local store and went into our hotel.
We went back down to the lobby for the Mozart Concert exactly at 7:30, and found that they had left without us. The next day, Peter felt very bad, and said that two others decided to go and he didn't increase the count or check names. It was one of the very few times that the bus left on time the entire trip! The only thing left was to drown our sorrows at the hotel bar with some wine and beer, and catch an early bed.
10/15 Sunday, Prague
The Peter-led group took the subway to the Institute of Economics in the new town for a
lecture on "40 years of Communism to a Free Market" by retired Professor Amort. It was
very interesting, with the general theme that progress is being made but not as fast as
people would have hoped. The biggest problem is finding new outlets for their goods to
replace Russia and the former Soviet satellites as their customer base. Surprisingly,
Professor Amort was the guide for a following short walking tour of the old and new (13th
century) town pointing out many places and buildings of note.
We stopped at the Old Town Square at noon for the hourly Astronomical Clock show.
The mechanical marvel on the side of the town hall shows the present 24-hour time, stellar
times, sunrise and sunset times, and positions of the sun, moon, and the Zodiac, etc.
At the top of the clock are two windows where rotating figures perform each hour, although
the figures were pretty small from our vantage point. Christ and the twelve Apostles
appear followed by the skeleton of Death tolling a bell, and a cock crows. With
everyone gathered in a knot to see the show, and with our warnings we are somewhat
paranoid, so everyone is a potential pickpocket. Further on in Male Namesti, the
extension of the Old Town Square, the guide pointed out the 16th century wrought-iron
fountain, the baroque and neo-Renaissance buildings,and Europe's oldest Pharmacy. We also
saw Franz Kafka's home, one of the best known Czech writers at the beginning of the 20th
century.
The tour ended at the Charles Bridge, so we wandered back to the Old Town Square looking
in a few shops. We went in U Prince, a crowded outdoor restaurant right on the square for
lunch. They had squeezed in as many seats as possible and with the next table being
overflowing, the waitress had to serve some of the tables from the other side of the
railing. The food was good, Pat had soup & salad, Clay had soup and beef with bread-like
dumplings, and we shared a bottle of Czech white wine. Wandering near the Square, we came
upon the St. Gall (a 7th century Irish monk) church and Pat went in to say a rosary. When
she came out, it was 3:10 local time, 9:10 at home the exact time when Penny, her family
and Sue get together to pray for Alyssa! We shopped some more, especially at the Havelska
Market, a street market started in the 12th century, still vending food, but now with
mostly typical tourist items. A short walk brought us to the Mustek subway stop and a
short ride to our hotel with tour guide Peter-supplied tickets.
The bus waited for 15 minutes this time for a couple to board for the Vltava River dinner
cruise. We could have used that last night! There was a nice night view of both sides of
the city and the bridges, especially the Chain Bridge with its suspension chains brightly
lit. We sat with the New Yorkers now Floridians, Natalie & Angela. The food
was just so-so, a buffet with chicken, beef, vegetables, and pastry deserts. We had
a glass of Champagne, and the usual single glass of white wine, so we purchased a bottle of
red. There was also a band playing music for the duration of the cruise. Many people moved
to the front of the boat for a better view after the dinner, and we got back on the bus for
the short ride to the hotel.
10/16 Monday, Prague
Again we met in the lobby for the Peter-led subway ride to the Jewish Quarter. As in Warsaw
and Krakow, there were large Jewish communities, but now there are less than 600 Jews in
Prague! We met our guide at the subway exit and followed her to the Pinkas Synagogue, built
in 1535 and used as a Synagogue until 1941, but now a museum. It was required for
men to wear a head covering and Clay's baseball cap would have sufficed, but he took one of
the paper yarmulkes offered at the entrance. The principal display in the museum is the
memorial with names and dates of disappearance of 77,297 Czech Nazi victims. It has the
last names emphasized to make it easy for descendants to find their ancestors, and there were
none named Stahl. Olga, our guide, said that an American man found his sister's name on
the wall last year! The upper floor has a nice exhibition of drawings and paintings by
children in the Terezinstat concentration camp that was used as a phony demonstration
of decent treatment for the international red cross. Most of the pictures/paintings
depict typical children things, but quite a few show suggestions of the Nazi atrocities.
The Pinkas Synagogue is also the entrance for a trip through the old Jewish
cemetery. Dating from the 15th century and Europe's oldest surviving cemetery, it was
closed in to burials in 1787. There are 12,000 stones in all states of condition and
position, but about 100,000 graves, with multiple layers because of space limitations.
The guide pointed out graves of prominent rabbis that have pairs of marble tablets. It
retains most of its old charm because of its hands-off rules, even not being able to trim
the trees, but its popularity and the constant stream of tourists passing through the
well worn path breaks the solemnity and renders it just another tourist site. Pity!
We exited on a street with a number of vendors for the usual tourist stuff and many Jewish
mementos, and viewed the Old-New Synagogue and the High Synagogue. The Old-New Synagogue,
completed in 1270 is Europe's oldest, and the only active Prague synagogue, while the High
Synagogue was so named because the prayer hall was on the second floor to guard against
floods. Finally we went a few blocks away, in what appeared to be out of the Jewish
Quarter, to the Spanish Synagogue so named because of its Moorish interior. Entering past
the workmen replacing stones at the building's front, we found exhibits on Czech Jewish
life up to the present day. The tour ended with an apple strudel and coffee in a nearby
restaurant.
We found the Laterna Magica (Magic Lantern) theater, where we were to go in the evening,
and also found U Fleku, a Brewpub where we expected to have lunch. It didn't seem to
be open, so we went across the Legil Bridge to the left bank to look for another
restaurant. We thought we had it when we entered a place that had an English menu
posted outside. We got Czech menus unceremoniously tossed on our table, and a subsequent
request for an English menu brought a terse Czech ne! So we unceremoniously
tossed the Czech menus in front of the waitress and headed out- the only unfriendly
experience of our entire trip. Just around the street corner we came upon a nice looking
place, and although there was no English on the posted menu, we went in. There were some
English words on the menus used at the tables and we had a delightful lunch- Pat a Greek
salad, Clay mushroom soup, and we both had a beef dish with mushrooms, french fries, green
beans, and carrots. It was only about $20, including an admittedly pedestrian bottle of
red Czech wine.
We had noticed on our map, a large hilly park area called Petrin Hill with a small Eiffel
Tower, built by Eiffel with a slight resemblance to the tower, and that was the
destination with a few hours to kill before the theater. The park is actually a network
of eight parks, with a funicular railway, but when we got to the station, there was a sign
indicating that it was closed for two weeks starting today- timing is everything! So we
(Pat reluctantly) slowly climbed the hill, stopping at frequent intervals to rest and
take in the wonderful views of the city. A bonus to walking was the striking stone tablets
with paintings of the stations of the cross positioned every 50 yards or so near the top.
We went directly to the tower, but there was that yellow plastic tape all around it, we
surmised for repairs- a double whammy! We did go in The Maze, built for the 1891 Prague
Exposition, which was the typical carnival mirror house, and with a nice diorama of the
battle on the Charles Bridge with the Swedes in 1648. We also looked in the door of the
closed Church of St. Lawrence, and walked around the Kinsky Gardens. It was difficult
walking down as your toes get sore from pushing against the front of your shoes. They say
that tragedies come in threes, so we can accept that! We noticed on the map at the bottom
of the hill there is a church with the interesting name of "St. John at the Laundry". We
found it but there was a high fence all around it and we couldn't see anything but the top.
The guide book says that it was built in 1142, converted into a laundry in 1784, and is
now owned by the Czech Hossite (?) Church.
With a big lunch and the prospect of a comfortable seat in a theater for a couple of hours,
we didn't want to eat big, so we headed for the U Fleku Brewpub again. We opened the door
that was locked that morning and were told that the entrance was next door. Dummies, it was
open all the time, we were just in the wrong place! Michael Jackson uses this place in the
"Bohemian Connection" episode of his Discovery Channel Beer Hunter series. Anyway, we went
in and sat in the main part of the restaurant, an outdoor area with long tables, just like
a German beer Garden. We both had a couple of their on-site brewed beers, and ordered a
couple of soups. They were out of the soups (at 6 o'clock?), so we shared a plate of
sausages, cole slaw, and bread. An enormous group of people sat at the table next to us
with young kids, adults, and hockey stuff. We asked a lady about them, and with sign
language and such, we found out that they were from Denmark for a youth tournament.
The theater was just down the street and we entered not knowing what to expect. Surprise, the performance was "Odysseus" (it alternates day-to-day with other subjects). We had chosen the theater because of its special effects without regard to the show content. While we wouldn't think of attending a Greek tragedy in a regular theater, and not understanding the language, we were still quite satisfied. The show was a combination of large screen movie-like projections integrated with live ballet dancers. The theater itself was small with a steep array of very comfortable seats. There was champagne and other drinks available during intermission as well as souvenirs in a well appointed parlor outside the performance area just as in the States, and it was a very enjoyable performance in a very nice setting!
We walked to the nearest subway entrance and tried to find the proper stairwell. We talked to a few people and came to the conclusion that we were in the wrong place as this is a transfer station between two lines. We finally went back to the street and walked to another entrance with the same name and found the proper train to our hotel.
10/17 Tuesday, Prague
The morning is free, so we walked (uphill again, wherever you usually want to go in Prague
is uphill!) to the Royal Gardens just outside the Castle walls. After walking through an
adjacent and unkempt park/woods, we decided that the gardens were either closed or we
didn't know how to get in. We did see a nice grotto memorializing "Julis Zeyer", Czech
mythology poet, novelist, and dramatist. We decided to backtrack the route of Saturday's
City Tour start and walked back into the castle and had a leisurely re-visit to an
uncrowded St. Vitas Cathedral, and got a good look at St. Wenceslas Chapel this time.
We walked back up through the square for a better look at the Loretta, and headed back
to the hotel for a quick lunch, since we had to be ready for the trip to the Konopiste
Castle at 1:00 PM. Everyone received chits good in the restaurant or bar when they
checked in, and we used those with a little cash for a nice lunch with a bottle of white
wine. After we had ordered, Allene came in and joined us and we still had plenty
of time.
The bus ride to Konopiste Castle was about 35 miles along the tollway south of Prague and
took an hour or so. We were deposited in a parking lot where horse-drawn wagons waited
among the souvenir stands to take us up to the castle- nice but maybe a little gimmicky. We
walked up a short path across the old moat that now houses a few animals. On the other
side is a handler with a hunting birds demonstration. The castle was owned by
Austro-Hungarian heir Archduke Franz Ferdinand whose 1914 assassination was thought by some
to have started World War I. The Archduke was an avid hunter (or butcher as he was described
by our tour guide) killing over 300,000 animals and birds in a time period that was not
stated, but that's 33 a day every day for 25 years! We entered the castle and noticed
mounted birds and antlers occupying almost every available space in the stairway. We then
reached a landing, where you could look up and down the hall-like rooms and see more of
the same with many of these trophies being of larger animals, including large quantities
of teeth and claws. We then were led through a series of ornate dining, living, and bed
rooms with very nice wood and porcelain furnishings, representing many countries with Dutch
paintings, Murano glass, Delft tiles, etc.
The included dinner was down the hill from the castle at the hunting lodge. We had salad, onion soup, Roast Pork, and a wine for Pat and a Beer for Clay. We ordered a bottle of wine which came promptly and we were (intentionally, we're sure) not charged. There was a man and woman couple performing polka dances and the female half got Clay to "dance" with her. He shouldn't have sat near the dance floor, but went along with her leading, and made it somewhat respectable. After the meal, we rode the bus through the rain back to the hotel.
10/18 Wednesday, Prague to Bratislava to Budapest
The bus left promptly at 8:00 in the rain, it only lasted through mid-morning and with last
night was the only rain we saw on the entire trip - Lucky! It was the rush hour and with
the rain took a long time to get out of the city. We had a pee break before the border and
we had some "Bohemia Chips", and we shared a beer there and bought two more Czech beers for
later! The border crossing into Slovakia was easy although we waited a little for a few
people to get their VATs refunded.
Entering Brataslavia, we recognized the hotel we used in 1990 for a restroom stop on our
half day tour from Vienna just after the Iron Curtain was lifted, and we were looking to
see the changes. It's difficult to compare, with it being 10 years and with such a short
visit, but we can see a few more modern buildings, a little more activity and graffiti, so
we guess that's progress! We stopped for a pedestrian lunch next door at the Danube Hotel,
Clay had a beer and Pat a wine, and we paid for extra wines for both. The route from
Bratislava to the Hungarian border seemed to be all back roads and took quite a bit of time,
but it was interesting going through the little towns with Peter pointing out the
Soviet-era autos still running. The Border crossing into Hungary took a little time,
we don't know why, but then we were shortly on a major highway in Hungary and arrived at the
Radisson Beke in Budapest about 7:00.
We were issued the same kind of restaurant/bar chits as in Prague and we had a parade
through the snack restaurant before deciding on the regular full restaurant. We sat
with Chuck & Charlotte, and Gertrudis, ordered the fixed priced dinner, and
listened to the live music, a bass, piano, accordion, and a strolling violinist. It was a
very nice meal- consommé with tortellini, pork medallions with asparagus, brussels sprouts,
carrots, cauliflower, rice, puff potatoes and a mixed fruit desert. We supplemented the
included glass of white wine with a bottle of Hungarian red wine and a couple of 6-Put
Tokaji with the deserts.
10/19 Thursday, Budapest
Yep, first day in a city, get on the bus for the city tour. Budapest seems a little drab
with most of the buildings badly in need of resurfacing, and some still exhibiting World
War II wounds although a few have been resurfaced and there is some excavation. Buda is
on the West side of the not-so-blue Danube and Pest is on the East. It is pronounced
"Pesht", as Hungarians pronounce an "s" like our "sh", and an "sz" like our "s", simple,
no? In fact, Hungarian Scrabble games must have half as many vowels as ours, and have them
replaced by "z"s. Even though the two old-time cities merged to be the present city in 1873,
they both retain their identities and are referred to as separate areas. The street names
were changed by the Communists after World War II to reflect their ideology. In 1989, they
were changed back at a frantic pace to the original, some were put up with a cross striking
out the old (Communist), and some are next to an obviously removed sign.
The first stop was Hero's Square, but were unable to see the nation's most solemn monument,
an empty coffin representing one of the heros from the 1956 uprising, because the President
of Croatia was due to make a presentation. In fact, after getting off the bus, viewing
the Square's Millenary Monument with the Angel Gabriel about to take off, we took off at
the request of the local security people.
The bus then went across the Danube and we got out at the
top of Castle Hill. We walked up to the Old Town main square and briefly saw the gothic
Matthias Church and Fisherman's Bastion both from a distance before heading
back to the bus, clearly a future visit is in order here. We'll be back!
A hill about a mile away has a fortress built in 1851, the "Citadella" which never saw a battle. In 1947, an Independence Monument showing a woman with both arms raised holding a palm frond proclaiming freedom through the land was erected as a tribute to the Soviet Soldiers who died liberating Budapest from the Nazis. Since the monument was designed by the politically anti-soviet Zsigmond Kisfaludi, the Hungarians refer to it as their Statue of Liberty! It is a striking sight from many parts of the city.
The bus left us off downtown where Peter again spent a little time showing us the best currency exchange, the American Express office, and the subway station entrance. We use the ATMs for the most part, but here we had some Czech Crowns left and changed them into Forints. We think we didn't do too bad, but with two exchange rates to think about and one is sell, it is not that clear cut.
We looked a little for a restaurant, hoping to find one that is not too touristy, and we went in La Biere, down the stairs and through a corridor. Just after we were seated, John came in, sat with us and said that the restaurant came highly recommended. We had a light lunch, goulash (soup) and salad for Pat and the Plat du jour- beef vegetable soup, pickled veggies, spaetzle with fried egg for Clay, and we shared a carafe of the house red wine. We walked around looking at the shops and stands and we saw a bottle of 6-Put Tokaji in the window of an ordinary food market. We went in and bought 2 bottles, about $17 each. We then went on to the Great Market Hall, a three story old building with a major face lift in 1996, the largest market in the city with food stalls, linen, and souvenirs. On the way and in the market, we saw the same Tokaji in a few places for up to $5 less per bottle!
After leaving the market, we walked around a little more and found the subway station, except that it wasn't the station that Peter had pointed out and this was an intersection between two lines, so we walked to the next station. Except that we ended up in the same place, the two stations are very close! We finally found it and we got in, but as it was the rush hour we ended up in separate cars! Pat jumped out and got in the same car as Clay, and we rode back to the hotel. There was a lecture on "Hungary's Political Past and Future" that sounded interesting, but the early evening timing made it difficult, and most people including ourselves could not fit it in.
We were discussing having dinner at Gundel with Arnold & Julia. It gets rave reviews
and both couples wanted to try it, but is also very expensive. Arnold wanted to put it
off to another night, and he tried to get reservations at Bagloyvar, Budapest cognoscenti's
favorite. However, they were full so he suggested the New York Cafe, which a number of
our people said was very good after going there the first night. We felt that this would
be the best night for a nice restaurant though, as there would be time constraints other
evenings, and we got reservations at Gundel. We walked to the restaurant, about a half hour
through some dark streets. It was first rate, the Le Bec Fin of Central Europe. They had
Musicians with Hungarian Instruments and a strolling violinist. Pat had chateaubriand, and
Clay had a wild boar soup and tornadoes. Both were very good and the service was impeccable.
We had a bottle of red wine, and Clay's request to take the bottle for the label produced
a small folder with the label enclosed! Another waiter appeared with two glasses and
poured the remains of a bottle in them, a gift from Chuck & Charlotte who were at a
table across the room with George & Anabella, and Marty. Chuck told the
waiter to get me the label, but something got lost in the translation. Thanks, Chuck!
Clay had a 6-Put Tokaji, and Pat an Irish Coffee for desert. We got a taxi back to the
hotel as we were uncomfortable with the prospect of walking back at this hour. The total
tab was about $106 with all the VATs and tip, extremely expensive for Hungary- and $5 for
the cab with tip.
The bus took us to the Danube for the boat ride North to the Danube Bend, where it changes
direction from flowing East to South, and also splitting into two forks, about 15 miles
away. We had a nice ride with a glass of wine, beer, and schnapps, but the shoreline is
nothing spectacular, with flat banks and a few ordinary houses fronting the river. We
docked at Szentendre (St. Andrew), an old town settled by Serbians and Greeks in the 17th
century, but now turned into a major tourist center. We had an hour and a half in the old
town and went separate ways with Pat shopping and Clay walking around the town and having a
beer at a kiosk. It is very touristy, but still has plenty of old-time charm.
We boarded the bus for the half-hour ride to Visegrad and the Renaissance Restaurant.
There were paper crown hats and tie on bib-napkins. Angelo & Alice were chosen King
and Queen and did a great job looking regal in their robes and proposing nice toasts!
The restaurant puts on a jousting show before dinners, but we were only there for lunch.
All the dishes and glasses were ceramic and the food was served family style, a wild boar
soup, roast turkey and red cabbage, a personal loaf of bread, and a desert of a
raspberry/pudding/cream cake. There was musical accompaniment and the usual strolling
violinist. There were also ceramic carafes of white and red wine. We boarded the bus for
a trip up the nearby mountain to the Citadel of Visegrad. There were a few made-for-tourist
sights to look at on the way, but the view from the top is spectacular, and is the focus for
the day's trip. At the top is a wonderful view in all directions, but especially of the
Danube, although it was somewhat overcast. On a clear day, they say you can see both forks
of the river. We walked down and boarded the bus back to our hotel.
It was early evening and getting dark, when we took a short walk ending at the midway point of the Margaret Bridge. There were spectacular views of the city, including the other bridges. On the way back, we stopped at a medium sized market and bought some snacks and beer- 109 forints for 500ml or a pint of the local beer or 109/300 = 37 cents! They didn't provide shopping bags, but we were in luck- we had a plastic bag that we had used to take some empty beer/wine bottles out of the hotel room. Why would we do that, you ask? So the housekeeper won't incorrectly assume that we used the hotel room mini-bar! We decided on something light to eat, so we started looking at pizza places, and there were plenty of them here as well as the other cities. Finally, we stopped in L'Antica Roma for a mushroom Pizza and drafts of the local Veltins beer. There was a very nice young staff and they didn't have much to do, so we watched as they had a number of friends stop in for short chats, the same the world over.
The bus took us on main and back roads to Holloko, a Hungarian village off the beaten
track about 60 miles North of Budapest. The ride was through flat plains, then rolling hills,
passing a (beet?) sugar factory in the distance. There are low-grade soft coal mines nearby
and that was the reason that the town grew up there, but they have long been abandoned.
It is one of the many villages in that area inhabited by the Palocs, direct descendants
of ancient conquering Magyar tribes, and as a result is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
There are very few children there, as there is no industry except tourism, they grow up
and move away- there have been no babies born in the last 2 years, and there are only 13
children in the first 4 grades of the local school.
While not entertainers, some of the town's women put on a short singing and folk dancing
show with a little audience participation. They all seemed to be a little heavy, but we
learned that they wear multiple undergarments, the number being determined by their age!
We then were led through the town, seeing some traditional crafts, and visiting a house
that has been kept as a museum, and the local church that has a visiting priest twice a
week. We then split up into three groups for our "home-hosted" lunch, and the question
was asked if we were going to be in a house like the one we visited with its dirt floor
and such! Of course not, Margit, one of the dancer/singers was our host and she led us
a couple of blocks away to her house. Margit didn't know much English, but she did know
"left" and "right" and was very friendly.
We entered her very nice and modern, but small house and sat at the large dining room table
with Arnold & Julia, Cheng & Chen-Chen, Natalie, Angela, Joan, and Barbara. Lunch was
served family-style with Chicken Soup and separate plates of noodles, mixed pickled salads,
a chicken paprika and dumplings, and apple strudel. There was also white wine which was
poured, noticing when our glasses needed refills, and at the end a pear brandy, which they
filled a good sized glass no matter how much you indicated you wanted!
We're not sure how often she does this, but it sure wasn't the first time and she is very
good at it. She did not sit with us as she was working to keep us happy, but with the
little time she had and the little English she knew, and with gesturing and such, we made
some conversation about her family. One of the other groups had our Hungarian-fluent tour
guide, and the other had Peter who knew some Hungarian, so we figured we got the short end,
but it still was very nice and maybe we didn't learn as much, but had a more down-to-earth
experience. After lunch, Margit walked us back to the bus, and we had to wait a while
for the other two groups before we could ride the bus back to our Budapest hotel.
Arnold & Julia wanted to go to the Hungarian State Opera House for the 4 PM tour and
invited us to go along, so they got the bus driver to make a stop and let us off a few
blocks before the hotel. There are only two tours daily, the other at 3, and the four
of us and Joan rushed and made it in plenty of time. We bought the tickets and
assembled for the English tour, easily the largest group. Our very personable guide seated
us off to the side of the stage and, while there was rehearsal activity going on, we seemed
to miss the "brief musical performance" advertised in the guide book write up! We were then
taken to the royal box and the adjacent reception area, with its magnificent carpet being
the reason we had to wear little cloth booties over our shoes. We also saw Sissy's
(Hungary's Queen Elizabeth's) reception area with the thinly-disguised bathroom secret door.
We then split and walked to St. Stephen's by ourselves. It is in a state of slow
restoration with most of the exterior not covered by scaffolding covered by grime! We went
inside where there is even more restoration in progress, but we didn't see the mummified
right hand of St. Stephen, a national treasure and high point of the cathederal visit but
don't feel too bad missing that! Pat was looking for a mass, but it didn't work out.
The local Internet Cafe has only two tubes and it really is a cafe, with food and a bar
available. Pat sent E-mail to all her golf buddies, Charlie, Jennifer, and Alice. We found
the elegant Gerbeaud Cafe, and were politely told that the Gerbeaud Sörház
(Beer House) was in the basement. We walked around the shops and souvenir stands and headed
back to the Sörház and entered the cafe through a side door and went downstairs.
We were the only patrons in the place on a Saturday evening and an inquiry brought the answer
that it gets lively a little later. We were eating lightly, so we just had the goulash,
(A hearty soup). It was served with a big side dish of extremely spicy paprika powder,
and a very appropriate verbal warning for its use! Our waiter discussed baseball (my
Red Sox cap!) and was very friendly.
10/22 Sunday, Budapest
We got up a little early for the first time on the trip, and walked to St. Stephens for Pat
to go to mass. Clay walked around the area passing through a park by the US Embassy
where there were a couple of dog walkers, but they sure weren't speaking English! There
is a plaque on the Embassy commemorating the asylum given to Cardinal Mindszenty from 1956
until 1971, who at that time was under attack by the Communists for refusing to secularize
Hungary's catholic schools. Nearby is a monument to Imre Nagy, a Hungarian Communist
premier in the early 50's who loosened government controls, was critical of Soviet
influence, and was tried and executed by them. Clay went to the Parliament building, but
couldn't get very near it, as there was a sizable guarded clear area around it, perhaps
because the next day is the anniversary of the 1956 uprising.
We rushed back to the hotel, had a quick breakfast and met Arnold & Julia for a taxi
ride to the ill-placed Hilton Hotel in the castle area. We then went our own way and walked
around viewing the Buda Hills to the east and ended up at the main town square where we
were briefly on the city tour three days ago. We saw (King, not Saint!) Matthias church
(known as the Church of Our Lady, by the church officials) and entered the Fishermen's
Bastion, built in 1905 but looking much older. Taking its name from the guild of fishermen
defending the wall in the middle ages, it is only a platform to provide a spectacular view
of the Danube and Pest. We walked back through the old town and stopped in the Royal
Palace, also known as the Buda Castle. There are a number of museums there, but we were
historied out at this point and just strolled around the grounds. We walked down to the river,
stopping and watching the short and steep funicular, and then walked across the Chain Bridge,
so called because the suspension cables are chains made up of very long links.
We looked for a while at the vendor's stands and searched for a restaurant for lunch. We saw a likely looking candidate, and liked the menu, but in looking for the entrance (it was probably closed), we ended up at the small cafe next door. While seated, we noticed a flag on the wall- it was Cuban, and there were photos of Che Guvarra next to it! Looking at the menu, we discovered that we were in the Havana cafe, maybe the hangout for the country's Communist minority! Anyway, we had a nice lunch, Pat with French onion soup and Clay with beef stroganoff, and of course a bottle of Hungarian white wine. We walked to the subway and rode back to the hotel as we had to be ready for the farewell dinner.
The farewell dinner was rumored to be quite far away, and we got on the bus at 2:00 for a
a leisurly ride South. The location seemed not too far from the Croatian border, at Puszta
(uninhabited place) Vendeglo. It was quite out of the way in Hungarian horse country, and
very tourist-ready. We alighted from the bus and were immediately served glasses of
white and red wine and a fruit brandy- an excellent omen! We seemed to be standing around
a little longer than would be necessary to have a welcoming drink. The reason for this
was for a show featuring five (one woman) costumed riders and horses riding in formation,
cracking whips, performing tricks with the horses, such as a rider standing on the horse's
back, getting the horses to take bows kneeling down, and many other tricks. Very impressive!
After the horsemanship performance (it was two small glasses of wine & one brandy long!),
everyone headed over to a masonry outdoor oven, where freshly-baked bread was served, and we
quickly assembled for a group picture. We all piled into horse-drawn wagons for a lengthy
ride around the countryside, with everyone joking as to the destination. Even though it
seemed we were getting further away, we finally got back to the starting point and filed
into the rustic dining lodge. The lodge had a thick thatched roof and, although we were
the only group there, it could accommodate a half-dozen times as many, truly a
delightful setting. There was the usual gypsy-like musicians playing Hungarian and
American music with the also usual strolling violinist. The food was very good with
chicken soup and pasta, stuffed cabbages, sauerkraut, goulash, pickled vegetable salad,
boiled potatoes, and a cake with chocolate and fruit topping. It was a fitting event to
end the trip, and we piled onto the bus for the long ride back to Budapest.
Thankfully, we were not asked to sing as we have been after some other farewell dinners!
10/23 Monday, Budapest to Frankfort to Philadelphia
Our bus left at 8:00, as there was another bus earlier, and some people were sent by taxi so the ride to the Ferihegy Airport was more accommodating than some trips we've been on. Of course, we were still there in plenty of time, and we went into the Duty Free Shop to spend our remaining forints. Surprise, the prices are in marks as the shop is run by a German company, geez. Pat selected a box of brandied candies and Clay was eyeing a bottle of wine, but how much? We asked what the mark/forint rate was and found that we could pay the excess with dollars, so we got them both, but what a hassle. People in Hungary have forints, not marks regardless of the traveler's nationality! We still had a little time, so we had a beer, wine, and some kind of chips at the Sbarro just as in the US. Anyway, they took dollars.
The plane left close to on time and we had a glass of wine and a snack and ended up in the
same area of the Frankfort Airport as on the way over. We walked around, looking at the
same shops as before, Pat bought a small Swiss army knife, and we got a US Yesterday
newspaper and waited for the slightly delayed flight. It is a little longer coming back,
there were two movies and Clay set a record by watching both all the way through. Clay
got a champagne again during the drink service, and this time it was a 187ml bottle,
again German sect of course. The meal was pretty good again and we got the same white and red
wines served poured from 750ml bottles. The flight attendant noticed our empty personal
glasses and we got an extra! Customs took a little while, we don't remember doing that at
Philadelphia before. We spent a long time circling the airport, but our limo driver was
waiting and although it was the rush hour, we had a nice ride home.
