Week 6: Places
17 August - 23 August: Hungary – Croatia - Slovenia
Szentendre is a darling suburb just north of Budapest. It is teeming with galleries, antique shops, cafés and restaurants … and tourists. Aside from that, we thought it a fitting place to celebrate our anniversary (we celebrate on the 14th of every month). We indulged in a very good 4 course meal served on the finest Hungarian china and silverware (real silver!). All up, drinks included, it cost us less than €50.
Budapest has been a wonderful experience. For Edwin it has been the biggest surprise so far. I think I´ve read too much on the city to be surprised, as such, but I have adored it as much as he.
St Stephen’s Basilica
The Chain Bridge at night after taking the funicular
Nyugati Station, designed by he of Eiffel tower fame
A faun holding a lamp aloft outside New York Cafe, once a haunt of the pre WWI filmmakers of Budapest, think Bela Lugosi et al.
Inside the famed New York Cafe
St Gellert is a hotel and spa. It is lovely, dating back to the early 20th century (the pre-emptive art nouveau style of the Hungarians) and as such has a huge tourist allure. In any case, we treated ourselves to a day lounging in thermal baths and diving into art deco pools. There were mixed areas, and also separated spaces for women only, and men only. I was interested to see how so many different cultures mingle in these intimate areas. Where I am used to sometimes bathing in a public bath – sans vetements – many other cultures don’t have the same view. In the sweltering 100⁰C+ steam bath, women sat in soggy bathing suits. Wide eyed, they would eye the Hungarian women at their ease at being in the buff. I wavered but decided on going halfway, (keeping the bottoms on!) not wanting to offend my fellow tourists, but wanting to show some understanding of the”way it should be done”.
The House of Terror is at 60 Andrassy Utca and was the site of the “House of Loyalty” during the time of the Hubngarian nationalistic movement of the Arrowcross. Now it is a museum dedicated to the last 100 years of history in Hungary. It covers the double occupation by first the Nazis and then the Soviets, and goes up to the present day. It’s a gruesome but necessary documentation of the past that 20 years after the fall of communism is freely discussable and representable. It was strangely absorbing to take in the artefacts, video footage, photographs and stories of the people. Spookier was the wall of torturers from the secret police, with their names and dates of births and in many cases, the dates of death. Many are roaming around and that also gives off a curious sense of reality. Was that elderly man on the tram just now a sadistic interrogator? And if he was, is he repentant? Or is he a staunch nationalist/communist/socialist/toe the party-line-r?
Budapest’s campsite is called “Haller”. It is indeed the campsite from hell. This is the view from our camper. Some 30 backpackers had slept in the open air after stumbling home before dawn. On one campsite. We stayed just the one night.
Duga Resa´s campsite has been voted Croatia´s best campsite for the last 2 years running. It is situated by a gorgeous river, the Mreznicki. There is an old military bridge there that is crumbling into ruin but can be walked over and even dived off! You can canoe or kayak along the soft current, or just paddle to and fro. If you like, you can swing from a rope and holler Tarzan-like. Or just lie on the banks and read a book. Can you guess which I did?
Slovenia´s Lake Bled is just like the cover of a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle. It has mountains, then a clear blue lake in the middle, and in its middle is an island with a church on it. On the top of one of the surrounding hills is an old castle.
Lake Bohinj is the other lake in Slovenia. While Bled is considered touristy, this is a haven for outdoor lovers. You can canoe, hike, cycle, mountain climb, canyon, and all sorts of other things. We can see from the vehicles and the outfits of our fellow campers that it´s a different vibe here. We´ll be very happy for a day or two while we rest here. I have a slight cold and need to just hang out (as if that´s not what I´ve been doing the whole time - heheh).
Szentendre is a darling suburb just north of Budapest. It is teeming with galleries, antique shops, cafés and restaurants … and tourists. Aside from that, we thought it a fitting place to celebrate our anniversary (we celebrate on the 14th of every month). We indulged in a very good 4 course meal served on the finest Hungarian china and silverware (real silver!). All up, drinks included, it cost us less than €50.Budapest has been a wonderful experience. For Edwin it has been the biggest surprise so far. I think I´ve read too much on the city to be surprised, as such, but I have adored it as much as he.
St Stephen’s BasilicaThe Chain Bridge at night after taking the funicularNyugati Station, designed by he of Eiffel tower fame
A faun holding a lamp aloft outside New York Cafe, once a haunt of the pre WWI filmmakers of Budapest, think Bela Lugosi et al.
Inside the famed New York Cafe
St Gellert is a hotel and spa. It is lovely, dating back to the early 20th century (the pre-emptive art nouveau style of the Hungarians) and as such has a huge tourist allure. In any case, we treated ourselves to a day lounging in thermal baths and diving into art deco pools. There were mixed areas, and also separated spaces for women only, and men only. I was interested to see how so many different cultures mingle in these intimate areas. Where I am used to sometimes bathing in a public bath – sans vetements – many other cultures don’t have the same view. In the sweltering 100⁰C+ steam bath, women sat in soggy bathing suits. Wide eyed, they would eye the Hungarian women at their ease at being in the buff. I wavered but decided on going halfway, (keeping the bottoms on!) not wanting to offend my fellow tourists, but wanting to show some understanding of the”way it should be done”.
The House of Terror is at 60 Andrassy Utca and was the site of the “House of Loyalty” during the time of the Hubngarian nationalistic movement of the Arrowcross. Now it is a museum dedicated to the last 100 years of history in Hungary. It covers the double occupation by first the Nazis and then the Soviets, and goes up to the present day. It’s a gruesome but necessary documentation of the past that 20 years after the fall of communism is freely discussable and representable. It was strangely absorbing to take in the artefacts, video footage, photographs and stories of the people. Spookier was the wall of torturers from the secret police, with their names and dates of births and in many cases, the dates of death. Many are roaming around and that also gives off a curious sense of reality. Was that elderly man on the tram just now a sadistic interrogator? And if he was, is he repentant? Or is he a staunch nationalist/communist/socialist/toe the party-line-r?
Budapest’s campsite is called “Haller”. It is indeed the campsite from hell. This is the view from our camper. Some 30 backpackers had slept in the open air after stumbling home before dawn. On one campsite. We stayed just the one night.
Duga Resa´s campsite has been voted Croatia´s best campsite for the last 2 years running. It is situated by a gorgeous river, the Mreznicki. There is an old military bridge there that is crumbling into ruin but can be walked over and even dived off! You can canoe or kayak along the soft current, or just paddle to and fro. If you like, you can swing from a rope and holler Tarzan-like. Or just lie on the banks and read a book. Can you guess which I did?
Slovenia´s Lake Bled is just like the cover of a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle. It has mountains, then a clear blue lake in the middle, and in its middle is an island with a church on it. On the top of one of the surrounding hills is an old castle.
Lake Bohinj is the other lake in Slovenia. While Bled is considered touristy, this is a haven for outdoor lovers. You can canoe, hike, cycle, mountain climb, canyon, and all sorts of other things. We can see from the vehicles and the outfits of our fellow campers that it´s a different vibe here. We´ll be very happy for a day or two while we rest here. I have a slight cold and need to just hang out (as if that´s not what I´ve been doing the whole time - heheh).
posted by Chasing Paradise at 7:11 PM
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