Hungary 04

Eastern Europe to the Black Sea

Grand Circle Travel

16 Day Tour/River Cruise 2004

September 12 to September 27, 2004

Under TRAVELS, click under CRUISES, Danube River 04, and Bulgaria 04, Croatia 04, Romania 04 and Serbia 04 for other parts of this vacation.

To speed up downloading time I have used small pictures in place of larger ones.  However, please "Click" on any small one and a larger picture will appear.  Click the "Back" button to return to this story.  

This trip began with a departure from Dulles International Airport on British Airways to Heathrow then direct to Budapest, Hungary.  We arrived at our hotel in Budapest (Novotel Budapest Centrum,) around 4:30 p.m. on September 13.  

View the larger map and flag for some of the demographics of the country.

These photos were taken at Hero Square and Park in Budapest during our morning tour on the 14th.  It hadn't changed much from when we visited before but there was evidence of sprucing up.  This is on the Pest side of Budapest which is separated from the Buda side by the Danube River.  Pest is flat and the most populous of the two parts of the city.

Our able guide, Monica, was describing the park and some of the features we will visit on the Buda side where these pictures were taken.  The workers laying stones were taking lots of care which should explain why the roads there last so long.

Holy Trinity Monument and Matthias Church.  Monica pointed out that after 40 years of communist suppression religion is on the rebound.  She also mentioned that the abortion rate is very high and that marriages last only a short while.

Left are Fishermen's Bastion spires at the hill's edge of Buda.  From there you have views of Pest overlooking the Danube River.  At the center is the House of Parliament building with its beautiful spires and dome.  It is the home of the Holy Crown of Hungary.  The third picture is the Grand Market Hall in Pest.  Some in our group shopped there and walked the two miles back to the hotel.

That afternoon we visited the historic Budapest State Opera House which opened in 1884.  It is one of the most highly acclaimed cultural institutions in Hungary because of its historic and architectural significance.  Unfortunately, taking pictures of the inside was forbidden.  We do have Dotty at the entrance and Larry on the upstairs balcony with our guide, Sylvia.  After that picture Dotty suggested I take one of her with Pierce Brosnan in the background.  Please click on any of these for more details and larger pictures.

Tonight we break into four smaller groups for dinner.  Program Director Valentin Gheorghe from Romania escorted us to our destination, Vasmacska restaurant with authentic Gypsy musicians.  Dotty joins the ensemble!  After dinner we drove across the river to the Citadel atop a high hill where we captured the beauty of the city at dark. 

This is a picture taken as we depart Budapest on the morning of the 15th.  It is the ruins of a military barracks dating to 106 AD.

Then there's the inevitable stop at a factory of some sort.  This time it was a jewelry factory where we first received an interesting lecture on the history of diamonds.  They date to India 2,800 years ago!  What was most interesting about this place was all the beautiful figures decorated with jewelry.  I've also included a picture of some of the apprentices cutting stones.

Further down the road we come to the picturesque village of Szentendre.  There were lots of shops with all kinds of local crafts and artwork.  

Dotty found this quaint little restaurant for lunch.  The owner appeared to be the waiter, cook, cashier and sole employee.  Our friends Todd and Birgit Martin from AZ joined us for the delightful goulash.  On the way back to the bus the street was lined with vendors who guaranteed to be the least expensive in the area.  And they were!!

The highlight of our stay in Hungary was the optional tour we took to Holloko on the 16th.  Johnge, our special guide, joined Program Director Madalina Meirosu for our journey through the countryside to this World Heritage site dating to the 13th Century AD.  Johnge is on the right, Madalina on the left.

Along the way we passed some of the communist block houses built 40 years before.  20% of Hungarians still live in these dormitory like buildings that have only enough space to store no more food than would last one week.  This was done to minimize the possibility of revolution.  There were also the clusters of tiny weekend shacks (dachas) that some used to escape the oppression of the city life.

Speed limits in Hungary are strictly enforced.  Education is compulsory from age 6 to 14 and is free.  One foreign language must be taken; both English and German are popular.  70% of colleges and universities are free.

Until 1990 farms were state owned.  After that the land was returned to pre communist owners.  Taxes are very high.  Hungary however is moving forward and became a member of the European Union in 2004.

The residents of the Holloko village are the only surviving original Hungarians from Asia Minor who settled here in the 1300s.  Johnge is describing the layout of the 58 buildings, still preserving the touches of the 17th century folk architecture.  This colorfully dressed group of ladies performed native dances then solicited members of our group to join them.

Here we are in front of one of the homes on the main street of the village.  And a shot down the street.  The Catholic church dates to 1239.

Dotty and Birgit visit inside the local museum.

This old well and yard furniture was interesting.  The partial reconstruction of this castle has an interesting legend; of a girl, witch and the devil. And this fine lady showed us the art of local weaving.  Click on any of the pictures below to learn about the legend and more.  

And the highlight and end of our visit to Holloko was our Home Hosted lunch by this gracious widow.  She prepared and served us soup, chicken paprika and strudel.  Our group of eight must have been the luckiest of all our travelers to have been chosen to eat here.  

But, before we ate we were treated to her home made plum brandy which was leg slapping, boot stomping good.  One shot was enough for a lifetime!!  These clips were captured from a short video made with our digital still camera.

Departing the village we were visibly reminded of the reverence these kindly people hold for those who have passed on.

Our journey ended back in Budapest where we boarded the MS River Adagio to begin our cruise down the Danube.  Our luggage was awaiting us as we were shown to our cabin for the next seven nights.  Be sure to check out the cruise and other parts of our Eastern Europe excursion. 

Posted on the Internet on 11/11/04, revised 11/13/04