Happenstance-ing: Budapest, Fussen, Vienna July 2012

It has been well over a year since I last blogged. I felt the need to express myself. I thought I would start with the past. And work my way up to the present. Back in July of last year, (2012), we made another trip back to Budapest. I went with my mom and Sophie, and my sister met us there. The trip was actually to take care of some paperwork, which of course was easier said than done. The "normal" Hunagarian way. In between the paperwork, we did manage to visit friends, see a few places, and take a side trip or two.

This is my mom and I at an area called Vajdahunyad Var. A sort of remake of many different styles of architecture.

This is one of the buildings in the Var (castle) area.

A Church also at the Var

One of my favorites... this statute is called Anonomyus... it is kind of iery, it has no face, but it makes for such great photos.

We must have beent there about 1 week or so, and than my sister joined us. She was only there for a week, so trying to get done all that needed to, was impossible. It is now February 2013, and we are still trying to get the papers straightened out. Making it even harded from this side of the Atlantic.

Since most of the gov. business we needed to do, was only done on certain days, it gave us time for some more sightseeing. Not like we have not seen these sights before. But somehow, they never grow old.

I have to admit, these 3 pictures are some of my favorites. I took them at Hosok Ter...aka Heroes Square. It is actually a huge square, taking up probably an entire city block. The whole thing is covered with brick, the center is empty. At the far end is the statue. It represents the 7 Tribes of the Magyars. 7 statues, and in the center is the chariot. I am not sure which Tribe Leader I took these of, but the art work is breathtaking. Sadly it is up so high, that most people just look at it from a distance.

A visit to Hungary is not complete without seeing our oldest and dearest friend Jeno. We have known him since the 1980's. (that is a long time) Our friendship has withstood the test of time. He is a kind and considerate man. Also extremely knowledgeable on many things. Two of them being history and archery.

Sophie at Jeno's house, with a master to teach her. Like I said, passion #1.

Oh yes, his other passion, history. He took this of me, on a tour of Erd, the area where he moved to. I am standing on what used to be part of the origional "Roman Road". It was actually used by the Romans. Wow it was so cool, when ever I get to these places, these ancient places, I think if of the people who stepped here before me. What where they like, what was their life like? So many cool questions pass my in mind.

As I said before, I never tire of the city's beauty. It is amazing. Here is a statue of St. Stephen, the first Hungarian King. He brought Christianity to the country in the year 1000 AD. This statue is located up in the Castle District in Buda. aka Budai Var. It is closer to Fishermans Bastion and Mathias Church...aka Halasz Bastya and Matyas Templom.

Just a building somewhere in the city

The Budai Var...aka Buda Castle

Eastern Railway Station...aka Keleti Palyaudvar. Located on the Red Metro Line (#2) We actually did leave from there to go to Germany. But I do make it a point to make one of my stops no matter what.

A family get-together at my Aunt and Uncles new house. A little out of town, but still on the bus line. Nice area, nice house. My sister got to see everyone too. Since her visits are not as frequent as mine, she misses a lot. Here she got to catch-up with the family.

My mom and her slibings. Mom, Pistabacsi, the oldest brother, Eva, the youngest sister and Karcsi the youngest brother. Missing is my Uncle Tibor, who lives here in the states and my Aunt, Pirineni, who passed away in 2011.

Sophie blowing dandelions while on the way to my other Uncle's house. In Uncle Karcsi's backyard, with cousin Gabor and Balazs.

Just outside of Budapest is a quaint little town called Szent Endre. It was a nice side trip that we took with Jeno. Kind of cool, we had sandwiches in the park, bought some beer from the little corner store, and walked till our feet felt like they would fall off. Of course we did mange to stop for some real lunch, and some amazing ice cream (twice)

One of my favorite...door handles.

Another one of those if walls could talk places. Sadly covered in graffiti. But still beautiful.

Szent Endre..city center

Just a very cool stairway.

My hubby's oldest and best friend. Friends since 2nd grade. An amazing person. Gyuszi. We met with him and his girlfriend, and we went down to the lake. Lake Balaton, the largest lake in Hungary. It was nice and relaxing after the hustle and bustle of city life.

Little old man entering Lake Balaton

Sopron... a small little town located in far Western Hungary. The last city you hit in Hungary before heading to Austria. It was the last town my parents where in before heading to freedom in 1956. Just outside of town, is a little village, Salamonfa...aka Solomons Tree, my mom has some cousins there. We went and visited. They where very nice, but we did not have much in common.

Here are some pictures of downtown Sopron, the Roman ruins, located right in the center of town. It was really cool.

This again is the Roman Road. Used by the Romans to get to and from the actual city of Rome. I shot numerous pictures of it, but this black and white with no one on the road just hit the place perfect.

Keystone of one of the buildings dated 1620. Again, so old, if the walls could talk.

From Sopron, I was ready for vaction to really beging. We had taken my sister back to the airport, paperwork was not going to get done, so it was not top priority. Mom, Sophie and I were in need of some R&R. I love my family, and it is so much to see them, but I was ready for some relaxation.
In Sopron, we boarded the train to Vienna. There we changed trains to head over towards Munich. Munich was not our destination, just change of trains. From there, we headed to the town of Fussen. The town of Fussen is famous for the Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau Castles. Built by King Ludwig.

This was the view from our hotel. We could actually see the castle from there, but sadly, oh how sadly, it was covered in tarp, and being renovated. I had visited there once before, when I lived in Hungary, and my hubby and did a road trip. Sadly Sophie did not get to see the amazing Castle. They say that Cinderlla's Castle at Disney World was designed after this.

View of the countryside.

Hohenschwngau Castle... aka High Swan (gau?) Just beautiful, we toured both castles, very well worth it. I had made reservations for the tour ahead of time. Thank goodness, the lines by the time we finished where quite long.

Note the Swans the guys is holding. The place was really quite amazing. Cool how many many years ago, people walked and danced in the rooms we saw. Not as fancy as I imagined, but I would not mind living there.

Me and my Mommy on the grounds of Hohenschwangau. For all the walking and stair climbing we did, my mom did amazing. Even with her asthma.

One of the statues in town, just being a kid, and being silly.A few others copied her pose after we had left.

This little old Church is located in Fussen. It is just beautiful. The inside is so quaint, it still has the creaky wooden floors and the large old wooden pews.

Every time we go on vacation, we take Bear Bear, he is origionally from Hungary. BB always brings a friend. This time, it was Elle. Here they are on the train, at the Vienna.

Here BB and Elle sit on the wall over looking the Valley below Hohenschwangau. I almost lost them, but did a quick catch and they both survived.

We had spent an amazing week in Germany, it was wonderful. The mountains where breath taking, the people friendly and helpful. I look forward to returning, perhaps the next visit will be duing the winter. I would love to see the mountains snow, and experience Christmas there.

We returned to Budapest for a few more weeks. It was fun, and we again saw many sights. This picture I took at Moricz Zsigmond Korter. Moricz Zsigmond was a famous Hungaian author. Korter, kind of a play on words. Kor, meaning circle/round, and Ter, meaning Square. So in reality it is a round square.

The foreground is the Duna (Danube River) spaned by the Lanc Hid..aka Chain Bridge. In the back the real tall building is Szent Istvan Bazillika. (St. Stephens Basicilla). A definate sight not to be missed.

This place used to be quite a bustleing area. It is called Parizsi Udvar...aka Paris Yard. Back in the 80's it held an amazing coffee shop that served the best cappucino. It is also the place where they filmed the opening scenes of the movie "Tinker, Tailor, Soilder, Spy" Sadly the beauty of the building will soon be lost.

Here is an amazing sunrise looking out my bedroom window. Our apartment looks just like the ones here. We are on what they call the 2nd floor, but technically it is the 3rd floor. In Hungary, they do not count the ground floor as a floor, it is just floor.

I was lucky enough to gt back in touch with some old friends from Hungary. We all worked together at what was than "American Clinics International" now know as "First Med Center" At that time, it was just us girls (the 4 of us at the back of the sofa) but we had little ones, and now it is us 4 plus 10. ACI was the best. The people, the staff, the friends.

Again, Budapest is great for walking. I suggest some amazing walking shoes, which luckily I indulged in before I left. This picture was taken as we walked along Margit Hid, Margaret Bridge. It is the entrance to Marigt Sziget, Island.

The ever photographed, Parliament.

Rumbach Street (Utca) Synagogue...This is one of my favorite buildings in Budapest. Lots of history here again. Wow if these walls could talk. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumbach_Street_synagogue

Right up the street from the Rumback Synagogue, is the Dohány Street (Utca)Synagogue. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doh%C3%A1ny_Street_Synagogue It is a very somber place, but so so full of history. I have passed and stopped many many times. This is the first time I noticed this grave marker.

Walking down Vaci Utca, there are many street performers. Just drop a bit of change in their hats, and they perform. Just a little kiss, for the little miss.

I just had to shoot this, and post it. It is so funny. It is located on the Villamos, (yellow street cars). It is meant to be used in case of an emergency. It is a little hammer, located behind a piece of glass. The writing on the window states.... "Window Breaking Hammer"...ok, enough said.

Well, as all good things must....our vacation had to come to an end eventually. We headed back to Vienna to catch our flight. We had a full day (purpose) to spend there before the next day heading home. We walked around Vienna, and went into the city center. They also have a Church named St. Stephens. The Horse Whisperer was located in the square outside of the Church.