blue danube
24 january 2004

it was the first time we had ever booked a trip three months in advance. istanbul for the holidays sounded exotic, a destination different from any we had recently been to. east meets west. gary had been there once and was jazzed about going back. we were especially looking forward to shopping for a beautiful persian rug and knew that was the place to do it. but as things continued to heat up around the world during the fall months, sadly istanbul was bombed not once but twice and at that point we decided to make a different plan. the odds were that it wouldn't be bombed again so soon but it seemed that istanbul was a volatile city in these ever growing volatile times. there's no point in being on vacation and looking over your shoulder constantly to see if potential terrorists are about. we hated buying into this paranoiac thinking but alas we gave in and rebooked our trip.

the new destination was budapest, hungary with a short excursion over to slovakia's capital-bratislava. we had never been farther east than prague and wanted to see what the former eastern bloc was all about. after a 10 hour search on the internet, gary found a hotel that sounded too good to be true and when we arrived on christmas day, it exceeded our expectations. it was a five star hotel and they were offering a great deal in honor of their one year renovation anniversary. it became clear that most people visit hungary in the summer months and so this is an advantage for us winter travellers. immediately comfortable in our mini suite, we didn't venture very far on christmas night. we enjoyed dinner in the atrium of the hotel and then explored the many balconies and grand staircases dressed up tastefully for the holiday season. the hotel itself was immense. it was almost like being in a museum, and we took in the details of the art nouveau style and found interesting paintings and furniture on each floor. after exploring we parked ourselves in the executive lounge which offered the use of the internet, big screen tv, and some great coffee table books. it was a quiet and relaxing christmas; a great start to our holiday.

the next morning the sun was shining brightly and i had a feeling it was of the crisp, cold sort even before stepping outside. indeed it was much colder than amsterdam! but the city was sparkling and we were on our way. the city is divided by the danube river- buda sits proudly up on a hill overlooking pest, which is where we were staying. on our way into the city from the airport via minibus, the buildings on the outskirts of the city were typically soviet bloc style- very square with straight rows of windows in colorless shades of cement, formidable like soldiers standing stiffly at attention. but the city itself has a different face, oppulent baroque curves, indicative of the hapsburg years. we also saw patterns and colors of ottoman design as there was an earlier period of turkish occupation in the 16th and 17th centuries. i have become very drawn to these patterns and love looking at the brightness of the hues and how they are blended. in the beaming afternoon sunshine, we walked over the danube via chain bridge which is flanked by two gigantic stone lions. this bridge is supported by two towers and extends for 380 meters. it was constructed between 1839-49 and is considered to be quite advanced in its engineering. the story goes that the sculptor was so distraught over not giving the lions any tongues that he threw himself into the river and drowned. in fact, they do have tongues, but are not easily visible. this was our only day of sunshine! the effect was a beautiful blue cast over the river, becoming even more blue as we climbed higher towards the old town of buda. the royal palace is perched on top of this appropriately named, castle hill.

i should mention that gary had just bought a sexy little digital camera and was having a grand old time with it. the view from the hill was spectacular and in and around the courtyard of the palace were some great photo opportunities. he seemed to be taking forever, setting up each shot meticulously. this paid off though, as we got some very captivating pics of our trip. the royal palace has been reconstructed many times, most notably by the hapsburgs in the 18th century. there are impressive archways and elaborate fountains and a neo classical dome on top of the palace. we visited two excellent museums housed here - the ludwig, which exhibits only contemporary art and the more extensive national gallery, which displays hungarian artists from the middle ages through the 20th century. one of the many highlights included the great throne room, which has a magnificent collection of folding altar pieces, in pure gothic style accented by influences of the renaissance period and lots of gold. it was really interesting to see these pieces at close range with their larger than life saints and bishops standing out among the stately gold backgrounds.

at this time of year, the days are quite short and it was getting dark as we left the gallery. but even in darkness one can appreciate the cobbled streets of the old town and as cold as it was we continued walking to the nearby matyas {matthew's} church where we bought tickets to a christmas concert later that evening. next to the church stand several columns and portals into which you can climb and have a great overview of the city. it was certainly impressive, even at night, but i would have liked to glimpse it in daylight. our next mission was to find a nice place to eat dinner. i was convinced i would be eating nothing but pickled vegetables, if vegetables were to be found at all among the goulash or even worse, that i might starve on this trip. but i was pleasantly surprised, as we kept finding very good restaurants with vegetarian options. on this night we found a charming restaurant; i had some very good cous cous with grilled veggies, definitely not what i expected. at these moments i sometimes felt that we were still in western europe although the general feeling of budapest is somehow different.

back at matyas church, we were in awe. sitting close to the front we had a grand view of this gothic beauty, at one time converted into the great mosque by the turks in 1541. the church interior was bathed in warm blues and golds accented by carved stone figures on the pulpit and arched stained glass windows more recently dated in the 19th century. the small orchestra played well, sometimes accompanying a most interestingly clad male soloist. he was dressed for the stage with his dramatic black and gold tunic, his long hair giving him a "phantom of the opera" sort of look and his ominous eyes wandering over the audience. his voice was not all that spectacular but he certainly had an aura about him in that outfit. the organist bellowed out some solo pieces and the program wasn't all trite christmas selections, which made it much more palatable. speaking of all things christmas, we were ready to bite the bullet and see the "nutcracker" as that was what was playing at the state opera house but there were no tickets available.

instead we went on the opera house tour as we just had to get a look at that magnificent space. it is laden with really beautiful murals, marble, and bronze chandeliers in the foyer alone and has the second largest stage in europe, next to covent garden in london. we were ordered to put on plastic bags over our shoes so we could traipse over the the royal staircase, usually off limits to us common folk. we also got to see the "cici" room- cici was the king's mistress in the latter part of the 19th century during the austro-hungarian era and she was not allowed to sit with the royals for obvious reasons but was nevertheless loved by the people and respected enough to warrant her own room inside the state opera house. now if we would have been able to see a performance there we wouldn't have been privy to this scandalous tidbit. so this was at least some consolation.

hungary is known for its natural thermal baths, some in budapest dating back to ottoman times. not all are co ed so we went to check out the famous gellert bath complex which did allow men and women to swim together, although the baths were separate. the gellert hotel is next to the spa and is a budapest landmark with its funky deco facade. it has long been a facility for healing waters dating back to the 13th century. the hotel was destroyed in 1945 but has since been reconstructed and modernized while retaining its older charm. we wanted so much to relax and experience these aquatic powers but the afternoon turned quickly sour and we later referred to it as "the bath debacle". but this was meaningful as it gave us a taste of really being in a foreign land, challenging to say the least.

this is a country that is intent on keeping order and in trying so hard to do this, has created more of a chaotic realm. at least from our perspective. we were at once confused as the opening times were different on the outside and the inside of the building. no big deal. however we became overwhelmed as we looked at the list of treatment options-there were no less than 30. you have to choose what you want when you buy your ticket, which is unfortunate since you may be inspired once you get in and see what the facility looks like. so we bought tickets for the basic swimming pool and steam bath, which i think is the same as thermal bath, but actually i'm still not sure. we also paid for towels and a changing cabin. gary was given 2 plastic cards and a long piece of paper divided in sections. let the games begin.

the lobby is quite impressive with its massive columns and mosaic tiles so we were initially distracted. somehow we defied the orders of going to the second door on the right, as instructed by the "guard" at the door. instead gary handed me a few of those paper tickets, one plastic card, and with a good luck kiss, disappeared into the men's locker room. i didn't have a good feeling about this. i entered the women's locker room and was coldly turned away and sent to the swimming pool, thereby encountering another unpleasant employee. they seemed to enjoy being mean and definitely in control. i apparently did not have any of the right tickets and she just was not going to let me in. i tried explaining that my husband had the tickets and was somewhere inside which had to be the case since you can't get in without passing by the ticket window first. i'm sure this was not the first incidence of this but she was not going to work with me. she did however allow me to stand in front of the large window where i could see the swimming pool straining to see gary. i waited and waited but he never appeared and i thought he must have gone into the steam bath first.

at this point i was close to tears and tried pleading once more with the woman to no avail and made another attempt at the locker room but that woman was even more of a "nazi" so i just sat down, trying to gather my thoughts and suppress my rising anger. i was considering buying another ticket but i had no local currency- i would have had to use a credit card or change money. i really didn't want to pay again! so i went to the front desk and explained and the woman made a phone call and then i was finally allowed in. my frustration continued as i found myself in a hallway leading nowhere it seemed. eventually i saw some lockers and had to fight with the towel lady since i STILL didn't have the correct piece of paper. i went upstairs and now had dealings with an even more unpleasant attendant, boxy and mustached. scary looking woman and not a shred of interest in helping me. by the time i took off all my layers, stowed my stuff , and navigated my way to the pool, i was in quite a state. i welcomed the sight of gary's familiar face but was drained and had little interest in the spa experience at this point. we compared notes and as it turned out, he had attempted to argue {in german} with the locker attendants downstairs, saying that he needed to find his wife and that we had payed for a cabin together. he at least enjoyed the baths, which are tiled in a rich turquoise color, and had a refreshing swim. the pool was too cold for my taste and i thought the baths had a slightly run down quality and they could have been hotter. such a critic. the sauna was full of large ladies sitting on massive wooden chairs, the heavy iron door squeaking each time one of them entered or exited. the actual steam room was crowded and i didn't have the patience to wait. we didn't stay too long, which was a shame since it took so much effort to get to that place.

onward. the rest of the day wasn't going that well. it was absolutely freezing and we were looking for a specific restaurant which we never found. but this is the beauty of traveling, not everything falls perfectly into place. {of course, i say that now}. the next day we went to look at the szechenyi baths, the largest spa complex in europe. these hot springs were discovered in 1876 and i must say the steam rising from the outdoor pool looked inviting. but the reality of yesterday's mishap was still with us and besides, i had already "done" my hair and makeup for the day. at some point it would be fun to stay in a hotel/spa so we could really have the therapuetic experience it was meant to be. next time.

this bath complex is situated in a park called varosliget, which offers other activities in and around the area. so we strolled around, saw some beautiful domed architecture, witnessed a big crowd of skaters gliding around the rink, walked through heroes' square, the site of the 1896 millenium celebrations, and then stepped inside the oppulent palace of art. we only had time for one art venue that day and we chose the museum of fine arts, which was hosting a monet exhibition. the queue was pretty long but had we not had to wait we wouldn't have met two very nice women standing behind us. one of them spoke english very well, the other not at all. a lot of times when you meet people from europe, you can tell that they are fascinated by americans and since we are equally as fascinated to talk to people from other countries whom we can actually communicate with, this makes for a nice exchange. it certainly helped pass the time waiting in line to get in. as it turned out, we waited for nothing because we ended up not going to the monet exhibit but exploring the permanent collection. {we would have had to wait in another line for monet}.

budapest offers some great museums. not that amsterdam doesn't but we rarely go anymore since we live there. how sad. we visited the franz liszt museum, a small house where the composer had lived and which still houses a concert hall. after we paid our admission fee, one of those gruff old ladies who always seem to work in these kinds of places, gestured to gary as he started taking pictures. apparently there was a supplemental fee if you wanted to use a camera. the same woman then followed him around pointing out all the good shots and watching him carefully to make sure he didn't miss anything worth documenting. in another museum, we were also followed closely and directed to view the rooms in a specific sequence - i guess we have that look of potential art theives. or maybe they just really like to keep things orderly. given that the country was behind the iron curtain, this is probably a leftover way of doing things and makes sense. but it almost makes you feel like a poorly behaved child who needs to be watched all the time. not such a free feeling.

not far from the liszt house is the liszt academy of music. one night after an early dinner, we walked by, interested in taking a look at the interior. the place was abuzz with dressed up concertgoers; we were hoping we could find some last minute tickets. we got lucky as a woman approached us with two tickets, excited to be in this historical hall and ready to be wowed by some classical music. but to our surprise and dissappointment, the program was DIXIELAND, of all things. oh boy, this would be different. the place was packed and people were dressed to the nines, although the sense of fashion looked nothing like the stylishly tall women who seem to be everywhere in western europe. here i saw alot of stockier women dolled up in sequined puffy frocks right out of the 1980's or some other time and place. this was apparent in the shops as well. they're a few decades behind, fashionably speaking. as far as the concert went...... you have not lived until you have heard "my way" sung with a hungarian accent accompanied by a dixieland band {complete with banjo}. we couldn't bear to go back after intermission and snuck out inconspicuously.

on monday morning we had time to explore the Jewish quarter, before catching the train to bratislava. the narrow side streets don't display any of the ornate architecture of the more populated areas. the gray day and the poor condition of many of the buildings left us with a heavily clouded feeling, almost like being in a different place entirely. an occasional fruit and vegetable market offered the only color contrast. this is what everyday life looks like, we guessed in other eastern european cities as well. arriving at the great synogogue from the back side, we were able to see the holocaust monument, a flowing sculpture of a weeping willow, funded in part by the hungarian-american actor tony curtis. this commemorates the 600,000 hungarian jews killed in WWII. unfortunately the synagogue was closed over the holiday period, which really disappointed me. the exterior was beautiful, mostly yellow and orange, tiled in the Byzantine-Moorish style. it's the largest in all of Europe and it was a pity we didn't get to see it. gary consoled me by taking me to lunch at a nearby kosher restaurant, where i had chicken matzoh ball soup that rivaled by grandmother's recipe. i wouldn't let him eat gefilte fish though- i can't stomach being anywhere near that frightful stuff.

the train station in budapest feels very third worldly, nothing modern about it and pretty beaten up. although we had checked the schedule with the hotel concierge, we learned that the afternoon train wasn't going until the evening. we had some pretty unwieldy luggage so we would have to find a nearby hangout and get comfy for the next 3 hours. and then suddenly there was mcdonald's, which i haven't set foot in since i was about 12. but this was a special mcdonald's with an upper level called "mccafe". this turned out to be something along the lines of a starbuck's except the decor was deco with a lavender and grayish green vaulted ceiling. they had green tea and great muffins and we whiled away the hours reading and writing postcards. the hilarious thing about this was that when we returned to budapest a few days later, we chose to go there a couple more times- once for the muffins and the next day for a quick egg mcmuffin. besides we like "mc" things since this is our name {mcbride}. at last we got on the express train which actually stopped at every little town, not that we could see anything as it was now pitch dark. we were in first class, which means different things in different countries. we shared a six seater compartment for part of the trip; eventually everyone else got off. the train seemed like something out of the 1930's, red velvet high backed seats and had a very musty smell. it wasn't horrible though and we made it safely to bratislava.

there isn't too much too say about the capital of slovakia in comparison with budapest except that it's really fun for about 2 days and then it's time to go somewhere else. the city center is very small and easily explored in an afternoon. it feels more like an oversized village than a capital city. but it is charming and as we walked around the old cobblestone streets, we were reminded a bit of italy-narrow, winding streets, houses built of stone, cafes tucked into alleyway alcoves. it's colorful as well. the primate {not the ape, but the bishop} palace is very pink and the old town hall is yellow. there's an interesting building with portraits over the windows, most recognizaby vincent van gogh. we weren't sure what was housed there except these paintings visible to the outside but it was certainly unique and from far away looked like these guys were hanging out of the windows. this warren of alleyways and courtyards offered many twists and turns, each one leading us towards more beautiful architecture. one highlight, which is not right in the center, is the "blue church". we only saw the exterior, as it was closed. it looks just like a wedding cake in pastel blue with ornate tiers of curlicue design.

one thing that was strange about bratislava was the shopping opportunity. we couldn't find any "chatchka" shops. we have a collection of magnets from different countries but we weren't able to find one here. there were news stands aplenty but even they were in short supply of post cards and tourist items. in fact, there was nothing we actually wanted to buy the whole time we were there, except tickets to the opera, none of which were available. and believe me, we tried- we went to the main shopping street desperately hoping to spend some cash but not one item of clothing jumped out at us. we even went to tesco, which in england is a supermarket, but in slovakia is a weirdly arranged department store. this is really unfortunate since the slovakian kronor goes a long way. budapest wasn't as inexpensive we thought it might be but slovakia certainly was. i did enjoy a very nice massage, however, at the hotel for the equivalent of 14 euros. and we did eat well......

in fact we had dinner all three nights at the same glorious restaurant, paparazzi. this was an appropriate name. outside the restaurant was a bronze sculpture of a man with a camera peering around the corner and at first glance you almost think he's real. he wasn't but the food was, coupled with a perfect atmosphere. the menu was extensive and we were embarrassed when the waiter came back four times before we were ready to order. there was also an entire hard bound book of cocktails to choose from, all with trendy names, of course. but they lived up to their descriptions both in appearance and taste. i had a sophisticated vodka drink with freshly muddled watermelon and fresh basil. this will be worth trying to duplicate on a hot summer evening next year. gary had "american beauty", compari, pomegranate juice and a few other red items, served tall and with a red rose petal floating on top. we had an early dinner on new year's eve, which made it easy to score a table at this popular eatery.

we're kind of old farts when it comes to nye, preferring peace and quiet to the overly rated fireworks that overtake certain cities, i.e. amsterdam. at first we thought we might escape the obligatory loudness associated with this night since our hotel was right next door to the heavily guarded american embassy. but no, they set up a bandstand and we could hear the music loud and clear. at least it wasn't hard rock; it varied from fiddle music to pop to rock and wasn't too annoying with ear plugs in. our intention was to go ice skating after dinner but there was no skate rental and besides it was pouring rain. so we hung out in the piano bar, gary trying hard to ignore the talent free musician at the keyboard. he made the mistake of ordering the local liquor called slivovitz. he had tried it before, this particular version being right up there with the fire water he previously tasted. when i asked him why he ordered it, he said he thought the quality might be better here at the source but it was still basically firewater. this was obvious because he didn't finish it. when we grew weary of people watching, we retired to our seventh floor room and at midnight had a clear view of the impressive display of fireworks being set off over the danube. we left the next day, back to budapest on a real first class train this time, enjoying the daylight scenery that we missed on the trip over. we were the only ones in the car except for the surprisingly amiable passport control officers.

it was our last night in budapest and we headed out to eat dinner. earlier we had seen a promising restaurant nearby the hotel but as we approached it we realized that right in front of us was a large group of loud americans in gleaming white tennis shoes who were making a bee line for the same place. we looked at each other skeptically and opened the door. but at that moment, i said to gary "sorry, can't do it". in the end we were grateful that we chose to leave because we found a much hipper place called "karma", which turned out to be a great restaurant with funky, yet tasteful decor. we spent our last day walking on margaret island. there was no boat ride involved, we only had to walk about 20 minutes to get there. this is budapest's most beautiful park, a green, pedestrian sanctuary in the midst of the city. historically from the 11th century onward, the island offered religious retreat and takes its name from the daughter of king bela IV. you can see ruins of the convent where princess margrit lived, as well as a shrine dedicated to her. there is one hotel built around the natural thermal springs rising on the island; this is incentive to visit again- to stay here and really experience the baths. budapest is a fantastic city and has piqued our interest in going even further east sometime. we loved our holiday trip but i think next year we'll be going somewhere just a bit warmer.

happy new year!

much love,

deb