German Rapsoel

There's not much better in Germany than making it through the winter and being rewarded with the stunning views of the fields of "Raps" or "rapeseed" in English, I believe.  They're bright yellow flowers that cover the countryside and are harvested to make "Rapsoel" or "rapeseed oil" for cooking.  I guess it's an alternative to normal vegetable oil (Pflanzenoel) or sunflower oil (Sonnenblumenoel).  Either way, it really upgrades the landscapes here.  We are also lucky that our school sits next to some farmland that grows this stuff every other year or so.

 View of the fields from our school.

This guy's also growing some kind of wheat next to it.

--Justin

Heading East for Easter: Budapest - Statue Park

One of the more unique sights to see in Budapest is the collection of Soviet memorials from the communist era about 30-40 minutes outside of Budapest at "Statue Park", recently renamed "Memento Park".  As the communist regime fell in Hungary, one of the first acts of capitalism was to set up this park outside of town and bus people in to have a look.  It's a fine collection of socialist realist art that captures the collectivism and anti-individualism that was all the rage of the regime.

This one is probably my favorite in the park, representing a worker running into the future holding the Soviet Flag.

 This one depicts the "scout" type program that the Soviets had in place to raise up good little communists.

 This one had a bunch of copper or bronzework on it which was ripped off sometime during the regime change.

Lenin is one of only about three people that could have individual monuments made of them during this time.  The others are Marx and Engels of course.

 I really liked this one which seemed to be made from scrap metal out of a junkyard or something.  See below for close-ups.

 This guy was also pretty intimidating - a proud comrade holding the flag, chin up, and packing some heat.

This one commemorated the "liberation" of the Hungarians by the Soviets during WWII.  

 Another sweet Lenin bust.

 Lenin.

This is all that remains of a statue of Stalin that was cut off at the boots during the 1956 Uprising.

 Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels - authors of the Communist Manifesto

Statue Park is definitely a fascinating stop for history buffs and any Westerner really, since these type of monuments are so different from what you find in Western Europe and North America.

--Justin

Heading East for Easter: Budapest - Sights in "Pest"

While "Buda" is lovely, the main action goes down on the "Pest" side of the Danube.  I should've taken more pictures of all of the amazing architecture throughout the city in the Historicist style, which is apparently a blend of multiple styles.  The image that kept coming back to me was the 1920s Great Gatsby era.  I'm not sure if that's even accurate, but it did feel oddly preserved from that time period.  This post is loaded with pictures of the Parliament, churches, monuments and memorials, Hungarian baths, the Great Market Hall, and the oldest subway in Europe.

The Hungarian Parliament was built at the end of the 19th century as part of Hungary's millenium year of 1896.  It strongly resembles London's Houses of Parliament because the architect studied in London.  It's unnecessarily massive, as only a fraction of it (1/3?) is actually used for official business.

While difficult to see, this is a symbolic Hungarian flag with a hole cut out from the center........right where the old communist seal was under Soviet rule.  In 1956 there was a huge uprising in Hungary against the communist regime - the first of its kind.  Now this behavior wasn't tolerated by the Soviets so they sent in a bunch of troops and opened fire on demonstrators outside of the parliament.  Fighting took place for a week or so leaving 2,500 Hungarians and over 700 Soviets killed and at least 20,000 injured Hungarians.  The uprising was unsuccessful, but this was the first clear example to the world that the communist regimes were definitely not a choice of the people.

Hanging with the famous poet Attila Jozsef (1905-1937)

St. Istvan's Basilica (St. Stephen) - named after Hungary's first Christian king and also built for the millenial celebrations of 1896

Inside Istvan's Basilica

Inside Istvan's Basilica

Following the amazing stained glass we saw in Krakow, I also really enjoyed a set of 3-4 stained glass windows in Istvan's Basilica of a few saints

Gresham Palace was the first building in Budapest in the Historicist style, badly damaged during WWII, and restored during 1999 into a swanky hotel.

This Holocaust Monument memorializes the Jews of Budapest that were either sent off to concentration camps or killed right here on the banks of the Danube when the Nazi puppet government - the Arrow Cross - came to power in 1944.

This monument to the communist politician Imre Nagy, the leader of the 1956 Uprising, is strategically placed so that he is able to keep an eye on the Parliament.  He was a trusted insider in the communist regime that had the aim of softening up the communist policies in Hungary.  When the Soviets put down the uprising he was arrested, tried, executed, and buried in an unmarked grave.

Marisa was happy to find a fellow Californian in Budapest.

The Great Market Hall is a fun place to come and wander around and buy souvenirs, produce, sweets, or to grab a snack and people watch.

View from the top floor of the Great Market Hall.

One cannot visit Budapest without partaking in a Hungarian bath.  We went to the Szechenyi Baths, which included several indoor thermal baths at various temperatures, a hot sauna, cold plunge pool, and two large outdoor pools (heated).

The decor of the baths made it seem like we were in a time warp again and the place seems to be a common meeting spot for locals.

After leaving the baths we strolled through City Park and came across Vajdahunyad Castle, which was also built for the 1896 millenial celebration.  We caught a nice glimpse of the place under the moonlight.

The castle, shown here, was meant to be taken down after the celebration but it was so popular with the locals that they decided to keep it.

This man, known only as Anonymous, was the man given credit for recording Hungary's first written history during the Middle Ages.

On Heroes Square, they have a massive monument - the Millenial Monument - yet again, built for the 1896 celebration.  It features these Magyar tribal leaders in the center, representing the original settlers of Hungary, surrounded by the Hungarian War Memorial which features 14 different Hungarian leaders over the centuries.

Hungarian War Memorial - half of it anyways.  Imagine a mirror image of this structure right next to it.

Here we see the entire Heroes Square with both monuments.

As mentioned before, Budapest has the oldest metro system on the continent.  The stations were all very clean and were beautifully decorated with these tile motifs.

There are even more sights to see on the Pest side of Budapest, and we could've spent a few more days there.  I guess you have to leave something to come back to.........

--Justin

Heading East for Easter: Budapest - Sights in "Buda-"

Marisa and I took a pleasant overnight train from Krakow to Budapest, Hungary for the second stop on our trip.  I honestly didn't know much about Budapest, as far as what to see and do, but I'd heard lots of people raving about the place at school.  Of course we were packing Rick Steve's but it's sometimes nice to visit a place with no expectations beforehand.

Budapest has a long history and is sort of the historical boundary between the East and West, as far as Europe's concerned.  The Danube river cuts right through the city, dividing it geographically into the western-side ("Buda") where the Alps end with the Buda Hills and the "Pest" side which is made up of the Great Hungarian Plain which extends into Asia.  The history in a nutshell is that the Roman province of Pannonia once stood on the Buda side until the Roman Empire fell, which led Europe into the Dark Ages.  During this time there were all kinds of dodgy characters running around, including but not limited to: the Celts, Vandals, Huns, and Avars.  Around 896 AD, seven Magyar (MUD-jar) tribes cruised into town and decided to set up shop there and make raids throughout Europe.  They settled in the middle of the Slavic people and made out pretty good until they lost a key Battle of Augsburg in 955 against the Germans and Czechs.  At that point the Hungarian king Geza adopted Christianity and convinced his nomadic people to settle into this area and start thinking long-term. 

Over the centuries the Hungarians held strong against the Tatars and Ottomans, and were ruled by the Habsburgs which put them on the wrong side of WWI.  The Treaty of Trianon in 1920 split up most of the prosperous Hungarian territory into surrounding nations and left them as a prime candidate to support the Nazis with hopes of regaining their land in WWII.  Since that didn't pan out either, Hungary fell under Communist rule and didn't break free until 1989.  Hungary joined the European Union in 2004, but have yet to adopt the euro.  Budapest is a pleasant city at the heart of Hungary and the architecture reflects the diverse background that has brought it to present day.  Check out some pics from the "Buda"-side of the city....

The Chain Bridge crosses the Danube, connecting the "Pest" side (shown) with the "Buda" side.

Legends say that the Magyar tribes were led to this spot by a mythical Turul bird.  The bird dropped a sword down in the Carpathian Basin to let them know that this is where they'd be throwing down.

We happened across an impromptu changing-of-the-guard outside of the Royal Palace.

The former Ministry of War, complete with tons of bullet holes from WWII and from the 1956 Uprising.

View of Matthias Church, named after a famous Hungarian king from the 15th century.

We really liked the mosaic tile-work found on the ceilings on many buildings, such as the Matthias Church.

Although the interior was under heavy renovation, we did get to catch a glimpse of some of the hand-painted walls and ceilings.

View of the Fishermen's Bastion with St. Istvan (Stephen), Hungary's first Christian king (967-1038).  He was baptized by his father, King Geza, and ruthlessly Christianized the nation, beheading those that would not convert.  For that he was credited with keeping Hungary on the map and was sainted after his death.

So that get's us started with Budapest, but the best is yet to come with the sites from the "Pest" side coming up as well as our visit to a Soviet statue park.

--Justin