October 8, 2014: Day 3 in Budapest

October 8, 2014

This morning Marc and I caught the Metro and then the train to take us to Aquincum, where there are excavations of an ancient Roman settlement north of Pest on the Danube.  Settled by the Romans during the 1^st century BCE when the area (Pannonia) was the Roman frontier, it lasted until the 5^th century CE.  At its peak, the city had about 40,000 inhabitants.  The excavated ruins date back to the 2^nd century, when the city had around 15,000 inhabitants. Remains of an amphitheater, mosaic floors, tombstones, and statues  are found in the excavated area.  In the Aquincum Museum there are many artifacts found on the site, including parts of a water-organ.  A reconstructed water-organ is on display.  We spent about 2-1/2 hrs viewing the museum and the archeological site.  

Amphitheater

Aquincum Archeological Site

Mosaic Floor

Once we returned to Budapest, we walked to St. Stephens Basilica, which was completed in the early 20^th century.  Originally started in the 1840’s, the first dome collapsed in 1868 and everything had to be demolished to begin construction again.  The basilica was completed in 1905 and is constructed in the neo-Classical style.  It is named after St. Stephen I who was the first king of Hungary and whose right hand is preserved in a reliquary in the chapel.  It can be observed.  The height of the dome is 96 m and equivalent to the height of the dome in the Parliament Building.  

St. Stephens Basilica

High Altar

Dome

From St. Stephens we walked to the Opera House and then took the metro back to the hotel. 

Opera House

At 15:45, the group proceeded to the Goldberger Museum of the textile and clothing industry.  This museum is in the original Goldberger family home.  They were merchants and developed a business that cornered the market in the dyeing of textiles.  In the 18^th century, blue-dyed (indigo) materials were in very high demand and the process was extremely labor intensive.  The use of natural indigo became prohibitively expensive and the market for naturally dyed blue cloth dropped.  The Goldberger business adopted the use of the synthetic variety of the dye and this reduced many steps in the dying process and made the product cheaper.  They also were very concerned with worker rights.  The museum described their business throughout the 19^th and early 20^th century and how it evolved from a very labor-intensive, manual industry to a highly mechanized one.  It also documents the Nazi deportation and death of family members and the Soviet steps that eventually eliminated their business. 

Our farewell dinner was at 19:30 in the Söförras Restaurant almost across the street from the hotel.  We have had just a good time together, seen so many outstanding sites, learned a great deal about three countries and the struggles, and were introduced to a lot of science, medical, and pharmaceutical history in East/East Central Europe.  This was just an outstanding trip and great to be with such super people.  Thanks so much to Mary Virginia for her meticulous planning and to Jan Hayes and Carolyn Brockland for their coordination.
Here are some pictures of the group having a great time at the farewell dinner and what perfect way to end the evening, but with a chocolate flambé.  

A flambé to end the evening

October 7, 2014: Day 2 in Budapest

October 7, 2014

Today, a group of us spent time visiting the museums in the Buda Castle complex and going to St. Matthias square area in Buda.  We took the tram to the Chain Bridge and walked across the bridge to the funicular, which took us to the Buda Castle.  

Walking the Chain Bridge

Funicular to Buda Hill

Almost to the Top

Because we all have Budapest Cards, there are no charges to visit the museums.  From the plaza, there were good views of the Danube.  

Panorama View of Danube

The first museum was the National Gallery that contains holdings of Hungarian painters (primarily 18^th to 20^th century), an exquisite exhibit of medieval altar pieces and a display of stone carvings, many of which came from archeological digs in the castle complex.  The Castle never was a defensive structure, but a palace complex that had its origins in the 13^th century and was rebuilt and added to over the centuries.  We really got an idea of the extensiveness of the complex and its evolution through the centuries by visiting the Budapest History Museum located in the south wing of the castle.  Archeological items uncovered in various local excavations in Pest, Buda and Óbuda - the three cities that make up Budapest - are on display. The oldest finds date back more than 40,000 years. Much of the material in the ground and basement levels is related to the history of Buda Castle and its development over the centuries.  Unfortunately, not many artifacts survived from the once famous medieval palace, however lower levels of the museum feature some remains and there are a few restored rooms.  The first floor emphasizes the history of Budapest with much related to the post World War II era.  

We exited the History Museum in the Lions Court and proceeded across the back side of the palace complex to St Matthias square with the huge gothic cathedral from the 14^th century and Fishermen Bastion.  From the Fishermen Bastion, we had superb vista views of the Danube and Budapest.  From here we caught the 16A bus that took us to the Metro, which we took back to the area of our hotel.

St. Matthias Church

Matthias

Church Entrance

View from Fishermen Bastion

Fishermen Bastion

At 16:00 the group assembled for our visit to the medical museum, Semmelweis Museum.  This is a medical history museum containing one of the richest medical and pharmaceutical historical collections showing western medicine development from prehistoric times to the 20^th century.  There is a 1543 copy of anatomist Andreas Vesalius’s The Structure of the Human Body in Seven Books and wax anatomical figure demonstrating the female lymphatic system.  The museum is in memory of Ignaz Semmelweis (1818-1865) who recognized while working in the maternity clinics of the Vienna General Hospital, that mortality rates due to puerperal fever were related to the fact that physicians who performed autopsies and attended women in labor didn’t wash their hands.  His empirical evidence predated Pasteur’s germ theory and he was vilified for his ideas.  Eventually committed to an insane asylum, he died in his 40’s of severe internal injuries after being beaten by the guards.

We returned to the hotel and met at 18:45 to travel to our restaurant – Bagolyvar Etterem – near Heroes Square.  We used the #1 Metro line, which is the oldest with the most ornate stations.  Another excellent dinner – Hungarian Soup, Veal Paprika with noodles, and apple strudel.  

In Metro 1 Station

Heroes Square

Museum of Fine Art

At Bagolyvar Restaurant

Hungarian Soup

Veal Paprika

October 6, 2014: Day 1 in Budapest

October 6, 2014

Today we have a full day of sightseeing in Budapest.  First, we caught the tram to Hungarian Parliament Building where we had a guided tour of this huge neo-gothic building that was built at the end of the 19^th and beginning of the 20^th century.  It is the largest building in Hungary.  Today is the anniversary of the 1848 revolt against the Hapsburgs, which the Hungarians lost (black flags flying), and it was being commemorated with mounted soldiers in mid-19^th century uniforms.  We had an English speaking guide who took us through the very ornate and richly decorated building.  This included the glorious entry hall, dome room, and House of Commons.  The Dome has a height of 96 m (315 ft) and there are 96 steps in the entryway -- the number 96 refers to the nation's millennium, 1896, and the beginning of the Kingdom of Hungary in 896.  In the center of the Dome Room lies the Crown of St. Stephen and the orbit, scepter, and sword of the Kingdom of Hungary.  

We then caught the Metro to take us under the Danube to Buda where we caught a tram to the Foundry Museum.  The Foundry Museum is the site of the original foundry begun by Abraham Ganz in the 1800’s that produced railroad car wheels until the mid-1960’s.  It includes the furnaces from which the iron was produced from scrap iron.  The museum contains an extensive exhibit of cast iron objects – stoves, irons, decorative objects, bells, etc.  At noon we had an excellent lecture by Prof. Gabor Szechy on the history of Hungary from 1918 to 2014.  

Cast Iron Woman

19th Century Cast Iron Stoves

19th Century Stove Detail

Furnace for Making Molten Cast Iron

Ladels

Afterwards we retraced our tram/metro travels and returned to the hotel.  Marc and I walked further to the City Market, which was just past the street to the Independence Bridge.  The City Market is a two story enclosed market area with the ground floor devoted to fresh fruits and vegetables, meats, and sausages.  The second floor galleries contained leather goods, linens, souvenirs, and clothing.  It was a bustling area of activity.  

Sausage and Meat Stall

Fresh Fruit and Vegetables

Once back to the hotel, we had about an hour before the group was to assemble for our tour of Budapest.

At 16:30 we began our group walk to the Academy of Sciences where we connected with the River-ride Tour “Bus” for a 2+ hour tour of the city.  This gave us an excellent perspective of the entire area with a lot of the history given by the guide.  The “Bus” drove directly into the Danube to give us a “boat” ride tour of both the Buda and Pest sides of the river.   

 

Parliament Building from Danube River

Because a portion of the tour was at sunset, we had a beautiful view of the city as the lights to the bridges came on and the various historical buildings were becoming lighted for the night.  Although the bus could not stop on the castle grounds, we did get a very beautiful view of this area from the bus.  From the top of liberty hill, we had gorgeous views of the city at night.  Very beautiful!

Margaret Bridge

View from Chain Bridge

St. Stephens

Buda Castle

 Once returning to the city, we made our way to Aurum Bistro for our dinner.  My dinner consisted of garden salad, Hungarian stuffed pepper, and a dessert of Apricot pinna cotta.  All was outstanding and, as usual, plenty of red wine.

Dinner at Aurum Bistro

Hungarian Stuffed Pepper

Apricot Pinna Cotta