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