First official day in Budapest and we hit the town running. Well, not really running but instead on the Metro. We decided to trust my old friend, Rick Steves and do a couple of his walking tours. I decided this year to get his books on my e-reader, rather than in print. Seemed like a great idea because of the reduction in weight. Only problem is that e-readers run on battery and when the battery runs out, your tour unexpectedly ends. I am like a cat on a hot stove though- only need it to happen once and I will not travel without my extra cable from now on.

We made our way to the parliament, a massive building. Rick mentions that we should look at the building with an 1896 state of mind when Budapest ruled most of Eastern Europe. Today the legislature only occupies an eight of the building. Not sure what they do with the rest of it.As we wandered, we soon realized that Budapest is a city of monuments. Apparently, in 1897 a German emperor came to visit Emperor Franz Josef and commented on how few monuments there were on the city streets. The emperor was jealous and so he immediately commissioned 10 new statues around town. I didn’t photograph them all, but we did make it to quite a few.

Attila József- he reenacts a scene from one of his poems. “As I sat on the bank of the Danube, I watched a watermelon float by, As if flowing out of my heart, murky, wise, and great was the Danube. He lived a rather short life, jumping in front of a train at age 32 but his poems are considered “the high point of Hungarian literature”.Empty Shoes- 50 pairs of bronze shoes sit on a low wall beside the river. This is a Holocaust Monument commemorating “the Jews who were killed when the Nazis’ puppet government, the Arrow Cross, came to power in Hungary in 1944. While many Jews were sent to concentration camps, the Arrow Cross massacred some of them right (t)here, shooting them and letting their bodies fall in to the Danube.” (from Rick Steves’ Budapest, 2017)Imre Nagy- Hungarian politician. Today he is thought of as an anticommunist hero, but it says he was actually a lifelong communist. He was eventually executed by the Soviets who forced Hungary to forget about Nagy. As communism was coming to an end, or coming close to failing, Hungarians rediscovered him as a hero. They dug him up, properly buried him (he was previously buried face down!) and this statue was erected in his honour, in a place where he could keep an eye on Parliament.

Ronald Reagan- this statue is to honour Reagan as a “Cold Warrior” but it is said that many Hungarians don’t hold him in such high regard. In 2010, when the new government came in to power it started to impose new restrictions on media and the US, (along with other internationals) spoke out against what many considered to be an infringement on freedom of the press. So, this statue was erected, much to the dismay of many Hungarians who felt there were many other important figures who could have been recognized.From here, we decided it was time for a little morning break. We headed to an architectural delight of a building, an example of the Hungarian Secession style (1903) where there is an Art Nouveau museum and a sweet little café.The architecture in Budapest is fantastic. Every building is a little different than the one next to it, (it reminds me of Prague in that way) and so I stopped to snap photos as we strolled along. We went past a market hall, past the Postal Savings bank, and the National Bank of Hungary. We came across the Monument to the Hungarian Victims of the Nazis, commemorating the German invasion of Hungary in March 1944. Again, many Hungarians weren’t happy with how they felt this monument depicted Hungarian history so in front of the monument there is a makeshift counter-memorial to the victims of World War II-era Hungarians (not just Germans). It seems there is a bit of a storied past. Hungary was an ally of Nazi Germany for more than three years before they were invaded. Many say that Jews were not executed before the Germans arrived, but it seems that tens of thousands of Jews died from forced labor or by being exported to Nazi-controlled lands.Caffe Kor for lunch where we tried some local-ish dishes. This was one of Rick Steves recommended restaurants and I must say, we don’t usually do too badly when we follow his advice. I had a lovely beef carpaccio and salad. Just nice and light to get me ready for an afternoon filled with more walking and absorbing.We made our way to the Jewish Quarter and the Great Synagogue that is the largest in Europe, second largest in the world. Behind the synagogue is the Tree of Life, a steel weeping willow. It makes an upside-down menorah, and each of the 4000 metal leaves is etched with the name of a Holocaust victim, New leaves are always being added, donated by families of the victims. There are Roman numerals on the ends of each branch to help people find their relatives.All throughout the temple there were stones placed on graves. I remember this from Prague and from other Jewish cemeteries I have visited. Each stone is a sign that someone remembers.So much information, and so much walking, a little ice cream (Haiti Chocolate and White Chocolate with Lime- both delicious!) and we decided it would be a good time to head back to the hotel for a little rest.

A little research, consulting Rick Steves, tripadvisor and Lonely Planet, and we chose a destination for dinner, deciding we would stay on the Buda side of the river tonight and head to Castle Hill.

As if we hadn’t walked enough, we decided to make the trek, walking up the rather steep streets. The view was beautiful and dinner was good. I had a traditional pork tenderloin ragout and a local white wine. I think the view was really what you were paying for.Tomorrow we will catch all the things we didn’t see today and then we are off to our next city. Weather forecasts for the upcoming cities show nothing but rain and thunderstorms so fingers crossed a little bit of time sees some change there. Our first (and possibly only) night train is tomorrow. I am excited! There is nothing like sleeping on a train, being rocked to sleep as the world whizzes by outside. Last night in Hungary, so Jó éjszakát!