Taken in Vác in December of 2014
Vác was getting ready to install or remove a few statues and had them all grouped together in the town square. The juxtaposition of a lion with a WWI monument made for a couple interesting images.
Taken on December 23, 2014 in Vörösmarty tér in Budapest
These spheres of light, ostensibly designed to mimic glittery ornaments, were hung throughout the trees on Vörösmarty Tér during Christmas season in Budapest.
I have to say, I’ve never seen Budapest’s Christmas markets thriving like they were in 2014. Granted, my last holiday visit was in 2008 (bad times all around), and my first time was in the mid-90’s (Hungary was still trying to get its post-Cold War feet under it.) I have been a few times in between, but this year was clearly in a different league from previous years.
Taken in December of 2014 in Budapest.
On the bank of the Danube, Pest-side just south of the Parliament building, there is an eery memorial consisting of an irregular row of shoes. The shoes are made of metal, but their brown rust looks like worn, brown shoe leather. It is in remembrance of the victims of the Arrowcross Militia who were shot there and left to topple into the river.
The Arrowcross Militia were Hungary’s Nazis. Hungary was allied with Germany at the beginning of World War II, but at one point (in 1944, as I recall) Hungary tried to break this alliance. Germany responded by taking over Hungary, and giving the Arrowcross (their fellow hardcore fascists) greater power and influence.
Taken in December of 2014 in Pécs
Taken in December of 2014 in Vāc
The Vāc Cathedral (Vāci Székesegyhāz) is one of the most impressive structures in the small Danubian village of Vāc. Vāc is similar to Szentendre, which I posted about earlier in the week, but it’s a little bit less touristy because it’s not as close to Budapest.
There are some people in the above photo to give one a sense of scale, but probably a better indicator is the picture below which shows an average height female adult reaching for the door knob.
Taken in December of 2014 in Budapest
The largest mobile ferris wheel is currently located in Erzsébet Tér (Elisabet Square) on Pest-side in Budapest, and is being called the Budapest Eye. The name must be a nod to the famous London Eye, though the Budapest wheel design is much less reminiscent of an eye than the one in London–this owning to the use of a framework rather than cables to form the “spokes.”
It is big, and the top of it can clearly be seen from the Castle on Buda-side.
Taken in December of 2014 in Budapest
This photo was taken from inside the Budapest Whale, which is sometimes called the CET Building. The Whale is a building that houses galleries and shops on the Pest side of the Danube. It’s so named because one end of it is a gracefully shaped glass and steel construct that is reminiscent of a whale shape. Hence the light traveling through onto the water. (The other end is a more traditional red brick structure.)
One can see Freedom Bridge (Szabadság híd) and Gellért Hill in the background toward the upper right-hand corner.
Taken in December of 2014 in Szentendre.
Szentendre is a village just north of Budapest on the Danube. It’s known for its churches, bohemian atmosphere, and shops selling knick-knacks, bric-a-brac, curios, and antiques to tourists. It’s popular on the tourist circuit because it’s so close to Budapest and is readily accessed by car, train, or ferry. Here, third world market behavior often applies–i.e. the shopkeepers will quote an insanely high price with the expectation that one will try to negotiate an acceptable price.
Among the festive things to see include the marzipan museum and at Christmas time there is a large Christmas shop and “Museum.” (FYI: Marzipan is the mega-sweet concoction made from sugar, almond paste, and egg. Some people love it, but beware one bite may be enough to put you into a sugar coma.)
I’m fully adjusted to life in the tropics. I’m used to days that are almost exactly half light and half dark year round, and annual temperatures that vary less than 10°C from the year’s low to its high. However, I just got back from Hungary, and was reminded of some of the redeeming features of the great, white, whitest-of-white north.
Fortunately, we were eased into the winter experience. When we arrived, it looked like this:
By the end it looked more like this:
So beyond visiting family, why travel into the arctic chill?
9.) Christmas markets: If you’re tired of this year’s mass-produced doodads and gizmos churned out of massive factories in China, you can see some new and interesting wares within these markets (though there’s no escaping mass-produced tsotchkes altogether.) In Budapest’s markets, you can even find blacksmiths to custom make your metal needs.
8.) Skating and winter sports / activities: In India one has three choices for viewing or participating in sports: cricket, soccer, or–did I mention–cricket. It was refreshing to see skiing, skating, etc. on TV and in practice.
7.) Vivid sunsets: Something about the high latitude and proclivity for cloud cover made for brilliant colors, and you can’t miss the sunset because it happens at about 4 o’clock in the afternoon.
6.) Street food: There are so many outstanding high-calorie food options too keep your internal furnace burning.
5.) Color: There’s no place that outdoes India in the brilliant colors department, but villages like Szentendre are no strangers to vivid colors–though not necessarily ones that assault the eyes. Besides the warm yellow-orange that is ubiquitous throughout the region, there are a range of colors that one doesn’t see everyday and that I–as a straight man–have no idea of the names of.
4.) Concerts: Music is big in Hungary, and there are bills for Christmas concerts all over the place. That said, we missed most of the Christmas music in favor of going to hear a popular Dixieland Jazz band and a New Years Concert that mostly rock-and-roll cover songs. Dixieland Jazz isn’t what one expects in Hungary, but it’s nice to see American art forms other than Hollywood cinema and television programming that have a huge following abroad.
3.) Finding your inner child: If you grew up in a wintery place–as I did–the cold, colors, and lights of the holiday season transport one back to the simple and energetic time of one’s youth.
2.) Hot beverages: You develop a renewed appreciation for coffee, tea, mulled wine, and hot cocoa when it’s freezing.
1.) Kürtőskalács: If you don’t know what this is, it’s worth the visit for it alone. It’s one of the best wintertime snacks anywhere in the world, and is hand’s down the best cylindrical food in existence.
Taken December 31, 2014 in Pécs
I’m back from Hungary with a load of photos to share. Here’s the first installment.
This building is also–and currently–known as the Downtown Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and in the intervening period was known as St. Bartholomew’s Church. It’s located on Széchenyi Tér in downtown Pécs. It was built as a mosque in the latter half of the 16th century under Ottoman control, but was converted to a Roman Catholic Church when the Turks were defeated. There are several such re-purposed mosques in the area, but this one has been said to be the best example of Turkish architecture in Hungary.
Tiger Riding for Beginners 
