Budapest March 2015

Good start to 4 days in Budapest, afternoon flight so no early starts, everything on time and shuttle bus from airport (booked on-line) also worked ok. Casati Budapest Hotel to be recommended, very trendy, just look at the room doors,

good breakfast buffet and very centrally situated.

The weather smiled on us the whole time we were there and so we set off for the meeting point for our walking tour which turned out to be a mere 5 mins away, planning is everything(!) and it turned out that we were the only two so had a private tour of all the main sites plus some useful info on how to use the metro and buses.We started at the Opera House which is similar in style to the Vienna State but only viewed the outside and then went up to Heroes Square.

This is a large meeting place laid out in 1896 a thousand years after the establishment of the country by the Magyars who settled here after a battle. There were 7 tribes who amalgamated, led by Prince Arpad, and the various statues show them and leaders thereafter. 

The Archangel Gabriel is on the top of the column, he apparently offered the Crown (on behalf of the pope) to Stephen who was the first Magyar to accept Christianity in the year 1000.

Just off the square is Vajdahunyad Castle, also built for the 1896 celebrations (along with the first metro route and installation of the first gas lights)  which celebrates the evolution of various architectural styles in close juxtaposition.

Unfortunately the museum of Fine Arts had only recently closed for refurbishment, a great shame as they have some lovely pictures. We then travelled back to the centre of Budapest to walk round St Stephen's Basilica 

and then walked down toward the River Danube and the Chain Bridge.

Crossing the bridge gave good views and on the Buda side the Royal Palace (now mainly museums) is on one side

and the Church of Matthias, which has a beautiful tiled roof,

and Fisherman's Bastion, on the other.

The views across the river from the latter are stunning including the parliament building

and as no building is allowed to be higher than the 896 feet of St Stephen's it is not broken up by modern flats or hotel skyscrapers.

We said good-bye to our guide, had a quick lunch and then visited the inside of St Matthias church, quite a bit of renovation going on but some beautiful mosaics and stained glass windows to be seen.

We then walked to the National Gallery, catching the changing of the guard outside Sandor Palace which is the official home of the President of Hungary and separate from the old palace.

The gallery is large and although some good pictures quite easy to get lost amongst some more mundane hangings, oh for the fine arts museum, but good views from the terrace.

Rather than walk back to the bus stop or even back down the zig-zag route to the foot of the hill, we caught the funicular to add to our experience and save time.

As the city is not large we managed to walk back over the bridge and through the city to our hotel, passing a restaurant that we returned to for supper which proved a very good choice, having a good mix of local and international dishes. Completely full on a Tuesday night, what more can you ask.

Back to St Stephen's next morning to explore the inside, seeing this well maintained old car on the way.

More lovely mosaics

and glass

but also the mummified right hand of St Stephen himself, well a casket anyway!

Also some very different art works.

I would like to say that we climbed up to the viewing platform but there was a lift …..

It is high, looking down

but the views are great

We then walked down the main shopping street, Vatci Utca, pedestrianised with many of the usual suspects, Zara, M & S, etc along with some unpronouncable local shops. At the end is the great covered market building

with stalls that always look so tempting.

It is right by Liberty Bridge

and opposite Gellert Hill with the Liberty monument near by.

Originally built for the son of an Admiral, taken over in 1945 when Soviet rule was imposed and after a period wrapped up after the uprising, in 1989 it was re dedicated to all who laid down their lives for Hungarian prosperity.

Our guide the previous day said that originally it was a symbol of the city welcoming the Soviets coming to their aid to relieve them from Nazi rule and now it is waving them goodbye! Either way an unmissable memorial.

We walked back to the centre along the river, Budapest could learn a lot from some other European cities, such a mess of roads, train tracks and wires, so no pleasant riverside walk here. 

The weather was wonderful and we sat slightly away from the traffic eating at a greek (as you do!!) restaurant outside in just jumpers. Lovely salad and home made sesame crisp breads some very good retsina for me, beer for Gail, free hummus and liqueurs plus 2 roses to take away with us, all for £14. Generally eating out not that expensive, no euros of course but I think the 'forint' is closely connected, so we benefited from the relative decline in value to the £.

I had hoped to perhaps see an opera but that proved impossible so we got back to the Opera House in time to take a tour. It has the usual grand staircase

and plush interiors

but we finished off with a mini performance from one of their singers, a treat as she sang the drinking song from Traviata, one of my favourites.

Back to the hotel to change and find supper near the river as we had booked an evening river boat cruise, taking photo's without getting reflections proved difficult, so these are the best ones but very enjoyable helped by a glass of fizz!

Not from the boat , Cathedral floodlit as many buildings are at night.

Another lovely morning and walked up to the Franz List museum a very famous local! We then went and walked by the river near the parliament building where there is a very poignant memorial to Jews who were lined up on the bank and shot with their bodies falling into the river, after being forced to remove their shoes. Such barbarity beggars belief, although amazingly many Jews did survive elsewhere in the city. These are bronze casts of full a full range of different sized shoes, including children's.

This was followed by a lunchtime cruise, where there was more opportunity to get outside and take some photos. (Very good buffet by the way and a little easy to over eat!)

It is a mix of old

and new!

Plus the obligatory shot of the Houses of Parliament, remind you of anywhere?

Walking back to the hotel we passed by this children's play area constructed out of what I suspect was a bomb site with these amazing murals on the walls. The only real sky in this picture is to the right of the large tree above the red building.

Found a lovely wine bar with live music and shared a platter for supper, just right after lunch.......

Last day but as not flying until the evening after finishing packing and leaving our luggage we set off by metro, basic but works,

for the Szechenyl Baths, this was the morning of the eclipse, no where near total here but thanks to someone who had a couple of very dark pieces of glass we were able to see it while lolling in the warm water, not the only cerebral activity going on.

A huge area with both inside and outside pools of various temperatures.

Back at the hotel we packed up our swimsuits (the hotel had let us take their towels, how good is that!) and set off for the Great Jewish Synagogue (stopping for a good lunch on the way, to save too much airline food). It is very large and quite expensive to visit inside but fortunately you can view this wonderful memorial through the gates, a stunning piece of work. I'm afraid the photo doesn't do it justice a metal weeping willow.

Finding ourselves back near Liberty Bridge we went to have a look at the other main Baths housed at the Gellert Hotel which was looking rather tired. However it did give us a chance to look at the cave church run by Pauline Monks, shut up during the Soviet occupation.

Back to the hotel to catch the shuttle bus after stopping (not for the first time, too close to the hotel!) for very posh dessert and coffee a lovely end to a busy few days.

2015 Okinawa & Taiwan

I expect most people know the name Okinawa because of the great naval battle fought there at the end of the 2^nd world war. The situation of the island a long way south of the four main islands meant that the local people had over time developed their own dialect and enjoyed a simple life. This changed as the Japanese were chased out of South East Asia by the Americans and the Japanese leaders sent many thousands of troops to halt this advance. Unfortunately they treated the locals as slave labour and once the battle started many thousands were killed and the locals were even instructed to kill each other to avoid surrendering.

The Peace Memorial Museum lists many names on these stone slabs and is situated in a lovely  position on the coast

one of the stones has names from the UK, although I'm not sure how they got here.

This lovely memorial commemorates those who had been transported from Korea, another Japanese outpost at the time, who were also used as slave labour.

As time went on people were dying of starvation and then after a crippling bombardment from the allies they were left to fend for themselves with many failing to find shelter.

There were many school children visiting, (hopefully not put on for our benefit!) all the writings emphasise the benefits of peace so I hope it went in but ….......

With one last shot of the flame holder, only lit on memorial days apparently.

Our next stop was the site of caves which had been turned into a field hospital with many local schoolgirls (16/17 years old) being pressed into work as orderlies, assistant nurses etc.

This shows the entrance to one of the underground caves but there is no public access.

Over 230 girls worked there, only around 30 escaped to safety at the end when they were just told to leave but that the Emperor expected them to do the right thing, so death came in a mixture of suicide and lack of places to hide once the shelling began. Life extraordinarily cheap it appears. At the entrance to the museum rooms was this lovely creeper

and of course some more bougainvillea! (Along with an unidentified backside!)

Our final stop was the Japanese Naval Command's underground bunker, excavated

by the Koreans and local men with pickaxes!

These are not low level tunnels (Chi chi in Vietnam for example) either but a large complex of tunnels and rooms.

The Commander committed suicide when it was clear he was going to lose, odd that the Emperor, in whose name all this slaying goes on, doesn't feel obliged to do the same …..

Unfortunately for the Okinawans life didn't improve once the Americans were in control. They kept everything on their bases and were no help to the locals as they tried to build back their houses, infra-structures and lives. Eventually after some considerable time the island was ceded back to Japan and clearly things are better now. The modern way to get around being a monorail.

I decided to forego ship lunch and managed to find this

a lovely mix of miso soup, raw fish and tempora with sauces etc. and not a tourist in sight, 

on the way back to the ship saw this sign which is a reminder of the tsunami risk in the area, I hope the early warning system gives them time to get uphill 

and shishi lions on a modern building entrance.

Left the Port to another good drumming display.

Last stop is Taiwan, docking in Keelong to give us a trip to Taipei the capital. It is a pretty wooded island and another one with a variety of influences mainly Japanese and Chinese in most recent years. These tall buildings show a variety of styles and good to see a local influence in some.

Another island another Martyr's Shrine!

Changing of the guard however quite the performance! The gardeners rushing round before the ceremony began.

The guards walk from the gate to the temple at a very slow pace balancing on alternate legs as they go.

Many names here too but displayed within side chapels and a request for no photos of the names but you can take the surrounding area another example clever use of colour and space.

The highlight was a visit to the National museum which holds enormous Chinese bounty brought here by Chiang Kai-shek. I could have spent ages there with great pictures, bronzes, ceramics and jade on display but no photos of course.

Finally we visited the garden of his house, influenced by his wife who had quite western tastes but I would have preferred to stay in the museum. So there is a rose garden with some flowers even though it is their winter too

along with some more Japanese features.

Leaving Keelong one gets a view of a temple on the hill overlooking the harbour

and a reminder of where you are!

Final day at sea before we are back in Hong Kong and I meet for the first time someone who lived in Abbotts Ann until last year, it is a small world as they say. Enjoyed a last dinner with some of my more regular dining companions

and an operatic concert featuring amongst others a young baritone with a stunning voice, Pauls Putnins, which I've put in so I don't forget his name!

So back to Hong Kong and home after a memorable trip.