Two Synagogues and a Basilica

Yesterday we walked 12000 steps which is way too many so we wanted to slow the pace today, especially since it was the day I had to rip off the kinesio tape which  was theoretically keeping my si joints in position. Even in a hot shower, it's a painful process.I feared that the act of taking off the tape would dislocate the joints but it hasn't so far.

We had made an efficient plan of the order we would visit the sites on our list.  First, we took a short walk to the Dohany Synagogue and Jewish Hungarian Museum, one of the most visited sites in Budapest and the largest synagogue in Europe. The building is so huge you can't take a picture of it even from across the street. The line to buy tickets had to be over 100 people, groups from tour buses. We contemplated whether to get in line because we didn't want to mess up our plan. Finally, we decided to get online and see whether you could buy skip the line tickets. It turned out to be an easy process so we walked straight to security and got in immediately. 

The synagogue is huge. It can seat 3000 people and 2000 standing. It was built between 1854 and 1859. The architectural style is Moorish Revival. It was bombed in 1939, renovated  1991-98.

We toured the museum in the adjacent building, the Jewish cemetery and memorials. The exit is within the Raoul Wallenberg Memorial Park where the sculpture of a weeping willow tree is located. The "leaves" contain the names of Hungarian Jews killed during the Holocaust. The foundation that funded the sculpture was established by Tony Curtis in honor of his father. 

The next site we walked to was St. Stephen's Basilica, named after the first king of Hungary whose mummified right hand is preserved in the church; that's what they claim. Since you're not allowed to use a flash to take its picture, there are written instructions detailing the camera settings to use. Some people were actually taking its picture. You have to pay a euro for a light to illuminate it.

The church is the largest in Budapest. It can hold 8500 people. The architectural style is Neoclassical and the ground plan is shaped like a Greek cross. The interior is ornate but tasteful. The cathedral was used for Madonna's fake wedding in "Evita." 

Outside the cathedral is a large pedestrian area with many shops and restaurants. We went to a restaurant that we didn't think was Italian but it was. We didn't want pasta or pizza so we both got the pate appetizer. It came with a delicious chutney and toast. I realize eating this every day could cause gout but it's hard to pass up.

After lunch, we went to the Holocaust Memorial Center. I don't remember ever hearing about it, I think it hasn't been listed on tourist sites until recently. It was established in 2004 in its current location, a former synagogue.  There is a synagogue next door. The entire center is dark; the movies, pictures and interactive screens provide most of the light. There is a research center that allows people to search for family members. The picture below is the synagogue. 

After a brief rest, we went to The Curry House for dinner. This time we had made reservations.  The food was delicious as well as dirt cheap. It's been my experience that the Indian restaurants in Europe are better than most in the US even though the names of the dishes are the same. 

Working electronic devices is always a challenge for me, especially when I'm not at home on my real computer. Actually,  both of us have had problems with phone maps, finding websites, buying tickets. I had booked 3 train trips before we left, all first class. I saw that you had the option of picking a seat for 3 euros but I assumed that didn't apply to first class tickets. Bill Suffa told me I had to buy seats or wander around the cars trying to find one. He was right.  I tried to do that on my phone but that didn't work so I downloaded the train app on my tablet. After a long time of trying to figure out the app, I booked seats on the Budapest to Salzburg train. I got the ticket on my tablet with the instructions that I had to present the ticket on the original device I booked it on. On my tablet, the barcode is as big as the tablet and I can't make it smaller. We now have assigned seats, one gang, one fenster, seats 103 and 105.  I'm hoping no one will ask us to prove we belong there.

Tomorrow we're going to the Szechenyi thermal spa. It took a few hours to figure out what kind of skip the line package we wanted, pay for it and download the tickets. We're trying to go in the morning and hope the tour buses won't be there.