Budapest 2 Departure to Paris October 30, 2017, 29th day of trip

October 30, 2017 Day 29 Leaving Budapest

The day dawned early for us, windy, cold, but no rain. I had previously made reservations for a tour of the Parliament building at 8:00 am. Needed the English tour, but because the tickets had to be printed and we did not have a printer I thought that we needed to get there early to get our tickets printed at the Visitor’s center.  So, we got up at 6, packed the luggage and got out at 6:50. Walked to the subway station, the M2 line and purchased an all-day pass for 3300 fl. The subway is easy to figure out, three lines, denominated by color. This line was built during the Soviet era and it served a secondary purpose as a bomb shelter, it is 115 ft deep, so a long escalator ride down. There are no turnstiles, guards at each entrance to the escalators monitor tickets. The subway has clearly been modernized, at least in appearance, so it is strange that it still has that labor-intensive process.  Took it three stops and when we got out the Parliament building was looming large in front of us.

We got there by 7:15, but the Visitor’s center did not open until 8. Even worse, while it was sunny, the wind was ferocious coming off the River. Almost painful to face the wind.

We entered a large square, Kossuth Ter Spin that is sprinkled with monuments, which along with the Parliament building, present an ever-changing and reshaping of history depending upon who is in power.  It turns out that many of the monuments and many of the items in the Parliament have been altered or removed depending upon the history the then current ruler is pushing. Two big buildings complete one side of the square, the Dept. of Agriculture and the Ethnography Museum.

The tour began with a climb of 133 steps. The tour lady asked us if anyone in the group needed to take the elevator. That took us up to the building’s monumental and gilded entryway topped off by a 96-step stairway. 96 is a big number in Hungary since it was believed that the Magyars (the only major group of non-Slavs in Eastern Europe) entered Europe in 896. Turned out they entered in 895, but that has been overlooked.

Trump would love this 1904 building. There is gold everywhere in it, 22.2 kilograms of gold were used in its decoration, but it has been used much more tastefully that in the Trump properties I have seen. There is gold foil throughout the building and the many frescos are surrounded by gold trim. There is a golden dome under which is housed the original Hungarian crown and surrounded by statutes of 16 Hungarian monarchs. There are scores of stain glass windows, intricate decorations, dozens of steel brushed, mustachioed statutes of everyday Hungarians and even golden, horizontal cigar holders in the hallway outside the parliament chambers. Smoking was prohibited in the chamber, so the legislators used the holders to hold their cigars when they ran in for a vote. If a legislator made a good speech, it was known as a “Havana” since it caused the other legislators to leave their cigars. 

There are two parliamentary chambers in the building which are connected by a lounge that has a very large and cushy carpet. However only one is in use now, since Hungary switched to a unicameral legislature, perhaps reflecting Hungary’s shrunken size following the post WWI Treaty of Trianon (how many Americans have heard of that?) when Hungary, having been on the loser’s side lost 2/3s of its territory and ½ of its former population.

After going through the building’s history museum, we exited back to Kossuth Square. The Square itself has recently been cleaned-up, scrubbed down and streamlined by the current right wing, nationalist, Eurosceptic and some might say autocratic government.  We then loosely followed a self-guided walking tour. There was a big (they are all very big) statute of a lion being bitten and strangled by a snake. Then there is the Kossuth statute in honor of the unsuccessful 1848 revolution against the Habsburgs. Facing Kossuth across the square is the Rakoczi statue. He lead the 1703 unsuccessful war of independence against the Habsburgs. (In 1867 the Habsburgs gave in and included the Hungarians in a duel monarchy.) The costumed soldiers in from of the building do an hourly changing of the guard ceremony, but we did not wait. There was a low profile black wall marked with “1956” that will lead to as a yet unfinished museum to that failed uprising against the Russians.   Down by the river there was a statute of Attila Jozsef, an early 20^th century Hungarian poet appearing deep in thought gazing out at the Danube:

                “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 committed suicide at age 32.

Right on the river bank there were 50 pairs of bronze shoes that looked real. This commemorated the 1944 shootings of Jews by the Nazi’s puppet Hungarian government, the Arrow Cross, at this spot and letting the victim’s bodies fall into the river. 

We then turned away from the river, and its strong winds and walked into the Leopold Town neighborhood up to a small park which had a statute of Imre Nagy in the middle of a bridge (the middle way between the Russians and the west) looking as if he was a grandfather out for a stroll. He was a lifelong communist who was reluctantly drafted into leading the initial nonviolent movement in 1956 to soften the severity of the communist regime. When the Russians did not go for that, the movement turned violent and the Russians sent their tanks in, crushed the revolt, grabbed Nagy, shipped him to Moscow and convicted him in a sham trial. He was buried him face down in an unmarked grave. After 1989 the Hungarians exhumed his body and buried it at Hero’s Square.

We then walked up to Liberty Square, Szabadsag Ter. A wealthy looking neighborhood, it houses a couple of interesting monuments. The first was a statute of Ronald Reagan. That was normal size. It was recently erected, perhaps to blunt US criticism of the regime’s anti-democratic actions. In a tone-deaf move, the government then invited Secretary of State Clinton to the unveiling. Then there was a gigantic monument to the Soviet soldiers who liberated Hungary in 1945. It was guarded by two policemen (who posed nicely for me). That was the only monument so guarded, perhaps because it might induce vandalism? Passed the US Embassy, a heavily walled building and saw the statute of an American general, Harry Hill Bandholtz. I never heard of him. Google revealed that he was a member of the Inter-Allied Task force after WWI to oversee the removal of Romanian and Serbian troops from Hungary.  His claim to fame was that he single handedly and without a weapon held off Romanian troops who wanted to loot the National Museum. The statue went up in 1936, but was removed by the Russians in 1945 for “repairs”. After 1945 it was restored. The last big monument on the square was dedicated to the Hungarian victims of the Nazis. It was recently put in place and consists of a black, screaming eagle attacking an angel holding a Hungarian double cross. It conveniently overlooks the active role some Hungarians played in assisting the Nazis to kill and deport Jews and the fact that for 4 years Hungary, in an effort to regain lands it lost after WWI, was voluntarily allied with Germany in WWII.

We walked up to but not into St. Istvan’s Basilica. It is Hungary’s biggest church and celebrates St. Istvan, Hungary’s first Christian king. The strode down Zrinyi Utca, a pedestrian mall. We passed the Central European University which is largely funded by George Soros. It has been the target of the current government and has protest signs on it. We walked past and into Gresham Palace, a grand building that was Budapest’s first major building following the establishment of the dual monarchy. It now is a luxury hotel that has been restored with gorgeous detail. It has very nice bathrooms.

We had to walk around a small park in the middle of the roadway to get to the Chain Bridge, Szechenyi Lanchid. It is a historic bridge that was the first permanent connection over the Danube between the then cities of Buda and Pest. Its original structure was completed in 1849, but was destroyed by the Nazis. It was quickly rebuilt. We walked over the bridge which gave us wonderful views of the Danube and got us to the Buda side for the first time.

It was now getting close to noon and we needed to go back to the apartment, pick up our luggage and go to the airport. We walked up to the Deck ter square, past a giant Ferris wheel and went to the airport bus stop. I had only 1600 HUF. I knew the bus cost 1800 HUFs for two and I wanted to see if the driver would take that or euros for the difference to purchase two tickets. He would not. I then solicited the passengers on the bus to see if any would change some excess Hungarian money for euros and I found an English woman who welcoming the opportunity to dispose of her Hungarian currency, took me up on my offer.

We then got back on the subway, picked up our luggage, locked the apartment and deposited the keys and hustled back to the subway to board the 1:00 pm airport bus. We arrived in time, but the line was too long, and the bus filled up before we could get on. Fortunately, I had left some spare time, so the 1:30 bus got us to the airport on time. Few were flying Easy Jet for the first time and the check in, which had to be done on-line, bag drop, high baggage fees, and security screening went smoothly. We had to walk a long way to a large hanger where the gate was located. The joys of discount airlines.

The flight was fine, and we arrived in Paris on time. There was an extended wait for baggage during which we spoke with a Danish citizen, who had married a Hungarian woman. They were there for their first visit to Paris and were asking us for directions to the train. We could actually help them.

The process of getting to Cagney and my step daughter’s residence was complicated. We got in too late to Charles De Gaulle airport to get a train from there, so we had to ride into Paris to get a train. We thought that we had plenty of time, but the Paris bound train was delayed on route. Then we had to change to a subway to get to the train station. There were lots of steps and we had heavy luggage. Fortunately, several people helped us, and we got to our Amboise bound train with only a few minutes to spare. But that train was on time and we were joyfully picked up at the station. Long day.      

Sadly, we did not get to partake in, or even visit, the Budapest baths. Next trip.

ungarian Parliament Building

Interior of Hungarian Parliment

Chain Bridge

Danube River

Budapest, Day 1, October 29,2017 28th day of the trip

October 29, 2017 Day 28 Budapest

It was uncharacteristic that we got up early, 6:00 am, until we realized that this weekend the Europeans switched off daylight savings time. Unfortunately, it was a gray and rainy day which remined unchanged throughout the day.

We read the papers on our computers for a while and then leaving our apartment about 9, with our umbrellas, we turned right headed for the #4 or 6 trams on Erzsebet Korut intending to go to the House of Terror, Terror Haza, with an initial stop at a café. We were unsuccessful in the latter, but it was easy to find the tram stop. We got off at Oktogon, a vast intersection whose corners are snipped off, hence the name. No café here either, but lots of American fast food outlets.

I got turned around, so we took a circuitous route to the House, but still arrived there before the 10:00 am opening. We recognized the building from its shape and very distinguishing overhang. I was surprised however to find a lengthy line, all in the rain, snaking around the corner. Maybe because it was Sunday, or maybe because of the rain, but a lot of Hungarians were coming to the museum. It took about 30 minutes to gain admission, mostly due to the slow ticket selling process. 2000 HUPs for admission and then we were required to check our coats and backpacks and wet umbrellas. That was a welcome benefit, but it entailed another line.

The building which houses the museum is located on Andrassy Ut, a major thoroughfare. It connects downtown Pest to City Park where the Hero’s Square is located. It is treelined and has nice shops, theaters and cafes and well-appointed apartment buildings. A nice place to stroll if it were not raining. It reminded me a bit of the Grand Concourse in the Bronx, before that area deteriorated.

The building itself has an interesting history. It was built in the late 19^th century when Budapest was enjoying a “Golden Age” as one of the dual capitals in the Austrian Hungarian empire and initially was a residence. At the beginning of WWII Hungary allied itself with Nazi Germany, in an effort to regain the lands and population that it had lost after WWI through the Treaty of Trianon. In early 1944, as it became clear that Germany was losing the war, the Hungarian government made a halfhearted attempt to seek a peace treaty with Russia. Germany learned of those efforts, invaded and occupied Hungary and installed the fascist Arrow Cross party as the new Hungarian government. These Nazi surrogates occupied the building and made it their headquarters for terror, torture and killings. (That party also facilitated in a few months the deportation of 440,000 Jews to Auschwitz where they were the second largest group to be killed.) After the Nazis were defeated and Hungary was occupied by the Russians, they installed the Hungarian secret police, the AVH in the building to continue the terror, torture and killings against the “enemies of the state”.

When we walked into the atrium we immediately saw a large Russian T-54 tank and walls covered with over 3,000 portraits of victims killed in the building. We were directed up to the second floor through a stairwell decorated with Soviet Realist statues. The first exhibit gave an overview of what the Hungarians call the Double Occupation. The Gulag exhibit featured stories of some of the Hungarians who survived the Soviet Gulag. Apparently over 700,000 Hungarians were sent there, and half did not return. The last Hungarian prisoner was released from the Gulag in 1981. The Changing Clothes exhibit satirized the willingness of many Hungarians to initially serve the Arrow Cross and then the Communists, easily changing uniforms depending upon those in power. The Fifties and the Resistance exhibits showed how the Communists came to dominate all aspects of Hungarian life and some people’s resistance to that, with very little success. There was an interesting portion of the exhibit in which several women attributed the severe shortages in the country on the actions of Tito, the Communist Yugoslavian leader who had taken Yugoslavia out of Soviet orbit. The Resettlement and Deportation exhibit described the ethnic cleansing that occurred in eastern and central Europe after WWII when ethnic Germans were forced out of Hungary and ethnic Hungarians were forcibly moved to Hungary from surrounding countries. The Communist government termed this “mutual population exchange”. There were exhibits on the secret police, which imprisoned, abused or murdered one person from every Hungarian family, the show trials which aped what was going on in Russia, the incredible Communist propaganda that painted a picture of a rosy life, slavishly honored Stalin and the Soviet leadership and state, and the sabotage of Hungarian agriculture by the beetle sent by the Americans. In fact, to impose collectivization on the farmers, the Communists cut the trees and hedge groves that separated the family farms That removed the birds which had kept the insects in check.  The Justice exhibit showed the show trials and in the 10 years after WWII 71,000 Hungarians were accused of political crimes.

The elevator that took us to the first floor played a 3-minute video of the execution process. It caused a delay getting to the first floor where we emerged into the Prison Cellar. Here were the holding and torture cells. They also had one of the gallows where people were hanged. The room commemorating the 1956 uprising showed the flag of the insurgents which had the Soviet emblem cut out, and the slogan, “Russians go Home”. The Emigration Room showed postcards and other items from the over 200,000 Hungarians who emigrated after the uprising failed. (Ironic that those emigrants were welcomed in other countries, but Hungary’s current government has closed its doors to any immigration.)

Finally, there was the disturbing Wall of the Victimizers, many of whom are still living and most of whom received no punishment. No explanation for that. Fascinating place, we were there for 4 hours.

We had a light lunch at the museum café and then headed out. There was a break in the rain and, so we decided to walk up Andrassy Ut to Hero’s Square. We should have taken the subway as it began to rain. We walked past a few embassies and the former Yugoslav embassy that is now Serbia’s. Hero’s Square was built in 1896 to commemorate the 1000-year anniversary of the Magyar’s arrival in Hungary. (They were off by one year.) There are lots of large monuments to Hungarian leaders, history and the 1956 uprising. We did not see the latter or City Park or the Szechenyi Baths due to the rain and time constraints.

We got on the M1 subway. This was the first subway built on the European Continent and it is very shallow, so you must go to the entrance corresponding to the direction you are going since there are no underpasses. I managed to do that correctly.

We took the subway to Deak ter. That is the main square in Budapest. We checked out the bus stop for the airport bus, times and fares and then walked over to the Great Synagogue. Cost to enter was 4,000 HUPs and included a tour. Neither on the outside, which is topped by two tall towers, nor the inside (which includes a pipe organ and two side pulpits) does this beautiful building look like a traditional synagogue. Completed in 1859 in what was then just outside the city limits, the very prosperous Jewish community really wanted to fit in and demonstrate how well they had integrated. So, the building and the interior look very much like a church. It also has many Moorish influences reflecting the fact that many members of the community descended from the group who fled Spain in 1492.

This synagogue is still active and continues to follow the Neolog branch of Judaism, which is somewhere in the middle of Orthodox and Conservative. That branch is found only in Hungary. After WWI the Jewish population of the truncated Hungary held disproportionately large shares of the professional classes and ownership of industry. That, plus the fact that the Jews were the only significant minority left in Hungary, lead to widespread discrimination against the Jews in the inter-war period and immediately prior to WWII, and killings of Jews by the Hungarian authorities. The building nevertheless survived WWII but fell into disrepair during the Communist era. It was rebuilt in 1990.

Our tour guide then lead us to the Memorial Garden and Tree of Life. The former is a memorial for over 2000 Jews from the Budapest Ghetto who died after the Soviet liberation and were buried in a mass grave. The latter is a metal weeping willow tree with the names of Holocaust victims etched on the leaves. We then went to the Hungarian Jewish museum which had an exhibit on Jewish life, holidays and rituals in Hungary.

We then walked into and around the Jewish Quarter while waiting for a table at the Blue Rose restaurant. We got in there about 7:00 and had a nice, reasonably priced meal, even though the waitress mixed up our orders. We walked back into the Jewish Quarter and returned to the Szimpla Kert ruin bar. No line tonight so we went in.  Off the halls and courtyard were small rooms, each one set up as a different bar. There was a wine bar, a whiskey bar, several beer bars and others. It was eclectically decorated, but cold. The young patrons had the ability to sit in the outdoors and drink comfortably, albeit with their coats on.  After a drink we walked back to the apartment.       

House of Terror

Hero's Square

Exterior of Great Synagogue

Interior of Great Synagogue

Tree of Life

Travel to Budapest October 28, 2017Day 27 of the trip

October 28, 2017 Day 27 Travel and Travails to Budapest

This was an anxious day that was filled with mistakes, but ultimately, albeit belatedly, got us where we were going, Budapest.

I made several mistakes in booking and traveling on a train from Cesky Rrumlov to Budapest.

I booked the trip from the US over the internet and at the end of the booking, I received a Pick-Up Code and a notice that I should print out the tickets at the train station. I thought that was great, one less document to carry around and possibly lose. Unfortunately, I did not notice until yesterday that the ticket had been purchased from the Austrian Railroad system and that it had to be printed at an Austrian station. I should have done more research on it over the computer, but I was lazy, hoped I could get help at the train station and then lost my head.

After we got up we bought some pastries at a bakery near our lodging in the morning and we ate them along with some coffee at the Airbnb. Our taxi came right on time at 8:30 and we arrived at the train station by 8:45. (the fare was more expensive than the way in because we were now going uphill, at least that is what I was told.) The trouble I feared came to pass. The ticket agent at the small station did not speak any English, was uninterested in the Pick-up code on my phone and knew nothing about the 9:20 departure I had expected that was in my itinerary. There was no train board listing departing trains and no place to use my Pick-up code to print a ticket. Another passenger, seeing my problem and speaking a little English told me that I had to get on the 9:00 train to Cesky Budejovice, where we had changed yesterday and is apparently a regional transit hub. I was dubious, because that was going north when we wanted to go south, but he insisted that was the correct train. I had no evidence that there would be a 9:20 train and feared we would be stranded there, so I got on the 9:00 train. A big mistake.

So, we got on the 9:00 train. I figured maybe there had been a time change in the 6 weeks since I had purchased the ticket. The receipt I had received showed a small fare for the first leg of the train trip and I assumed that covered this portion of the journey. The problem was that I did not have a ticket. I knew that, but when the conductor came through asking for tickets I tried to explain to her what had happened and showed her my phone with the purchase receipt. She was not convinced, but it was a short ride, this was just a local train and she less us skate by.

I went into the train station at Cesky Budjovice to get some help. The information desk passed me along to a train clerk who spoke a little English. She printed out for me the schedule for getting to Budapest, but refused to issue tickets. At least I now knew where I was going. Next stop was Linz, in Austria. I subsequently realized that this city is in western Austria and I think we were originally supposed to go through there on the 9:20 train. Perhaps this is the reason we will get into Budapest 2.5 hours later than in my original schedule. 

The train to Linz was a national train, faster, better ride and a more professional, but still a conductor with limited English. When she came by to check tickets we went back and forth, me trying to explain that I had purchased tickets, showing her my receipt on the phone and she is asking for a ticket or bar code on the phone. No resolution, however when we reached the Czech Austrian border, the train stopped, she got off and conferred with a new, and presumably Austrian conductor while pointing to us. That conductor spoke more English and by the end of our conversation he agreed with me that the tickets had to be printed out in Austria. I thought he told me to get off and print them in this station and, so I left the train and started to do that, but then the train doors began to close, and I had to run back on without the tickets. A little panic there by my spouse

The Austrian countryside seemed to be different than the Czech. In the former everything seemed to be in order, nothing out of place, no garbage, or even untended piles of dirt or construction materials. No abandoned vehicles. Very orderly. The Czech, and to even a greater extent, the Polish countryside from the view from the train seemed much more disorganized. Differences in wealth, or perhaps national character.

The conductor left us alone and we arrived in Linz about 12:30. Linz is on the Danube, but we did not see it. What I did see was a very long freight train that had hundreds of cars, seemingly virtually all the same white sedans. It was a pretty big train station, but not enclosed. We had about two hours before our connecting train to Budapest. We found the information desk who directed us to the ticket office. There I encountered a very friendly and helpful clerk who printed out our tickets to Budapest and the tickets from where we had been, but a place that I did not recognize. We were not traveling on our purchased itinerary. Digging into our euro stash we purchased some sandwiches and desert in a station sandwich shop. Pretty good food, but expensive.

The train ride to Budapest was about 4 hours and arrived at about 6:30. A good train that moved at a good clip. It was crowded and seemed to have many Hungarians on it. We arrived at the Keleti, Eastern Train station. It was a pretty big train barn, well-lit and with ornate features on the walls. There was a long line at the station’s ATM machine. We were tired, so I went to a money changer. Only changed $50, but got a lower rate than I probably could have gotten at the ATM. I also was able to change the remaining Polish money I had. Too many currencies on this trip!

Our lodging turned out to be only a short distance from the train station, but we decided to take a taxi given the hour and our luggage. We got ripped off on that. The cab driver demanded 20 euro claiming that we were going out of a zone and that the rate was mandated by law. He got lost going there and was not helpful with the luggage, so no tip. I felt like a fool.

Our host was waiting for us at the door. As in Krakow, it was an apartment building in which she was Airbnbing an apartment at 15a Vas Street. One flight up (there was an elevator), the apartment was a spacious room, with a loft bedroom. There was a makeshift kitchen in the hallway with a hot plate and a refrigerator. The bathroom was OK and there was a washer (no dryer). The host was very helpful in offering advice, maps and directions, plus instructions on how to use the airport bus. Then we walked out to find one of her restaurant suggestions. It was Bajor Sarok, located in the Jewish Quarter.  It was very busy with lots of people, primarily young, on the street and crowded bars and restaurants. We found the restaurant without mishap.  The downstairs was full, and although we were seated upstairs, we were told that it would take 30 minutes to get our meal. It did not take that long. I had some Hungarian soup and a traditional Hungarian meat dish. Good dinner at a reasonable cost.

We then walked around the Jewish Quarter. We came to a small wall. It was a portion of the wall that had surrounded the Jewish ghetto from December 1944 until late January 1945, when the Soviets liberated Budapest. 70,000 Jews were squeezed into an area .3 sq. km and over 10,000 died during the 6 weeks the Ghetto existed.  Most of those who survived the ghetto were shipped to Auschwitz and murdered. The Hungarian government allied itself with Germany in the beginning of WWII in an effort to regain the territory it had lost because of its defeat in WWI. Notwithstanding the desires of its ally, the Hungarians largely left the Jews alone. However, by 1944, seeing the Red Army approaching and sensing the inevitable defat of the Nazis, the Hungarians attempted to switch sides in the war. The Nazis did not take kindly to that, so they invaded Hungary and installed a fascist puppet government. That government eagerly participated in the roundup and murder of over 700,000 Hungarian Jews.

We then found the original ruin bar, Szimpla Kurt (garden). The Jewish Quarter was heavily damaged during WWII and this neighborhood sat dilapidated and forgotten for several decades. In the early 2000s it was discovered by the young crowd. Many of buildings are still run down, (some looked as if they were candidates to be condemned) but many house “ruin bars” which typically have entryways that look abandoned, but upon entry they have a maze of walkways that open into large halls and open-air courtyards. On this Saturday night the line to get in was around the corner. We passed on it and went back to our apartment at about 11:30.     

Linz, Austria train station

Budapest Train Station

Ghetto Wall Memorial

Ruin Bar

Cesky Krumlov October 27, 2017 Day 26 of the trip

October 27, 2017 Day 26 18 hours in Cesky Krumlov

The day began with a big rainstorm that pounded on the skylights in our hotel room. As a result, I woke up too early after staying up too late the prior evening. Staggered into the shower and then, after getting our train tickets printed and a cab called by the front desk, made it down to breakfast. The usual vast feast of cold meats, (including a mysterious dark brown one with lots of white spots in it, I was not adventurous enough to even try it.) cheeses, various breads, little sausages, some fruit, fried eggs and even a reemergence of Nutella spread.

We left the hotel as scheduled at 8:40, but to my surprise, by a private car. That explained why the hotel’s charge for this “transfer” was 150% higher than a cab. It had stopped raining, but there was significant traffic (not LA style) to the train station. Nice car, but the driver explained in that since he was not a cab driver he could not pull up right to the train station. However, he helped us pull the luggage to the station.

We were early for our train. I noticed a train that left 30 minutes early for our intermediate destination, Cesky Budejovice, a transportation hub with a nice little square that when we finally passed through there I quickly visited while waiting for our transfer, but I could not determine if it would get us there early, or at all, so we waited for our scheduled train. Meanwhile my spouse had to deal with the death of her mom. This was the second parental death she experienced during one of our trips so that has been hard.

The train station was clean, well-lit and nicely laid out, but crowded. The train departures are listed on a big overhead electronic board and the trains’ platforms were posted late. Upon posting it precipitated a mad rush down the corridor leading to the designated platform.

We got off on time and the 2.5-hour ride was a pleasant journey through the Czech countryside. Good rails and a nice coach. At an early stop I, recalling an article in the NY Times about passengers not giving up their seats to pregnant women, gave up mine to a woman carrying an eight-month-old.  Upon subsequently getting the seat next to her I played with the baby. He looked like my grandson.

Cesky Budejovice was the end of the line. After wrestling the luggage off the train, I dashed downstairs to the ticketing area to find out where to go. With a little time before our transfer I ran out and looked at the town square. Nice, cute and old.

The ride to Cesky Krumlov was only 35 minutes, but it was bumpier and in a much older carriage than the prior ride. Seemed to be a local rather than national train. When we descended from the train through the station I thought that I saw some taxis by the station, but when we got there they were all gone. I tried to talk to Tourist Information about transportation, but the language barrier was too great. Then the sister of the mother I had given my seat to helped us call a taxi. It arrived almost within the promised 10 minutes.

Cesky Krumlov roughly means Czech bend in the river. Its Old Town is wedged in between a big S in the river and is surrounded and bisected by the Vltava River (which also flows through Prague) with a very small bridge connecting it to the mainland. Our taxi barreled down the hill from the train station through some switchbacks and over the small, wooden Barber’s bridge. We then encountered hordes of tourists, mostly in groups and many Chinese, on the narrow, cobblestone streets of the Old Town. The driver gently nudged the pedestrians out of the way without using his horn.

The town has an interesting demographic history. While the Paris Peace Conference that ended WWI tried to create nations around ethnicities based on self-determination, the ethnicities had mixed over the years and while Czechoslovakia was largely Slavic, there were many Germans in the western, Sudetenland area. Hitler’s rise to power encouraged German nationalism even outside Germany and in the late 30s 70% of the Germans in Czechoslovakia voted for the Nazi party. After the Munich Agreement, (called the Betrayal by the Czechs), the Czech minority was forced to leave. Following the end of WWII, under a policy endorsed by the victorious Allies, the 3 million Sudeten Germans were forced out, today termed “ethnic cleansing” and Cesky Krumlov lost 75% of its population. Czechs took over the vacated homes and property and after the 1989 Velvet Revolution that tossed out the communists, some of the Sudeten Germans petitioned the Czech government to restore their properties. No such luck.

Our hostel, Airbnb, was across the river. It was Skippy’s, run by a vivacious woman who greeted us warmly in good English. She did not seem to be of Czech origin and as she showed us around the property she explained how she had purchased the property in 1989 when it was in shambles and she explained how she had rebuilt it. She said properties were “dirt cheap” then, but now prices in the town have skyrocketed. When I mentioned the crowds on the streets, she drily commented that they were bussed in as day trippers who came in on buses in tours, took some pictures, ate a burger and departed without staying overnight. (Similar to what I heard from a Park Ranger in Yosemite.) She gave us some restaurant recommendations, a map and invited us to her musical performance later that evening.

The hostel had a large balcony overlooking the river. Our room was large, with a good bed, adequate numbers of working electrical outlets and a view of the river. Alas it was overcast and cool.

Then we were off into town. lt began to rain almost immediately, first a drizzle and then steady. Unlike Krakow, this time we were prepared with our umbrellas That had the salutary effect of clearing the streets of the tour groups.   Our route retraced the taxi back to the Old Town, but was shorted by descending a steep stairway.  We made it to the Main Square, Namesti Svornosti, which was largely free of the tourists, most of whom had retreated to the covered walkways of the colorful Renaissance and Baroque homes (there was one large group with big red Viking River Tours umbrellas) of the wealthy burghers, the foundations of which dated back to the 12th century, that surrounded the square.

The town square has been preserved with great charm. (I was told that an application for a McDonalds outpost on the square has been rejected three times.) It has seen a lot of history. After the Czech revolutionaries and Protestants lost the battle of White Mountain in 1620 the town was occupied by the (very Catholic) Habsburgs and the area incorporated into the Habsburg empire where it remained for 300 years. It became a center of Jesuit learning, but they burned books in the square, and when there was a bad harvest, or the plague swept through, they burned witches. In 1938 Hitler paid a visit to the square after the annexation of the Sudetenland under a backdrop of long Nazi banners. In 1968 it was the Russians who came in their tanks as part of their crushing of the “Prague Spring”. Now there are lots of shops, hotels and apartments.

We then proceeded to Barber’s Bridge, Lazebnicky Most, which connects to Castle Town. On the bridge we again saw a statute of St. John of Nepomuk, his statute also graces Charles Bridge in Prague. Here he is the protector against floods. There were several kayakers in the river, even in the rain. We then walked up some winding streets to the Krumlov Castle. It is a large complex that overlooks the Old Town and the Vltava River. The structure was first established in the 13^th century and had lots of additions. The Castle was owned at various times by the Rozmberks, Eggenbergs and Schwarzenbergs families.

Guarding the complex is a former moat that is now inhabited by European brown bears. The Round Tower guards the entrance to the complex. It is colorfully impressive from the outside and it afforded me wonderful, 360 degree, albeit windy, views from the top after climbing 163 steep steps.  After a snack at the café we toured the museum which offers a history of the town, castle and its ruling families. We then proceeded ever upwards through 5 courtyards. The first was devoted to the castle workers. The second supported the soldiers. The third was reached by crossing a bridge and then the fourth with a large bridge over a steep gorge with peepholes to view the old town. We were unable to enter the Baroque theater, which was closed or the rooms of the castle since I did not make reservations, but it was interesting to view the paintings on the walls of the courtyards and the sundial that was missing 4:00. These afforded great views of the town and surrounding areas. We only briefly walked through the Castle’s gardens.

After walking down, we went to the Monastery and then crossed back into Old Town where we walked along the river and under the massive Church of St Vitus. We had dinner at Laibon, a vegetarian haven from the Czech loaded diet. It is housed in a cave like structure, but has a large dining area on the river. Too cold and wet for that now.  We had soup and a vegetarian platter.

Then walked through the other part of the old town to Egon Schiele Café. It is named after a Viennese artist who spent a few weeks in town for an affair and some of whose works are housed on the top floor. The bottom is a warm café. We sat back in some very comfortable chairs with drinks and listened to a musical group lead by our Airbnb host. There seemed to be lots of locals with children in attendance. Got back to our room at about 10:00.

View from the Castle

After dinner entertainment

Town Square

Skippys, our Airbnb

Prague 2, October 26, 2017

October 26, 2107 Prague 2 Day 25 of trip

Good breakfast and then set out for the Prague Castle. Unfortunately, I got on the wrong tram line. I did not realize the mistake until we did not make the turn to go through Republic Square. We got off and then got back on in the other direction to go to the Jerusalem Synagogue which is in a residential neighborhood a few blocks from Wenceslas Square.

Unlike the synagogues in the Jewish Quarter (I planned to go there but there wasn’t the time) this is an active synagogue, albeit with a small congregation. It is very colorful on the outside and is a weird combination of Moorish and Viennese Art Nouveau architecture. There was an exhibit on Czech American Jewish relations in which one of the pictures showed several visiting American rabbis. One of them was the rabbi in the Bronx who officiated at my bar mitzvah. This synagogue was recently restored and was built in 1905-06 to commemorate the 50^th anniversary of Emperor Franz Joseph’s rule, who was relatively liberal and tolerant of Jews.

We then boarded the Green Line Metro again and  rode three stops across the river to get to Prague Castle. The Castle is up on a hill and dominates the Prague skyline.  Rather than climb the steps and experience a 30-minute climb, we boarded the #22 tram, but we initially went in the wrong direction. After reversing direction, we got off at Prazsky Hrad, (“Prague Castle”) across from the Castle’s main entrance.

The Prague Castle is not just a castle, it is a sprawling complex that encompasses a wide range of buildings, institutions comprising Czech power and sights. For more than 1000 years the leaders of most Czech institutions have ruled from this complex. It was almost overwhelming and hard to figure out which things to see and which tickets to purchase. We had to decide among the top church, the former royal palace and an assortment of art and history museums.

Entering the complex through Castle Square we observed the hourly changing of the guard by very stiff soldiers. We proceeded through several large stone gateways passing through the first courtyard until we emerged into the large second courtyard.

We purchased a limited combination ticket and passing on the St. Vitus Treasury, we went into St. Vitus Cathedral.  This is the Czech national church where kings were crowned, royalty buried, and the crown jewels were kept. The ubiquitous St John of Nepomuk has his tomb here. There are two soaring towers and a nave that goes on forever. The main attraction here is the Mucha Stained Glass window, created in 1931 which tells the story of the Czech people and nation.

After exiting the cathedral, we entered the vast third courtyard and were greeted by a granite obelisk. It was built in 1928 to celebrate the 10^th anniversary of the establishment of Czechoslovakia but broke in transit. Perhaps fitting since the nation only lasted 75 years before it split into two countries.

On the right side of the courtyard is the Old Royal Palace. We had decided to pass that and instead entered the Story of Prague Castle Exhibit located in the cellars of the Palace. This was a terrific exhibit not only of the history of the castle, but also of its kings and more broadly the history of the Czech and Bohemia nations. Plus, it had good English descriptions. The next stop was the Basilica of St George. This is one of the oldest structures in the castle dating back to the 12^th century and was originally constructed in 920 by Wenceslas’s dad. Opposite this structure was the Institute for Noblewomen established by Maria Theresa to educate aristocratic, but impoverished woman.   

After passing some residences for soldiers and craftsmen, we entered Golden Lane. This is a picturesque, winding crooked street with lots of little houses that formerly housed servants. Kafka briefly lived here, and they were occupied until WWII when the Germans took over. Now they contain displays of the “olden” days with medieval torture, metal working and pub exhibits. There were also lots of gift shops.

We were then funneled down a tight, stepped corridor and through a fortified door that spilled us out onto a scenic rampart with a commanding view of the city. A good picture spot. Then we walked down a very long stairway to a tram stop which took us back across the river to Republic Square. There we had some beer and sausages from street vendors before going to the Museum of Communism.

It is housed in new quarters on the second-floor nest to a MacDonald’s. It tells the story of communism in Czechoslovakia from its origin, the dream, the reality the nightmare and finally the Velvet Revolution which wiped it out. As you get off the escalator that takes you to the entrance to the museum’s exhibit, you are greeted by a giant Red Star. The exhibit starts in 1918 with a brief description of the establishment of Czechoslovakia largely through the efforts of Tomas Masaryk (there is a statute of him in Washington DC.) and his friendship with Woodrow Wilson and its weak and divided structure encompassing many minorities including lots of Germans. That lead to the Munich Agreement (the Czechs call it the Betrayal) whereby Britain and France abandoned Czechoslovakia to Hitler who ultimately overran the entire country (except for some small portions that were given to Hungry by Hitler and grabbed by Poland.) Communism came after WWII when Czechoslovakia was “liberated” by the Red Army (although Patton’s US Army initially occupied the western part of the country and could have taken Prague but was held back in deference to our Russian allies per the Yalta Agreements.). The communists won a plurality in the 1946 elections and two years later pushed the foreign minister out a second story window and the democrats out of office.  Rigged elections were then held and the country became a one-party state. There were exhibits on communist economics, “they pretended to pay us, and we pretended to work”, propaganda posters, everyday life under communism and a spooky interrogation office. There were lots of protests and a big exhibit on the Velvet revolution. I found it to be a very interesting exhibition and we stayed until closing at 8.

Then we walked over to a restaurant near the Estates Theater. It was in a basement and we had a heavy Czech meal. Took the tram back to the hotel.

Jerusalem Synagogue

Outside Prague Castle

First Courtyard Prague Castle

Mucha Stained Glass

Charles Bridge Tower from Prague Tower

Entrance to Museum of Communism

Prague Day 1 Oct 25

October 25, 2017 Prague 1 Day 24 of trip

The overnight Krakow to Prague train departed almost exactly on time. We were escorted to our cabin by a steward. The cabin was small, but functional. Bunk beds, a sink and a luggage compartment. The toilet was down the corridor.

While riding in Poland the tracks were not very smooth, the train generated a lot of noise and seemed to move at a reduced speed. However, at some point, presumably when we crossed into the Czech Republic the train picked up speed and there was less noise and bumps from the tracks. The upper bunk was narrow, but the swaying of the train gradually put me to sleep and I was rested when the train began to slow down outside of Prague. The porter brought us a cold, but substantive breakfast and hot drinks about 6:30 am.

We arrived on schedule in Prague’s main train station on the east side of town at about 7:00 am. It took a while to find an ATM to get some Czech currency but after that since we were unsure where to go and dragging luggage we got into a cab and rode to The Three Crowns Hotel in the Prague 3 neighborhood at Cimburkova 28. This was a little bit outside of the Old Town area, but located between a tram and bus line that would take us downtown in less than 10 minutes.  

Fortunately, our room was ready, and we went up to the fourth/top floor to find that we had a spacious room with a large bathroom.  After showers and a brief nap, we went down for breakfast. The hotel had a wonderful, expansive breakfast buffet.

We then began a search for a DHL office to mail some documents needed in the USA for the closing of the sale of my spouse’s late father’s business. That proved ultimately to be unsuccessful notwithstanding the assistance of the hotel concierge. We walked about a mile up a hill to what we thought was a DHL office, but it did not exist. Finally, we found a Czech post office. We paid a pretty penny for delivery (it never arrived in the US.)

We then took the Metro a couple of stops downtown to Staromestska. That dropped us off in a modern business center a few blocks away from the Old Town area. The Metro is modern and efficient. I was told that all Prague residents pay a monthly transit fee and then ride for free.  Our ride was cheap by western standards.

We walked into the Stare Mesto, Old Town, area which is centered around Old Town Square. The Square was bustling with activity and surrounded by interesting structures. The old town and the square date back to the 10^th century when a marketplace and settlement grew up on the east bank of the Vltava River that was part of the Great Moravian Empire. The 13th and 14^th centuries were an extended period of prosperity and power for Prague when it became the center of the Holy Roman Empire (neither holy nor Italian, but powerful) culminating in the rule of Charles IV, who among other things built the bridge that bears his name. Alas the 15^th century witnessed the beginning of disastrous religious strife and intolerance that began in and ultimately devastated Bohemia, but eventually engulfed most of Europe in the Thirty Years War. Jan Hus was the Czech lands foremost, and one of Europe’s earliest (he preceded Martin Luther by over 100 years) Protestant, Christian reformers. Like Luther he criticized the practice of selling indulgences and that landed him in the Pope’s black book.  In 1410 he was excommunicated and that lead to efforts by him and his followers to rid themselves Roman and foreign authority. In 1415 Hus was invited to a conference to recant his views with the understanding that he would be granted safe passage. He attended, refused to recant and was burned at the stake. He was about a century too early.

His followers, the Hussites, kept fighting for two centuries, ultimately storming Prague’s Town Hall and literally tossing several Catholic councilors out upper story windows, “defenestration”, and although they met with initial success, they were ultimately defeated which opened the door for the Austrian, Catholic Habsburgs to come in. Austrian power was solidified in 1620 when they prevailed over the Bohemian and Moravian nobles in the battle of Bila Hora (“White Mountain”) where the rebels were brutally crushed. That ushered in 300 years of Austrian rule.

The square has a large monument in the middle honoring Jan Hus and his followers for their efforts to free the country from Austrian rule. The faces of his followers seem bitter. However behind the Hus statute are a mother and child, symbolizing the rebirth of the Czech nation. Just off the larger square is an area named after Jan Palach a university student who in 1969 set himself on fire in Wenceslas Square to protest the Soviet invasion. On the memorial plague his face has a ghostly death mask.  

Looming over the square is the twin Gothic spires of the Tyn Church. It is topped by a golden image of the Virgin Mary made from a melted down Hussite chalice. Although very impressive from the outside, the interior was heavy and dark. There was a ticket office in the Church for concerts and we purchased tickets for a concert later that evening. We watched a Swedish street performer for a while and then walked to the far side of the square to observe the Astronomical Clock. This is housed in the Old Town Hall. The four figures beside the clock represent: Death, a skeleton, Vanity, a mirror; Greed, a Jewish money lender; and the Pagan Invasion, a Turk. The four figures below represent the Chronicler, Angel, Astronomer and Philosopher. On the hour Death rings a bell and inverts his hour glass and then the 12 Apostles parade past the windows above the clock. There was a huge crowd gathered for this event which took about a minute. The clock was built in 1410, but improved in 1490 by Master Hanus, who was allegedly blinded after his work was completed so that he could not replicate it elsewhere. (We heard a similar story about an artist in India associated with the Taj Mahal.) The center of the clock face has a map of the then known world with Prague at the center. On the side of the clock tower are 27 crosses marking the spot where 27 Protestant nobles were beheaded following the battle of Bila Hora. We did not climb the tower, too many people and a steep price, but instead crossed the square and walked into the Tyn Courtyard, formerly called Ungeltu.  This was a very picturesque courtyard. It was established in the 11^th century originally as a medieval fortified hotel with a trading center and a customs office for foreign merchants. Now it houses shops restaurants and hotels. Next to the U Ungeltu shop is the House of the Black Bear hotel whose façade is adorned with a statute of St. John of Nepomuk (Statutes of him are ubiquitous throughout the parts of the Czech Republic we visited, seemingly almost as ubiquitous as Ataturk in Turkey.) He was tortured and then drowned in the river in the 14^th century by the king after refusing to divulge the confessional secrets of the queen, and a bear in chains.   

Continuing our walking tour, we went to the Church of St James, a giant Gothic church that was originally built in the 14^th century and renovated in the 18^th century. Inside it had an over the top tomb of Count Jan Vratislav, a large pipe organ and a shriveled human arm that is allegedly the remains of the arm of a thief which was so tightly grabbed by the Virgin that his arm had to be cut off to escape.

We made our way to the Museum of Czech Cubism. The building was built in 1912, but it still looks modern. From there we went to an open triangle area that was a former fruit market. Now it has lots of restaurants and at the end it has the Estates Theatre which is Prague’s oldest theatre. It hosted the premiere of Mozart’s Don Giovanni in 1787. Alas the interior was accessible only if one attended a performance.  

We walked back through the fruit market along Celetna Street to Powder Tower. This is almost 200 feet tall and was begun to be built in 1475 as one of the Old Town’s 13 gates. The road to Vienna began here. In the 18^th century it was used as a gun powder magazine, hence its current name. It has sculptors along its sides and is topped by a trapezoidal roof.

When we passed through the Gate we left the Old Town and entered a big busy intersection. On our left was Municipal House, a big cream-colored building topped by a green dome. This striking 1911 building is the best example of Czech Art Nouveau architecture. It has an elaborate wrought iron balcony, bronze Atlases holding lanterns and lots of stain glass windows. In 1918 Czech independence was announced form this balcony. The bottom floor houses an Art Nouveau café with impressive chandeliers.

 We then walked into Republic Square. It is a transit hub and is flanked by several large malls and department stores. We had a small bite to eat from street food vendors and then walked back past the Municipal House on a street called Na Prikope where the old city wall once stood. The street name means “On the Moat” and the street lies on the former moat that protected the wall and the Old Town. Old Prague was protected on two sides by the river, crossed only by a fortified bridge, and on two sides by moats and walls. The non-wall side is lined with modern buildings, but we were unable to find the Museum of Communism notwithstanding the fact that we were in the courtyard that the guide book directed us to. In fact, we learned that it had recently relocated to a street off Republic Square.

 Putting that off for the next day, we walked into Wenceslas Square. This is the heart of New Town. Originally founded as a horse market, it now has all the trappings of a modern commercial oasis, department stores and malls, high end chain stores and fast food restaurants. However, the Square has been witness to a lot of modern history. In early 1968 Alexander Dubcek took over the helm of the Communist Party that was headquartered on the Square. He began a reform program, called the Prague Spring that attempted to tiptoe away form the Russians and liberalized Czech society. Alas, that did not last long. As I distinctly recall reading in the NY Times on the subway on my way back from my job as a lady shoe salesman (one of the worst jobs I ever had) in late August 200,000 troops from the Warsaw Pact rolled into Prague and crushed the Prague Spring. The Russian tanks chewed up the pavement in Wenceslas Square and killed 72 Czechs and Slovaks. You can still see bullet marks on the walls of some of the buildings I distinctly remember wondering why the US and western governments allowed this and feeling bitterness toward the Russians and great sadness for the Czech citizens.   Yet 21 years later the children of those citizens brought about the Velvet Revolution that culminated in Vaclav Havel appearing on a balcony in the Square announcing the end of communism in then Czechoslovakia.

Interestingly, while we were there the news outlets were reporting on the consolidation of power of a nationalist euro sceptic ruler who was supported by the remnants of the Communist Party that typically receives about 10% of the vote.  

We then left Wenceslas Square and walked downhill on Na Mustku (“along the bridge” that crossed the moat) which became Melantrichova,  street filled with upscale shops and then the museum of sex machines. No time for that as it was beginning to get dark and we were on our way to our concert.  We passed through the Old Town Square again and exited on to traffic free Karlova Street which was supposed to lead us to the Charles Bridge. However, that street twisted and turned, and the promised street signs did not keep us on track. Karlova is a touristy, feeding frenzy, commercial gauntlet that seemed to have many shops selling Russian artifacts. The only respite from the commercialism on this street was Charles University which dates to the 14^th century and was the first University in Central Europe. Johannes Kepler worked here.

Karlova spills out onto Charles IV Square. He was the Holy Roman Emperor in the 14thcentury who ruled over a vast empire that stretched from the Low Countries in the west to the Balkans in the east. That was the highwater mark of Czech power. He now appears on the 100-koruna bill.   

At the entrance to the Charles Bridge is a huge statute of Charles and a bridge tower. In 1342 a flooded Vltava washed out the existing bridge. Charles IV, a numerologist, decided to build an entirely new, stone structure. The foundation for the new bridge was laid on July 9, 1357 at 5:31 am. Written out in digits this comes out in a numerical palindrome (the same numbers back and forth), 135797531. This remained the only crossing of the river in Prague for almost 400 years.

It was too dark by now for good pictures, but crossing the bridge a crowded, festive structure, we passed many statutes that lined both sides. The most impressive was the one of St. John of Nepomuk, (see above) whose plaque marks the spot and shows how he was tossed off the bridge. When he hit the water five stars, a sign of purity, allegedly appeared. The statutes of Cyril and Methodius, two brothers who arrived from Greece in the 9^th century to introduce Christianity to the Slavs were also impressive. Looking downstream we could make out a huge terrace topped by a giant metronome. This was the site of a 14,000-ton statute of Stalin built in 1955 which preceded two lines of Communist heroes, one Czech and one Russian (Socialist unity). The following day In the Museum of Communism, we saw pictures of it and its destruction in 1962.

We crossed the Bridge and entered the Little Quarter. We passed the Lennon Wall. This was a nothing wall, but after Lennon’s death in 1980 people would spontaneously cover the wall with memorial graffiti at night and the next day the police would paint it over. This was repeated nightly until independence came in 1989. We continued up the hill to the Little Quarter Square which is dominated by the Church of St. Nicholas. Across the square we went into the associated Jesuit college for the concert. It was held in a beautiful hall where we listened to classical music for 90 minutes.

We walked back down the hill and caught the tram back to our hotel. We ate dinner at a small Italian restaurant near the hotel to which we di not return until about 11:00. A long day.

Hus Monumnet

Street performer  n Old Town Square

Astronomical Clock

Municipal House

Powder Tower

Concert Hall