Shopping and Hiking

After leaving the synagogue, Thom and I walked ten miles.  His fruitless search for Hom underwear took us past the Liszt Academy to a mall not far from Nyugati railway terminal.

Lunchtime at the WestEnd City Center, pretty far from any major tourist attractions, proved just how homogenous Hungarian society remains.

I missed my bike.

This automobile, a relic of the communist era, belonged in the Budapest History Museum

We crossed the Freedom bridge to hike up to the Citadel, a steep climb up Gellert Hill on the Buda side of the Danube.

An occasional political message ("Stop War, No Borders") punctuated the spectacular views.

Hungary's complicated history confronts you at the summit.  In 1851, during the reign of the Hapsburgs, Austrians forced Hungarians to build the Citadel.  After the Austro-Hungarian empire ended, locals tried to tear down the walls but left the shell.  Both the Nazis and the Soviets used the strategic location of the fortress to keep their thumbs on the Hungarians; the Soviets even added statues, the most objectionable of which the Hungarians removed after the fall of the communism.  Got that?

Wads of gum on one of the remaining statues may qualify as political speech.  It requires an effort to reach the buttocks or even the heel of this statue.

Crazy footwear marks Japanese tourists.

You can't beat the late afternoon views.

 

We took another path down Gellert Hill.

Budapest's Great Market Hall lies at the southern end of Vaci utca.

Fresh paprika for sale!

Along with plenty of colorful souvenirs.

Thom thought I was crazy for loving this porcelain Minotaur.