Last Day In Budapest

It’s 10PM and I’m in the top bunk of our 6-bed night-train couchette in the dark (except for the glow of the computer) and it’s probably 90 degrees up here. We’re also low on water and there is no source of extra water on the train. Michelle and the children are below me, tucked in and ready for sleep. The children think this is a wonderful adventure. Our train arrives in Krakow at 6:30AM and we have to be ready to depart right away. The train goes on to Moscow after that!

Our last day in Budapest was kind of a catch-all of the various activities we had not done already. We started (after stowing our bags in the B&B owner’s garage for the day) by going to the grand Parliament building. We had seen it from across the Danube River several times each day, but not yet up close. Unfortunately the tours we all sold out for the day when we arrived there at 10AM. Up close, the building actually looks less interesting. The stonework is stained and the details look a bit less artistic. Like almost every big public building in Budapest, it was built around 1896 and probably in a bit of a hurry to get it ready for the millennium birthday celebration.

After that we walked a short distance south along the river to a place where a monument of sorts was recently added; along the very edge of the embankment were about 50 pairs of bronzed shoes of a style worn in the 1940’s. These represented the Jews who were killed here by the Arrow Cross Nazi Police in the waning days of the war, when it became obvious that Germany was going to lose and there was not enough time to transport all of the remaining Hungarian Jews to Auschwitz for extermination. Here, along the river, they were simply lined up and shot – their bodies left to float away. There was no plaque to explain the meaning or name the dead. The shoes were enough. Joshua, age 7, naturally asked what this was about and we told him the simple truth. He was quiet for a while. When I asked him if he was alright, he started to cry. Later he told us that he had seen a pair of shoes that was small…

We have tried several times to try to explain what happened in a way that could possibly make any sense to a 7-year-old, but it is difficult. It makes very little sense to me. But we talked about how this part of the world used to be a very angry place, and that these reminders of that time exist so that we can never forget what happened, and never repeat it again. It is impressive, if you think about it, to recognize how far Europe has come in the last generation or two, toward a more harmonious coexistence, and that the other nations of the world could learn from their example.

After that we went to the Great Market Hall to see all the meat, produce and souvenirs for sale. It was quite a spectacle. We bought things for a small lunch there and each of the children found a souvenir they liked to remember Budapest.

The day was hot again, and the sun was beating down in a way that makes you just melt in moments. There were other things we could have seen at that point, but there was only one thing that any of us would have truly enjoyed, so we returned to the baths (pools) for the rest of the afternoon. The children had a blast (and got nice & tired) and we all cooled off...that is, until we got on this train…