AMAPrima Black Sea Voyage Live Blog/Review Sept 2014

[Familygoboston]

We had planned our pre cruise tours about 9 months in advance of sailing. We decided to see Budapest and Istanbul (our beginning and ending cities) with our own guides versus using the AMA included tours. The AMA 1/2 day bus and walking tour of Budapest didn't sound like enough time in Budapest for us which drove the decision to look for a private guide there.

 

If you'd like more details about our thoughts on private guides and tips about finding them...I've added a new blog post:

 

http://www.goseeittravel.com/travel-blog/2014/10/16/why-bother-with-a-local-guide

 

I started here on Cruise Critic and read several threads that recommended Andrea MacKay. When I reached out to her via email she responded promptly that she was booked but could set us up with a colleague. However, rather than risk not knowing who would be taking us, we preferred to book Magdi Pelech directly who was also reviewed well by a CC member who had Andrea MacKay connect them when Andrea was unavailable.

 

It turned out to be a great choice...

http://www.magdiprivatetours.com/

 

She was very responsive via email and we found her rates very reasonable, especially once we shared with another couple. Her rates were for van and driver for a full 8 hour day in Buda and out to the Communist Memento park and half day 4 hour walking tour in Pest. We worked with her to tailor our tour to exactly what we wanted to see and do. We paid for all our own entrance fees, transit expenses and meals and snacks for ourselves and her through out the day. I won't quote exact prices here, since they could change, vary depending on the size of your group, but the price for both of us for a day and 1/2 day of touring was approximately $225 USD, excluding tips (10% for Magdi and a smaller tip for the driver) our out of pocket entrance fees, transit and meals. In general, these expenses are far less in Hungary than in large US or Western European cities) Our guide only accepted Hungarian Forints, and we exchanged money to Forints during our time in Hungary. I'll have more "money details" in a future post.

 

Before meeting Magdi, we had breakfast and met Jeff's sister and her husband who had rented a flat within walking distance of St Stephens Basilica.

 

 

(at breakfast, hmmm, does this look like romance??)

 

 

 

 

 

(a river ship heading up the Danube)

 

 

 

 

 

(Jeff and his sister K meeting up)

 

 

 

 

Magdi met us in the Marriott Lobby

 

(Magdi with our group at Gellert Hill)

 

 

We were very happy with our tour with Magdi...we felt she was very knowledgeable, and she did a good job organizing our interests to ensure we avoided backtracking. She was good at trying pace our tour for our group, which was a challenge because of our last minute add of Jeff's sister who has difficulty with lots of walking. Magdi was great about finding a resting spot for her while the other 3 of us moved on to see a sight that required a bit more walking or climbing and then returned for her later. In retrospect, we probably didn't "rest" enough; by experiencing meals or coffee breaks during our tour. We did do those things "on our own", but felt to maximize the guide time, it would be better to tour with fewer stops during the hours we had Magdi (except for brief breaks and lunch on our full day) These challenges were not caused by Magdi, but rather by our desire to maximize her time and"rest" after we were done with our touring. We jokingly agreed with our relatives that more than 2 days trying to match each others pace would not work out well, but that our weekend together turned out to be a great time, and we were so happy we connected together in Budapest!

 

 

 

 

(Magdi knew when we needed a break- here at the end of a full day of touring)

 

Edited October 16, 2014 by Familygoboston

[Familygoboston]

Gellert Hill and Monument (Buda)

 

Our tour started in the van across the bridge to Buda, headed over to Gellert Hill, where we walked around the summit.

 

The hill is home to the Statue of Liberty...this communist era monument, used to be the "Liberation" monument commemorating the Russian's "liberation" of Hungary from the German's after WWII. After the fall of Communism in 1989, it lost some of it's more militaristic pieces. See the empty pedestal in the front? A soldier statue was removed and now resides in the Memento Park with other Communist era monuments. It was rededicated to all of the people who have ever fought for the freedom of Hungary and the locals refer to it as their "statue of liberty".

 

(Liberty Monument)

 

 

 

 

 

(If you collect UNESCO sites...this is one!)

 

 

 

 

 

(There are several panels depicting the damage done by bombing during WWII, nearly all of Budapest has been "rebuilt"; in it's history Budapest has been sacked and destroyed many times, but each time, rebuilds!)

 

 

 

 

 

(a view from Gellert Hill to the Chain Bridge)

 

 

 

 

 

(a view of a river ship on the Danube)

 

 

 

 

 

(a view to residential area)

 

[Familygoboston]

Gellert Hill Buda

Our next stop was the Cave Church built into the Gellert Hill. Magdi shared with us that this church was actually cemented closed and the monks sent away during the communist era; in fact she admitted she never knew it existed till after the fall of communism!

 

Cave Church

 

 

 

(entrance)

 

 

 

 

 

An interesting fact I discovered in Hungary is that many of the Catholic churches in Hungary are named for Mary; who is the Patron Saint of Hungary. But most of them are CALLED something else...such as the cave church or Matya's church (it's not named for St Matthew, but its a moniker for the church where King Matyas attended and was married (twice!) But it's actually the Parish Church of Our lady Mary.

 

If you want a nickle (Forint?) history...

This interesting relationship probably exists because in the first century, Arpad, the leader of one of 7 nomadic tribes, looked around and decided that if the Magyars didn't join all of their tribes and settle in one place, there wouldn't be any land left for them to come back to, because of all the internal fighting and invading armies of the time.

His grandson, King Istvan converted to Catholicism, allying with a powerful force at the time, the Church in Rome, and was eventually sainted for his efforts. Interestingly though, in an effort to encourage the conversions of the Magyars, Rome more or less let them build their churches as they wanted and there are some unusual sights in Catholic Churches throughout Hungary that one doesn't often see in other Roman Catholic Churches around the world! I'll point them out in photos for those of you interested!

 

(Our Lady- always forgiving that no one seems to remember the church is named for HER!)

 

 

 

 

(Inside the Cave Church)

[Familygoboston]

Gellert Baths Buda

 

Our next stop...the Gellert baths...we did not partake the waters here, but did later at another bath after our tours. I'll have more details on our baths experience in that section!

 

(Here is a schematic of the hotel and baths, it's a beautiful modernist Secession style building!)

 

 

 

 

(it's a building worth visiting even if you don't plan to soak!)

 

 

 

 

(beautiful ceiling and tiles)

 

 

 

 

 

(a patron prepares to take the waters)

 

Edited October 16, 2014 by Familygoboston

[Hydrokitty]

Wonderful narrative and beautiful pictures ...like I said before:BEST BLOG EVER!!!

[Familygoboston]

Memento Park

 

After touring Gellert Hill, we took the van about 15 minutes (no traffic on Sunday) out of town to the Memento Park. We were very interested in this part of Hungary's history. We chose this itinerary in part because it was the 25th anniversary of the fall of communism in Central and Eastern Europe. Having the opportunity to see some sights and more importantly connect with people who lived through this time was something we really wanted to do.

One thing about "touring" areas with difficult history, (whether it's a concentration camp in Poland, the killing fields in Cambodia, or slave cabins at Monticello) I think it's important to see things to understand the experience on a more personal level to prevent a repeat of these kinds of horrors in the future.

 

Unfortunately, the further we get from the date of terror, the less "affected" we are sometimes, it becomes a comical or light hearted approach that doesn't respect the victims of the terror. An example of this is all the attention around "Vlad the impaler" in Romania. That story is about a man who perpetrated the worst sort of horror, and yet, we are so far from it that often the tours are advertised in a light hearted way, as if it's "fun"; like a fictional vampire movie would be. But when its actual history that affected actual people, it is about the people who suffered, and just because they suffered a long time ago doesn't mean we should be making light of it. I feel this sort of touring always requires a respect for the people who were victims of the history, no matter how long ago it happened and should be approached that way; respectfully, with the hopes of understanding in order to prevent the history from repeating itself.

 

I found in general that the difficult histories of the places we toured on this trip were presented very respectfully, and most people visiting experienced them in a very respectful way. This was true of the Memento Park. After the the fall of communism, the Budapest City Council had to face the question of what to do with all these Communist monuments. Destroying them eliminates a part of history that deserves telling (and remembering), but leaving them in prominent places around town is a too painful reminder of the past for citizens.

 

(parenthetical story: our guide told us about how Budapest is often used to shoot period movies about WWII because it's inexpensive to shoot there and the city still looks much like Western Europe did in the mid 20th century! So you can imagine the outrage from commuters when a recent movie turned a main boulevard in Budapest into replica of the capital of the Third Reich over night!)

 

Memento Park is more than a warehouse of old statues, it's a carefully designed park meant to illustrate some of the realities of living under Communist rule.

 

One example is this photo of the entrance...it's supposed to look like an actual stout, brick building, but you can see, it's just a facade. Also, the central large entry gate is not functional; guests enter through the "side door".

 

Our guide Magdi explained that the "side door" is a concept common to those who grew up in Communist countries. She explained that often you could not get something done through regular channels, that in order to get it done you had to find a creative way around the rules or policies; a "side door", if you will. Her own side door story was about a review class she wanted to take in order to get into at top economics college. Because her parents were not state workers, she was on a very long wait list for the course. So she had a friend with no interest in economics, whose parents were state workers, sign up for the class and then pass along all the class materials to her, so she could review them, even if she couldn't take the course. This is just one example of a local guide sharing stories from their own lives that bring to life their experiences.

 

(The side door)

 

 

 

 

Another thoughtful design placement of a statues. Here Lenin is put "off to the side"; while his soldiers who normally would be standing vertically day and night on the the frieze around his statue get to lie down for rest!.

 

(Lenin put aside and soldiers finally getting to lie down on the job!)

 

 

 

 

Some of the statuary is meant to remind people of the propaganda- This is a Russian victim of the "counter revolution" (know known as the 1956 Uprising, which was brutally quashed by the Communists)

 

 

 

 

 

[Familygoboston]

Memento Park

 

Of course in even in a serious examination of history, there are some lighthearted moments, where you have to see the history with a wry sense of humor.

 

The Trabant is the only vehicle that was available available in most Communist countries and was always the "bad guy" in Bond movies and earned a deserved poor reputation with even the people who could afford to own one.

 

(the Trabant)

 

 

 

 

(This is the Russian Soldier that was removed from the Liberation monument on Gellert Hill)

 

What is she looking for??? And will it be to scale??

 

 

 

 

There was some humor in this monument- our guide who was a young woman when Communism fell, used to meet her teen friends at this statue of Ostyapenko at the edge of town to hitchhike out to the countryside for picnics or concerts. Almost all Communist statuary shows an unidentifiable person, (usually a man) huge, vigorous, in a hurry and eager to work for the state. If we think about the reality of the Communist economy we can see this is more propaganda!

The running joke among those who remember it, is that this fellow should have been titled Coat Check Boy..."M'aam, you forgot your coat!"

 

[Familygoboston]

Wonderful narrative and beautiful pictures ...like I said before:BEST BLOG EVER!!!

 

Why thank you! I haven't even got to the cruise part yet ;)

[Familygoboston]

Royal Palace Castle District Buda

Our next stop was back to Castle Hill to look at the Royal Palace. We were unable to tour inside the palace because there was a chocolate festival going on, and we wanted to move on to see other things.

 

(A view of the Chain Bridge from near the funicular)

 

 

 

 

(The funicular)

 

 

 

 

(A chocolate festival at the Royal Palace)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are a bunch of vendors set up here where you can buy some crafts or foods. Our guide recommended trying the traditional funnel cake.

 

(a stop for traditional funnel cake!)

 

[Familygoboston]

Castle Hill Old Town Buda

 

After wandering around the top of the Castle Hill, we went to lunch in Old Buda. Old Buda is really a wonderful place to spend some time exploring, there are shops and restaurants and it is a pedestrian mall, so no worries about traffic!

 

Magdi recommended Pest-Buda, (Fortuna Utca 3) advertised as "Grandmas Kitchen with Love and Care"

 

 

 

 

(a colorful, fun place for the "hens"; there was one for roosters too!)

 

 

 

 

(menu- and clearly an example of one of Kathy's "bad" photos!)

 

 

 

 

We tried a variety of dishes, sharing between us to sample several options. Of course the big hit was the goulash!

 

[purduemom1]

Beautiful pictures....wonderful narrative...thanks for taking the time to share!

[Familygoboston]

Matyas Church Old Town Buda

 

This church has a fascinating history that mirrors the history of much of Budapest. Built in the mid 13th century, it had it's glory days when King Matyas was married there and celebrated Mass after his coronation. It was destroyed and converted to a mosque by the Ottoman Turks in the 15th and 16th centuries. In the 17th century it was rebuilt as a church in the baroque style, only to be damaged again in the middle of the 20th century by the German and Russian armies. Finally, more recently it has been restored and is a popular tourist attraction as well as a functioning parish!

 

(Matyas Church)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(interior)

 

 

 

 

(interior)

 

 

 

 

(interior)

 

 

 

You'll notice most Hungarian warriors are shown on horse back...they are legendary for their cavalry and skills on horse back. Its a tradition that is still appreciated today. The weekend we visited there was a huge horse race in the City Park in Pest!

 

(Statue of St Istvan in the square near the Fisherman's Bastion)

 

[Familygoboston]

After sitting for family photos on the Fisherman's Bastion overlooking the Parliament building and the Danube, we drove back to the Pest side via the Margaret Bridge, because I wanted to see where Margaret island was for a later visit. Once across the bridge in Pest, we were back on foot again to see the exterior of the Parliament Building. It was just about 3 PM, so we were able to witness this little production:

 

[YOUTUBE]eLJ5sEPFdSY[/YOUTUBE]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While my SIL rested, Jeff, N and I walked with Magdi to the pest side of the Danube to see the Shoes on the Danube memorial to the Jews murdered on the Danube River during **** occupation. This is a very affecting memorial and it's clear it gets lots of visitors. I have a blog post about "A Monumental Day in Budapest" with more information and photos on our Go See It Travel blog

 

Edited October 16, 2014 by Familygoboston

[Familygoboston]

Evening in Budapest

 

We walked a bit further on the Pest side into Liberty Square looking at some statues, buildings such as the Embassies and the Ronald Reagan statue. We returned K and N to their flat near St Istvan Square agreeing to meet Magdi there in the morning to tour St Stephen's Basilica and begin a 1/2 day walking tour of the Jewish Quarter, Andrassy Ut and Hero's Square and the City Park.

 

We also made plans to rest and freshen up at the Marriott and meet our relatives in St Stephen's Square for dinner at one of the many cafe restaurants and have dessert at Strudel House that Magdi pointed out to us during our walk.

 

(snacks and sunset at the executive lounge)

 

A few hours later we met at St Stephen's Square for dinner at an Italian cafe called TG Piccolino (Alkotas Ut 53) It was our first chance to really catch up as family after a busy day touring with our guide and we enjoyed the wine and the food and the company!

 

 

For dessert we tried to find the Strudel House again...there were 4 of us and a four way intersection where everyone in the group thought we should head in a different direction! (except yours truly- I never engage in surety about directions because I'm so bad at them!!) After trying and aborting a few options, after a lot of laughs, we finally wandered in the right direction, and found the Strudel House again! (1051 Budapest, Oktober 6.str.22.) This area is very lively and safe at night (with the usual precautions in any city) and we felt the prices were very reasonable compared to US or Western European cities. The food was excellent and we had no problem being monoglots, nearly all our waiters spoke plenty of English and menus were also printed in English.

 

 

 

 

Even if you resist the strudel, you can enjoy the unique decor of this restaurant, with lots of old fashioned Hungarian kitchen items and an open kitchen where the strudel is made before your eyes!!

 

http://www.pbase.com/jklofft/image/157755889.jpg[/img]

 

 

 

(they have chocolate souffle)

 

 

 

(and of course delicious strudel!!)

[Familygoboston]

Most "normal" people would call it a day... you may have noticed by now, that Jeff and I are not anywhere near normal on the spectrum! So we decided to ride the temporary Ferris wheel in Elizabeth Square during our walk back to our hotel!

 

Ferris wheel

 

 

 

 

 

 

Particulars for tickets- you get three times around, there was a quite a queue most times we walked by during the day, but at that time of night, we had it nearly to oursleves!

 

 

 

 

 

Jeff told me he wanted to ride because it was romantic

 

 

 

 

 

but I think this tells another story :rolleyes:

(St Stephens from the ferris wheel)

[Familygoboston]

As we passed through Elizabeth Square on our way back to the hotel, after 24 whirlwind hours in a place so very far from home...we encountered this...which just proves it is a small world after all!!

 

[YOUTUBE]UM4C6N_P9ko[/YOUTUBE]

 

 

Sweet Home Alabama, indeed!

 

 

 

 

That's it for day one, are you still with me?? it is a two week trip, hopefully we can get it all in in less time than that! Thanks for following along!

[Hydrokitty]

Wonderful...bringing back all of our memories of Budapest, which is one of my favorite cities in the world. I especially enjoyed photo of funnel cake! We had it in Prague but it was called something else...did you see it being made? Most interesting and fantastically delicious...living in northeast when I think of funnel cake it's sold at fairs and the batter is poured through a funnel and served with powdered sugar...nowhere near as good as the Hungarian or Czech version.

[Familygoboston]

Wonderful...bringing back all of our memories of Budapest, which is one of my favorite cities in the world. I especially enjoyed photo of funnel cake! We had it in Prague but it was called something else...did you see it being made? Most interesting and fantastically delicious...living in northeast when I think of funnel cake it's sold at fairs and the batter is poured through a funnel and served with powdered sugar...nowhere near as good as the Hungarian or Czech version.

 

Thanks! Yes, we got to see them making them at the little stand. In general all the pastry was beyond excellent! Even the little croissants in the hotel lounge were delicious! I just think in Europe they use the right ingredients to make things right, rather than figuring out ways to squeeze a few more pennies of profit out of the items by substituting inferior stuff (like using corn syrup instead of sugar or butter substitutes) It just makes all the difference! :D

[wednesday]

Really enjoying your review so far and glad to hear you had a great trip! :)

[Hydrokitty]

Thanks! Yes, we got to see them making them at the little stand. In general all the pastry was beyond excellent! Even the little croissants in the hotel lounge were delicious! I just think in Europe they use the right ingredients to make things right, rather than figuring out ways to squeeze a few more pennies of profit out of the items by substituting inferior stuff (like using corn syrup instead of sugar or butter substitutes) It just makes all the difference! :D

 

So true....so we had them in Prague and they were rolled in cinnamon and walnuts, were yours the same? Also in Prague had a baked potato that was spiral sliced and looked like Pringles on a stick! That was also to die for as was the goulash. How much paprika did YOU buy?

[Familygoboston]

Really enjoying your review so far and glad to hear you had a great trip! :)

Thanks!!

 

So true....so we had them in Prague and they were rolled in cinnamon and walnuts, were yours the same? Also in Prague had a baked potato that was spiral sliced and looked like Pringles on a stick! That was also to die for as was the goulash. How much paprika did YOU buy?

 

The funnel cake pictured was a coconut one...it was delicious!! I actually wanted to find that paprika pastewhich is delicious on anything! But I didn't see it in the market (Im sure I just missed it~!) I'll be you could get it at the supermarket anywhere there, but I didn't get a chance to get to one!

 

Well, on with the review!

[Familygoboston]

Our second day of touring in Budapest...we were up early, had breakfast and walked over to St Stephens Square to meet our guide and the rest of our family.

 

Our first stop was a tour of St Stephen's Basilica

 

St Stephens Basillica (Istvan)

 

exterior

 

 

 

 

it's an absolutely stunning interior, marble and mosaic and frescoes...just some incredible art to take in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is an example where the Catholic Church let a few thing "go" when it came to the Hungarians...there are not too many churches where the altar has a king with his crown on the altar (ok, he's a saint too, but still)

 

 

 

 

...and Jesus is tucked behind a marble pillar!

 

 

 

 

Relic of St Stephen is in the Chapel of the Holy Right Hand- it's his whole right hand! You put coins into the machine and light comes on so you can take some photos. During the feast of St Stephen the relic comes out and is paraded around the city in a Holy Procession in August.

 

 

 

 

 

The Basilica is free to visit, but if you want to travel to the dome for a birds eye view of the city, its an additional fee. There is an elevator, but some narrow stairs are still required to reach the top. We did this the next day, because it didn't open till 10 and we wanted to move on. I'll post those photos too!

[Familygoboston]

Jewish Quarter Pest

 

After touring St Stephen's Basilica, we headed to the Jewish Quarter on foot.

The Jewish Quarter is a very popular shopping and club district at night. We didnt get out there, but there are several nice arcades with restaurants and cafes.

 

A night club and a wine bar

 

 

 

 

 

Some amazing frescoes on an old building, and look! a sex shop! I loved the irony of the eye rolling maidens in the frescoes looking down on the lingerie clad mannequin! I think they are just jealous!

 

 

 

 

 

Another night club where all the "decor" is salvaged stuff from the street on the day oversize items are picked up by the city. here is Jeff playing a "piano" attached to the wall that is entirely decorative!

 

Edited October 17, 2014 by Familygoboston

[Familygoboston]

Jewish Quarter Pest

 

Right across the street is the Great Synagogue...

 

 

 

 

 

We paid for the tickets to see the Great Synagogue interior. Its a 4 part ticket that includes the interior, and the Jewish Museum, the Memorial Garden and the Jewish Archives. If you don't want to buy admission (or wait in the sometimes sizable security line) you can take in the view outside and see the Memorial Garden and Tree of Life Sculpture, which is free of charge in the garden. Ladies need shoulders covered and gentlemen need heads covered, and loaner yarmulkes and scarves are provided if needed. If you are familiar with Jewish Synagogues, you will notice this one looks quite "churchy" and that has been attributed to the Jews of Budapest at the time wanting to create a building that their Catholic neighbors might feel more comfortable with.

 

Interior

 

 

 

 

 

Memorial Garden

 

 

 

 

 

Tree of Life Memorial

 

 

 

 

 

Families can purchase a memorial "leaf" for family members who were victims of the Holocaust, several are still unlabeled for people who have never been identified or are missing.

 

Edited October 17, 2014 by Familygoboston

[Familygoboston]

Andrassy Ut Pest

 

We continued along with our Pest tour down Andrassy Ave; which is the major high end shopping district. It was built as much of Budapest was, for the Millennium Celebration in 1896. This was during the Hapsburg empire rule, and getting Budapest to be as "fancy" as other European capitols for the Millennium Celebration was a priority.

 

 

 

 

 

Andassy shops and cafes

 

 

 

 

 

Terror Museum

Unfortunately the Terror Museum was closed on Monday, so we could not tour inside. There are quite a few interesting exhibits outside of the museum right on the sidewalk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here I am with a piece of the Berlin Wall.

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a sculpture of the "iron curtain"; it really does give you the feel of the challenge of reaching the other side.

 

 

 

 

 

This is a replica of a poster for a big picnic that was planned right near the border of Hungary with the West in 1989. Our Guide told us that Hungary was kind of a "soft" border...people from the West often came to take the waters at resort areas in Hungary and their Eastern bloc family and friends who had been divided could travel to Hungary and meet them there.

 

Often times, she described she and her 20 something friends hitch hiking out to the border for picnics and concerts and things were sort of loose, East and West friends connecting in a big field, it really had the feel that it was opening up. Then when the wall came down, all these kids were already there and just poured over the border!

 

She describes, and so did many others we met during all our tours of the former communist countries, that when Communism fell, there was a feeling that it would solve all of their problems, and of course we all know that not to be true. Because of this many of the younger people we met still have some deep cynicism about their government and the economies of their countries. The old saw goes "with Communism we could afford things but there was nothing to buy, with capitalism, there is plenty to buy, but no one can afford it". Again, I found it interesting to discuss these things with folks who have so recently emerged from another way of life, and it helps me form opinions about my own choices when voting in the US.