August 22, 2010: Jewish Synagogue, Hungarian Museum of Applied Arts, and street scenes

August 22, 2010: After breakfast, I returned to the Jewish Synagogue. Built in 1859, this synagogue is the largest in Europe and can hold up to 6000 pilgrims.

Jewish Synagogue

Inside the synagogue is a courtyard containing graves commemorating the hundreds of thousands of Jews who were killed during WW2. 

graveyard in Jewish synagogue

more gravesites. Note pebbles left by visitors in each nook

 In another courtyard is a steel willow tree sculpture also to commemorate these victims

Imre Varga's sculpture of steel willow tree

Close by is a stained glass window (real stained glass this time unlike yesterday's so called stained glass!)

Stained Glass window at Jewish Synagogue

The sanctuary of the synagogue is enormous (after all it does fit 6000 pilgrims). It is three stories high and the room is paneled in dark woods and has stained glass windows. Upstairs in an adjoining building is the Jewish museum. The museum contains very elaborate silver chalices, menorahs, and other Jewish relics. Also on display is an embroidered tunic that required a magnifying glass to see the fine stitching. On another floor were unique carpets from all over the world. They were extraordinary to see with floral patterns as well as hunting scenes.


Leaving the Jewish Synagogue, I went to see a very elaborate church (so the book says). It's the University Church and according to the book, the builders spared no expense.  The church dates back to 1742. No doubt it is elaborate, but the walls need a cleaning to return the building to its original grandeur. (Am I becoming jaded in architecture now that I've been here a week?)

University Church

On my walk between sites, I passed in a tunnel to get to the other side of the busy boulevard and it turned out that there was an underground metro station there, too. Budapest is one of the first cities in the world to build such a network for transportation.

Hungarian metro station (underground)

My walks between sites also took me past other very appealing architecture.

This building is for sale - any takers?

My walks also took me by a flower shop:

After lunch, I decided to go to the Museum of Applied Arts. The building itself is worth the long walk. Built in 1896, the building is art nouveau in design.

Museum of Applied Arts

Entry courtyard of Museum of Applied Arts

View looking up in entry way of Museum of Applied Arts

The museum contains contemporary art on the main floor. Think art akin to what you'd see in the Pasadena College of Arts. Very inventive works including clothing, porcelain, tapestries, etc. The next floor up had not so contemporary works but very impressive porcelains, furniture, and carvings from the early 20th century. The third floor contained older furniture, very delicately designed inlaid wood pieces with unusual designs. The fourth floor had an exhibit of Turkish carpets. I was extremely impressed with this museum since it contained things I had never seen before in these styles. A lot of imagination was used to create these works.

For dinner, I decided to eat out since it's the last dinner I'll be eating before orientation begins tomorrow -- besides, I've run out of food at home and no markets are open on Sundays. So, I went to the same restaurant where I had my first meal in Hungary and in fact ordered the same thing to eat. A little bit saltier this time but still very good. For dessert I decided to forgo ordering the creme brulee or lemon tart at the restaurant and instead went to one of the gelato stalls to order a small cone. I selected walnut although there was a deep red currant gelato that looked delicious, too.

Ubiquitous gelato stall

all gelato all the time

I'll conclude with a few more observations of Hungarian life:

• Dogs: All of the dogs I've seen so far are VERY mellow and well behaved. I'm afraid Molly and especially Max would have a hard time adjusting to Hungary. People walk their dogs wherever they want to go and some of the dogs aren't even on leashes and just follow their master. Most dogs tend to be small mutts. I did see two chocolate labs (mellow) and a dalmatian (also mellow), but most dogs are the nondescript type.
• Clothes: The other day I wore my Hawaiian shirt. Mind you it is not a wild shirt by any means, but I note that I did not see ONE other Hawaiian shirt that day and haven't seen any on any day since I've been here. I guess I'll have to put that shirt in the back of my closet. Also, I note that very few people wear baseball caps, a definite problem for me (due to my lack of hair), but my bright red OSU baseball cap would just stick out too much. As you can see from many of my pictures with people in them, for the most part the younger generation wears much the same things Americans wear (minus the types in Hollywood). Also, many have piercings (men and women) and tattoos are not uncommon but certainly not as common as in the US. Haircuts tend to be very short for men.
• Cleanliness: The streets in Budapest are in general very clean.  I see cleaning people regularly emptying trash barrels and picking up discarded trash, although there really isn't all that much of it to pick up.
• Smoking: I've read that 39% of all Hungarians smoke. It seems to be common among all ages and both sexes. Smoking is allowed in the cafes, but I'm getting used to that a little.
• Expenses: Slowly but surely I'm getting accustomed to the currency. Supermarkets charge down to the forint (1 forint = ~$0.0046) but the smallest denomination of currency is 5 forints so the stores round things off. Right now I have the nasty habit of converting everything to US currency to see what a "bargain" things are - or not. However, I'm sure looking forward to the day when I think in terms of forint instead of converting it to US currency.
• Card or cash: Whenever I need to pay something, the waiter/vendor will usually ask if I'm paying by cash or card (I presume either credit or debit). I note that most Hungarians pay using cards. The waiter brings a portable card swiper to the table and swipes the card before the customer who adds tip, signs, and leaves.