Hungary: Esztergom Day 2 and 3

Hello again,

I'll try to wrap things up in this post, with the exception of my meals in Esztergom which were so memorable they will make up my food post which is upcoming. I spent the afternoon after going to Slovakia and having lunch just walking all over Esztergom. This included a stop at Cafe Fifi and dinner at Csulok Csarda, the Pig's Knuckle.

The next morning I got up early, didn't feel like I could stomach the hotel breakfast which included more bologna, paprika mayonaise, and very bad coffee. Bad as in weak. Some Americans say European coffee is bad because it's strong but to me that's a good thing. So if I say bad coffee, I mean weak watery crap.

I decided I wanted to walk up to the fortified hill, and I decided that this time that I wanted to pay to see the crypt. I took some stairs that lead from a hole in the street wall up the steep hill to the Bascilica.

Stairs Leading from Watertown to Basilica

I had some gorgeous views of a little hilltop church to the back of the town, the town, the river, and also of the Basilica itself while coming up.

Hilltop Church in Esztergom

Esztergom from Steps

Esztergom Italianate Church from Steps

Danube from Steps

Here is the Basilica as I climbed upwards.

Basilica from Steps

Basilica Dome from Steps

I saw some pretty wildflowers while I climbed as well.

Wildflowers in Esztergom

I also saw some wild peppers growing, which I thought was particularly hilarious, seeing as how I'd eaten my fill of paprika over the last two days.

Wild Peppers

Here is a picture of the fortress at the back end of the Basilica Hill.

Eszergom Fortress

I should probably say a word about the Basilica now. The original Basilica was built by St. Istvan between 1001-1010. It was sacked in the 1300's and was rebuilt. I keep finding conflicting facts about it, but I believe it was sacked more than once. It was rebuilt. The site itself has a very profound effect on a person, and you sense that you are on the spot where things happened a long long LONG time ago, however the building itself does not display the decrepitude you would normally associate with a building that was one thousand years old.

The marble inside is red marble with white veins. There is a gorgeous organ, and you can see the bones and skulls of some saints, including St. Istvan. I would have liked to have taken pictures, however I think it's disrespectful to take pictures in old churches, especially those housing the bones of saints. :) There were plenty of other who did not share my view, however.

I lit a candle for the people I love. I watched a grandfather help a little girl no more than 3 light one. Then I went down into the crypt.

Despite the sense of awe, it wasn't a spooky crypt like I anticipated. I have been in the crypt at Worms Cathedral. Now THAT'S a CRYPT.

Crypt at Worms Cathedral

Here is the entrance to the Basilica as you approach from the hill.

Entrance to Basilica at Esztergom

Here are some bones, since I didn't take any pictures of the ones inside. :)

Statue in Esztergom

And here is the Basilica from the back, going down the other side of the hill from where I came up. I encountered about 500 Japanese tourists all snapping photographs madly, and then I encountered some Gypsies trying to sell me cowboy hats. You see everybody here in Hungary. :)

The Basilica at Esztergom from Behind

Isn't it a grand and beautiful building? It's the tallest church in Hungary and the seat of the Archdiocsese of Hungary.

At this point I decided I probably needed to collect my belongings and make the trek back to the train station. I took a picture of a school on the way back to the hotel. I had seen the kids the day before going back to school, all wearing sailor tops and the girls in black skirts, the boys in black pants.

Esztergom School

As I was walking past it on my way back to the hotel I could hear the kids laughing and talking inside as the teachers tried to get them to settle down.

Here are a few random other shots of the town that I didn't know what else to do with.

An Old Door in Esztergom

Synagogue Window in Esztergom

Synagogue Window Detail in Esztergom

I got to the train station and in my carefully worded Hungarian told the lady I needed a "jegyey" for Budapest. She informed me the next train was leaving in 12 hours and 9 minutes. I decided to assume she meant at 12:09. It was 11:20 and I did not want to sit there for twelve hours, especially seeing as how I was on the last chapter of Persuasion and didn't have any other reading material with me. Sure enough, people started gathering and the next train departed at 12:09. It was full of teens going to the little towns between Esztergom and Budapest. It seems some of them must go a few towns over for school. Some of them were cutting up and giggling and laughing. I amused myself watching them, trying not to feel lonely that I didn't have Jimmy by my side.

Our train stopped in the middle of nowhere for about an hour. They cut the train off and we just sat there in the stifling heat. Someone told me later that the tracks have been getting overheated and the trains have had to stop. I felt a pang of loneliness for little Amy when I saw a striped bobtail cat stalking some prey while we were sitting there. You don't see many cats in this country. Croatia is full of cats, everywhere you go. When we were in Dubrovnik, there was a cat that slept on the outside benches of the pizza restaurant near our apartment and we petted her every time we came and went. The south of France is full of cats. I had assumed Hungary would be too, but I've only seen a handful since I got here, and two of them were either on a leash or in a cage. You simply don't see them in the parks or on the streets. It's a dog-run city, Budapest is.

Here is a party shot of little Amy for those of you who know just how cute and sweet she is, which isn't very many people, but those of us who are in the know, we're the lucky ones.