To and From Venezia-Or 15 Hours on Rail Jet

Ciao!

It's been a long time since my last blog entry. The reason for this is a badly broken wrist, poorly mended by a Venetian hospital, requiring Hungarian orthopaedic surgery, a prosthetic joint addition, and a good deal of physical therapy. More on that later. I think it's finally time for me to write about Jimmy's and my trip to Venice in early March.

The Budapest to Venice line is a 15 hour one, running through and requiring a stop in, Vienna. Good old Wien Westbahnhof. Pretty funny to think we could have flown across the Atlantic in half the time it took us to get to Venice, but at least the tickets were relatively cheap. The trip was one of crowded train compartments, little sleep, stiff backs, and Jimmy making friends with every Austrian, German, Swiss and God-knows-who else on the train.

The train left Budapest in the afternoon and were quite excited. We were loaded up with sandwiches and pretzels and chocolate bars, as well as Ipods, Faulkner novels, magazines---pretty much everything we thought we would need to be comfortable and enjoy our long ride. Oh we of little patience! By the time we were in Vienna three hours later we were already whining about being ready to get off the train! Some world travellers we are, huh?

Here you can see some of our rather compactly packed luggage (compactly and economically packed considering what we looked like coming home from Romania yesterday, but that's another post).

Our Junk

And here is my trusty Hobo bag that has travelled the world with me, literally. It's about to go to Asia soon.

Well Travelled Hobo

We had a quick meal in the station in Vienna. Jimmy, as I had predicted, ate at Schnitzel Land, I, at Mr. Lee's Noodles. I haven't really had anything that could be called "Chinese food" since I left the States, which is my excuse, as if you need one for figuring out what to eat in an airport or train station. After a hurried meal we were on our way again, sharing our compartment with a young Italian named Christian. Jimmy chatted him up, then drank some Gosser, then made friends with an Austrian man at the layover in Salzburg (which seemed interminable), drank some more Gosser, and watched some episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm on the computer. I drank orange juice and grumpily listened to Jimmy enjoying his new found companions. Sometime in the wee hours we fell asleep, and in what seemed like the even wee-er hours we awoke to watch snow covered mountains drift by in the dark.

The man who ran the dining car was a really cool Austrian man who sold Jimmy Gossers and me orange juice, all through the night, and who then sold us our morning espressos. He helped make the trip tolerable with his bright smile and cheerful attitude. Makes you feel kind of bad about whining about one 15 hour trip to Venice when this guy makes the Vienna to Venice run daily. His espresso helped us brave the bright morning light after about two hours of sleep, and I could actually start to feel excited that we were approaching that low-lying and waterlogged area where the islands that are Venice occupy.

This is Jimmy before coffee.

A Very Sleepy Jimmy

This is how bright the morning sun hit us. Yikes!

Early Morning Train Tracks Somewhere in Italy

In approaching Venice we came to an area that looked like nothing but water dotted with tiny spots of trees here or there. It made me recall crossing the sound or crossing Lake Mattamaskeet, only on a much larger scale.

Approaching Venice

The Land of Water

I must admit that it was pretty exciting. Suddenly before we knew it we were pulling into San Lucia. It is exciting to find yourself somewhere new, and to take in the sights and sounds that greet you upon arrival. I always enjoy even the mundane sights such as the vending machines, or the signage in airports and train stations.

First Sight Upon Arrival

Self Bar!

In a few minutes we had our first glimpse of the outside of San Lucia and the Grand Canal. These photos aren't great, but I love them because they are my first photos of the "streets" of Venice.

Our First Glimpse of the Grand Canal

The Grand Canal Outside San Lucia

Outside San Lucia

From here we hopped on a water taxi and made the long trek down to the Academia Bridge and to our hotel. It was a beautiful ride full of fascinating sights. Keep reading to see more.

Ciao!

St. George and the Dragon

Szia,

Yesterday Jimmy and I did a little religious pilgrimage around Budapest, starting in the Jewish quarter, viewing the old Orthodox Jewish synagogue which is no longer in use, viewing the main Budapest synagogue which is the largest synagogue in Europe, and then making the trek to see the very old Serbian Orthodox Church on Szerb utca in the oldest part of Pest.

View of Old Orthodox Synagogue

The Synagogue sits on a very narrow street, and is very tall and long. It's difficult to get good photographs. I'm sure if I was a professional with wide angle lenses and all that it would be different, but, alas, I just have my little Cannon Power Shot Elph, which does the trick pretty nicely for someone who isn't a pro.

One of the Towers on the Old Synagogue 

A Side Door on the Old Synagogue

Looking Up

This Was Our Attempt to Look Through the Gates into the Interior

The new Synagogue is not far away and so we strolled over there. We have not toured it yet---waiting for a cold and rainy day. It's a gorgeous building, built in the Moorish style with rounded tours, filigree work everywhere, and beautiful ornamentation everywhere.

Budapest Synagogue with it Moorish Towers 

Window Ornamentation

Arcade Near the Entrance

You can see Jimmy bending over to look at God knows what!

Entrance to the Courtyard 

Plaque Commemorating the Building

Main Entrance and Rose Window 

Back Corner of the Building

We then had to trek through the Jewish quarter to the oldest part of Pest. Interestingly enough, the city walls of Pest do not survive, however there are one or two small slabs where portions of the surviving walls have been incorporated into the wall of a building. I was fortunate enough to find one of these slabs of marble and I was excited to be able to to photograph it.

Portion of the Old Wall of Pest 

Closeup of Old Pest Wall

Plaque Commemorating this Old Potion of the Wall

 

And now on to Szerb utca to find the Servian Orthodox Church. For those of you not familiar with this branch of the Catholic Faith, the Serbian church is part of the faith of Eastern Orthodox Christianity.

Here is Szerb utca.

Szerb Utca 

Plaque of St. George Slaying the Dragon Outside the Church Gate

Closeup of the Plaque

The church sits inside a courtyard. It's a beautiful little courtyard, full of evergreens. There are tombs built into the walls all around the courtyard wall.

Gate Into Szerb Church Courtyard 

Evergreens in he Courtyard

Courtyard Wall

Church Tower

The walls of the courtyard were covered in graves and so I took pictures of many of them.

Chlid's Ball

I thought it was funny because in this ancient Orthodox church there were children playing in the edge of the courtyard. When we paid to go inside the church we realized their mother is the caretaker, so they all pretty much hang out in the courtyard, playing, her gossiping with her friends and doing some yard work, until some tourists like us come to pay to see the church. I thought it was quite an interesting mix of old and new.

Swingset

Tombstone with Skull 

Tombstone with Skull and Crossbones

The inside of the church itself was beautiful and ornate although I didn't think it was appropriate to take pictures. The pews were mahaogany, and were more like thrones with tiny little seats than pews, having arm chairs separating one from the other.  There were some simple frescoes on the ceiling, mostly in shades of blue. There were beautiful sensors and chandeliers. Most interestingly were the icons. There were only about two of them but they were very ornate, depicting the Virgin and Child.

It was definitely a day worth remembering, and I'm glad we got to see some sights that are some of the lesser known sights in Pest.

The Father of the Roses

Today Jimmy and I mad a pilgrimage across the Danube to the hilly neighborhoods of Buda to see the tomb of Gul Baba, also lovingly known as the Father of the Roses.

Here is a picture of this beloved Turk.

Gul Baba, Father of the Roses

Gul Baba was a Turkish dervish, who are of the Sufi branch of the Muslim faith. When the Ottoman's occupied Turkey in 1541, Gul Baba was a friend to the Hungarians as well as a great teacher and leader. He was so loved that when he died a beautiful tomb was built, and he was giving he loving name of Father of the Roses.

He is commonly called the Father of the Roses, legend being that he introduced roses to Hungary, but thsi is not historically accurate. More likely he received that name because of his love of roses and his beautiful garden.

Jimmy and I strolled off the beaten path, up a winding hill and up rickety stairs, wondering if we were in the right place, when I saw the domed structure with the Muslin half moon on top of the building. The tomb was surrounded by Middle Eastern cedars and was a quiet beautiful place of contemplation in the midst of a bustling city.

Entrance Down Into the Tomb Garden 

Cedars 

More Cedars

I'm sure the building is very beautiful in the summer time. At this time of year, the flowers were dead. There is a gravel courtyard with fountains lined with Turkish tiles that surround the round building that is his tomb. Cedars flank the outside of the area. I understand that in the summer the tomb is open, but it was closed due to the weather. You could peer inside and see his sarcafagaus, covered with prayer rugs. It was quite a touching sight to behold.

Here are some photographs of the tomb itself.

Gul Baba's Resting Place 

Another View of the Tomb

Rooftop Decoration

This is a Portico Surrounding the Tomb Garden

Here is one of the beautiful fountains paved with painted Turkish tiles.

Fountain Lined with Blue Painted Tiles

And finally we leave you with some pictures of the man himself.

Gul Baba on His Hilltop 

Friend of the Hungarians and Father of the Roses