alexandriacardinals

April 20 (Still)

[We begin Part II back outside the Castle on the promenade overlooking Pest.]

[A glorious day – you know what we’re looking at here, right?]

[Sandor Palace, the official residence of the President of Hungary.  And for convenience, right next door to the Castle!  Pam gets a shot of the guard maneuvers.]

[The views behind Castle Hill, to the residential area of Buda.]

[Pam and the Super checking out the Prez’s digs.]

[A couple of guys worthy of their own statuary.]

[The folks from last year’s group will remember the restaurant on the left.  This year I left my watch of 30-some years there.  Uffda!  I took it off and placed it on our booth seat with my camera.  I only picked up the camera when we left.  It wasn’t long before I realized it, hustled back, but it was already gone.  From then on, everybody kept asking me for the time, and I’d bellow back, “I don’t have a watch!”]

[Said restaurant’s pastry display case.]

[Our self-guided walking tour along Fishermen’s Hill where one comes upon Matthias Church.  Last year the church was closed when we were here – this year we went in with the official walking tour two days hence.]

[Fishermen’s Bastion with the statue of Stephen I of Hungary.   The bastion got its name from the guild of fishermen who were responsible for defending the city in the middle ages.  Now it needs defense from excess tourism (ha!), although it wasn’t bad in this day.]

[Maybe it wasn’t so crowded because we got there well ahead of all the guided tours . . . or because of the foul weather?]

[Quite a setting!  I’m glad we were able to come back because it was kind of a dreary, cloudy day when we were here last year.]

[As you will recall from last year’s blog, even the locals call the guy in the middle “Woody Harrelson.”]

[The view according to Helen!]

[Looking past “Woody” toward Margaret Island . . . ]

[The Super always wanted her photo taken with the guy for whom our Arlington cat was named!]

[This just shrieks . . . American tourists!!]

[There are folks up there on the Matthias Church spire.]

[Tom, Pam, and the Super check their charts, maps, and GPS devices to make sure we can still find our way home.]

[Margaret Island and Parliament . . . not a bad view?]

[Anybody got enough mustard to cover this hotdog?]

[The seven spires of the bastion represent the seven Magyar tribes that founded Hungary.]

[Oh, maybe now you can see the folks up on the church spire?]

[John overcame his acrophobia (yes, that’s fear of acrobats) to pose for this shot.]

[Just behind our vantage point for these last many photos is the Hilton Hotel.  Other friends will be staying here when they cross the pond for a river cruise in November.]

[See our reflections in the windows?  We’re in the bottom left section.]

[Walking back from Fisherman’s Bastion to Buda Castle, this is an ancient foundation in the process of preservation work.]

[A hooded crow – fairly common in the area.]

[A frieze]

[“The One of the symbols of the city is the crow with a ring in its beak that we will find along numerous monuments. It is a reference to the king “Corvino” Matthias, who according to the legend, a day of hunting a crow stole him the royal ring, chasing it until he could recover the ring.”  (From touristeye]

[We hiked down to the back side of Buda Castle . . . ]

[And there’s more stuff to see here.]

[Look, is that Kim Kardashian?]

[I think she just ducked behind that car!]

[We crossed a large cobblestone courtyard to the Budapest History Museum.  We went in and almost immediately decided the day was too nice to spend a lot more time inside.]

[So back out we went, retracing our steps.]

[We’re heading back in the direction of Fishermen’s Bastion again but by a different route.]

[There’s the Castle behind us now, and the bus going through the underpass is the route we took last year and will be taking again in two days.]

[I don’t read Hungarian, but this is now residential Buda in the background.]

[We were looking for this . . . ]

[After some trial and error, viola – The Labyrinth!]

[Down we went . . . ]

[Since I suffer from claustrophobia (yes, fear of Santa Claus), I opted out to meet with the Super who was back at the restaurant where I lost my watch.  The remaining four reported it was quite the adventure.]

[There’s the “Missing Watch Restaurant” in the background as we make our way back to the funicular.]

[Another hooded crow oversees a flower garden.]

[Going down . . . ]

[At the square at the base of the funicular.]

[After a quick clean up at our hotel, we hit the streets again looking for a fine dining experience.]

[I had fond memories of a place from last year and hoped to recall it by sight (I’d forgotten the name).  And I did!]

[Mmmmmmmmmm!!]

[We dined inside this year because it was jacket weather outside.]

[Ahhh, Cyrano – I heartily recommend it should you visit Budapest!]

[And here we were outside last year on a beautiful evening.  Bon appetit!]

There is no such place as Budapest. Perhaps you are thinking of Bucharest, …and there is no such place as Bucharest, either.  ~  Robert Benchley

Up Next:  Is BAT here yet?

April 20

Our last day alone in Budapest for the six of us.  Hide the women and children!  It made for such an action packed day, I have to present it in two parts.

[So, something we didn’t do last year, walk across Chain Bridge and take the funicular to the top.  Pam and Tom lead the way.  As you can see, a bit of a chilly, but beautiful, morning.]

[And we’re there . . . ]

[Going up . . . ]

[The building directly beyond the bridge on “our” (the Pest) side of the river is the Four Seasons Hotel (originally Gresham Palace) (a scene from the recent movie, Spy, was filmed there).  Beyond that is St. Stephen’s Basilica.]

[The view back to Pest from the top of the Buda side.  Our Marriott is right center, and larger in the following shots.]

[Across the bridge again at the Four Seasons and St. Stephen’s Basilica.]

[Looking east, the Parliament and Margaret Island.]

[And now at Buda Castle . . . ]

[Such a day!!]

[There’s Liberty in the distance.]

[The Castle now hosts the Hungarian National Gallery.  Come along with us . . . ]

[Beautiful place . . . I tried to get a good variety of paintings and sculptures.]

[This was probably my favorite painting – I thought the young girl’s face exquisite.  I had to look really close to make sure it wasn’t a photograph.  Ha!]

[Madam, I’m Adam.  (The original palindrome?)]

[I thought this guy was an NFL linebacker?]

[And this, of course, is my high school classmate, Brad Anderson.]

[Making “art” in an art museum?  My shot outside framed by the window frame.]

[Then turning 90 degrees to where Helen and the Super were admiring real art.]

[Something about the faces?]

[John figuring out the storyline.]

[Nazi helmets?]

[Helen and the Super enjoy the epitome of the classic museum/gallery room.]

[OK, where do we go next?]

[Oh my!  Poppyseed pastry!]

[When I first glimpsed, I thought . . . Rodin!  I didn’t know the piece but I got it right.]

[Here’s our trip favorite again, Danubian Wind.]

[The group consensus – Meryl Streep.  But, of course, like everything else of the time, the title is aptly descriptive.]

[John taking five.  A perfect example of why you have to do this stuff when you can walk pain free in places not subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act (they didn’t build these things with elevators and escalators in mind).  John has back and hip issues that are troublesome for him when he has to alternately walk, then stand, and on and on.  I was having that same problem with what the chiropractor thinks is front left thigh sciatica (I’d never heard of that).  Both of us were fine walking – the just standing was tough.]

[The “end,” so to speak, of Part I.]

Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world. ~ Gustave Flaubert

Up Next:  The holiday weekend?

We arrived home Friday night after a 13-hour, 802.6 miles, door-to-door, drive from Nashville, Indiana, to Lake Darling.  We pooped out Saturday until that evening . . .

[Apparently at some point while we were roaming the universe, this took place at Sixth Avenue Wine & Ale. One of the participants, who shall remain nameless, called it a “great” or “unforgettable” evening (I can’t remember which and I really don’t feel like looking it up).  Photos on loan from somebody’s FB page.]

May 21

[A perfect Chamber of Commerce day as Danny enjoys the 72 degree sunshine.]

[We received an e-mail from the Boy Tenor some time around 6:30 with a “missing u at” missive.  The Salty Dogs were playing at SAWA.  It wasn’t on the calendar?  But we made it just in the nick of time.  Early on, the boys were abetted in their musical stylings by Father Steve of the Catholic church.]

[We came home to a full moon over beautiful Lake Darling.]

May 22

[The Camp Ballentine Owens returned to the shores of beautiful Lake Darling at a time when we were absent from the shores of beautiful Lake Darling.  To her everlasting credit, Mary came to the symphony all by herself, as in alone.  “Crazy Dave” stayed home to watch some baseball team named the Indians on TV. Knowing this was a very weak excuse, he further posited that classical music exacerbates his GI tract distress.  This made absolutely no sense to me . . . but then, why should it?  Oh, and the symphony was wonderful – these folks play their instruments with the same pizzazz and elan with which I butter my artisan bread toast!]

[Next year’s schedule – be there – it’ll be fun – aloha!]

[Immediately after the symphony, we bolted (as only we can bolt) to the winery to catch, once again, the Salty Dogs. Since fiddler Greg is the president of and a violin player in the symphony, he could not be two places at once.  It’s hard to get the whole group together at one time, but Annie wowed on the accordion again!  🙂     ]

[Yes, at no time did Erik or Tom ever smile, taking their work very seriously!]

[This number will become significant later this summer . . . ]

[Finally, the winery was celebrating their makeover of the tasting room.  The performance stage will now be in the corner where the deli currently is – I believe the deli will be removed and that wall extended.  Seating capacity will increase from 65 to 95.  Looks good, eh?]

On coming home:  A girl called me once and said come over, nobody is home.  I went there and she was right, nobody was home.  ~  Hussein Nishah

Up Next:  Busy week . . . Memorial Day weekend, lots o’ music!

May 16

[We left Noblesville, a northern suburb of Indianapolis, the evening of Tom’s graduation to visit Ruthie’s sister Rita in Nashville, Indiana, about 60 miles south of Indianapolis.  We had not been there in four years, the year Tom graduated from high school (see, blogs are useful for tracking such things!).  We were shocked when we arrived to notice there was a new house under construction in the lot next to hers (by an 88-year old widower, no less) – it had been vacant since at least 1972 when Rita moved into her classic square log home.  She always wanted that lot if it ever went up for sale . . . it’s a long story.]

[First of things to do in this quaint artist community of 830 citizens (the county seat of famous Brown County and the only incorporated town in the county) was to walk  a couple blocks down Rita’s street (Artist Drive) to the extraordinary county art gallery.  The place is huge, befitting Nashville’s artsy-fartsy status (McDonald’s (yes, and there is also a Subway) was not allowed to put up its golden arches because it violated community standards).  Incidentally, Rita was the county’s school nurse.]

[Bill and Judy Zimmerman are Rita’s neighbors, and we got to known them quite well during our visits over the years.  Bill died in 2011, and the gallery has a studio dedicated to him.]

[Now we know why it takes “Crazy” Dave so long to get back from Florida every year!]

[David Dale is another artist with whom we’ve been friends for many years.]

[Bill’s studio.]

[Then back to wandering – this place is ginormous!]

[Bill was a famous bird painter, but here he did bears.]

[Reetz in between Dave and Cindy Dale on the left and Bill and Judy Zimmerman on the right.  The photo is from 2010.]

[We have three of Bill’s owl prints at home.  Oh, and he also did the mobile.]

[Then it was time to resupply the liquid grape.  Yes, a guy actually did drive his car through the door!]

May 17

[The Super’s son Rob dropped by for a visit.  Well, it was more than a drop by – he lives in Ohio so we don’t get a chance to see  him much.  It was good to have a whole day with him.]

May 18

[Hey, let’s do a walkabout!  The population may be less than a thousand, but there are three stoplights in town.  This place goes tourist crazy in season, which is most of the year.]

[We’re in the “mountains” of Brown County, and Brown County State Park is known hither and yon.]

[This is on the town’s main intersection.]

[City and/or town murals are becoming popular.  These were two of several in Nashville.]

[There are several commerical streets, and they all look pretty much like this.]

[The courthouse bison.  No, I don’t know why?]

[Back to “city” center.  That’s the Hob Nob Cafe on the left, where we would be dining that evening.]

[But now it was time for a late brunch at Bobby Knight’s Sandwich Shop!  Hoosier-mania!]

[Never pass up a mirror!]

[The famous “chair toss”!]

[And now we’re at the Hob Nob for an evening of fine dining.  Jeff Foster was excellent on guitar – I was surprised I couldn’t find any good YouTube videos of him?  He needs a good promoter!  As we passed his table on the way out, I asked him if he’d be interested in playing Alexandria, Minnesota – his wife almost gagged on a brussel sprout!]

[Leaving the Hob Nob for the 4 block drive back home.]

May 19

[What?  Another huge, new public building, this one housing the Brown County Historical Society.  Along with their super library, this small town has more conference rooms than the Minnesota State Senate building!  The place was closed when we got there – no problem, Rita went home and got the key (she’s on the board).  The town raised $4 1/2 million to build this place.]

[Kinda what Reetz’s house looks like on the inside – well, the square log walls.]

[They could fit the entire town in each of these “rooms.”]

[Taken under orders from the Supervisor.]

[Reetz heads to the far windows for the best overview of Nashville.]

[And here it is.]

[The record room.]

[Then off to the aforementioned McDonald’s.  This opaque glass display is a tribute to Bill Zimmerman.  When Bill was in failing health, this place had the easiest access.]

[And then on to a new county walking trail, also a result of community donations.]

[I made it!!]

 

On sisters:  My sister asked where Nicaragua was. I said, “Central America.” She said, “Oh so near Kansas?” I see a pole and body glitter in her future. ~ Anonymous

Up Next:  Bat? or Europe?