Danube Cruise #10:Climbing St. Stephens and a Ghost

At the top of St. Stephens Cathedral in Pesht

Looking up inside the dome

Inside St. Stephens

In today's 10th blog about our Viking River cruise down the Danube, we're still in Hungary. We decided to visit the St. Stephens Basilica and walk to the top of it, with our new friends from the cruise, Mary Margaret and Don. This cathedral was back on the Pesht side of the river. (The city of Budapest is actually 2 ancient cities that came together: Buda and Pesht,  from opposite sides of the Danube River). Now, on to St. Stephens!

WHO IS IT NAMED FOR? It is named in honor of Stephen, the first King of Hungary (c 975–1038).It was the sixth largest church building in Hungary before 1920 

WHO WAS STEPHEN? Stephen I, also known as King Saint Stephen (in Hungarian: Szent István király)  was the last Grand Prince of the Hungarians between 997 and 1000 or 1001, and the first King of Hungary from 1000 or 1001 until his death in 1038.


GROSS FACT - Stephen's supposed "incorruptible" right hand is housed in the reliquary. Tom thought that was fascinating. I thought it was gross! (See picture below)

Don and Mary Margaret

view from the top

ARCHITECTURAL FACTS- Since Tom is an architect, he thought this point was fascinating: Equal with the Hungarian Parliament Building, it is one of the two tallest buildings in Budapest at 96 meters (315 feet) - this equation symbolises that worldly and spiritual thinking have the same importance. Current regulations prohibit the construction of any building taller than 96 meters (315 feet) in Budapest. The architectural style is Neo-Classical; it has a Greek cross ground plan. The façade is anchored by two large bell towers.


HAUNTING IN THE CHAPEL - There was a chapel for King Bela and Queen Ann in the Basilica. When Tom and I went in there. It felt very heavy, and it was quite cold. Colder than the rest of the church... which is an indication that there was an intelligent haunt, an interactive ghost, who was drawing the energy of the motion of air, slowing down the molecules and making colder air.
  We didn't stay long enough to figure out who it was, but since it was at the site of the tombs, it's a good guess that it was either the king, the queen or both of them!

King Saint Stephen's modern sculpture in Budapest

view from the top

 NEXT: A Walk on the Waterfront
AFTER THAT: The Holocaust Shoe Memorial 

Picture of the box that contains St. Stephen's arm.

Danube Cruise #9: The Harry Houdini Museum; Who Was He?

In today's blog about our Danube Cruise, we're traveling through Budapest's Castle Hill area, and we'll take you to the Houdini Museum and tell you about him. The greatest magician and escape artist of all time, Harry Houdini was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1874!  That's why he has a museum there. We got to see a couple of the chambers that he used, and we'll show you a picture of them in this blog as well as tell you about the museum, about Houdini, and the weird way he died.. and it wasn't from an escape trap... Read on!

THE HOUDINI MUSEUM - This is the museum that held the most interest to us, but, like the Labyrinth, only accepted CASH and Hungarian money.
   The House of Houdini is a museum and performance venue located at 11, Dísz Square.The museum houses the only collection of original Houdini artifacts in Europe! 
   We did get to see a copy of the Water Torture Cell at the entrance. It is from the latest Houdini film featuring Adrien Brody – without the front panel – containing 52 roses, commemorating each year of his life, presenting a unique tribute to the legendary artist. There's also a full size safe which only opens when a question is answered.

Houdini Museum

WHO WAS HOUDINI?  Harry Houdini was born in Budapest in 1874 as Erik (or Ehrich) Weisz, one of the 6 children of Rabbi Mayer Weisz. Erik Weisz became Harry Houdini by adding an i to the last name of his idol, French magician Robert Houdin, while his first name, Harry is simply an Americanised version of his nickname, Ehrie.
    At 17 Harry left his family to pursue his magician career, which started off as the King of Cards, and ended as the King of Handcuffs, relentlessly working along his famous expression “My brain is the key that sets me free.” Throughout the following years, he gained fame after repeatedly escaping from police handcuffs, caskets and jails, which was followed by constant American and European tours, while he became the number one stunt performer, illusionist and entertainer ever of both his and the present times. (Credit: http://budacastlebudapest.com/house-of-houdini/)

HOW HOUDINI REALLY DIED - I thought that Houdini died during one of his escape attempts. That's NOT what happened at all. 

 We saw the Escape Safe and Houdini Glass Container 

Houdini’s life ended with a tragic test in 1926 in Montreal: a Theology student called J. Gordon Whitehead, who just returned a book borrowed to Houdini on a Friday night, challenged Houdini about his miraculous strength. Unfortunately, Houdini accepted the challenge, and his abdomen received several punches of violent impact. Houdini tried to continue his life as if nothing had happened. He suffered through a show that night, and another one the following night, already complaining about cramps (on Saturday he was already unable to put his own feet in a casket used for his vanishing act). It seemed the abdominal wall could not withstand the forcible series of blows.

On top of Whitehead’s blows, Houdini received another severe blow from a stranger on Saturday night. According to Kalush & Sloman (The Secret Life of Houdini), Houdini was waiting in the hotel lobby on Saturday night to get on an overnight train for his next show. He was reading a newspaper in the hotel lobby while the troupe was packing. “…three young men entered the lobby from the bar and walked up to the magician. One of them … without any warning, delivered a crushing blow, right through the newspaper, to Houdini’s stomach. He doubled over in pain.” On Sunday night, during the Detroit show, he collapsed. He was in intense pain but finished the show to the sold out house. A few days later he died of a ruptured appendix on Halloween night.(Source: http://budacastlebudapest.com/house-of-houdini/)

NEXT: Climbing Saint Stephens Cathedral with Friends and a Ghost!

Danube Cruise #5- Budapest- Buda Side: St Matthias, Weird Columns, Ghostly energy

View of the Danube and Pest side of the city from St. Matthias

In part 5 of our Vacation cruise we take you to the Buda side of Budapest, and to St. Matthias church, located high on "castle hill" with a great view of the Danube River and the Pesht side of the city. In this blog you'll learn about the "Fisherman's Bastion," the church, the ghostly energy inside and one freakish column inside. So, read on! .

Rob and Tom going into St. Matthias

View from the Fisherman's Bastion

THE BUDA SIDE OF BUDAPEST- This side of Budapest and is different from the flat Pest side across the Danube River. CNN Travel noted "Buda is built on a series of hills, Buda is the site of a grand Hapsburg palace and has a detached, imperial air of settled wealth." Most visitors are content with the view across to Pest from the Fisherman's Bastion on Castle Hill. When night falls, Buda goes to sleep and Pest wakes up.

THE FISHERMAN'S BASTION - The Halászbástya - (which is the Hungarian word for) Fisherman's Bastion is a terrace in neo-Gothic and neo-Romanesque style situated on the Buda bank of the Danube, on the Castle hill in Budapest, around Matthias Church. It was designed and built between 1895 and 1902 on the plans of Frigyes Schulek. Construction of the bastion destabilised the foundations of the neighbouring 13th century Dominican Church which had to be pulled down^. Between 1947–48, the son of Frigyes Schulek, János Schulek, conducted the other restoration project after its near destruction during World War II.

St. Matthias outside

ABOUT ST. MATTHIAS -
Matthias Church is a Roman Catholic church located in Budapest, Hungary, in front of the Fisherman's Bastion at the heart of Buda's Castle District. Located atop the Buda Castle hill, it has been serving the citizens of the Buda Castle Hill since 1015, its foundation by the first Hungarian king. 
The church has a breathtaking interior with darker colors inspired by orientalism and romantic historicism. Its mystically exotic atmosphere paired with its Neo-Gothic features differentiates it from any other church.
  While the outside of Matthias Church offers the historical traditional Gothic churches with delicate turrets, the colored tile roof separates it from other churches.

FAST FACT - For 150 years it was converted into a Turkish Mosque

The 2 columns with St. Matthias and his brother

GHOSTLY ENERGY - This church had a LOT of energy in it, and it actually wasn't good. When I (Rob) walked in, there was a very, very heavy feeling of depression and fear. It weighed me down. It also felt like it was from the 1930s and 1940s, which would have been World War 2, and would explain the emotions. There were no active ghosts or intelligent haunts, just deep, heavy residual emotional energy.

King Matthias

THE HIDDEN MADONNA- GOOD LUCK - During a fire, there is rumored to be a hidden black madonna statue that did not burn after the Turks abandoned the church after 150 years. Because this statue survived it is considered to be a "Miracle of the Virgin Mary." 

Inside St. Matthias

Matthias' beheaded brother

Inside St.Matthias

St. Matthias on the hill

GROTESQUE COLUMNS - Two columns inside the church tell the story of King Matthias and his brother. In the photo (right) King Matthias' head is seen on the left, and is upright. The column in the right side of the photo shows a man's head sideways. That's Matthias's brother, and it's sideways because he was beheaded! 


NEXT: Dracula's Labyrinth and More




 

Vacation - Danube Cruise #3: Budapest at Night, City Facts

In part 3 of our Vacation cruise on the Danube we will take you into Budapest, Hungary, the point where we met the beautiful Viking cruise ship. It today's blog you'll see beautiful photos of the city at night and learn some of the history!

ARRIVAL AT NIGHT - When we arrived on ship it was near nightfall, so after a good dinner we went to the top deck and took pictures of the city of Budapest all lit up. It was stunning.

IT IS ACTUALLY 2 CITIES COMBINED! 
Did you know that Budapest was formerly 2 separate cities on opposite sides of the Danube River? We didn't! They were previously known as Buda and Pest. 
 NOTE: Pest is pronounced "PeSHT"

FAST FACT- It has the oldest underground subway in western Europe (England has the oldest in Eastern Europe). 

LANGUAGE - Hungarian is a comibination of Finnish and Slavic

THE HISTORY:  1500 and 1600s - 
In the 1500s, Hungary was controlled by the Ottoman Empire, who built numerous Turkish bathhouses in Buda and thankfully, many of these still remain. In the late 1600s, the Habsburg Dynasty gained control of Hungary and in 1873 Buda and Pest were united as one city. 
 

THE CITY DURING WORLD WAR 2  - Budapest suffered greatly in WWII as it was occupied by German troops who destroyed much of the city upon their retreat in 1945. A communist government came into power and Hungary was declared a republic until the Hungarian Revolution in 1956

1989 AND NOW - In 1989, Hungary became a democracy and later joined the European Union.

NEXT: The Bus Tour of Budapest and the Bus Sound of Music Sing-A-Long