In this 11th blog about our Viking Cruise on the Danube, you'll read about an emotional sculpture as a memoriam to a horrific incident from the Holocaust, and end the blog before a downpour!
WHAT IS THE SHOES ON THE DANUBE? From the ship, we noticed what looked like discarded shoes on the shore of the Danube River on the Pesht side of Budapest. The sculpture Shoes on the
Danube is located on the eastern banks of the Danube, near the Parliament
building.
It is comprised of 60 pairs of shoes cast in iron and attached
to the ground in various positions.
Shoes on the Danube Sculpture
WHAT DOES IT MEAN? The sculpture gives remembrance to
3,500 people (800 of them Jews) who were shot into the Danube River by
fascist Arrow-Cross militiamen during WWII. The victims were lined up on
the banks and shot into the river so the current would carry their
bodies away. They were told to remove their shoes first, because shoes
had value (the implication being that their lives did not).
Plaque about the shoes
According to theculturetrip.com, At the same time, Arrow Cross militiamen ran loose in Budapest wreaking
havoc and destruction. During the party’s five month rule, estimates
suggest that 10,000 people were killed in the streets with a further
80,000 sent to concentration camps.
WHO CREATED THE SCULPTURE?- . It was conceived by film director Can Togay, and
created by sculptor Gyula Pauer in 2005.
ESCAPE OF THE DOWNPOUR!! On Monday, May 20, 2019 we just saw the sculpture of the "Shoes on the Danube"- a tribute to Holocaust victims. We were joined by our friends Mary Margaret and Don. Rob noticed and approaching thunderstorm and we ran for the ship. As soon as we got inside the ship and sat with a drink, the thunderstorm hit hard with a downpour. This is a video from that moment on the docked Viking Prestige ship. VIDEO: https://youtu.be/vsyBM1xus80
In today's 11th blog about our Viking River cruise down the Danube, you'll walk with us along the waterfront in Budapest, Hungary and see some of the unique statutes and sights along the way. You'll meet the Little Princess, Colombo, an artist, girl and her dog and a policeman. There are other statues there, but these are the ones we saw (well, except for Colombo, but I love the character!)
The Little Princess
Tom, Mary Margaret and Don with statue of an artist
Kriskiralylany means little princess
The
‘Little princess’ is a statue of a little girl sitting on the railings
of the Danube promenade. It’s one of the most popular sculptures in
Budapest for tourists to take pictures of/with. It was created by László
Marton in 1972. Marton’s eldest daughter used to like playing in a
princess costume and this image inspired him to create this statue. Few
people know that copies of this sculpture can be found in the Hungarian
town of Tapolca and in Japan as well, in front of the concert hall of
the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Space.
Colombo with a dog
Somehow, we missed this one: Columbo I, Rob, used to LOVE watching the Colombo television show in the 1970s with my parents, so I thought this was pretty cool.The statue of Columbo is one of the newest sculptures in Budapest. It can be found on Miksa Falk Street. It depicts Lieutenant Columbo and his dog from the famous television 1970s television detective show “Columbo.”Colombo was played by actor Peter Falk, who was born in Hungary, thus a statue was erected in his honor. The statue was unveiled in 2014.
A Girl With Her Dog
Girl with her Dog
This statue was created by sculptor Raffay Dávid. It portrays a girl playing with her dog. This statue can be found very close to the statue of the ‘Little Princes’, on Vigadó square. An interesting fact about its creator is that he already knew that he wanted to be a sculptor when he was only 3 years old. Policeman statue (we missed)
Policeman
An other sculpture that is very popular among tourists
is a statue of a policeman, standing on the corner of Zrínyi street and
Október 6. street. It was created by Illyés András and it has been
standing there since 2008. It was inspired by characteristic faces of
the city, and its physique was formed after the artist’s grandfather. NEXT: SHOES ON THE DANUBE AND DOWNPOUR ESCAPE!
In today's blog, we'll tell you about 3 museums on Castle Hill in Budapest. The Hungarian National Gallery and Budapest History Museum. There's also a special note about money in Hungary that you NEED to know. Read on! IMPORTANT MONEY NOTE - Because we were only in Hungary 1 day, we didn't want to exchange money into Hungarian money. We had EUROS. Although Hungary is part of the European Union, businesses in Hungary DON'T accept the Euro, frustratingly enough! That meant that we couldn't tour the Labyrinth or the Houdini museum, but we got into enough of both to get a feel for them.
Hungarian National Gallery
THE HUNGARIAN NATIONAL GALLERY - Although this was closed when we visited, it sounds interesting. It is located in the main wing of Buda Castle
facing the Danube. A cross-section of Hungarian sculpture and painting
is on display, ranging from the time of the Magyar invasion through the
Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque periods to the richly productive 19th
and 20th centuries. Sculptures and panel paintings from the medieval and
Renaissance periods are of particular interest, as are the late Baroque
works, 19th-century paintings, and sculptures
Budapest History Museum
THE BUDAPEST HISTORY MUSEUM - Also CLOSED when we visited, but it sounds fascinating, too! - Here's what's inside: It's in the south wing of Buda Castle. Highlights include rare documents, ceramics,
wrought-iron work, textiles, household utensils, and other objects that
give a picture of life as it once was in the independent towns of Óbuda,
Buda, and Pest up to 1872.
In the Renaissance Room, a painting shows Matthias Corvinus and
Beatrice of Aragon, his second wife, while the Gothic Room's fine
sculptures date from between 1370 and 1420 (they were discovered during
excavation work in 1974). NEXT: THE HOUDINI MUSEUM, WHO WAS HARRY HOUDINI?
In part 6 of our Vacation cruise, we're still on the Buda side of Budapest, at a place called Castle Hill. On this hill, there was a special underground prison where Dracula (yes, the actual person) was imprisoned. We'll tell you about that and 6 reasons it's famous.
THE LABYRINTH! Located in the Castle District, this was billed as "Europe's 8th most popular tourist destination." WHAT IS IT? - Underneath Castle Hill is a vast and complex system of natural caves and
passages that have been carved between them throughout their long
history of human use, which dates back to prehistoric times.
WHAT IS IT FAMOUS FOR? 1) Dracula, known as Vlad Tepes or "Vlad the Impaler" (who really lived) was imprisoned 2) Underground tunnels and caves were homes to people in the medieval times 3) It was a prison and a torture chamber under the reign of Hunydadis 4) It served as a shelter during World War 2. 5) It is supposed to be haunted by "the Black Count" who holds ghostly parties there. 6)The Turks began the connecting passageways, and three Turkish tombstones dating from as early as the 14th century remain from their occupation.
Vlad the Impaler
WHO REALLY WAS "VLAD THE IMPALER"? -Vlad III Dracula, known as Vlad the Impaler or Vlad Dracula, was
Voivode of Wallachia three times between 1448 and his death. He is often
considered one of the most important rulers Wallachia had and a
national hero of Romania.
He was the second son of Vlad Dracul, who became the ruler of Wallachia
in 1436. King Mattias captured him in Transylvania and had him taken to Buda where he was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. During that time, Vlad's wife Justina, committed suicide. His castle, "the Havasalfold" was robbed by the Turkish. Dracula's reputation for cruelty was known throughout Europe.
I'm a simple guy who enjoys the simple things in life, especially our dogs. I volunteer for dog rescues, enjoy exercising, blogging, politics, helping friends and neighbors, participating in ghost investigations, coffee, weather, superheroes, comic books, mystery novels, traveling, 70s and 80s music, classic country music,writing books on ghosts and spirits, cooking simply and keeping in shape. You'll find tidbits of all of these things on this blog and more. EMAIL me at Rgutro@gmail.com - Rob
WHO CREATED THE SCULPTURE?- . It was conceived by film director Can Togay, and
created by sculptor Gyula Pauer in 2005. 
