Danube River Cruise #17: Bratislava's Executioner's House

Executioner's House

Michael's Tower

In today's blog about our Viking River Cruise along the Danube River, we're still in Slovakia's capital city of Bratislava and we'll tell you about the Executioner's House (and it's haunted!) and street.

EXECUTIONER'S HOUSE - Bastova Street (Baštová Ulica is Slovak) is a narrow street in the Old Town of Bratislava in the historic city center. Located between Kapucínská, Klariska and Michalská Street. It was built along the city walls. At the entrance of that street is a house where city executioners used to live. The last executioner was Augustín Spindler who executed people until 1849. The house is said to be one of the most haunted places in Bratislava.


EXECUTIONS IN PUBLIC - According to the Slovakian SKE Blog (Translated thanks to Google Translator)  Executions of the convicts were carried out not only at the execution site in front of Michael's Tower (Michalská brána). Another execution was on the Main Square. In 1772 the town built a brick gallows in the place where the Trnava toll is located today.

The main square - site of executions

1621 execution

IMAGE BELOW: In this drawing, a cannon shot at dawn on June 21, 1621 announces the start of executions of 27 Czech masters. Prague Cat Jan Mydlář begins to execute sentences against rebellious states.


NEXT: THE KORZO STONE AND MANHOLE STATUE

Danube River Cruise #16 Michael's Gate and the Walled city

Michael's Gate and a statue of St. Michael

In today's blog about our Viking River Cruise along the Danube River, we're still inSlovakia's capital city of Bratislava that was originally a walled city. It also had 4 gates, and now only one remains. We'll explain the history of Michael's Gate and the missing others.

ONCE A WALLED CITY WITH 4 GATES - In the medieval times the town was surrounded by fortified walls, and entry and exit was only possible through one of the four heavily fortified gates.

1) The LAURINC GATE- was on the east side of the tow and named after Saint Lawrence,

2) FISHERMAN'S GATE - was on the south side. It was the smallest gate of the four, used mainly by the fishermen entering the city with fish caught in the river Danube.

3) VYDRICA GATE - was on the west side. It was also called the Dark Gate or Black Gate, since it was like a tunnel—dark and long.

WHAT IS MICHAEL'S GATE? Michael's Gate is the only city gate out of 4 that has been preserved from Medieval fortifications. It's one of the oldest town buildings, and was about the year 1300. It was reconstructed in 1758 in baroque style and that's how it appears now. It is on the north part of the city and named for St. Michael. St. Michael church stood in front of it (outside the town wall).

WHAT'S ON TOP OF IT?  A statue of St. Michael and the Dragon was placed on its top in 1758.


NEXT: Executioner's Street and the Korzo Stone

Ancient Elizabethan Era Map Now on Display in England

Tom is an amateur historian on England's Tudor period and can tell you anything

 about it off the top of his head. So when we saw this BBC News article about an Elizabethan era (after the Tudor period) map going on display in England, we thought it fascinating! Here's the story and pictures from the BBC.

WHAT IS THE ELIZABETHAN ERA? - The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. ... It was also the end of the period when England was a separate realm before its royal union with Scotland.

Story:

ELIZABETHAN MAP GOES ON DISPLAY AT BODLEIAN LIBRARIES

A "magnificent" Elizabethan map has gone on display for the first time in more than a century.

The Sheldon Tapestry Map of Oxfordshire, which was woven in wool and silk, is on show at the Bodleian's Weston Library in Oxford.

It is only partially complete but has illustrations of 16th Century towns, rivers, forests, and castles. He said the 3.5m (11.5ft) by 5.5m (18ft) map formed a "unique representation of the landscape, at a period when modern cartography was still in its infancy". t was commissioned, alongside maps for Worcestershire, Gloucestershire and Warwickshire, by landowner Ralph Sheldon in the 1590s.

The aim was to show the counties where Sheldon's family and friends held land.

London is also shown, with just a single bridge crossing the Thames.

Source

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-48599051

IDIOT OF THE WEEK: Leaked audio: GOP Rep laughs about executing gays, Says being gay is a choice

IDIOT OF THE WEEK, (and Bigot) Florida state Rep. Mike Hill (R)

Surprise, surprise - It's another Idiot of the week who happens to be a Republican and a BIGOT. This one laughed at a suggestion to execute gay people (you can hear the audio in the link below). 

Leaked audio: GOP Rep laughs about executing queers after explaining being gay is a choice

By David Reddish 1 hour ago · 11 comments

A Florida politician has ignited criticism in his response to the idea that gay people should be legally executed in America.
Florida state Rep. Mike Hill (R) made the comments during a forum held by the group Women for Responsible Legislation. Audio of Hill making the remarks surfaced online over the weekend, bringing with it immediate backlash.
The conversation starts with a constituent asking Hill why one of his Republican colleagues sponsored an LGBTQ rights bill in the state legislature.

“Thank goodness that legislation didn’t go anywhere,” Hill says. He goes on to claim being gay is a choice, and unworthy of protections in the Civil Rights Act, like those for race and gender. “My fundamental problem with that is someone’s sexual orientation or ‘proclivity’ to want to do something…that is your business. And it’s a choice. You say ‘I was born that way.’ Fine. Nobody’s forcing you to engage in that relationship, even if you were born that way….What you do is a behavior and a choice that you have, as opposed to you can’t help your sex, your race, your nationality.”

Related: Pastor Wants Girl Scout Leaders Executed For Being Pro-Gay

Then a man in the crowd asks about legislation to fulfill the Biblical “prescription” to put gay people to death. Hill laughs and quips: “I wonder how that would go over.”

Queer grassroots activists have already spoken out against Hill and called for his resignation. “This kind of thing shouldn’t be happening today and it really hits home when it happens in your home because this area is my home – and it has been for the past 14 years. It’s disturbing to think attitudes like this exists,” said Brian Heike, an activist with the group Gay Grassroots.

Hill claims people have taken his words out of context, and that he does not promote discrimination or the execution of queer people. “It’s an absurd statement. This is not Saudi Arabia, this is America and no one advocates that gays ought to be executed,” Hill told the local ABC News affiliate. He also has refused to resign.

Audio of Hill’s full homophobic remarks continues to circulate around the internet. You can listen for yourself here.
For our part, it doesn’t sound like he was taken at all out of context.

Super Inpressed by Lyft Drivers in NYC

On Friday, June 7,  I took the Amtrak train to Penn Station in New York City, and I needed to get across the river to Tenafly, New Jersey for a fundraiser. I was the featured speaker for Pet ResQ, an animal rescue based in northern New Jersey. I had never used Lyft before, so I didn't know what to expect, and it was fantastic. I just had to share my experience so that others would know. (This blog also has several pictures I took in NYC from PENN STATION).. Here's the story>>>
   Months ago I uploaded the Lyft app to my phone but didn't ever use it. I did, however, set it up with my credit card, so I could use it quickly if needed. 
    Once my train arrived in New York City I didn't know how long it would take for a Lyft driver to get to me and where I would meet them. Turned out I didn't need to worry. 
    I walked to a corner outside of Penn Station and typed in my destination. Your location automatically fills in when you bring up the app - right down to the names of the streets where you are located. 
   AMAZING INFORMATION - I was totally amazed at the technology. The App provided the approximate amount of waiting time. It showed a small area map and pinpointed where the car was located and moved the car through the map as you watched. It provided the driver's first name and his photo, and a picture of the car (and color of the car) and the license plate. There would be NO WAY to mistake the car you're getting in. 
   COURTEOUS DRIVERS - Altaf was my driver from Penn Station to Tenafly on Friday, June 7 through the crazy, hectic, jammed Rush Hour of New York City. He was so patient. It took about 45 minutes to an hour to get to northern New Jersey- and 20 minutes of that was waiting to get IN the Lincoln Tunnel. Altaf was a great driver, too.
   Yacoub was my driver from Tenafly, NJ back to Penn Station on Saturday morning, June 8. There was very little traffic in comparison, but he was friendly, courteous and a great driver.
    Both men took all the worry out of getting from one place to another and were really awesome.They both deserved and got a good tip from me. What a pleasure!
   The LYFT APP IS AMAZING - There's so much information, and continually updated, too - so you can follow along on the route your driver is taking. Both drivers told me that Lyft uses the WAZE traffic app, so they always know what streets are closed, blocked, or have accidents. *You can also TIP on the App (although I decided to give the drivers cash)*
   I Give LYFT 5 of 5 stars. I would use it again in a moment, and especially in New York City! 







 
   

   

Danube Cruise #15: Bratislava Castle's Baroque Garden

Rob and Tom in the garden

In today's blog about our Viking River Cruise along the Danube River, we're still in Slovakia's capital city of Bratislava. We'll walk you through the relatively new gardens that line the back of the Bratislava Castle.

NEW GARDEN A new baroque garden behind the castle was opened in June 2016 and entry is free of charge.

Bratislava Castle's Extensive Baroque Garden

WHAT IS A BAROQUE GARDEN? - The Baroque garden was a style of garden based upon symmetry and the principle of imposing order on nature.

STYLE STARTED - The style originated in the late-16th century in Italy, in the gardens of the Vatican and the Villa Borghese gardens in Rome and in the gardens of the Villa d'Este in Tivoli, and then spread to France, where it became known as the Jardin a la Français or French formal garden.

Bratislava Castle's Extensive Baroque Garden

VERSAILLES IS AN EXAMPLE - The grandest example is found in the Gardens of Versailles designed during the 17th century by the landscape architect André Le Nôtre for Louis XIV. In the 18th century, in imitation of Versailles, very ornate baroque gardens were built in other parts of Europe, including Germany, Austria, Spain, and in Saint-Petersburg, Russia. In the mid-18th century the style was replaced by the more less-geometric and more natural English landscape garden.


NEXT: St. Michael's Gate and the Famous Korzo Stone

Danube Cruise #14 Storming Bratislava Castle, Solvakia and Nosferatu

Bratislava Castle

In today's blog, the 14th about our vacation Viking cruise along the Danube River, we're still in Bratislava, Slovakia. Today we'll take you to Bratislava Castle (we didn't "storm" the castle, but it did STORM when we were there)!

ABOUT THE CASTLE-Bratislava Castle is the main castle of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. The massive rectangular building with four corner towers stands on an isolated rocky hill of the Little Carpathians (mountains) directly above the Danube river in the middle of Bratislava.

SETTLEMENT DATES BACK TO THE STONE AGE - The castle is mentioned in the first written reference to the city, which appears in the Annals of Salzburg of 907, in association with a battle between Bavarians and Hungarians. 
  The castle hill area was populated long before that, as early as the late Stone Age; its first known inhabitants were the Celts, who founded a fortified settlement here called ‘Oppidum’.

LOTS OF HISTORY - 
1) For 400 YEARS -  The border of the Roman Empire, the ‘Limes Romanus’, ran through the area. 
2) 9th Century (appx 833 AD) - During the Great Moravian Empire, Slavs built a fortress that became a significant center.
3) 10th Century (900s AD) - Bratislava became an integral part of the growing Hungarian state; 
4) 11th Century (1000s) - A stone palace and the church of St Saviour and its chapter were built on the castle hill

Rob, Mary Margaret and Don

5) 15th century, in the reign of Sigismund of Luxembourg, a castle was built in Gothic style as an anti-Hussite fortress. During this period, a new entrance to the castle was built on the eastern side – Sigismund’s Gate. 7-meter-thick fortifications were constructed on the western side and a castle well dug in 1437.
6)  16th century, King Ferdinand ordered the rebuilding of the castle in the Renaissance style.

Castle view from the air

7) 17th century -the castle became the seat of hereditary provincial chief, Pálffy, it was rebuilt in the baroque style.
8) 18th century (1740 to 1780) - In the reign of Maria Theresa, the castle was arranged according to the needs of her son-in-law Albert, governor of Saxony and Tessen, who was a fervent art collector and who installed his works in the castle.

FILM FACT - The 1935 silent dracula movie "Nosferatu" was filmed in Slovakia!  
   (Although our tour guide said it was filmed in part at Bratislava Castle, it actually wasn't. It was Orava Castle. The exteriors of the film set in Transylvania were actually shot on location in northern Slovakia (we were in southern Slovakia), including the High Tatras, Vrátna Valley, Orava Castle, the Váh River, and Starhrad

ABOUT "NOSFERATU" -
Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (German: Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens), or simply Nosferatu, is a 1922 German Expressionist horror film, directed by F. W. Murnau, starring Max Schreck as the vampire Count Orlok. The film, shot in 1921 and released in 1922, was an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897) as The Stoker Estate held the books copyright & refused permission. Various names and other details were changed from the novel: for instance, "vampire" became "Nosferatu" and "Count Dracula" became "Count Orlok".

For more information, visit: https://www.visitbratislava.com/places/bratislava-castle/ 

NEXT: THE BEAUTIFUL GARDENS OF BRATISLAVA CASTLE 
 

 

Danube Cruise #13 About Bratislava, Slovakia and UFO Bridge

Bratislava Castle in the Distance

Today's blog about our Viking River cruise up the Danube River (#13) takes you to Bratislava, Slovakia! This is the second stop on our journey, and it was filled with interesting sights. In this blog you'll learn some facts about Slovakia and its Capital city, Bratislava, and the famous "UFO Bridge!"  Read on!

Slovakia is in the PINK!

ABOUT SLOVAKIA - Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Solvakia  joined the European Union in 2004.Before 1993, Solvakia was part of Czechoslovakia. There now are 5 1/2 million residents,m 85% Catholic, 20% Protestant.

HOW BIG IS THE COUNTRY?- Slovakia's territory spans about 18,919 square miles (49,000 square kilometers) and is mostly mountainous. It's about; 4/5ths the Size of West Virginia in the U.S. (which is about 24,087 square miles);

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A Square in Bratislava

WHAT IS BRATISLAVA, THE CAPITAL CITY KNOWN FOR? - Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, is set along the Danube River by the border with Austria and Hungary. It’s surrounded by vineyards and the Little Carpathian mountains, crisscrossed with forested hiking and cycling trails. The pedestrian-only, 18th-century old town is known for its lively bars and cafes. Perched atop a hill, the reconstructed Bratislava Castle overlooks old town and the Danube.

WHAT IS THE UFO BRIDGE?

UFO bridge up close

The UFO bridge, or "Most SNP," commonly referred to as Most Slovenského národného povstania Bridge is a road bridge over the Danube in Bratislava. 
WORLD'S LARGEST- It is the world's longest bridge to have one pylon and one cable-stayed plane!
COMMEMORATION - It was built in honor of the 1944 resistance movement against the Nazi forces. 
ABOUT THE "UFO" PART - The very retro-futuristic SNP Bridge was inspired by the optimistic futurism of the 1960s,

UFO bridge from a distance

evident from the flying saucer-shaped structure at the top of the bridge’s only pylon. The UFO structure actually houses a restaurant reached using an elevator and offers a beautiful panoramic view of Bratislava.
STATISTICS -
Height: 278′ 0″
Total length: 1,413′
Opened: August 26, 1972
Location: Bratislava
Construction started: 1967
Architects: Jozef Lacko, Ladislav Kušnír, Arpád Tesár, Ivan Slamen

A street in Bratislava

NEXT: STORMING BRATISLAVA CASTLE !

Danube Cruise #12 :Shoes on the Danube, Escaping a Downpour!

Shoes on the Danube- sculpture

  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

Danube Cruise #11: Statute Walk on the Budapest Waterfront

The Little Princess Statue

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!