A Whirlwind Tour

I hate long travelogues, so I'm going to take you on a very short tour of Eastern Europe, starting with a view of the elaborate Parliament in Budapest, built when Hungary was part of an empire.

We toured the Jewish Quarters in both Budapest and Prague, which was pretty painful. The Dohany Street Synagogue in Budapest is the 2nd largest in the world, but only fills for the High Holy Days. 

The most upsetting memorial for me were the cast-iron shoes placed along the Danube, where Jews were tied in groups of three and pushed into the river.

Budapest is known for its Ruin Bars, funky establishments set up in buildings that were allowed to deteriorate during the Soviet years.

Prague is just as beautiful as Budapest.

Rachel noted that St. Vitus Cathedral must have been the inspiration for some Disney castles.

I fell in love with the Italianate architecture in all three cities. This is Prague:

Lviv, in Ukraine, is less touristed than the other two cities, and retains some of the neglect that the Soviets bestowed on it. The car, for all my fellow Cold War peers, is a famous Russian Lada.

Lviv is known for coffee and chocolate. The Vienna Cafe has been serving both since 1829.

Of course, the best part was sharing the trip with my lovely daughter, who is enjoying a chimney cake here.

The wedding in Ukraine was almost beyond description. But that's another post.