Category Archives: Hungary

Ludicrously Beautiful

2025 Cruise up the Danube River, Hungary, photography

Ludicrously Beautiful

Finally, we arrived by boat in Budapest, the capital city of Hungary and the last city on our tour of the Balkans.  Many don’t actually consider Hungary to be part of the Balkans. To me it fits in. It feels like the Balkans. And, like the Balkans, it was dominated by Russia, Habsburgs, and Turks at various times.

Budapest is the capital city of Hungary and its most populous city with a population of about 1.8 million people. That makes it smaller than Toronto. It is located in the centre of the country and is its heart and soul. Budapest is also one of the most beautiful cities in the world. I am not sure I have ever seen a more beautiful city.

 

That inveterate traveler and lover of food, Anthony Bourdain, said, “of course, Budapest is beautiful. But it is in fact almost ludicrously beautiful.” I thought that was a pretty good description.

On the first morning after we arrived in the city and enjoyed a lovely breakfast, we took a tour of the city offered by our touring company. Frankly, it was a bit of a whirlwind tour. We saw a lot and remembered only a little.

This was our second time in Budapest. The first was on our Grand Sabbatical Tour in 2004. That year I was the first of the law partners in our firm to take advantage of our new “compulsory” sabbatical program. Our senior partner, was supposed to go, but refused. He was not ready. I happily stepped in as his replacement. I was more than ready. I was eager.  That year we took 3 months to travel around the world. 1 month in eastern Canada, 1 month in Europe—1 week on a quick tour of Europe and 3 weeks in Florence. The sabbatical lasted 3 months and changed my life forever.

I still remember how shocked we were in 2004 at how beautiful Budapest was. We had been told how beautiful Prague was. That was true. But no one mentioned Budapest to us. But we thought Budapest the most beautiful city we saw.

Today, we realized we were right the first time. It really was beautiful, particularly along the Danube from which I never travelled very far. In Budapest, everything comes together in the Danube River. That is why some call it the Queen of the Danube. Others call it the Pearl of the Danube.  But you get the idea.

Bourdain may have been exaggerating, but I certainly think it is one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

 

Heroes?

2025 Cruise up the Danube River, Exploitation, Hungary, Pluralism

Our first stop of the day was at Heroes’ Square a UNESCO World Heritage site that features the Millennium Monument with statues of Hungarian Kings or chief-tans of the Magyars, the ancient Hungarians, as well as some other important leaders. It is considered an iconic plaza in Budapest of which the local are extremely proud.

 

We delighted in a Guided Sightseeing tour of Budapest, including the iconic Heroes’ Square, where we got off the bus and took a walk around the heroes and then followed this with a city tour of the exquisitely beautiful city of Budapest (pronounced Buda Pesht).

 

The monument was commissioned in 1896 to commemorate the foundation of the Hungarian state formed when the Magyars conquered the Carpathian Basin. In other words, that is when the Magyars took the land away from the indigenous people that occupied it at the time. Isn’t that how states work? It is called conquest, and conquests are rarely pretty. I wondered what was really heroic about that? Did the people from whom they took the land see them as heroes?

The monument consists of a semicircle of Doris columns with statues of various Hungarian figures on them. There is also an obelisk crowned with a statue of the Archangel Gabriel. I guess they are claiming that the conquest had God’s blessings. Aren’t Gods always thanked for military victories?

It was called Heroes’ Square for the first time, in 1906. In 1906 the Habsburgs ruled Hungary and they expected to add more of their family as years went by, for of course, they expected to rule forever. But the Hapsburgs lost their empire 12 years later. In fact, the Habsburg empire which had lasted for centuries, and in 1906 was commonly believed that it would endure forever, actually collapsed shortly after World War I ended

 

The Habsburgs lost their empire of Hungary with the collapse of Austria-Hungary following World War I, when Hungary declared independence and the last Emperor, Charles I, renounced his role, formally ending centuries of Habsburg rule over Hungarian lands, thus and ushering in a republic. That lasted until the communists of Russian captured it after World War II. All of these empires remind me of a famous English poem which I studied in high school.

 

 

 

 

Ozymandias

 

By Percy Bysshe Shelley

I met a traveller from an antique land,

Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,

Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,

And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;

And on the pedestal, these words appear:

My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;

Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!”

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away.

Similarly, nothing remains of the glory of the Hapsburgs, though members of their family are still alive and well. Empires fade in time. Thankfully.

 

At the site we also saw the tomb of the unknown soldier as is commonly exhibited around Europe. I suppose it was intended to persuade the common people that it was heroic of them to offer their lives for the Habsburgs.  I am not so sure that one such tomb is worth the price. Unlike some of the tombs in Europe this one contains no human remains.

Who thinks it is worth it? Who thinks there is anything heroic here?

 

I wish more monuments were put up for people who worked hard at helping people to live together. Heroes for pluralism. That’s what we really need. Heroes for plunder not so much.

The square remains a focal point in Budapest and celebrations, ceremonies and the occasional protest are known to take place here. It’s a popular place for tourists to visit in the summer, and its giant proportions remain impressive.

 

Yet tourists are always brought here. We were brought here by our tour guide in 2004 and again this year. Just like last time, I got out of the coach and took a few photos. They call it a World Heritage Site and I think I have to photograph it.

Mohács: A place of Syncretism

2025 Cruise up the Danube River, Hungary, Moral Humility, Music, Philosophy/Ideas, Pluralism, religion, syncretism

 

After seeing the watermills, the next thing we did was to tour the town of Mohács. The first thing that struck me, was the lovely pastel colours of the buildings.  I could not remember seeing anything like them. I could not resist photographing them.

The most interesting thing in the city centre where we walked was a large concrete Catholic Church. What interested me is that the church was designed in the style of a mosque.  And as we know, imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. It was not a case of a mosque being taken over by Christians; it was a case of Christians giving a nod to Islam.

 

This area of the world had been rocked by wars with a deep element of religious opposition for centuries, but here was a case of one religion admitting maybe the other religion had something good as well. This was a case of them living together in peace. A marvel. Imagine that, Christians admitting they could learn something from Muslims. For once, after the Christians took over Mohács they did not have to destroy a mosque or cover it with a new building, they could admit we can learn from each other. Could this herald a new world order? I sure hope so.

I have for a long time thought that syncretism, as a philosophy, is the way to go.  Syncretism refers to the  blending of elements from one culture, religion, or philosophy with another to create something new in the process. Religions, or philosophies, or cultures don’t have to compete, they don’t have to claim superiority. They can join hands and make something better.

One good example, is the celebration of Christmas in Europe and North America actually merges various traditions of their own with traditions in the Egypt or the Near East  and with traditions of the winter solstice in northern Europe.  Some claim this is heretical. Personally, I celebrate the combination. Another good example is combining elements of Christian religion with spiritual traditions of North American Indigenous people. The fusion can create wonderful new creations.

This photo is from inside that church.

Musicians and artists have been doing this forever . For example, combining  Jazz artists with European musical notations and African elements  to produce a unique sound. For another , I have long loved the combing of rock, country, and bluegrass music.

No single genre or culture has the secret to it all. No single religion has a monopoly on truth. No philosophy has all the answers.  Culture is always a rich tapestry of strands that multiply the magic.  James W. Loewen, the author of the book Lies My Teacher Told Me, said this: “ultimately syncretism illustrates he interconnectedness of human societies and the shared nature of cultural development.”

In my view, syncretism can be used to defeat the narrow-mindedness of those who live under the illusion that their philosophy, or their religion, or their ideas are the fount of all wisdom.

Mohács: Learning to Live Together

2025 Cruise up the Danube River, Hungary, Pluralism

 

 

The last country we visited on our journey through the Balkans was Hungary.

Sadly, due to mobility issues we had to pass on the intriguing Guided Tour of Pécs to see its 4th-century Christian underground tombs. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with fascinating murals and what we were told by those who attended was an outstanding organ concert. Old people must learn they can’t do it all, and we are trying to recognize that. We humbly took a less adventurous excursion.

Our tour director said it would not be wise for Christiane to take this excursion and I decided to stay with her. Mohács is a city on the Danube River that is famous for its battle in 1526 when it was fought over by the Kingdom of Hungary and the Ottoman Empire (Turks) in a battle very near to here. The Turkish invaders were led by Suleiman the Magnificent who this day at least was pretty magnificent in that he managed to overcome the Europeans by means of better planning, fire-power and a very well-organized encirclement that overwhelmed the Hungarians. The Turks stayed for 150 years after that.

The Turkish forces been duped the local Hungarian nobility to engage the Turks prematurely. As a result, most of the nobles were killed, the royal army destroyed, and the dynasty at that time of Hungary and Bohemia was ruined. After that battle, Hungary was partitioned between the Turks, the Hapsburg Empire, and the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom.

After that battle, for centuries, Ottoman-Habsburg wars ensued and the  eventual decline of Hungary as an independent power followed.  In Hungary, it is still considered a major tragedy. In this part of the world, tragedies are not swiftly forgotten. They are remembered and later used to kindle new flames of outrage. Mohács is viewed by many Hungarians as the decisive point at which things went wrong and many want to make Hungary Great Again. Hungarians often say, “More was lost at Mohács.” Many Hungarians, hundreds of  years later are still stung by the humiliating defeat. They see this event as the point at which it lost its independence and power.

 

Really, Hungary lost because of happened next, namely, 200 years of constant warfare between the Habsburg and Ottoman empires that turned Hungary into a perpetual battlefield and during which its traditional territories were divided into 3. The country was frequently ravaged by armies moving back and forth across it and devastating the population.  What should have happened—but did not—was that the empires should have learned to live together in peace. The constant battles proved futile and costly. Had both sides concentrated on living together and building up their countries both Turkey and Hungary would have been much better off. Once again, extremists who preferred battles to peace led the people astray. I keep coming back to the idea of pluralism—people getting along with each other instead of fighting. It may not be as grand, but it sure is a lot better.

 

Mohács is a quiet town on the Danube River and there we toured the remarkable medieval St. Nicholas Watermill—one of only a few remaining watermills performing stone-ground grain processing.

 

It had been recently restored as it suffered serious damage during the Croatian War. Interestingly, on the grounds there was a large image of what it looked like in 2007 more than 10 years after the war.

Our guide Zsuzi, tried very hard all day to make the day interesting for us. She cleverly loves Mohács and tried to make us understand why. The mill is one of of the very few remaining watermills performing stone-ground grain processing.

There are actually 4 active mills here and I was particularly interested by the one mill there which was not driven by stream power, but instead human power. Originally, the humans who did the work of driving the huge mill, were slaves. Apparently, this is now unique in the world. The slaves  had to tread on the mill’s wheel for many hours every day. I guess that is where the word “tread mill” comes from—The wooden wheel is large and heavy. It would have been extremely hard work, but who ever said slave’s work was interesting?