Post #121 26 February 2017

Gentlefolk,

In July 2016, after 6 years teaching English in China we decided to "call time-out".  While we had a great time in China, I was about to turn 70 and we felt it was a good time to head back Down Under.

First we had 3 weeks travelling around Hungary (10 - 31 July, see Posts #119 & #120) followed by 4 weeks in Germany (1 - 31 August 2016).

The places we visited in Germany, in order, were: Dresden, Berlin, Hamburg, Bonn, Karlsruhe, and Weilheim (my birthplace, near Munich).

This was the first time we had really spent time in Hungary (my father's birthplace); my mother was from Germany and we had visited relatives there fairly frequently over the years, but two of the places we visited this time were new to us (Berlin and Hamburg).

Map of Germany and surrounding countries.  We took a train from Budapest (Hungary) to Dresden.  In Germany we did a big anti-clockwise circle, starting in Dresden, then Berlin, Hamburg, Bonn, Karlsruhe, and finishing up in Munich..  All the cities we visited are shown on the map, except Karlsruhe which is located between Mannheim and Stuttgart.

I think I'll do a series of short posts to describe our month in Germany.  This post has photos of our time in Dresden.

Map of the Center of Dresden; the Old City and New City separated by the Elbe River. Our hotel was on Ostra Allee not far from the Zwinger Palace/Museum.

Our group in Dresden, from left: me; Claudius (Marion's son); Marion (Oda's daughter); Heidi; Vera; Oda. My cousins, Heidi and Oda decided to meet us in Dresden and show us around.  They live in Weilheim, about 50 km south of Munich. Our mothers were sisters (nee Goerner), were born and grew up in Dresden. After WW2 their parents sought refuge in the American Zone and they ended up living in the small town of Weilheim (20,000+ inhabitants now).  They both moved away when they got married, but retired in Weilheim. After Reunification the family visited Dresden several times and knew the place well. We were very lucky to have such good "guides" to show us around Dresden.

We all stayed in the Art'otel, a very comfortable 3 star hotel conveniently located only about 500 m from the Zwinger, one of the famous Palaces of Dresden. A Double Room was 88 euro a night, and included a wonderful buffet breakfast. 

When we arrived at the Art'otel on 1 August they told us all normal double rooms were full, and that we were upgraded to a Junior Suite. We took the change in good grace and enjoyed the luxury!

Dresden was the capital of the Kingdom of Saxony and has many fine old buildings.

One of the many impressive statues around the Old City.

This amazing mosaic is almost 100 m long. It portrays important event in Dresden's history.

Hot air ballons flying over the Old City.

We came across this Anti-immigrant (refugee) demonstration in the main square. About 100,000 refugees were flooding into Germany per month, mainly from Syria and Iraq.  Right wing political parties tapped into the consternation among the German population at this sudden influx of foreigners. A huge statue of Martin Luther is in the center of this square - this part of Germany is predominantly Protestant (Luthern).  But the interior of the churches are quite ornate.

Another part of the Old City of Dresden.

An ancient bridge across the Elbe River to the "New City".

We visited the "Panometer Dresden" in the city's old gas works which were built in 1888 and decommissioned about 20 years ago. It shows huge pictures of what Dresden was like in 1756 (Baroque Dresden) in 360 degrees (see next two photos). Fascinating - the wonders of computers. 

One of the 'panoramas' of old Dresden.

Another 'panorama' - of the bridge as it might have been 250 years ago (see modern photo of this bridge above).

My mother (and her sister) was born and grew up in the second floor apartment in this building.  Fortunately it was about 4 km from the Old City which was largely destroyed by massive Allied bombing on 13 February 1945, so this building survived the attack.  My mother was conscripted and worked as a secretary in a radar station on the North Coast. In March 1945 the Commander of the Radar Station announced that the war was lost, shut down the operations, and sent everyone packing.  Somehow my mother manged to get back to Dresden only to find her beloved city destroyed but at least her immediate family had survived. With the Soviet Army closing in, the family managed to flee to Bavaria which had been occupied by the American Army and was seen as a better option.

The street outside the front of the apartment building where my mother grew up.

We had Kaffee und Kuchen at the lovely Antik Cafe in Schiller Platz.

Another photo of the Antik Cafe which was both a restaurant and antique shop.

Schloss Albrechtsberg on the Elbe.  We caught a tram to Schiller Platz, then took the old cog railway up to Weisse Hirsch Lookout - great views of the Valley and Dresden - then another tram to this castle.  A number of Manor Houses and castles have been converted into museums and conference centers.

An impressive statue of King Augustus of Saxony, at one of the the bridge across the Elbe.

An interesting apartment building in the New City, near the statue of King Augustus (above).  A modern section has been tacked on to the original (Soviet era) structure which is still in its previous state.

These sophisticated scientific instruments (astronomy) were made 500 years ago - incredible craftsmanship.

The town of Meissen, near Dresden, is famous for its porcelain, including Chinese patterns.

Another amazing example of Meissen porcelain. Beautiful.

Saturday 6 August 2016 Vera at Dresden Railway Station. After 5 enjoyable days exploring this wonderful city we took a train to Leipzig (looked around the Old City for 3 hours) and then another train to Berlin.

And so ended a memorable visit to Dresden, my mother's home town. She sometimes spoke of its beauty and charm - now I understood a little better what her young life had been like.

We had visited Dresden once before, in mid-1989; a two day visit was planned, but aborted after just 24 hours because we were so disappointed: Dresden then was depressing, surly people, awful food, poor accommodation, dreadful service.

Little did we know that just 4 months later the Berlin Wall would fall and talks commence on the reunification of East & West Germany.

We found a completely different Dresden this time. Amazing transformation.

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The next post will describe our visit to Berlin.

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Best wishes, keep well and keep smiling.

Alex & Vera Olah
Canberra, Australia
Sunday 26 February 2017

(Currently visiting our daughter and her family in Brisbane).

Post #120 25 February 2017

Gentlefolk,

In July 216 we spent 20 days travelling in Slovakia (Bratislava and Kosice) and to regional centres in Hungary: Debrecen, Gyula, Szeged, and Pecs (please read this post in conjunction with Post #119 about our trip to Hungary).

This post contains photos of those places.

On Sunday 17 July 2016 we went by bus from Budapest to Bratislava, 3 hours about $10 each.  Two nights in Bratislava (it was called Posgony when it was part of Greater Hungary), then by train to Kosice (where my father was born, then called Kassa), 6 hours. Two nights in Kosice, then train to Debrecen; later bus to Gyula, Szeged and Pecs; finally train back to Budapest.

From Kosice in Slovakia we caught a train to Miskolc, then another to Debrecen. Stayed 2 nights in Debrecen, then bus to Gyula (close to the Romanian border). One night in Gyula then bus to Szeged (where my father did his PhD). From Szeged by bus to Pecs; two nights there and then train back to Budapest.

Bratislava's "Old City" was small but lovely. Lots of cobblestone streets. We stayed at the Hotel Michalska Brana which dated back more than 500 years. 

Bratislava has some interesting statues.

"The Peeper" is a tourist favorite.

The main square in the Old City.  The sidewalk cafes were full.

That evening a youth orchestra from Israel performed in the main square.

A group of Slovakian girls performed folk dances in traditional dresses.

A welcome beer at teh end of a hard days walking around Bratislava.  Good beer, good food.

Many buildings have been renovated / restored, but some, like this one, was still in its original state from Communist era.

A view of the Old City from the castle. Bratislava is also located on the banks of the Danube, but the river is not nearly as significant a feature as in Budapest.

The main square was lovely at night, well lit.

As in Budapest, the outdoor restaurants were full of people at night.

On 19 July we took a train from Bratislava to Kosice, 6 hours, at the eastern end of Slovakia. Kosice is the second largest city in Slovakia, but much smaller - Bratislava dominates all aspects of life in Slovakia.

Kosice was called Kassa when it was part part of Greater Hungary. In 1920 Hungary lost about two-thirds of its territory, including Kosice. My grandfather worked for the Post Office, so was regarded as a Hungarian official and was forced to leave the new country and return to Hungary. Dad joked that he was a refugee at the age of eight, and then again  at 35 years of age. Kosice is about 50 km from the Hungarian border.  We were told that many of the people living in that region still regard Hungarian as their first language. We noticed quite a few Gypsies in Kosice, certainly more than in other centres,

St Elizabeth Cathedral in Kosice is huge.  A big surprise in what is a relatively small city.

Inside St Elizabeth Cathedral. Ornate. 

The crypt in the Cathedral contains the tomb of Rakoczi Ference, one of Hungary's historical heroes. 

I climbed the 160 steps to the top of the Cathedral's tower. 

Great views of Kosice from the top of the tower.

We took a train from Kosice to Miskolc (90 min) and then another to Debrecen (90 min), the second largest city in Hungary.  But with a population of only 250,000 it is dwarfed by Budapest. Most Hungarians are Catholics, but some are Protestant (Calvinists). Debrecen is the centre of Protestantism.  The main square has a statue of John Calvin (Kalvin Janos) in front of the largest church.

The interior of the Calvin Protestant Church. Very plain and austere compared to Catholic churches (almost asked for our money back).

The largest hotel in Debrecen, on one side of the main square. We stayed at the Minerva Pension on Kossuth Utca (A$60 per night) about 1.5km from the main square.

The hotel in the main square had a "Crocodile Cafe" - strange.

We explored Nagyerdo Park, a beautiful large green area in Debrecen - and had lunch in Kurdy Restaurant in the Park.

A number of interesting statues by local sculpture Ady adorn the Park.

Bus from Debrecen to Gyula.  Dead flat, the Great Hungarian Plain.  Mostly sunflowers. The bus stopped at many small villages.

Two fellow passengers on the bus from Debrecen to Gyula.

The bus stopped at many small villages.

In Gyula we stayed at the Komlo Hotel - very nice.  Gyula is famous for its huge Hot Springs and Water Park.  Entry is about A$10 per adult per day.  Very popular. We met a family from Serbia (of Hungarian origin) - they have been coming to Gyula for summer holidays for many years. A jazz festival was held the weekend we were there which attracted many tourists.

People lining up to buy ice cream - very popular.

The ice cream parlor had a fabulous range of flavors  from which to choose.

Hungarians love cakes.

Hungarians love sweets.

The ancient castle at Gyula - a major tourist attraction.

The story of Gyula and its fortifications.  

Although a relatively small city, Gyula had some beautiful old buildings which spoke of a grander past.

The bus from Gyula to Szeged.

Flat countryside. Bales of hay. Corn and sunflowers were the main crops.

We took a bus from Gyula to Szeged. The welcome sign in the centre of Szeged.

A map of the Old City of Szeged. It lies on the banks of the Tisza River, the second largest river in Hungary (after the Danube). There was a huge flood in 1879 which destroyed much of the city.  There are parks and roads along the river - much less attractive than Budapest on the Danube.

The entrance to the Law Faculty of the University of Szeged where my father did his PhD in 1935-7. I went to the Dean's office to see if they had information on his thesis, but no luck - guess it was too long ago. Dad said he had difficulty finding a job when he finished studying - the economy was still suffering from the Depression - finally got a position with a large agricultural company.  In 1941 he was drafted into the Hungarian Army, like all his contemporaries.

One of the fine old buildings in Szeged - this one has been converted into a museum.

The Old City of Szeged had many fine buildings.

From Szeged we took a bus to Pecs, the last stop in our regional tour,  We left the plains, crossed the Danube and got into hilly country - lots of vineyards. Pecs was an attractive small city.  Many beautiful buildings in the Old City reflected a grander past.  They are being thoughtfully renovated, and Pecs is now a major tourist destination. Pecs was ruled by the Turks for over 100 years.  When it was liberated the main mosque in the city centre was converted into a Catholic Church - see the domed building in the photo above

The interior of the "Mosque Church" showed definite Arabic influences.

A view of the main square in Pecs, from the Mosque Church. Many young people congregated in the Main Square at night, drinking and playing music - a buzzing atmosphere. 

The huge, impressive Cathedral of Pecs.

Small sections of the original City Wall of Pecs have been preserved.

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From Pecs we returned to Budapest by train (3 hours).

It was good to get out of Budapest and see other parts of the country, There are some real gems out there, such as the Old Cities of Szeged and Pecs.

On 1 August 2016 we took a train from Budapest to Dresden, for the start of our month in Germany.  But that will be the subject of my next post.

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Best wishes, keep healthy and keep smiling.

Alex & Vera Olah
Canberra, Australia
25 February 2017
(We are currently visiting our daughter and her family in Brisbane).