May 18, 2007

Budapest

A typical day of tourist activities could best describe the day and that was a very good thing. For starters, the St. Stephen Basilica was a beautiful beginning.








Although, the mummified and venerate right hand of St. Stephen was a little odd. Stephen was a strong and good king of the Hungarian people and somehow his right hand ended up in this gold and glass case, a very serious subject to the locals. The hand was secured by allied forces during World War II and received a welcome return.





Walking down Andrassy Street towards the baths I came across an interesting museum that drew me in. Number 60 Andrassy Street was known as the House of Terror, due to its former use by the Nazi and the Russian occupying forces as a secrete police and torture facility.



Now it serves as a museum dedicated to the atrocities of their mutual occupations. This was my second Hungarian museum and I was equally impressed with the exhibit’s layout and organization. The depth and raw honesty of the exhibit couldn’t help but touch human sensibilities. The tone was set immediately. The entry hall is headed with both Soviet and Arrow Party flags. The Arrow Party was the puppet party set up by the Nazi occupying forces.



Then an Iron Curtain Era tank rested in a murky reflecting pool in the small central courtyard around the corner from the main hall. The tank was flanked by etched photos, of those killed by the occupying forces, that climbed four stories up the adjoining wall.



Among the exhibits were rooms dedicated to those who resisted Nazi and Russian oppression. It is interesting that in the United States the church is considered a conservative driving force, while in Soviet occupied Hungary the church was the liberal undermining faction. The Catholic Cardinal when facing prosecution from the Russians held up in the U.S. Embassy for 15 years rather than leave his homeland.



Two of the most moving sections of the museum were related. The 1956 uprising and momentary freedom of Hungary from the Soviet Union were followed by imprisonment, torture and murder of the leaders. Several rooms described the development of the uprising and how the “Pesti’s” had fought against the Soviet occupation, then an elevator was taken to the basement that housed the torture cells.

The strongest moment of the museum came in the final exhibit. When leaving the basement, one walks through an arched hallway. On either side of the wall are portraits of the German and Russian people who committed atrocities against the Hungarian people. Birthdates and death dates are listed under each photo. The vast majority of people are still alive, residing in Germany or Russia. Wow! That took some real guts.

Continuing the walk down Andrassy Street, I left the manicured Champs Elesee feel and walked by many of the neglected beautiful buildings constructed before Soviet occupation and then left to weather.



Along the walk way various huge blocks were being renovated. Eventually the road led to Heroes’ Square and beyond to the ultimate destination, the Szechenyi Thermal Baths.



The Ottomans built many baths to take advantage of the natural thermal springs in the Budapest area. Many of the baths are housed in beautiful century old buildings. It was a very relaxing few hours in the baths and steam rooms.



After a good soak, the 6:00pm tour of parliament was next. This building is an architectural wonder. Completed in 1904, the building is remarkably well preserved.





During World War II, all major artifacts were stored in a secure area, so the building maintains all original stain glass and statuary.



Prior to the war, Hungary maintained a bicameral government with a house of lords or senate and parliament. The senate portion of the building was bombed and rebuilt, in spite of the fact that the country now supports only a parliament and the house of lords has been eliminated.



The parliament building houses the artifacts of the monarchy: crown, septor, and orb. The crown is actually legally considered a person in Hungary and has a higher legal standing than the former kings. The U.S. government seized the crown during WWII and kept it safe from the Soviets in Ft. Knox until 1979 when Jimmy Carter thought it safe to return to the people of Hungary. For this act of conservation the Hungarian people are openly grateful.



The remainder of the evening was spent shooting pictures of the cityscape at night. The city’s visual hi-light is the Chain Bridge. It is an beautiful architectural feat, who’s towers survived WWII however the deck and suspension were rebuilt to original design specs in the 1950’s.



(Guardian Lion of the Chain Bridge with the National Art Gallery behind.)

May 17, 2007

Budapest

Armed with a map and blind ambition, Buda was my oyster. Did you know that the city of Budapest is actually an original combination of two cities lining the banks of the Danube River? The old city of Buda, with citadel, royal palace, and society housing is pinched against a hillside on the right bank and the flat agrarian plains of Pest extend from the left. About 80% of the modern population lives on the expansive flatlands of Pest, which is also home to the parliament building completed in 1904.







Buda is a classic European city with narrow streets lined with townhouses. Stairs climb the hill to a plateau to the government complex dating back to the sixteenth century. A great viewing platform is the Fishermen’s Bastion situated next to Matthias Church.





The white marble provides great contrast to the surrounding city and is home to the usual characters seeking “ever inventive” ways to capture the tourist dollar.



(Have you ever wanted to hold a bird of prey?)


The Royal Palace literally stretches for kilometers and practically joins the walled fortifications at points. The main complex has been turned into the Hungarian National Gallery. Wanting to escape the sun, I decided that a roughly $15 entrance fee, with access to dome views of the city and photography privileges was a good investment.



What I found in the National Gallery was an incredible display of architecture and well thought through exhibiting. The use of space was equally impressive as the art.





I wish that the “restoration” temporary exhibit had English commentary because the process of repairing artwork neglected or slashed by the Nazi’s and Russians was fascinating. The reconstruction of canvas ribbons back into historical works of art was really more of a technical, scientific, process than the expected artistic touch-up, after cleaning, of many restorations. While in the restoration temporary exhibit many pieces across media were displayed. I especially liked the expressions from these two religious works with their unusually animated faces. It made me stop and literally smile.



The happy, almost cherubim, expressions carried over to this angel as well.



Viewing Hungarian art from the Middle Ages to the present reinforced my appreciation for paintings circa 1850 and forward. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the masters and their uber detailed brushwork weighted by heavy backgrounds, but the openness of the more contemporary style or the pastoral scenes of the late nineteenth century set my mind to imagination.





I even like the ultra modern expressions that would drive a Victorian consciousness to distraction.



The paradigm that dawned on me in the Hungarian National Gallery was, “It doesn’t matter so much what one thinks about the actual art, but whether the art leads one to wonder what the artist was thinking or inspired by during creation.” Half the fun of modern art is trying to draw the link between the art’s title and the actual emanation.

With a full afternoon spent in the gallery, I was ready to view the city, with the afternoon light, from the dome. Budapest is stunning. The Danube makes a perfect trunk from which the historical buildings branch.



There are enough mid nineteenth century buildings that were either reconstructed after World War II or survived the bombings to set the scene. The city itself is not that broad either and there is something reassuring in being able to see the countryside off on the horizon.



(The Chain Bridge was rebuilt after WWII bombings.)

May 16, 2007

To Budapest

One last morning in Athens before heading to the airport for Budapest and I had no idea that the Greek National Archeology Museum would have such an impact. Truth be said, it had more to do with memories than artifacts.



The first exhibit was a selection of the treasures of Myceana. Innocuous enough, but this exhibit was the epitome of a favorite childhood memory. By the time I was large enough to interact, Dad was traveling for work almost consistently. With both older brothers away at boarding school in the states, I felt pretty isolated. Dad was an avid reader and probably read five times the number of books I will ever read. One of his books was on the archeological dig in Myceana, led by Heinrich Schliemann, in 1876 that was looking for the historical starting point for Jason and the Argonauts. I took a risk and interrupted to find out what he was reading. To my surprise he started reading out loud. There were pictures too and the death mask of Agamemnon fascinated, along with the Cretan inspired bull’s head and lion face. Because this moment was so rare these pictures have been locked in memory for almost thirty years.







So when I walked into the exhibit and was immediately faced with the mask of Agamemnon, literally my feet were frozen and my heart was thumping. No explanation of the exhibit’s content was needed as memories simply poured out of unconscious resources locked away for decades. There was hardly a supernatural feeling that Dad was with me, (that only happens in the movies) but instead a singular experience with a real appreciation for an hour of dedicated time spent together a near lifetime ago.

The rest of the museum was interesting with several distinct pieces standing out. The first was the bronze statue of Poseidon. This statue, along with the Charioteer seen yesterday, is one of the most complete bronze statues from the Greek Classical period. There were hundreds but when the Turks raided Greece during the Ottoman Empire the remainder were melted down and carried back to Istanbul, creating other works.



An attribute learned yesterday, while in Delphi, is that Greek marble statuary during the Classical Period maintained an “S” body curve shape. Thinking to the other Greek carvings in Europe museums they do maintain the body curve, starting from the arms, through the torso, hips, and legs. Unfortunately, I didn’t ask the question as to the special meaning of the “S” to that period but the form is clearly there.





There were a few other works that stood out to me, because of the quality of human facial expression.




Finally, there was one world that made me smile. I call it “group hug”, but in reality it is a bronze scene found on the Athens Acropolis of a group of dancers.



Leaving the Athens hostel at 2:00pm for a 4:30pm flight, there shouldn’t have been any challenge in arriving at check-in two hours ahead of departure, according to the hostel owner. This turned out to be absolutely bogus information. The subway train arrived after an hour and forty minutes. Somewhat resigned to the idea that this flight was lost I jogged up to the empty Malev Airlines check-in counter. Actually, with 45 minutes prior to departure the manager didn’t even blink, checked me in and sent the bad off to be loaded. Whew, what a relief!

The first impression of Budapest is positive. Riding in the bus, the familiar flat plains nestled between rolling hills definitely cited that I was officially in Europe. Budapest is still bouncing back from years of communist rule and economic pilfering. However, the city gives a great first impression. The narrow streets and classic buildings are inviting. Staying in the city is not inexpensive compared to the Middle East. This hostel costs 17 Euro a night and the outside looks speak to the inside as well.





Venturing out to find dinner, I looked up a major street under construction to find a beautiful Basilica partially hidden by the tall buildings.



Tomorrow should be a great day to explore!

May 15, 2007

Delphi

One final bus tour before leaving Greece and today the endpoint was Delphi, the most important location in the ancient world. The temple of Apollo and the oracle both resided on the steep mountain slopes of Delphi.



As the primary deity in the pantheon, worshippers and wisdom seekers came to Delphi to make sacrifices, give offerings of gratitude and petition, as well as compete in the most important games of the ancient world. A pilgrim's visit to this holiest of ancient sites would begin by walking through the market entrance. The former stone stalls were centuries later turned into little chapels.



(Note the crosses on the stone slabs.)


Climbing the side of the mountain and passing many smaller treasury buildings the ultimate objective was to gain access to the Temple of Apollo. The focal point of the Temple of Apollo was the ability to gain insight from the God Apollo through his earthy voice, the pythia also known as the Oracle of Delphi.

(The foundational walls of the temple are the only original structures to survive many large ancient earthquakes that ultimately destroyed the temple complex. They random cut design may have allowed greater flexibility than the standard square block designs that were destroyed.)



The pythia was a woman of at least 50 and could come from any social status. She wore the robes of the temple virgins and vocalized the earthy manifestation of Apollo’s opinions. How this divination process worked was the person seeking direction would make an offering to Apollo, cleanse himself with water from the spring of Kassotis and then present his question to the priest either verbally or “in writing”. The question was then shouted out to Apollo in the direction of the temple curtain.

(Several of the original entry columns have been re-stacked. The pythia would have been located near the center of the building where the tallest remaining stone is placed.)


Behind a curtain the pythia was sitting, having prepared herself to receive divine instruction. Her preparation included washing with water from the spring of Kassotis, drinking the holy water, chewing laurel leaves, inhaling vapors mixed with incense from a volcanic vent, sitting in the chair of Apollo (a tripod chair), and finally touching the rock of auranus.

Mythology states that Apollo released one eagle to the east and another to the west and they met directly over this very spot in Delphi. Therefore the true center of the earth, called the earth’s navel, was marked with a cone shaped stone called the auranus.



The combination of preparations left the pythia is a trance, more likely stoned, and so her response or voice of Apollo was indiscernible. The priest on the other side of the curtain would write the gibberish down in a metered form. He would then hand the answer to another and final member of the Temple of Apollo who would then decipher the writing and give a very ambiguous answer to the questioner. This rouse lasted for nearly a millennia.

If Apollo had answered and reality matched the vague response, then individuals and city states would return with great contributions. Tens of treasuries were erected, where precious statues were presented to Apollo. The treasury of Athens has been most successfully reconstructed.



Since the voice of Apollo was heard in Delphi, it made ancient logical sense to hold games in the same location in honor of the God of music and movement, among other attributes. That is why the most important games in the ancient world were in Delphi, as opposed to Olympus. Laurel crowns were given only to the top performer in each event. Accolades were given for contests of musical performance, dancing, and theatre as well as athletic events.

(Musical and theatrical competitions were held in the theatre, constructed just meters uphill from the Temple of Apollo.)


The victor won the privilege of permission to erect a statue in the temple complex. The Delphi Games were held every eight years and a region wide military truce was declared three months prior so competitors could prepare.



(The ancient athletic stadium in perched on an inspiring platue surrounded on three sides by coastal mountains.)


After viewing the archeological site, the group visited the small but important Delphi Museum that houses artifacts found in the temple complex. The most impressive was the Charioteer whose facial expression and artistic design still amazes after almost three thousand years.