Synagogue

Of course the Nazi ghost is still everywhere in this area. Internment and extermination camps are big tourist draws. The whole thing is just hard to grasp.

In Krakow we spent a few hours at Schindler’s factory and a well-done tour and recreation. It seemed that to go on to Auschwitz or Birkenau after would have just been morbid. We understood history’s lesson.

So, Buda and Pest, divided by the Danube. Multiple World Heritage sites live here, as well they should. The river at night, with miles of stone monuments up-lit on each side may be the prettiest we’ve seen.

My Dad spent months or a year here in 1932 or 33. Let’s say 80 years ago. His Dad Dr. Shaw was doing advanced medical training, and brought Nana and the three kids along for maybe a couple of years. Dad was 9 or 10. So I am having fun imagining him on the bridges and ramparts, talking to the fishermen and stealing fruit from the stands.

We had a very good two person sleeper car from Krakow overnight. Early we passed through and changed trains in Slovakia . The train station in Budapest provides a fun introduction to the city….being a huge Art Deco glass and steel envelope built by the Eiffel company from Paris.

We did the on-off bus thing for a couple of days which proved to be an efficient way to see the grand and frequent masterpieces of the city. Hanoi, of course, still has it’s statue of Lenin. Here they enjoy telling the story of tearing their’s down.

We’re off now to get Paige a haircut and talk to rental car people. We’ve kind of decided that maybe it’s the best way to see the seven or eight Balkan countries which used to comprise Yugoslavia.

For you – mom – St. Rita