Eastern Europe (2007)

Prolog

In June 2007, we were driving to Las Vegas. During the drive, I told Tovale’ about some experiences Emly and I had during our trip to Europe in 2006. Tovale’ got excited and said: “When we come back, check about a cruise on the Danube after the Jewish Holidays (The end of September)”.

A couple of days later I was on the Internet, surfing and looking for what is available. I did find few cruises which seem nice. However, the downside was that the “package” included excursions with those cruises and as a rule of thumb, we decided to never take excursions when we cruise, as we had a bad experience in the past.. Tovale’ came back with another idea: “Check and see how much it will be if we rent a car and visit all those countries on our own”.

So I did!

A few days later I came back with a plan, which covered six countries: Romania, Serbia, Hungary, Slovakia, Austria and lastly Czech Republic. The price was about half of what we would have paid for a cruise and instead of traveling for 10 days, we would travel for nineteen.

A week later (The end of June) I had all the reservations made and we were counting the days!

In August I was talking to my brother, Ronen and told him about the plans. “It is so weird”, he said, “We had plans to visit Romania around the same dates as you are”. The rest was just a matter of some logistics and planning as we altered the original plans to suit both of us, and the bottom line was that we would spend 10 days (out of the 19) together in Romania, Serbia, and Hungary.

I had a hard time finding a Rent-A-Car company that will let us pick the car up in Bucharest, Romania and return it in Prague, Czech Republic. I finally got a hold on Avis International and they assured me that a car would be waiting for me. They gave me a confirmation number and I found the reservation in their website. I printed the details and added to my other documents as I wasn’t sure 100% that it is going to be a smooth transaction. I based my fears on the fact that Romania had just joined the EU and my travel agent told me that she has never heard about someone able to leave Romania with a rental car. Ronen also tried to find a car, using his connections in Israel and was told the same: “No Way!”

On August 22nd I was laid off my work, which saved me the ordeal to ask my boss for additional 19 days off as we had just returned from another trip (U.S. East Coast, July 2007)

==============================================================================================================================================================================

Day 1-2: September 25th, 2007 - September 26th, 2007

We left Los Angeles on a Boeing 747, and after a transfer in Charles De Gaul airport in Paris, we landed in Bucharest, Romania in the next evening.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

At the airport we met a representative of the company we had rented an apartment from. He told us that Ronen & Yudit had arrived in the afternoon and are waiting for us in the apartment. An hour later we were hugging and kissing each other as we finally met.

==============================================================================================================================================================================
After a much needed shower we decided to take the opportunity of the great weather and walk the streets.

The apartment’s location was perfect as it was located right next to Piata Unirii (Uniri Square). There are many café’ and restaurants, located in the small side- streets leading to the square. We found one that was full with locals. We settled for some pasta and beer and returned home as the jet lag started to cave in our bodies and minds.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

Day 3: September 27th, 2007

==============================================================================================================================================================================

We woke up at 7:00 AM. Ronen was already in the kitchen preparing breakfast. Few minutes later we were all sitting in the living room, around a table, and eating a delicious meal.

The weather was perfect: a nice warm day in Bucharest. As we took the street, east of Unirii Square we arrived to a magnificent “island”, which divides the wide boulevard (wider than Champs Élysées in Paris). The “island” has many beautiful fountains – perfect for pictures taking.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

We walked along the boulevard for approximately 2 kilometers and arrived to the 2nd largest building in the world (second to the Pantagon): The Parliament Palace.

The Communist Party leader, Nicolae Ceausescu, built the Parliament. It took 20,000 workers and 700 architects to complete the job. The palace boasts 12 stories, 1,100 rooms, a 328-ft-long lobby and four underground levels, including an enormous nuclear bunker. When construction started in 1984, the dictator intended it to be the headquarters of his government. Today, it houses Romania’s Parliament and serves as an international conference center. Built and furnished exclusively with Romanian materials, the building reflects the work of the country’s best artisans. The interior is a luxurious display of crystal chandeliers, mosaics, oak paneling, marble, gold leaf, stained-glass windows and floors covered in rich carpets.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

Our next stop was the Opera House. Opera first came to Romania in 1722, when Livio Cinti and his "opera singers" passed through Bucharest while on tour. The Bucharest National Opera House moved to the luxurious headquarters it occupies today in 1954, with works by Tchaikovsky and Coppelia being among the first performances.
After a short visit we headed towards the University Of Bucharest, which was founded in 1854.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

We passed Victoria Square and arrived to Pavel D Kissleff Boulevard. We crossed a small park to the market, where we bought some goodies, which we consumed sitting at the park.

We walked along the boulevard, where all the foreign embassies are located. This stretched mile is considered to be the most expensive in Bucharest.
==============================================================================================================================================================================

We finally arrived to the Arch of Triumph.

Initially built of wood in 1922 to honor the bravery of Romanian soldiers who fought in World War I, Bucharest’s very own Arc de Triumph was finished in 1936. Designed by the architect, Petre Antonescu, the Arch stands 85 feet high and is surrounded by statues, which

were created by leading Romanian artists.

To the right of the Arch is the huge and magnificent, Herastrau Park (Parcul Herastrau). Spread over some 400 acres, from the Arch of Triumph to the Baneasa Bridge, the park is home to numerous attractions, including a boat rental complex, tennis courts, and a rather old-fashioned fairground. The park is also home to the Village Museum. We strolled in the park admiring the beauty of nature and the many statues. The most outstanding statue is the one of Charles De Gaul, standing over 7 meters tall.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

The time was 4:00 PM when we started to feel the signs of jet lags taking over our bodies. We opted to take a taxicab back to our apartment, where we collapsed and took a nap for over 3 hours!!

We woke up at 8:00 pm and used the taxi services to locate a restaurant, which was recommended in both the Hebrew and English guidebooks:

“La Mama”, which is one of the most popular restaurants in Bucharest, serving Romanian food. The name means Mamma's and it tries to suggest that the dishes are intended to be what a Romanian mom would cook. The food was good, but nothing out of the ordinary. What makes this one so popular is the fact that the prices are low and the portions are huge.

After dinner we found an Internet café’ and then walked back to the apartment.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

Day 4: September 28th, 2007

We started our day with a delicious breakfast (which I had prepared myself) we headed to the Jewish Museum, located in the former Templul Unirea Sfântă (United Holy Temple),

which survived both World War II and Nicolae Ceauşescu unscathed. As we arrived we saw a guard, who told Yudit (in Romanian) that the museum is closed due to the Sukkot Holiday. I was disappointed in myself, not planning the visit in Bucharest right, as we could have gone to the museum yesterday. Nevertheless, we continued and arrived to Bucharest Great Synagogue: The Choral Temple. This is by far the most important Bucharest’s synagogue. It dates back to 1845.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

Again we met with a Romanian guard, who told us that the synagogue is now closed to visitors as a Holiday prayer is taking place. We noticed that next to the building parked a S.W.A.T mobile with armed policemen. We tried to convince the guard, with the help of Yudit’s Romanian but for no avail. As we sat down to figure out what should be our next step, a gentleman, dressed up with a nice suit, approached the gate of the synagogue and the guard greeted him as he was entering the gate. I jumped from where I was sitting (on the wall) and greeted the gentleman in Yiddish: “Gut Yomtov”. My thinking was that if we have a chance to enter the synagogue this was the one.

The smiley gentleman turned around and started to converse with me in Yiddish. Thanks to my grandmother, who insisted, when I was a young kid, that I should learn Yiddish, I was able to carry a conversation with the gentleman and he, as it turned out, was the President of the synagogue! The gentleman then just asked us to follow him and we were inside the complex!

The first thing we saw was a huge Menorah, which symbolizes the thousands of Jews persecuted in Bucharest, by the Nazi’s, during the Holocaust.

The president then introduced us to another man (who spoke perfect Hebrew).

The gentleman brought us into a HUGE sukkah, which he and other members of the synagogue had built in the last couple of weeks. The sukkah was huge. It could accommodate 200 people. There was wine, apple, honey and challah bread on the tables. We sat with him and another nice lady, and they told us a little about the Romanian Jewish Community.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

We then entered the main hall of the synagogue and joined the prayers. The synagogue is richly decorated in the Oriental style, fashionable in 1845 when it was built. We really felt so close to God at these moments. Half hour earlier we did not even know if we could get in and as it turned out, we were a part of a Sukkoth ceremony, celebrating with other Jews, we had not met before. This was so emotional for us.

As we left, we decided to donate some money to the synagogue. I asked the Rabbi how we could do so during a Holiday, as Jews do not touch money during holidays and Shabbat. He told me to lay the money underneath a thick book and then asked one of the members to wait until the end of the Holiday and to remind him where I had laid the money.

We walked towards our next destination: Lipscani District, the historic heart of Bucharest and the the Old City Center, which despite the fact that much of it has been erased off the face of earth by Ceausescu to make place for the palace of parliament, there's still some of it left to make for a pleasant experience with its narrow streets, Parisian buildings and mystic restaurants. Lipscani Street and nearby Covaci Street are the main arteries of this district, but we explored the side streets as well and came across hidden antiques stores, fashionable boutiques, and hidden courtyards, not to mention the lovely Stavropoulos Church, which was built in 1724. Another interesting site was the diggings, in one of the streets, where they discovered foundations dated 300 hundred years ago.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

We left the distrcit and towards the Athenee Palace Hilton, where Avis Rent-A-Car is located. The hotel is in the heart of the city, perfectly combines the legendary splendor of the Athénée Palace with the modern touch of today. The hotel is a living piece of Bucharest history since 1914, and a center of espionage and intrigue in the 1930s and 40s. The hotel housed the German High-Command in both World Wars and then survived American bombing in 1944, and several large earthquakes. Its most recent 1997 remodeling turned it into a Hilton managed establishment.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

The girls rested in the lobby and Ronen and me looked and found the Avis office. I presented the document, which had my confirmation number and a weird story started to roll. The agent told us that she couldn’t find the reservation. I told her that it is impossible and that if we will go online we will find it for sure. This is when she told me that she did find the reservation in her system but they had never approved our reservations, which is a “one way” rental (we planned to leave the car in Prague in a couple of weeks). I was furious and asked to talk to her manager immediately. “He is not going to help you” she stated, “He is the one who told me to let you know that your reservations are not approved by us”. I insisted to talk to the manager and a couple minutes later I was talking on the phone to the manager who just repeated the agent’s story. “Listen” I told him, “You had just screw up my trip. Reservations that were confirmed by Avis international are not hot honored by you. I do have with me the copies of the approvals and the quoted prices. If you still insist that we are not getting the car, I am personally going to sue you and Avis International for damages. I will not settle for less than $15,000.” The manager thought for a minute and then said: “Mr. Oren, I like you!!! I will let you have the car and please forgive me for the inconvenience”. He then went ahead and explained that I would be the first client to ever leave the borders of Romania with a rent a car, on a one way basis. He asked to talk to the agent, who could not believe her ears when he told her to upgrade our car and make sure it is clean and in excellent conditions.

The agent told us to return in a couple of hours, as they needed to clean the car and make it ready for us.

Next to the hotel we found the stunning Romanian Athenaeum. Which is a concert hall, and a landmark of the Romanian capital city. Opened in 1888, the circular building is the city's main concert hall and the home of the George Enescu Philharmonic and the Annual International Music Festival (also named after George Enescu.)

We decided to have lunch at the nearby Univesity Plazza. We found KFC, which to our surprise allow smoking and served alcoholic beverages.

We returned to Avis, picked up the car and had no problems finding our way to the appartment. We spent the rest of the afternoon taking a much needed nap and then found a very good restaurant for dinner.

The eatery, Burebista was named after the great Dacian ruler and serves good Romanian food with an emphasis on game and meat dishes. The theme of the restaurant is hunting and the interior decoration made of stuffed birds and animal skins plus the usual "Romanian restaurant ornaments", the carved wooden spoons, masks and ceramics.

When we finally made it back to our apartment, it was already 1:00 AM.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

Day 5 - September 29th, 2007

We woke up at around 6:00 and were on the road at around 7:00, after eating all the leftovers we had in the apartment.

We arrived at Sinaia at around 11:00. As we approached the city we noticed that all of the main roads were blocked off to traffic. We found a narrow street to enter the city and started to lookup for Peleş Castle, which we eventually found.

A narrow road leads to the castle and we opted to park the car in the street and climb the 2 kilometers distance.

At the end of the paved road we found the romantic and historic castle, lying on the side of the Carpathian Mountains.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

The castle is considered by many one of the most beautiful castles in all Europe. It was the final resting place for several Romanian monarchs including King Carol I, who died here in 1914.

The building of the castle began in 1873 and inaugurated only in 1883 (because of a war). The German prince, Carol I de Hohenzollern, chose the castle’s location.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

The castle was built in wood, stone, bricks and marble and comprises more than 160 rooms. The courtyard is decorated with many statues and is magnificent.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

A guided tour was offered to us and we were able to discover the beauty of this castle and its treasures. Quite outstanding were the Big Armory Room, the Small Armory Room, the Florentine Room, the Reception Room (where paintings and wooden sculptures depicting 16 castles of the Hohenzollerns are exhibited), the Moresque Room, the French Room, the Turkish Room, the Council Room, the Concert Room as well as the Imperial Suite.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

On our way back to our car we stopped in a little market, where we found souvenirs and local food.
We drove the car toward the center of the city, which was given its name hundreds of years ago, when a prince returned from Israel with a little stone he picked up in Mount Sinai.

He then built a Monastery and put the stone in the middle of the church. Many followers visited his church and opted to build their homes around the church and hence the name of the city became “Sinaia”.

We found Sinaia Monastery a couple of kilometers from Peleş Castle. The monastery consists of two courtyards surrounded by low buildings. In the center of each courtyard there is a small church built in the Byzantine style.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

The next item on our agenda was to reach the top of Bucegi Mountains. We walked to the center of city where festivities had been taken place. The streets had signs, which read “Sinaia Forever Festival”.

We passed by the many food vendors, street performers and thousands of people enjoying the holiday.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

We found the cable car at Hotel Silva and after a fifteen minutes ride in the car we arrived to Cabana Babele, on top of the Bucegi mountains (2500 meters). The area features unusual rock formations and to our luck, the weather was nice, as we admired a spectacular view of Prahova Valley.

When we returned to the main street of the city we found a vendor, which barbecued Romanian kabob and other delicious meats and had a great lunch, sitting inside a tent. We then found a bakery and bite into delicious cakes, while sipping a hot and creamy capucino.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

We located our car and after an hour drive, through the beautiful mountains, we arrived to Brasov, which is one of the largest and most cherished cities of the country. Surrounded on three sides by the Carpathians Mountains, it was a perfect place for a medieval settlement. The old city, founded by the Teutonic Knights in the early 13th century, is one of the best-preserved cities in all of Europe. It was thoroughly restored to the delight of an increasing number of tourists. Brasov also makes a fabulous base for exploring the surrounding countryside where the air is clean and the people are friendly.

Our only problem was to find a hotel, which fits our budget. At one point we saw a sign leading to a pension. We climbed the narrow streets and finally found a small hotel, but to our disappointment it was fully booked due to a wedding at the place. We drove to the center of town and asked a lady in the street for help. To our pleasant surprise she climbed into her car and we followed her until she pinpointed to a nice hotel. After booking the rooms (at around 8:00 pm) we opted to stay in the hotel and rest.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

Day 6 – September 30th, 2007

After a delicious breakfast we walked toward the center of Brasov. We crossed a beautiful park and arrived at Piata Sfatului, which was quiet as it was Sunday morning.

The square, which is the heart of the old medieval Brasov, lined with beautiful red-roofed merchant houses.

We headed toward the Black Church, which is one of the most important and doubtlessly the most imposing monument built by the German people from Transylvania in their 850 years of history. The name "Black Church" was given after the catastrophic fire in 1689, when the whole city was actually burnt. The flames and the smoke blackened its walls, but the luxury and the greatness of the church couldn't be destroyed. The Black Church, having a length of 89m, is the biggest Gothic church between

Austria and Turkey. Construction was begun in the Gothic style in 1383. The clock tower of this church is magnificent.

We continued our journey and arrived at

Saint Nicholas Church, which dominates the historic district of the city. It is the oldest Orthodox Church in Brasov and one of the oldest churches in Transylvania. The church was first built in wood in 1392 and replaced with a stone structure in 1495. We looked at the churchgoers, all dressed with their finest cloths.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

Before returning to our hotel, we stopped at a café’, which is also a casino. Romania, by the way, is full with this kind of businesses. Gambling is legal in this country.

We drove for about an hour through the countryside and arrived at Bran.

We parked our car and headed to Bran Castle. The fortress is situated on the border between

Transylvania and Wallachia and is commonly known as "Dracula's Castle" it is

famous as the home of Bram Stoker's Dracula, which has led to persistent myths that it was once the home of Vlad Ţepeş, ruler of Wallachia.

While Vlad Ţepeş did not actually live in the Bran Castle, it is believed he spent two days locked in the dungeon while the Ottomans controlled Transylvania. The castle is now a museum, which is nice and interesting, having many secret passages, narrow staircases and dark rooms. We spent a couple of hours in the castle and the market.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

The ride through the countryside was magnificent. We were heading south. At one point we stopped at a grocery store, bought bread, salami, kashkaval cheese, tomatoes and drinks, and then found a beautiful spot on top of a mountain and ate our meal while breathing-in the most beautiful scenery of mountains, villages, trees and flowers.

We drove an additional 4 hours and arrived at a pension,

which had a restaurant, hotel, sauna, spa, and a bar. The name of the pension was Cazare. We accidently met with two Israeli couples, who told us that we will be better off staying at the hotel as the prices are right and the rooms are great. We took their advice and booked two rooms, which were extremely nice and comfortable. Dinner was delicious. We tried seafood and other Romanian dishes.

After settling in, we went to the dining room and enjoyed the music of a small band, while sipping coffee and eating a delicious cake.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

Day 7 – October 1st, 2007

When we arrived at the dining room for breakfast, the waiter told us that we could order ANYTHING we want from the menu, as it is already included in the price for the room. We took advantage of the offer and filled our tummies with delicious Romanian dishes.

We arrived at Drobeta Turnu Severin an hour later. The city is on the bank of the Danube River bordering Serbia. This place goes way back, with Roman ruins to prove it. We visited the

Roman Ruins, passed by Heroes Square and headed towards the main attraction: The Iron Gates (Portile de Fier), which is the last gorge of the gorge system on the Danube River, dividing the Carpathian and Balkan mountains and forming part of the boundary between Serbia and Romania. It is about 3 km long and 162 meters wide, with towering rock cliffs that make it one of the most dramatic natural wonders of Europe. We parked our car and were approached by a guard, who told us we were not allowed to take any pictures (Security reasons) and that the museum was closed on Monday.

Once he left I took some pictures of the dam and we climbed the car and headed towards Orsova, driving along the Danube and arrived at the site of Statue of Decebalus.

Some history: Dercebalus was the ruler of Darcia in the years 87 through 106. He is famous for winning 3 wars against the Roman Empire and negotiating 2 peace accords without being eliminated.

The Statue of the Dacian king Decebalus is 40-meter high and is the tallest rock sculpture in Europe. The idea belonged to a Romanian historian Iosif Constantin Drăgan and it took 10 years (1994-2004) for 12 sculptors to finish for a cost of over a million dollars. Under the face of Decebal there is a Latin inscription which reads "DECEBAL REX - DRAGAN FECIT" ("King Decebal - Made by Drăgan").
We headed back to the border and along the way found a beautiful monessary, which had hand pained pictures all around its walls.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

We approached the border with Serbia and stood in line with other cars. When our turn came, the guard asked for the car’s papers and once he saw that this was a Romanian Rent-A-Car, he took the paperwork with him inside the building and returned only after about 30 minutes. There were about 50 cars in line with drivers looking at us with angry faces. There were other guards available but they did not open a second booth. The guard apparently called the Avis Agency in Romania to verify that we could leave the country with their car, as we were probably the first people to do so.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

We were finally on the Serbian’s side and started the most beautiful ride along the Danube.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

We passed many small towns and Roman ruins and arrived to Belgrade at around 9:00 PM.

Our first task in this city was to find a hotel. We had a system: We drove to the center of town, parked the car whenever we saw a hotel sign and then Ronen and I went to see what is available. All the hotels were either fully booked, too sleazy or way out of our budget. We finally ended in front of the (very expensive) Continental Hotel and found a taxi driver, which made a phone call for us and found an aparment right in the center of town. We followed the taxi and once we arrived at the street, where the aprtment was located, we were greeted by the owner of the apartment, who spoke excellent English. I asked him if he could be our tour guide tomorrow and he told us about his friend, Rasco, who he thought could be our guide. The apartment had three bedrooms and the price was just right.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

Day 8 – October 2nd, 2007

A sunny day welcomed us to the streets of Belgrade. We found a nice café’ not far from Republic Square and tasted a delicious local dish called Palacinka along with delicious coffe and juices.

Our first stop was at the Republic Square. As we approached the square we saw the amazing Knez Mihalia Statue (sculptured in 1882), surrounded by the National Theatre, The National Museum, restaurants and cafes.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

At 9:00 we met with our city guide for the day – Rasco, who told us that the square is always crowded with people rushing by, waiting for someone or taking a break in cafes.

Around the square gathered about 200 children carrying signs, which read: “Joy of Europe”. Rasco told us that every October (since 1969) children from a

number of European countries come to Belgrade. They dance, sing, act and, most of all, they spend time together and have lots of fun. Belgrade hosts the event and McDonald’s sponsors it.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

We walked to the nearby Synagogue. Once again we got lucky as the guards would not let us in but we met a woman at the gate, who was so happy to meet us and invited us in. The synagogue was built in 1925. A huge Sukkah was in the front of the building and the inside was elegant and amazing. Housed in the same building there is a

community center for Jewish youth as well as rooms for occasional community functions and meetings. A Jewish kindergarten has recently been opened at the building as well. For many years now, the building has also housed several families affiliated in some way with the local Jewish community. The Synagogue was built by Ashkenaz Jews, who bought the land from the government. However, today it serves the Spheradic Jews, remaining in the city following the Holocaust.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

Next, we climbed a bus as our next destination was quite a long way from the Centrum. We passed by some bombed building, evidence to the last civil war (1991-1995).

We finally arrived at Tito’s Tomb. Josip Broz Tito was the leader of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1945 until his death in 1980.

During World War II, Tito organized the anti-fascist resistance movement known as the Yugoslav Partisans. Later he was a founding member of the Communist Party but resisted the Soviet Union. The area, which takes up space of a full block, used to be Tito’s home. The area next to the tomb is called The House of Flowers, as it was filled with thousands of flowers right after his death. Next we visited the museum, which contains many of the gifts Tito received from nations and leaders worldwide, throughout his regime. The garden next to the tomb has an impressive number of statues. At the entrance we noticed a beautiful (and very expensive) Rolce Royce, the car he used to love so much.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

We returned with the bus to the city’s center and arrived at Kalemegdan Citadel,

the core and the oldest section of the urban area of Belgrade and for centuries the city population was concentrated only within the walls of the fortress, thus the history of the fortress, until most recent history, equals the history of Belgrade itself.

While visiting the magnificent citadel, I understood why Kalemegdan is the most popular park among Belgraders and for many tourists v

isiting Belgrade and that’s because of the park's numerous winding walking paths, shady benches, picturesque fountains, random statues, mammoth historical architecture and incredible river views. An exhibition of cannons and tanks spread throughout the park, possibly Europe’s best collection. The park, leading to and from the citadel is impressive with flowers, statues and various trees.

The “Joy of Europe” group was performing at a stage. I enjoyed looking at their performances. Each group wore their traditional clothing and danced folklor dances.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

Rasco suggested that we should eat lunch at the city’s oldest retaurant. The name of this place is “?” (“Question mark”). It was built in 1823. Rasco told us the history of the restaurant’s name: First it was called "Kod pastira" (At Shepherd's) in 1878, then, in 1892 "Kod Saborne crkve" (At the Cathedral Church), but this was soon removed, because it neither complied with regulations on restaurants, nor did the Church authorities find it suitable. As a temporary solution, the owner has put up just a question mark, which has remained until today.

We ordered several dishes (recommended by Rasco) and enjoyed a delicious and authentic meal.
Ronen & Yudit opted to leave us at this point and explore some shopping opportunities. Tova & I continued with Rasco, who took us to a very unique place: The Tesla Museum.

Nikola Tesla, American scientist of Serbian origin, gave his greatest contribution to science and technological progress of the world as the inventor of the rotating magnetic field and of the complete system of production and distribution of electrical energy (motors, generators) based on the use of alternate currents. He had joined Edison’s company in the late 19th century and then left the company, making his way with inventions, used until today.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

In the museum we experienced a demonstration of few of Tesla’s inventions. It was quite an experience.

Our last attraction for the day was St. Sava Cathedral.

The Cathedral is Serbia’s largest Orthodox Church currently in use. The church is dedicated to Saint Sava, founder of the Serbian Orthodox Church and an important figure in medieval Serbia. It is built on the Vračar Plateau, on the location where his remains are thought to have been burned in 1595 by the Ottoman Empire's Sinan Pasha. From its location, it dominates Belgrade's cityscape, and is perhaps the most monumental building in the city. The building of the church structure is being financed exclusively by donations. Rasco thinks (and hope) that building the cathedral will finally complete in 2012.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

We returned to the city center and said our goodbyes to Rasco. We went back to the apartment to find out that Ronen and Yudit were sound asleep. We decided to go back and enjoy the beautiful evening in the city. We found a nice bakery called: “Bread & Company” where we sipped a delicious capuccino along with some delicious pastries

A couple of hundreds meters away from the bakery we found a street market, where local merchants sold ceramic pots and plates. We shopped for a beautiful set of ceramic plates and then walked to the city center’s Promenade, which is very attractive and is full of shops, restaurants, many bookstores and galleries surrounded by interesting architecture. Hundreds of locals and tourists walked by enjoying the comfortable evening.

We returned to the apartment at 10:00 pm.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

Day 9 – October 3rd, 2007

We woke up at 6:00 am and left Belgrade, leaving behind so many fond memories of this beautiful and alive city.

We arrived at Budapest, Hungary at around 4:00 pm. I found the Parliament building and parked nearby. I remembered that Peter, our guide in Budapest, lives not far from there. We found a nice café’ and asked the waiter to call Peter, who showed up few minutes later. I was so happy to meet Peter again as I really like this guy (whom I met about a year ago, while travelling with Emly).

We asked Peter to take us to the Thermal Baths as evening arrived and there was not any sense to tour the city at dark. Peter agreed and we drove over to the baths, located right in the City Park. We made reservations for a massage, which was expensive and not what one would expect at this popular place. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the beauty of the structure, which reminded me of some movies I have seen about Romans.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

We drove to our apartment, right next to the Big Synagogue. Af

ter unpacking, we all went to a delicious dinner at Peter’s favorite restaurant (La Boheme) where we had Goulash Soup and then walked a bit in the little and narrow streets, sorrounding the neighborhood. These streets were part of the Jewish Ghetto, during World War II.

We finally returned to the apartment at around midnight.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

Day 10 – October 4th, 2007

We woke up at 8:00 and went downstairs. Peter was already waiting for us.

Not far from our apartment we stopped at Carl Lutz statue, who was was the Swiss Vice-Consul in Budapest, Hungary from 1942 until the end of World War II. He helped save the lives of tens of thousands of Jews from deportation to Nazi Extermination camps during the Holocaust. He was awarded the title of Righteous among the Nations by Yad Vashem in Jerusalem.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

We headed to a restaurant, right next Basilica of St. Stephen. Breakfast was expensive but good.

We toured the basilica and Peter told us some interesting facts about it: It is named in honor of Stephen, the first King of Hungary (975–1038), whose mummified fist is housed in the reliquary (we actually saw it). Along with the Hungarian Parliament Building, it is the tallest building of Budapest (96 m). It was completed in 1905 after 54 years of construction. Much of this delay can be attributed to the collapse of the dome in 1868 which required complete demolition of the completed works and rebuilding from the ground up.

Next, we arrived at the Soviet War Memorial. Although other Soviet statues and memorials in Budapest have been removed or carted off to Statue Park, this monument remains as a genuine reminder of the sacrifices made by Red army troops who died liberating Budapest in 1944/45.

As we arrived to the magnificent Parliament Building, we noticed the statue of Imre Nagi. Peter turned emotional when he told us about “his” hero: This fine bronze statue commemorates Imre Nagy, the Prime Minister of Hungary immediately prior to the 1956 uprising. Nagy, who had tried to introduce a more relaxed form of Communism in the country (pulling away from Soviet domination), took refuge in the Yugoslavian Embassy after the revolution had been crushed.

Then, after being given false assurances of safe passage by the Soviets, Nagy was arrested as soon as he left the safety of the compound. Tried and executed two years later (and quietly buried in an unmarked, overgrown corner of the main Budapest cemetery) Nagy's body was finally exhumed - and given a full state burial - following the country's move to parliamentary democracy in 1989. The statue is facing the Parliament Building as if to say that the vision of Nagi was to see a free Hungary with its own free Parliament.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

Built in 1902, the Parliament building has 691 rooms, immense halls, and over 12.5 miles of corridors. it was built in Gothic Revival style; it has a symmetrical facade and a central dome (96 meters high).

Ronen noticed that on one of the benches, in the

adjacent park, 3 men were sitting and practicing solving Rubik Cubes. We approached them and they told us that the international Rubik Cube contest is scheduled to take place tomorrow. They represent Sweden. One of them claimed to be Sweden champion. I put him to the challenge: I scrambled his cube and holding a stop watch I asked him to start solving it. It took him 12.7 seconds to do it!! He later told us that his time is not nearly enough as the recod was set at 7.1 seconds.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

Next, we arrived at the most beautiful and elegant Four Seasons Hotel (for a needed restroom visit!). As we walked into the lobby we noticed the exquisitely art. The hotel combines luxury and intuitive service with panoramic vistas of the Danube and the hills of Buda. The restrooms were the most elegant we have ever seen.

We took the bus and crossed the Danube on Chain Bridge, arriving at the Royal Palace, on top of the Buda Hills at Castle Hill.

Dominating Budapest's skyline with its turquoise dome, the Royal Palace mixes the architectural features of the last four centuries. Bombed, burned and rebuilt endless times throughout the centuries, the palace was almost completely destroyed during the Second World War.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

The view from the palace was magnificent.

Next to the Palace we found Mathias Church, Officially named as the Church of Our Lady, it has been popularly named after King Matthias Corvinus (Good King Mátyás) who ordered the construction of its original southern tower. In many respects, the 700-year history of the church serves as a symbol (or perhaps a reminder for Hungarians) of the city's rich, yet often tragic history. Not only was the church the scene of several coronations, including that of Charles IV in 1916 (the last Habsburg king), it was also the site for King Mátyás' two weddings (the first to Catherine of Podiebrad and, after her death, to Beatrice of Aragon).

==============================================================================================================================================================================

As our somachs screamed “Let’s have some food” we headed to the Great Market Hall (on the Pest side of town) where we found great number of stalls, which offer a huge variety of vegetables, fruit, cheese and meat. Most of the stalls on the ground floor offer popular souvenirs such as paprika, tokaji (local wine), and caviar. The top floor offers many stalls, which sell leather goods and other souvernirs. We selected food dishes from various restaurants (on the top floor) and sat to consume the large variety while sipping tasty beer.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

With full stmoacks we headed toward the Great Synagogue, which was already closed.

Ronen & Yudit found a unique shop (right next to our apratment) and decided to do some shopping for their children and friends. Tova and I found a promenade where Tova found a hair stylist while I was looking around the street, shopped for some cd’s and had coffee at one of the many café’s. At one street there was a lot of comotion as a bomb from Second World War was found at one of the stores’ babsement. The street was closed as the “bomb squad” special unit from the city’s police was detonating the bomb.

As we started to walk back to our apartment, rain started to fall down and we found a shelter in the C&R department store where we bought some beautiful Euorpean clothings.

We returned to the apartment an hour later. Ronen & Yudit were already packed for their return flight to Israel. Peter came along as I took my brother and his wife to the airport.

Saying goodbye to my brother was hard as we both had no idea when will be the next time we will see each other.

As we returned to the city, Peter suggested that we should go and have dinner at one of his favorite places. We ended up in a place, which had 4 tables and one item on the menu: Chilli Soup. The soup was hearty and delicious and the beer was splendid as well.

I returned to the apartment, which looked huge, as the only occupants were Tova, who was sound asleep, and I.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

Day 11 – October 5th, 2007

Peter was already waiting for us next to the apartment door at 7:30.

We had a great breakfast at a local bakery and went to The Great Synagogue (Nagy Zsinagóga) second only in size to New York's Temple Emmanuel. Two impressive 'Moorish' style domes make it one of the most distinguishable landmarks in Pest, while the detailed façade of the building is decorated with brickwork in the symbolic colors of the city - blue, yellow and red.

The (armed) guard told us that today the Synagogue is closed to visitors but open for prayers. We left our backpack and camera with Peter and both Tova and I went inside to pray. The usher, who greeted us with “Shalom & Gut Yom Tov”, approached us and gave us “Talith” and prayer books. Tova was seated in the women section and I was seated in the men’s. About an hour later we exited the temple with fulfilling hearts.

We walked about a hundred meters and arrived at “Beit Chabad”, which reminded me so much of the “old Shtaitle” in Eastern Europe: It has a front court with apartments, where the Rabbi and Cantor live and in the front of the yard is the temple. We did not go inside but peaked and looked at the holiday’s prayers. We happened to meet an Israeli, who told us that there are two Chabad centers in Budapest: one which speaks ONLY Hebrew (to service the Israelis who live in the city) and the other (where we were), which speaks ONLY Hungarian.

We continued our day with a stop at an Internet Café’ and then walked to the Opera House, which was designed and built in Renaissance style. The statues of Liszt and Erkel, outstanding contributors to Hungary's musical life, can be seen on either side of the building. Both statues are the work of Alajos Stróbl. The inside of the theater is really beautiful and there is this feeling inside that you’re walking on “Holy Grounds”.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

Not far from the Opera House we found the Music Academy, which is a concert hall and a music university in the city, founded by pianist and composer Franz Liszt in 1875. It is home to the Liszt Collection, which features several valuable books and manuscripts donated by Liszt upon his death.
We were allowed inside to watch a rehersal of a symphony and it was a great treat to listen to the raw music, as the conductor was stopping the music to give his remarks (in Hungarian, of course!).

We walked down the main street and looked with amusemnet on the floating leaves, a sign that we are in the middle of automn.

We took the metro and arrived at Heroes Square. Built in 1896 to celebrate the millennium of the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathians Basin, Heroes' Square is a vast and grandiose symbol of 19th-century Hungarian nationalism. An imposing 36-metre high column, which supports the winged figure of the Archangel Gabriel, is encircled on its pedestal by statues of the seven conquering Magyar Tribal Chiefs on horseback. Behind there are two semi-circular colonnades, housing the statues of the most famous rulers in Hungarian history. The stone tablet in front of the main column, which on ceremonial occasions is guarded by soldiers, commemorates those who died for national freedom and independence. The Museum of Fine Arts and the Palace of Art flank the square on either side.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

We entered the City Park. Known to locals as the Városliget, the park was originally designed to celebrate the Hungarian Millennium (in 1896) and includes the Vajdahunyad Castle and a small artificial lake. The castle represents the many different styles of Hungarian architecture. The entrance of the building resembles the Transylvanian fortification of the same name, with the original castle (located in what is now Romania) once being home to János Hunyadi, hero of the Turkish wars.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

We took a bus to arrive to the City Center and headed to a very simple restaurant where the food was tasty and in large quantities.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

We then walked across Elizabeth Bridge, which was too badly damaged by the Germans in 1945 to be reconstructed in its original form. Taking four years to build, this modern looking span was opened in 1964 and has since become a great favorite with tourists and locals alike.

We arrived at the Gellért Hotel and admired the art used to decorate its columns outside. It also houses one of the finest thermal baths in the world.

When you look up, from anywhere in the city, you could see the Liberation Monument on Gellert Hill. The winding path to climb and reach the monument is right next the hotel. We started the climb, which was somewhat hard in some spots and arrived to this beautiful spot to view central Budapest.

The hill itself is named after Bishop Gellért who had been invited by St. Stephen to help convert pagan Magyars to Christianity. As legend goes, in the wake of Stephen's death, Gellért met his untimely death after being toppled off the hillside in a barrel by militant heathens. His bronze statue (1904) stands on the spot where he was martyred. The panoramic views from the summit are unparalleled elsewhere in Budapest.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

We declined Peter’s suggestion that we should take the bus back to the City Centrum and opted to walk down the hill (to his dismay). We arrived at Statue of Prince Eugene of Savoy, overlooking the Danube and as we continued to climb down we arrived at the beautiful waterfall, right above Elizabeth Bridge.

We crossed back to the Pest side, said goodnight to Peter and boarded a river cruise ship, which sailed the Danube around the city. We agreed that this was one of the most exiting things we did in Budapest.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

As it was dark already, we were able to see all the monuments of Budapest full of lights with their reflection in the water. This was a great experience.

As the cruise ended, raindrops started to fall. We found a shelter in Spinoza Restaurant, where a local “kleizmer” played beautiful music and the food was hearty and delicious. By the time we finished our food, the rain had stopped and we walked back to the apartment to pack our things as tomorrow we were scheduled to leave Budapest.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

Day 12 – October 6th

We woke up at 6:00 and went downstairs. Peter, our loyal tour guide was waiting and we entered a close by grocery store to buy some snacks for the long trip, which lasted about three hours and we arrived at Bratislava, Slovakia.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

Bratislava is one of the youngest capitals in

Europe and few people know that during the time it was called Pressburg or Pozsony and was one of the most important cities in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. There is a saying that a true ‘Pressburgian’ speaks four languages: Slovak, German, Hungarian and Mishmash. (A mix of all of the above languages).

Bratislava’s location at the banks of the Danube River and at the crossroads of ancient trading routes right at the heart of Europe predestined it to become a meeting point of various cultures. It was the home of the Celts, the Romans, and the Slavs.

We crossed the Danube on a beautiful and most infamous bridge, which looks as though a giant UFO has landed on its top and were looking for a parking space not far from the old city. A sign on the road stated (in English!) that “Free Parking is Ahead”. We both started to laugh when we found out that the “Free Parking” could fit a total of six cars but since the time was only 9:30 in the

morning on a Saturday, we were able to find a “free” spot.

We entered the Bratislava Hotel at the bank of the river to use their (very) clean restrooms and started our day in this beautiful city. A few steps from the hotel we saw the site of the Jewish synagogue that was demolished as part of a bridge construction. Nearby there is a memorial to the Holocaust, adjacent to the St. Martin Cathedral.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

We entered Stare’ Mesto (Old City)

and were impressed by its cleanness and beauty. We entered a Tourist Information office in the heart of the old city and to our surprise found a

tourist guided book in Hebrew, which we purchased and used for the rest of the day.

We arrived at the Old Town Hall of Bratislava, which is the oldest city hall in Slovakia. It is a fascinating composition of a number of constructions built over various stylistic periods. Its core is a 14th century Gothic house.

We strolled through narrow streets and

arrived at The Main Square, the real heart of the Old Town. We sat on a bench and looked at the people going by. The square has many outdoor café and market stools. We breathed in the steady trickle of the splendid Roland Fountain.

We got up and walked to Archbishop’s Palace (nowadays called Primate’s Palace), a pink massive classicist building, which is one of the most significant sights in the city. We stopped at The Slovak National Theatre, a beautiful Neo-renaissance building.

We left the Old City via Michael’s Gate, the only surviving watchtower of the original city fortification, crossed the main street and started our climb to the towering castle. We passed by the historical Jewish quarter and after a 30 minutes climb on an uphill street (very much like Hyde street in San Francisco) we arrived at

Bratislava Castle, the dominating landmark of the city, which is situated on the hill overlooking the Danube River and the entire city. It is a massive building in the shape of an upturned bed. Bratislava Castle has a rich history, reaching back to the late Stone Age. In course of the later centuries, the Celts, the Romans, the Germans, the Slavs, the Hungarians and the Austrians have ruled the area and Bratislava Castle was repeatedly rebuilt. Nowadays, it is used for the state functions and exhibitions. On the ground floor, there is the Treasury of Slovakia, an interesting collection of archeological findings, and taking up a couple of floors is the branch of the Slovak National Museum, covering historical furniture, modern art and history.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

We took

a narrow street, down the hill and arrived to our parked car. We then took our prepared meal and sat in a nearby park, eating as if there was no tomorrow. We were so hungry, and the fresh rolls with butter and cheese along with a tomato and orange juice just tasted so delicious!
We entered Tesco, a local department store, where we purchased some wine and liquor, which were extremely cheap. (We paid $2 for wine and $4 for Vodka).

Looking at our watches we realized that we must return to our cars as we still had a long drive to Vienna, Austria. We promised ourselves that we would return to this charming city to continue and explore.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

When we arrived to Vienna, evening started to fall on the city. We found our hotel with no problems. The hotel was in Taborstrasse, in the heart of the 2nd District - home to the Viennese Jews. The receptionist recommended an eatery, which is one of the most popular restaurants in the city, for dinner.

The restaurant, Schweizerhaus, is located at the Amusement Park. We found our way rather easily and found the place full of hungry (and noisy) people. According to tradition the restaurant has been around since 1766 and has for decades been a symbol of true Viennese charm and hospitality.

We were seated at a long table with three other couples, and as it turned out, the lovely couples were from the Salzburg area and were visiting the Capital.

We ordered Vienna Schnitzel, a leg of lamb, and some appetizers along with the local beer. When the food arrived, its huge portions overwhelmed us. We shared the plates with the three couples (who also ordered a couple of dishes). We drank draft beer from huge glasses and talked about the world problems. At the end of the evening (2 hours later!) the bill arrived and the three couples asked the waiter to hand it over to them. They refused to let us pay for the meal. We ended up paying the tip for the waiter.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

With our stomachs full, we headed toward the center of town (about an hour walk), sat in a Viennese café’ and ordered a delicious ice cream and Latte’.

We returned to the hotel at midnight and right away fell asleep in the comfortable bed.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

Day 13 – October 7th, 2007

We woke up rather late (around 8:00) and after breakfast we headed to town.

We first visited St. Stephen Cathedral. Sunday Prayer was taking place. The church is Austria's most eminent Gothic building, and contains a wealth of art treasures.

It is called The Mother Church and is the home of Austria most important religious chiefs. As the most important religious building in Austria's capital, the cathedral has witnessed many important events in the nation's history and has become one of the city's most recognizable symbols.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

We strolled along the beautiful Stephanplatz and arrived at Vienna's complex and imposing Imperial Palace, the Hofburg,

which used to be the living-quarters of the Austrian emperors and their employees. It is not just a palace but also a big complex, which houses a lot of different attractions. Built in 1279, the Hofburg Imperial Palace bears testament to the wealth and power of the Hapsburgs. It was home to Austria’s ruling family until 1918.

At the back of the complex we saw Heldenplatz; it is also called Heroes Square and will go down in history as the scene of Hitler's speech to hundreds of thousands of cheering Austrians after the 1938 annexation, which confirmed Austria as part of the Third Reich.

The Metro station is not far from Heldenplatz, and we climbed on the U2 train, then transferred to the U6 train and arrived at Schloss Schönbrunn Palace.

The enormous and elegant Palace is one of Vienna's top attractions. Originally the 1,440-room were used as the summer palace of the Habsburgs, it was completed in 1711.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

We took the “Classic Tour” and visited forty of the 1,440 rooms admiring the magnificent apartments of Maria Theresa, her sitting rooms, bedroom and the parlor in which 6 year old Mozart used to play for the Empress, as well as the parlors and apartments of Imperial couple Franz Joseph and Sissi.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

==============================================================================================================================================================================

The interior is an orgy of frescoed ceilings, crystal chandeliers, huge mirrors and gilded ornaments and was designed in the classic Rococo style of the 18th century with lots of red, white and gold. Emperor Franz Joseph (ruled 1848-1916), who was born here in 1830, spent the last years of his life entirely in the palace. In 1918, the palace became the property of the new republic. Due to this historical importance, its beautiful location and its gardens this palace is one of the very top sights in Vienna. Furthermore the entire complex was added to the UNESCO's world cultural heritage list.We then visited the enormous Tirolian garden, the famous fountain, and then climbed up the hill and could not get enough of the magnificent view of all of Vienna.

We returned with the U6 train and stopped at the city’s center. We wanted to visit the market but as this was Sunday, the market was closed. We then arrived at St. Charles Church

==============================================================================================================================================================================

or Karlskirche, which is one of Vienna's greatest buildings. Commissioned by the emperor to thank God for an answered prayer, the splendid Baroque structure was also designed to glorify the power and rights of the Habsburg Empire. The building of Karlskirche was started in 1715 following plans of one of the most famous Austrian Baroque architects, Johann Fischer von Erlach. The church is spectacular. It is the biggest cathedral in Baroque style north of the Alps.

We walked back to the hotel and on the way, stopped at Simcha, a kosher restaurant in the heart of the Jewish Section of Vienna.

After a nap for a couple of hours, we took a taxicab to the Beethoven Center, and then sat in the theater enjoying beautiful performance of young musicians, who had performed music by Strauss and (of course) Mozart.

At the end of the concert we walked to the center of the city, had a latte’ and ice cream, at the same place we visited last night, and then walked back to the hotel.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

Day 14 – October 8th, 2007

After breakfast we went for some shopping.

We needed a new piece of luggage to replace a broken one. We found a store and quickly learned that the owner is an Israeli, who also gave us a very good price for a 2 piece set. We placed the new lugguage in the car and started our tour.

We quickly found our way to Ringstrassethe, the Inner Ring of Vienna. The Boulevard is 4 kilometers long and circles the city center. Along the sides of the boulevard we discovered many attractions.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

We started the tour at Hofburg, which we visited yesterday and then we crossed the “Strasse” (boulevard) arriving at The Museum of Fine Arts and The Museum of Natural History, facing each other.

We continued our day, just wandering along the boulevard and saw some of this city’s most beautiful buildings, including the Parlament (Parliament), where we stopped at the (world famous) toilets and both agreed that it is an attraction by itself and one of the best we ever visited.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

We passed by Rathaus (City Hall), which holds the office of the mayor of the city of Vienna and the governor of the state of Vienna, the Assembly and the City Council.

We arrived at the Vienna University and not far from there we saw the magnificence Votive Church, which is one of the most beautiful churches in Vienna. This church is famous because it holds the tomb of Count Niklas Salm.

Not far from the church we saw Sigmund Freud statue, located in a park carrying the name of the famous Jewish psychoanalyst, who wrote the Theory of Sexuality.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

At the end of the ring we found the Nachtmarkt (Night Market), which is a unique mixture of Austrian traditions, Middle East, and oriental influences. Viennese shrewdness meets bazaar mentality. It is a great place to shop for goodies and to have lunch at one of the many stalls, coffee shops and restaurants. We stopped at one of the many restaurants and had a delicious lunch.

We entered the now familiar Stephanplatz, where Tova saw the night before some nice shoes in the window of a huge shoes stor. To our surprise the price was reasonable as well and she ended up purchasing the shoes.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

We continued our trip and found the Jewish Section of the city (not far from our hotel).

We stopped at the Holocaust Monument. The architect of the memorial, Rachel Whitehead, designed it like a stylized stack of books signifying strives towards education. The outer sides of the reinforced concrete cube take the form of library shelves. Around the base of the monument are engraved the names of the places in which Austrian Jews were put to death during the Nazi era.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

As evening approached we stopped at Starbucks for a delicious cappuccino and then decided to return to the hotel and take a short nap before dinner. The time was around 5:00.

When we woke up from the nap it was already 9:30. We both agreed that we are more tired than hungry and decided to keep on sleeping…

==============================================================================================================================================================================

Day 15 – October 9th, 2007

We woke up at 6:30 and realized that last night we slept the most during the trip almost 12 hours!).

After breakfast, we checked out from the lovely hotel and started our drive to Salzburg.

We arrived in the city at 11:30 in the morning and started to look for our hotel.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

We ended up in a promande and found a parking spot in one of the side streets. I got out of the car to ask for directions and found myself in a travel agency. The owner offered his help and asked me to wait till 12:00 when he closes the agency for his lunch break. He then joined us in our car and five minutes later we found our hotel, which was unique and very “home like”.

After checking in, we parked the car in the nearby parking garage and headed towards the old city. Not far from the hotel we found the world famous Mirabel Gardens with terraces, marble statues and fountains. The gardens were laid out in the 18th century. We walked in gardens and both started to sing the “Do-Re-Mi” song from the “Sounds of Music”. . Maria and the children were dancing around the statue of Pegasus, the winged horse, and throughout the gardens singing the same song:

Let's start at the very beginning

A very good place to start

When you read you begin with A-B-C

When you sing you begin with do-re-mi

Do-re-mi, do-re-mi

The first three notes just happen to be

Do-re-mi, do-re-mi

==============================================================================================================================================================================

Across the street from the gardens we found a cute bakery and bought huge pretzles for lunch. We then visited Mozart Birthplace, found Mozart Status and walked toward Salzburg Fortress (Festung Hohensalzburg), passing by Salzburg Cathedral, which is without a doubt the Old Town's main attraction. It is flanked by two squares.

The nearby Residenz, the Franciscan Church and the Church of Saint Ruprecht are only a stone's throw away from each other.

We took the cable car up the mountain and arrived at the fortress, which is over a thousand years old and was the stronghold of the ruling prince-archbishops before they moved "downtown" to the Residenz. The fortress towers 122m (400 ft.) above the Salzach River on a rocky dolomite ledge. The massive fortress crowns the Festungsberg and literally dominates Salzburg.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

We visited a couple of museums and learned many facts about the difference eras this fortress had witnessed. The Burgmuseum Museum is distinguished mainly by its collection of medieval art. Plans and prints tracing the growth of Salzburg are on display, as are instruments of torture and many Gothic artifacts. The Salzburger Stier (Salzburg Bull), an open-air barrel organ built in 1502, plays melodies by Mozart and his friend Haydn in daily concerts following the glockenspiel chimes. The Rainermuseum museum has arms and armor exhibits.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

We walked down the hill, back to the old city and arrived at the city’s Concert Hall (Mozarteum), which was built in 1910 for the College of Music and the Performing Arts.

Next, we arrived at the Horse Fountain. It is the largest and finest Baroque fountain this side of the Alps, the work of an Italian sculptor. It stands about 50 feet high, with figures of bold horses, Atlas figures bearing dishes, dolphins and, crowning the whole, a Triton with a conch shell.

We walked back, along the bank of the river and found a small restaurant, serving local foods. The food was tasty and came in huge portions.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

not far from the restaurant we took a steep street

with many stairs leading to Benedictine Convent on Nonnberg where Maria (Sounds of Music) lived before she was sent by her Mother Superior as a governess to the household of the Von Trapp family. The view from the church was breathtaking as we looked at the Austrian Alps and the valley.

We stopped for hot coffee in the old city and then returned to the hotel at 9:00.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

Day 16 – October 10th, 2007

Breakfast at this wonderful hotel was one of the best we had had. It included all kind of cheese, meat, yogurt, jelly, pastry and bread.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

We checked out of the hotel and drove to Hellbrunn Palace. This palace dates from the early 17th century and was built as a

hunting lodge and summer residence for Prince-Archbishop Markus Sittikus. It was formerly the palace deer park. The palace gardens, one of the oldest baroque formal gardens in all Europe, are known for their trick fountains.

There is a gazebo in the park, which was the set for the “I Am Sixteen” song from “Sounds of Music”.

It was still early in the morning, and we were the only visitors in the park. We stopped our breath when we heard the birds singing the “new day” song and also were able to spot some squirrels and deer.

The air was as fresh as can be and we reluctantly said goodbye to the park as there was so much to do today.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

The next stop was at Lake Leopold where we found a perfect spot to view Salzburg Fortress.

We then took highway A1 and drove about 20 minutes toward Linz to Modesee, a beautiful little town lying right next to a crystal clear lake with the same name. We joined a group of tourists and listened to the explanation by their guide. We entered the church that was used as a romantic backdrop for the wedding in the musical The Sound of Music and then relaxed in the great Braun restaurant where we had a delicious gourmet coffee accompanied by a

wonderful tasting Strudel. The guide of the group saw us sitting there and declared: “I knew I

could find you here”. It was too funny as he thought that we were part of his group! We did not leave him any tip and continued walking to the lake, surrounded by the Austrian Alps, where we just breathed the wonderful air and watched the white swans swimming their way in the natural beauty of nature.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

Few months before the trip I happened to receive an email about a town in Austria with a “unique” name. The name of the town was “Fucking”! I made a promise to myself that if and when we go to Austria I will take a picture under the sign “Welcome To Fucking”, which by the way was stolen many times (probably by English speaking tourists). So, this was our next thing on the agenda.

We started the drive at around 1:00 and (of course) lost our way few times, entering into Germany, coming out and reentered,

but we never gave up. We kept on driving, asked for directions few times and finally there it was: The town of Fucking! It is located 32 km north of Salzburg and 4 km east of the border with Germany. But it still took us about 3 hours to find it! I don’t think we spent more than three minutes in this small town. We just took the pictures and continued as it started to get dark and we still had a long way to go before we would reach Prague.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

We passed through beautiful towns and farms, enjoying the beautiful scenery along highway B20.

We finally got back on the A1 highway, passing through Linz and arrived to Prague, Czech Republic at around 11:30 at night.

I found a taxi driver who we followed to the hotel. We finally got to go to sleep at around midnight.

After breakfast at the hotel restaurant, which was really cozy and tasty, we went down to the street and stopped a cab, which we followed to the AVIS Rent-A-car agency in town. We returned the car and started our day without a guide, as Adam, Emly’s friend, who lives in Prague, was not available to take us around. His wife was having a baby today!!

==============================================================================================================================================================================

We walked toward the Old City, visited the Open Market and found Charles Bridge without any problems.

Charles Bridge is not just a tourist attraction. This is the main pedestrian route linking the Old Town with Mala Strana (the Lesser Town or Little Quarter) and then onto Prague Castle itself.

We spotted many souvenir stands and street musicians, who lined the bridge.

King Charles IV's favorite architect and builder, Peter Parler, built the present day Charles Bridge. The initial idea was to build a functional construction for knight tournaments, and for many years the only decoration on the bridge was a simple crucifix. Later, the Catholic desire for ornamentation resulted in 30 statues being erected between 1600 and 1800.

Today, most of the statues are copies, as various floods and catastrophes over the centuries have damaged the originals. There are now 75 statues, and perhaps the most interesting, as well as the oldest, is that of John of Nepomuk. The statue represents Saint John of Nepomuk, the court priest of King Wenceslas IV. Legend has it that he was killed by request of the king, because he refused to tell the king about the queen's confession. No one, until today has a clue to what the confession was.

Another interesting status is “The Crucifix and Calvary” which displays Jesus Christ with Hebrew text around the statue. The golden Hebrew text on the crucifix was added in 1696. It was placed there as punishment for a Prague Jew, Eliass Backoffen, who has been convicted of debasing the Holy Cross. The Hebrew text is derived from the words of the prophet Isaiah and reads: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts”. These words, which are the origin of the Sanctus in the Mass, are an important confession of faith in the Jewish tradition as well; their placement in this context has been perceived by some as offensive. A bronze table with explanatory text in Czech, English and Hebrew was mounted under the statue by the city of Prague authorities in 2000.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

There are towers at both ends of the bridge - the Old Town Bridge Tower on the Old Town side and the Lesser Town Bridge Towers on the Mala Strana side.

The view from the bridge is breathtaking.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

We then continued to The Lennon Wall, which is a tribute to the rock singer John Lennon. When Lennon was killed in 1980, this wall, not far from the bridge, became a place of out pouring for the people of Prague who painted it with graffiti. John Lennon's lyrics offered hope and an idealistic

vision of what could be. It became a sort of memorial wall, which despite police efforts to paint over and clean off on a regular basis, kept coming back. Although the communist era was taking its toll on the Czech population, they did not arrest any of the people who wrote on the wall, as its location is right next to many foreign embassies. Today the Lennon Wall is still a symbol and a memorial. People come here each year at the anniversary of his death.

We entered the Old City and stopped to look at St. Nicholas Church. The stunning Church with the beautiful white façade, decorated with sculptures, simply gleams in the corner of the square, hit by the sun.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

We then took the street, which leads to Prague Castle, and after a 20 minutes climb arrived at the castle. We entered the castle, situated atop a large hill on the left bank of the Vltava River, which was built originally around the 9th century and is the largest medieval castle complex in Europe and the ancient seat of Czech kings throughout the ages. Its history has been long and rich. From its very origin to present day it has been the seat of administration of the country.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

Inside the castle, we visited some sights and attractions. The main feature was St. Vitus Cathedral, the interesting Gothic structure. We stood in line and entered the magnificent church. Tova was really amused of the church and told me that: “This is the most beautiful church I have ever seen”. It took nearly six centuries to build the magnificent church. Begun in 1344 by Mathias Arras and Petr Parler upon the site of a 10th century rotunda, the final phase of construction only ended during 1873-1929. The cathedral contains underground tombs of Czech kings, which we could spot in all areas of the church.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

The changing of the palace guards was an entertaining affair. We watched the ceremony and then started our way to the exits on the other side of the castle. Once again we admired the beautiful view from the top of the castle. My camera worked overtime as I captured so many

beautiful sights.

Once we arrived to the streets level, Tova spotted a vendor, who sold hot dogs, Prague’s style. The sausages were long (a foot each, and the vendor inserted them hot and juicy, inside a foot long bun and then smeared mustard as well. YUMMY!!

We strolled on another bridge (can’t remember its name) and found the Jewish Section.

Our first tour was at Pinkas Synagogue, which is dedicated to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust from Bohemia and Moravia; their names are inscribed on the walls of the main nave

and adjoining areas. There are 77,297 names on the wall. The text of the inscriptions was compiled from card indexes, which were drawn up shortly after the war on the basis of extant transport papers, registration lists and survivor's accounts. The names of Holocaust victims, together with their dates of birth and death, are inscribed on all the interior walls. Where the precise date of death is not known - which is generally the case - the date of deportation to the ghettos and extermination camps in the east is stated instead.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

We visited the museum, inside the synagogue and were touched by the documents found in the concentration camps after the war, including paintings, letters and more.

We entered the Old Jewish Cemetery, adjacent to the Synagogue, where we met three couples from Israel. They were touring the city on their own, as well. We exchanged ideas and sights information and tagged along with them.

The Cemetery was established in the first half of the 15th century. It is one of the most important historic sites in Prague’s Jewish Town. The oldest tombstone, which marks the grave of the poet and scholar Avigdor Karo, dates from the year 1439. Burials took place in the cemetery until 1787. Today it contains some 12,000 tombstones, although the number of persons buried here is much greater. It is assumed that the cemetery contains several burial layers placed on top of each other. The picturesque groups of tombstones from various periods emerged through the raising of older stones to the upper layers. The most prominent person buried in the Old Jewish Cemetery is without a doubt the great religious scholar and teacher Judah Loew ben Bezalel, known as Rabbi Loew (d. 1609), who is associated with the legend of the Golem.

We continued our tour in the Jewish Section and entered the Ceremonial Hall, which was turned into a nice and interesting museum.

Next, we arrived at The Maisel Synagogue, which was built in 1590 - 1592 by the Mayor of the Jewish Town, Mordechai Maisel, who funded the extensive Renaissance reconstruction of the ghetto

Our last stop in the Jewish Section was the Spanish Synagogue. The Synagogue was built in 1868 on the site of the oldest Prague Jewish house of prayer ("the Old Shul"). The interior of the Synagogue is very nice and very rich with antique furniture, beautiful paintings, and a huge organ.

We opted to walk back to our hotel. The sky was clear with cool breeze coming from the river. At one spot we just stood at the bank of the river with admiration as nature performed one of the most beautiful scenes: “Sunset over the River”. Some people, standing next to us, were actually clapping their hands as the sun had finally disappeared.

We arrived to the New City and found a cute little restaurant, where we sat for about an hour tasting all kind of local goodies, while sipping on local red wine.

After dinner we located an Internet café’ inside a mall and then walked back to our hotel at around 10:00.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

Day 18 – October 12th, 2007

We woke up at around 6:00 and after breakfast took the metro to the Bus Central Station where we boarded the bus to the concentration camp Terezin.

The ride took about an hour and we arrived into the city by the same name. We then walked about 1 kilometer to the camp.

=====================================================================================================================

We hired an English our guide, who was extremely knowledgeable and gave us the entire history of the camp and the city:

As Hitler transported tens of thousands of communal objects to Prague, their owners were rounded up and shipped first to a city built northwest of Prague in 1780 by Joseph II.

Ironically, this city served as a fortress to protect Prague from invaders to the North. Joseph II named this village after his mother, Maria Teresa, calling it Terezin.

Hitler, the world was to be told, had built a city for the Jews, to protect them from the danger and stresses of the war. A film was made to show this mythic, idyllic city to which his henchmen were taking the Jews from the Czech Lands and eight other countries. Notable musicians, writers, artists, and leaders were sent to the camp. This trick worked for a very long time, to the great detriment of the nearly two hundred thousand men, women and children who passed through its gates where one of them, we noticed, had the famous “Arbeit Macht Frei” sign on the top.

Of the vast majority of Czech Jews who were taken to Terezin, 97,297 died among whom were 15,000 children. Only 132 of those children were known to have survived!

==============================================================================================================================================================================

The Red Cross was allowed to visit Terezin once. The village of Terezin was spruced up for the occasion. Certain inmates were dressed up and told to stand at strategic places along the specially designated route through Terezin. Shop windows along that carefully guarded path were filled with goods for the day. Even the candy shop window overflowed with bon-bons creating a fantastic illusion she would never forget.

The Red Cross concluded that the Jews were being treated all right.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

In the town of Terezin, the population had normally been around 5,000 people before the war. At the height of the war, the Ghetto/Concentration Camp Terezin held over 55,000 Jews. As a consequence, starvation and disease proved rampant. Thousands died of malnutrition and exposure. Their bodies were cremated at the small crematorium with its four gas ovens.
This was not a death camp, by the usual definition. There is no way to compare Terezin to Auschwitz or Treblinka or any of the other death camps where hundreds of thousands were gassed or murdered in other ways each year. Terezin, by comparison was a place to which people would apply so as to avoid a worse fate.

The elderly and families were brought in large numbers to Terezin. Then, in large groups, they were transported to the East, to Auschwitz-Birkenau, when it was fully operational in late 1942. There, the elderly were sent immediately to the gas chambers while the younger inmates who still could work, were temporarily spared. Terezin families were, in some instances, kept together at Birkenau, in family barracks, until their fate was met.

We spent about three hours in the camp and then walked back to the city, and entered the Ghetto Museum, where we saw photos about the camp and a video about the propaganda made for the Blue Cross delegates. We saw drawings, drawn by inmates and letters written by children. It was a very emotional experience.

As we exited the museum we “bumped” into the three couples we had met yesterday at the Jewish Cemetery and were able to provide them with information about the camp as they headed that way.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

We continued our visit in the ghetto and found The Memorial by Ohre River - where the ashes of the perished prisoners (about 22,000) were thrown to the river in 1944 to destroy the evidence about the incredibly high mortality in the town.

Our tour concluded at the Jewish Cemetery and the Crematorium. The Jewish Cemetery is situated on both sides of the Crematorium and there are 9,000 bodies of victims that died during the first year of the existence of the Ghetto.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

The Crematorium, which was built by the prisoners in 1942, was used by the Nazis to burn over 30,000 corps by the time it was all over.

We caught the last bus out of town and an hour later arrived back to Prague. The driver dropped us off right next to Wenceslas Square. The square is the central axis of the Nové Mesto (New Town), the hub of Prague life and has been the site of memorable events in Czech history. In 1919, when Czechoslovakia gained independence from the Habsburg dynasty, the Republic was proclaimed to cheering crowds in the square. Fifty years later, protesting the lack of resistance to the Soviet invasion, a philosophy student, Jan Palach, set fire to himself in the square. Twenty years later, the unofficial shrine to Jan Palach and other compatriots who followed his example became the rallying point for the Velvet Revolution when a quarter of a million people assembled in the square and began the process of separation from the Soviet Union.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

It was already around 5:00 as we walked down the main boulevard, when we realized that we had nothing to eat since breakfast. We took one of the side streets and found “Chicago Pub” where we had a delicious dinner.

We had one more stop to make and we found it without any problems. The Astronomical Clock Tower dates back to the beginning of the 15th century. The lower part of the clock tower shows 12 medallions with the signs of the zodiac. At exactly 6:00 we witnessed the highlight of this beautiful clock: the hourly procession of the Twelve Apostles. Every hour on the hour, a small trap door opens and Jesus marches out ahead of his disciples, while the skeleton of death tolls the bell to a defiant statue of a Turk.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

Before heading back to our hotel we

walked around the Old Town Square (Staromestske Namesti). The square is one of two main squares in the city centre (the other is Wenceslas Square). With its ancient buildings and magnificent churches, this is one of the most beautiful historical sights in Europe. Dating back to the late 12th century, the Old Town Square started life as the central marketplace for Prague. Over the next few centuries, many buildings of Romanesque, Baroque and Gothic styles were erected around the market, each bringing with them stories of wealthy merchants and intrigue. At the centre of the square we stood in front of the Jan Hus statue, erected on the 6th July 1915 to mark the 500th anniversary of the reformer’s death.

We walked to our hotel and got busy packing our bags, preparing them for tomorrow’s long flight home. We also asked the hotel receptionist to reserve a taxi for tomorrow at 4:30 AM.

==============================================================================================================================================================================

Day 19 – October 13th, 2007

We woke up at 4:00 and as we arrived to the street with our luggage, the taxi was already waiting for us.

We made it to the airport in 25 minutes and waited to board a plane to Paris. The flight was delayed and we boarded the plane about a couple of hours later. I already knew that we are going to have all kind of problems in Paris, where our connection flight to LAX was scheduled to leave an hour BEFORE we would arrive. As we landed in Charles De Gaul Airport, we started our adventures of finding the gate, for the connection flight. We changed two buses and ran across a couple of terminals and finally arrived at the gate, where to our pleasant surprise the plane was waiting for us. And I mean: JUST FOR US. It was funny when the passengers clap their hands as we boarded to plane. They were told, by the crew, that because of all kind of flight delays, the plane is going to wait till all passengers, who booked with this flight, will be aboard. We were the last two they were waiting for.

Eleven hours later we landed in Los Angeles.

To my surprise, the luggage made it as well!!

More Journals

Eastern Europe (2007)

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Eastern Europe (2007)

About Me