May Day Weekend

May Day in Europe is widely celebrated as a national holiday and we had the opportunity to expand our horizons into the Slovak Republic and Hungary.  The primary focus of our weekend with Danny and Renata Popelářovi was a visit to Bratislava (Slovak Republic) and Budapest (Hungary) with, of course, the opportunity to see the country side and peel off to other areas of interest.  The long and short of it all is that both cities were marvelous-- for very different reasons.

Bratislava Castle with Old Town
down the hill.

Stairs to the Castle

We found Bratislava a 'large small town' in that it was relatively compact and very warm and friendly. We were there only overnight with half-days either side but were at home with the cozy parks and rows of restaurants and bars; not to mention a very enjoyable stroll along the banks of the Danube.  The city is laid out with the Castle on a high hill, and the old walled city at the bottom of the hill bordering the Danube. The city is located in southwestern Slovakia.  Its location on the borders with Austria and Hungary makes it the only national capital that boarders two other countries; additionally it is only 38 miles from the border with the Czech Republic and only 37 miles from the Austrian capital Vienna.  This location reflects some interesting politics in its past. In fact, did you know that during the post-WWI revolution of 1918 - 1919, the name 'Wilsonstadt' (after President Woodrow Wilson) was proposed by American Slovaks, since Wilson supported national self-determination.  The name Bratislava, which was used before only by some Slovak patriots, became official only in March 1919.  ...but anything further is for your world history classes and not this blog.

With Parliament Building
in the background across the Danube.

Liberty Statue on Gelle'rt Hill.
Soviet monuments used to
stand at the base.

Budapest, on the other hand, is a mega-city.  It teemed with flocks of tourists and associated busses; large crowds following the ever present small flag atop a stick carried by the tour guides.  The city is reportedly the largest physical city in Europe but, don't get me wrong, it is a gotta-see place.  The Budapest you'll see today is the result of many years of rich history, with traces of inhabitation dating back as far as the second millennium BCE.  Hungarian tribes arrived at the end of the ninth century and the Hungarian Kingdom was established in 1000. The city today was formed in 1873 through the joining of Buda and Obuda (old Buda) on the hilly west bank of the Danube and the city of Pest on the flat east bank.  We managed to walk almost 20 miles in the two days we visited and never failed to find something unique and interesting -- not to mention something high as we visited Gellért Hill, a highly visible

'Pest' from 'Buda'

spot which was the prior home to several large Soviet monuments.  Very impressive is the Hungarian Parliament building across the river from the Buda Castle and of interest are the myriad of boats of every kind plying the river from freight to the large passenger boats cruising the length of the Danube.






However, one of the more enjoyable places we visited was on the way out of Budapest, on the

Soviet monument moved from
base of 'Liberty' on Gelle'rt Hill.

outskirts, the Memento Park.  After the Soviets left in the late 1980's,

Quintessential Soviet era monument.

the large assortment of monuments erected during the previous 70-ish years were not all just torn down and destroyed.  A select group was collected and moved to this park for display.  It was a treat to actually see the statues with their distinct bombastic style.





And finally, on the return trip just before Bratislava we visited the

UP......

Gabčíkovo dam. The dam is only one of several planned during the Soviet period which would have been located on both the Hungarian and Slovakian sections of the Danube.  Construction was in progress when the Soviets left and after years of bickering over the contract the Slovaks finished their dam and the project ended.  I was personally intrigued with the lock structure which allowed the large boats running the Danube to pass the dam area.

... and DOWN

 In our trips back and forth to Florida we have to deal with a locks on the Intracoastal Waterway but at worst is, maybe, six feet variation.  The dam has locks which raised or lowered the boats 59 feet, a 10-fold increase.  This is the only lock on the Danube and we were fortunate to actually see it in operation.