Today's Shenanigans

This weekend lovely Halloween weekend I have been enjoying in Budapest. Today a few of us decided to walk around and take in the city.

Spoil Alert: Parts of this post contain depressing aspects of history. If you're a sensitive person, you've been warned!

On the Danube bank lies a Jewish memorial, which honors the thousands of Hungarian Jews who lost their lives to the Fascist Arrow Cross Party who ruled Budapest during World War II. This party forced thousands of Hungarian Jews to take off their shoes and line along the Danube river as they were shot and killed. What many of the history books don't tell you (hell they don't really mention this bit of history at all) is that Hungary, like much of the WWII world, was facing shortages because of the war. Bullets were hard to come by, and they were saved for when they needed them most. To save on ammunition, Arrow Cross leaders would bind Jews together along the river bank. They only had to shoot one, and the rest would go with them and drown in the river. Today there are statues of shoes to represent all the things these innocent people left behind. Although it's a small memorial, it's one of the most powerful memorials I have ever seen. I have had the pleasure of seeing it at night (a couple of weeks ago) and today during the light. 

Here are the pictures I took at night:

These are the pictures I took this morning:

It's overwhelmingly emotional when you stand in the very same spot where thousands were murdered before you.

Because this memorial is so close to Parliament, I took some photos of that too (because the 200 I already have of this building is not enough). 

After an emotional visit at the memorial, we headed to Deak Square. Today they had lots of little markets with food (nom) and handmade items. In case you did not know this, Budapest has gotten pretty chilly lately. It did not take us long before we decided we needed some Gulyas (Hungarian Goulash) to warm us up. We spent the rest of the afternoon huddled under some blankets and space heaters while enjoying our favorite traditional Hungarian Dish. 

It was a great day walking out and about in Budapest. I'm amazed everyday at how much I love this city. I never want to leave.