While Toto could have taken a boat upstream on the Danube River from Belgrade, Serbia to Budapest, Hungary, he chose to take a bus for six hours instead.
Budapest is actually two cities that span the Danube River. Buda is on the Western bank and Pest is on the Eastern bank. I think it’s neat how they refer to the city by the combined name outside Hungary, but when you are in the city, people actually use the appropriate real city name, such as, "Let's meet in Pest at 7 o'clock," or, "I live in Buda near the castle."
I think that Budapest is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. Because it is the capital of the country of Hungary, there is a gorgeous parliament building on the Pest side of the Danube river. A parliament is an elected group of politicians who represent the people and make laws, like the Congress in the United States. The parliament building is where the parliament meets to make laws, like the Capitol Building in Washington DC for the U.S. Congress. (Can you see the tug boat pushing a barge up the Danube River in this picture?)
The city of Buda also has a castle built for the emperors on the hill. Here is a picture of me next to the castle gates.
I always think Hungary is a funny name for a country, especially since the food is good and you never go hungry in Hungary! Actually, the name in the Hungarian language is “Magyar.” They refer to themselves as Magyars, which was the name of the tribe that first settled the region.
One of the specialty foods in Hungary is marzipan, a sweetened paste made from almonds. The interesting thing about marzipan is that you can color it and mold it into sculptures that can last for a very long time. It is often used to make flowers on wedding cakes, for example. I went to the marzipan museum and saw this model of the parliament building made out of marzipan. I also saw this marzipan sculpture of the Muppets, which I thought was well done.
Another thing Hungary is known for is its hot springs. Long ago there were volcanoes in Hungary. There are still areas of warmth underground today, which heat up the underground water. Sometimes the warm water comes to the surface as a hot spring. For centuries, the Hungarians and their neighbors have swum in these hot lakes or pumped the naturally warm mineral water into man-made bath houses. Budapest has four or five of these. It’s very common for a family to spend a Saturday or Sunday swimming and relaxing in these hot baths year round.
I went to a famous Hungarian hot spring called Heviz. It’s a very old crater lake with a soft mud bottom, from which heated water rises constantly. There’s an inactive volcano below the lake, which erupted a long, long time ago and made the crater. Spring water filled up the crater to make the lake, but the water was warm because of the volcano left some warm rocks under the earth here. Today, it only takes three days for the water in this lake to be replaced by the warm spring water flowing up from the ground. The old water flows out into a stream.
Many old people whose joints hurt from old age come to Heviz to soak in the water. They say the warm water, and all the minerals in it, makes their joints feel better. It must be true, because there were a lot of old people floating in inner tubes among the water lilies and red flowers. Perhaps if your grandparents have arthritis, you can suggest they take a vacation to Heviz, Hungary!
The other thing I saw in Hungary that I thought you would enjoy was buildings with roofs made of straw. These are called, “thatched roofs” because another word for the kind of straw used is “thatch”. The owners have to continually replace some of the roof with new straw as the thatch can rot over time from the weather. Can you see the new straw on this thatched roof? (Remember, double click on any photo to see a larger version of it.) I always find it amazing that straw can keep out the rain if the roof is made properly. I enjoyed seeing this old construction technique still in use today.
Hungary Travel Questions
- The cities of Buda and Pest span which river?
- What is the Hungarian word for "Hungary?"
- Define "parliament."
- What is marzipan? What is it used for?
- How does the water in the Hungarian hot springs get heated?
- Why do old people come to Heviz to soak in the warm waters of the lake?
- What is a thatched roof made of?
- Why do people with thatched roofs need to continually add new thatch on the roof?
Global Citizen questions on Hungary
- Draw a picture of your family visiting the hot springs one weekend.
- What other things can you do to make aching muscles or joints feel better? Is there anything sort of like going to a hot springs?
- What would you like to make out of marzipan? Would it be to eat, like flowers on a wedding cake, or just to look at, like the model of the Parliament building Toto saw? If you could make your marzipan any flavor, what would it be?
- Into what sea does the Danube River flow? (Hint, the Danube flows from the North to the South through Hungary.)
- Invent a city like Budapest, made up of two different cities really close together, and think up a name for it, combining the names of the two cities. What’s the history of your city? What separates the cities from each other, the way the river divides Budapest? What makes the two smaller cities different from each other?
- Do a search to find out what the Hungarian flag looks like. Draw it.
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