Koln - Dom

We went up the spire of the Dom. A very long walk. I was disappointed because it was not at all as I recalled from a visit there in about 1980. I think it has a little to do greater emphasis on safety these days. My memory had close ups of flying buttresses and gargoyles. B

Koln

We went from Munich to Brussels to meet up with the Seraphim Choir via Cologne - Neil had not been there and wanted to see the cathedral , which is a ripper I'd have to agree.

It was a gay pride festival so the streets were packed.

Streets of Budapest

No that is not a song title.

Budapest is a city in transition. A huge amount of restoration/renovation has happened in the past sixteen years since the Soviets left. Enough for the visitor to see it was an extremely beautiful city. Another five to ten years and it will be amazing again.

Terror in Hungary

Dr Crumble suggested we visit a museum called The House of Terror. Dr Quake didn't feel to keen, however we went anyway.

On one of the most fashionable streets of Budapest, the facility was used by the Fascists in their relatively short reign and then the NKVD when the Soviets "liberated" Hungary in 1945 and just didn't go home. Or not until 1991 at least.

At street level it is one building but at cellar level, where all the interrogations and torture happened, it extended for the whole city block.

The huge banner is three storeys high and carries life sized etched images of the faces of all the people who died there. In a separate room they had images of the faces of the people who did the torturing. The creepy thing was that for the most part you could have interchanged them, so ordinary did the torturers look.

Oh. The flag. The abortive uprising (post Melbourne Olympic Games and the infamous Hungary/USSR waterpolo match) went for 13 days only before the tanks rolled in. The symbol of revolt is the national flag with a great big hole in the middle. That is where the protesters had ripped out the Soviet emblem previously superimposed on their flag.

St Stephen

St Stephen is the patron saint of Hungary. If I recall correctly he was an early king who did a pretty fair sort of job.
So career path: soldier, officer, victory, king, saint. That is Stephen on the horse, sitting very still. Well they both are really, when you look closely.

The huge church on the flat of Pest named after him is magnificent. Quake and Crumble both went beserk in here with cameras so editing down the resulting collection has been a challenge.

Parliament building in Budapest

This gave a real sense of deja vu. It was the big building on the river front in the previous post.

Where have you seen this before?

Castle complex in Buda

From the castle in hilly Buda you get a pretty good view of the mighty Elb and flat Pest.

There are some pretty cool bridges over the Elb.

St Matthias Church

This is one of the cathedral variety, part of the castle complex on top of the hill in Buda. Magyar Kings were always crowned here. A clever early choice of Queen: the Virgin Mary. Top that. Even Diana would have a struggle there I think.

Holocaust in Hungary

I hadn't realised how very late in the war the Nazis invaded Hungary - late 1944. A population of 600,000 Jews was reduced to 100,000 in the space of a whole fortnight. Especially tragic given the war in Europe was over by June 1945.

The old synagogue (above left) is being restored. The new one looks more like a church on the inside, but anyway. Out back is has a beautiful memorial garden, the gift of the Tony Curtis Foundation. There is a name on every leaf of the menorah shaped weeping willow.

And Raoul Wallenberg of Schindler's List fame is remembered here too. That's him in the bust. He was whisked off behind the Iron Curtain when the Soviets liberated Hungary and was never heard of again.

Concert at Mesen

Another absolute highlight was the really sublime concert the Seraphim gave in the church at Mesen on the Wednesday night.

They were in the zone. The venue had great acoustics. Everyon eliving in MEsen was there - it was chockers. The girls were in good voice and revelled in having an appreciative audience (as distinct from the very clinical and silent reception as part of the rules in the festival at Pardubicce). Ella had devised a really good program with all sacred music in the first half and music from around the world in the second. And within that she had set it so there was light and shade. The townsfolk didn't know what had hit them really. It was a sensation. The reception with the Mayor afterwards was a very happy event.

Last Post at the Menin Gate

In gratitude the people of Ieper perform a Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate at 8.30pm each evening and have done essentially every day pretty much since the end of WW I. There was a hiccup during WWII when it was less regular and done in hiding in nearby woods.

Seraphim sang three pieces at this and there was a short wreath laying.

The Menin Gate

This is a massive structure at Ieper.
Same kind of height and width as the Arc de Triomphe, but way deeper.

The photo of the bronze model gate gives an idea of how many internal panels there are between the external pillars.

On each panel there are 7 columns of names. The panels are enormously high.
Then there are the stairways on each side up to the ramparts. Every vertical section is covered in names.

There are 55,000 in all, from Canada, South Africa, India, Australia and the countries of the UK. No Kiwis. The NZ government of the day decided to commemorate NZ fallen and missing at the site of the battlefield where they fell.

Seraphim Choir at Tyne Cot Cemetery

There are 90th anniversary commemorations all through this year. There were a lot of battles in 1917. It got a bit confusing. This July do was to do with the Battle of Passchendaele, also called the 3rd Battle of Ieper (Ypres in French). There is something big coming up in October too.

Anyway, Queen Elizabeth of England and Queen Beatrice of Belgium were at this one, along with Dr Quake. SO they were in good company really.

Tyne Cot Cemetery

This is a very large concentration cemetery.

Oh. And poppies still do grow in Flanders fields.

Polygon Wood

Quite a big cemetery here.
The cross of sacrifice stands on an embankment which is quite a bit hgher than the cemetery and the altar of remembrance.