BUDAPEST'S PARLIAMENT

                                A Spectacular Building

            On two previous visits to Budapest I had only seen the Parliament building from the outside, and from the water it is spectacular. As the largest, most beautiful, and best-known building in Budapest, it is one of the symbols of the city and on this visit my number one priority was to tour the inside of the building.

            We left early in the morning to ride the subway to the proper station, which was easy. We had been told that various tours were held in various languages. It was a bit of a challenge to find the right entrance to buy tickets, and when we finally did we had missed the English tour by a few minutes. We bought tickets for the next one, an hour and a half later.  There is not a lot to do in the immediate area of the Parliament building. The river was high and the steps leading from street down to the river were under water more than half way up and blocked off.  We walked along the Danube River and walked across the famous Chain Bridge. My traveling buddy on this trip was not much of a walker and I exhausted her walking across the bridge where on the other side she didn’t want to walk any farther. So we backtracked and found a café to sit and enjoy a cup of café while we waited for our tour.

          The Parliament House is a neo-gothic structure with a renaissance dome. It is one of the largest state buildings in Europe.1945 was the only time before 1990 that an elective legislature convened in its great hall.

Resembling Westminster, it was built 1885-1902. Its 691 rooms occupy 17,700 square meters.  Measuring 871 feet long and 383 feet wide, it is one of the largest parliaments in the world. The dome is 312 feet high. The building can be seen from most anywhere on the riverfront

Fifty 5-story apartment blocks could fit inside this huge building. There are 27 entrance gates. We walked up the 96 step grand entrance hall over the red carpet. This hall is magnificent.  There are 90 statues and coat of arms of Hungarian cities, and 152 statues and pictures of national fauna throughout the building. There also are 40 kilos of 22-23 karat gold used in the building.

The central dome hall has stain glass windows. The inner dome is 27 meters high while the outside dome is 96 meters high. I wished I could lay down on the floor to better view the ceiling frescos. From the central dome there are two identical wings. The red star on top of the dome was removed in 1990. Walking down one hall the guide stopped to point out the brass cigar holders that line the window sills outside the debate room. One would place his cigar in a numbered slot and it would continue to burn for as long as the gentleman was in session. I tried to photograph this unique piece of memorabilia but had little success.

The inside of Budapest’s parliament is spectacular! The Hungarian Holy Crown and coronation insignia are kept here under the central dome. We arrived just as the guards were changing.

You know nearly every venue exits through the inevitable gift shop. There was so much to see on this tour, I simply couldn’t write fast enough as the docent explained one thing after another, so I was desperately looking forward to buying a book in the gift shop. But it was not to be, because believe it or not, Parliament did not have a gift shop!  For the rest of my stay in Budapest I checked every bookstore I could find but could not find any kind of a book that explained the history and the building’s contents or features.

The tour was well worth our time. If I ever get back to Budapest I’ll repeat it again to obtain more information. It is truly a gorgeous building.

KILLARNEY, IRELAND

                                        Muckross House

           

            In Killarney, Ireland we started this visit in the restaurant where we enjoyed a late morning pastry and tea before a well-informed, young, male docent met us to tell us all about this marvelous house. He started by saying, “The red wallpaper was made in Paris in preparation of Queen Victoria’s 1861 visit. Preparations for this visit took five years and bankrupted the owner who was looking for a title from the queen. However, shortly after she returned to England, Prince Albert died and all thoughts of a title faded.”

            The lovely mahogany table in the center of the room measured 6 X 18 feet. Several smaller tables in the house had the most gorgeous intricate inlay work I’ve ever seen. They were gorgeous.  Ornate plaster ceilings dated back to the 1800s.

            A Spanish leather screen in the drawing room had great detail and color. The Waterford chandelier sparkled like diamonds. Oak floors throughout the house were original.  The game room walls were covered with silk, hand-painted Chinese wallpaper. The rope design banister on the front staircase was a contrast to the plain rail on a staircase in the back of the house.

            Muckross has 70 rooms and at one time housed 23 servants. The house had no running water for 31 years, thus the small bathtub  looked more like a foot bath. A look out the window in the master bedroom revealed a fantastic view of the lake and mountains---a picture postcard view!

            In Victorian days all children, that includes boys, were dressed in lace and looked like girls, in fear of a son being kidnapped. What an interesting tidbit!

            The Queen’s bedroom was rather plain with a brass chandelier. Electricity was not installed in the house until 1970! Queen Victoria was fearful of fire so carried along her own firemen as part of her compliment of 100 attendants! She also carried her own bed with her. She stayed at Muckross two days. She thought the Ring of Kerry (a circular road thru the countryside) was beautiful and in effect put the area on the map.

             The old servants’ dining room in the basement now houses the weaving room where beautiful scarves and other items are made.  The bell corridor displays most of the 32 original bells—each a different size and shape making its own distinctive sound. When servants delivered food they had to whistle all the way to prove they were not nibbling enroute!

            The house was delightful and the informative docent made for a memorable visit. 

            On this Ireland trip there were several times that we were able to get in some short walks or strolls. They were a pleasant respite and always in lovely scenic places.

            Our first stroll was after seeing the Cliffs of Moher. The van driver stopped to let us out so we could  stroll down a country lane---just one car wide---to Donnagal Castle. The lane was lined with wild blackberry bushes. I think by the time we were picked us up I had picked and eaten at least a pint of berries—vine ripened they were so good!

            A day or two later on our way to Cork we stopped to walk through the beautiful wooded grounds of Donnarail. In the 1700s St.Ledger bought the estate and its 400 acres of woodlands. Then he hired Lancelot Capability Brown to landscape it. Clusters of trees were left, but grasslands were extended and the river diverted. The result was magnificent! It was a wonderful walk up to the castle which was under restoration. What a view they had from their front windows! I even found a fairy tree here.

            In Kinsale we walked the paved Scilly (pronounced silly) trail that weaves alongside homes overlooking the harbor. The landscaping on the hill’s homes hid them from the path below. There were fewer blackberries here, but I still managed to pick and eat a cup full. It was a lovely warm day and the scenery was exceptional. I hated to see the path end at the city. Generally we had the trails to ourselves.

ENGLEBERG, SWITZERLAND

                                A Quaint Mountain Village

            Engleberg means Mountain of angels. After getting tickets at the Titlis rail station we boarded gondolas. Half way up the mountain we transferred from the small gondolas to a large standup gondola for the ride to next platform. Finally we transferred into the Rotair, the world’s only rotating gondola.  Also  a large standup gondola, the floor rotates 360 degrees in minutes. It was pretty impressive and when we came out of the clouds the gondola was filled with a chorus of ohs and ahs. What a view!

            At the top of this glacier people were playing in the snow. It was very slippery but not as cold as I had expected. At 10,627’ it was a little misty but not enough to obstruct our view or to get  wet. We were just standing in the clouds!

            An ice cave was constructed in 1974-78. It is 427-feet long and has a constant temperature of 30-31 degrees. There are several rooms in the cave. It was pretty unusual. It takes ten years for one meter of snow to become ice. The ice in this glacier ranges from 15-50 meters deep. (48-162’).

            After being well cooled in the cave many of us stopped in the café for a hot drink. When we were all warmed up again we took the Rotair down to the next platform which was called Trubsee meaning the lake of sorrows. We hiked around the relatively small lake stoppimg many times to examine and learn the names of the many alpine flowers that were in bloom. It was an easy hike on a well-maintained gravel path. About three-quarters of the way around, a path to Engleberg headed off to our right. The sign said an hour.

            When hiking in Switzerland the signs are always posted in time, not miles. The Swiss do not talk about miles or meters when hiking, only the length of time it takes to get somewhere.

            Most of us decided to take this side path. Why not hike instead of riding the gondola down! The footpath in reality turned out to be a cow path. It was mucky in spots. There were a lot of slippery rocks and a lot of climbing up and down over them. So, we all played mountain goat for the next 2 ½ hours!

            After going a few hundred feet I was about ready to turn back, but it looked like it got better up ahead. It did, but not for long. However, by the time it turned mucky again we really had reached the point of no return so we trudged on. When, over two hours later, we finally hit level ground several of us were ready to pay some farmer to give us a ride to the railway station! Since no farmer or motor vehicle was in sight we continued on. When we rounded the last turn in the road I felt like shouting, “There’s the station. I can’t believe we all made it!” We found our guide and the couple of people who elected not to hike waiting for us at a picnic table.

            Before leaving this quaint little city we took time to visit the 1120 Benedictine Monastery which was only a short walk from the station, and I for one was happy to be on level ground. There are still a couple dozen monks living at the monastery. In 1729 the monastery burned down and was rebuilt in splendid baroque style.

            The charming little village is defined by the monastery and the Collegiate Church. Switzerland's largest church organ, the impressive Collegiate Library, the Valley Museum, a show dairy and a manor house are to be found here. The little old priest who met us was as sweet as can be, but he rambled on and on. Maybe he was lonesome for someone to talk to. He was justly proud of the inlay woodwork throughout the monastery which was absolutely gorgeous. Such fine craftsmanship! We spent a lot of time in a couple of rooms and saw less than we had anticipated, but enjoyed listening to the priest and his stories.

COSTA RICAN HOT SPRINGS

                                 Fun But Different Experiences

On my second trip to Costa Rica we had lunch at the Tabacon Hot Springs Resort. Entering the resort an attendant placed a plastic wristband on our right hand. This gave us the privilege after lunch of partaking of the thermal pools. Lunch was exceptionally good, but few of us tarried as we were anxious to get in the pools.         

After changing into our bathing suits we were given a locker and towel. In the river at the foot of Arenal volcano there are several man-made pools. In addition there are several pools among the lush tropical landscape. Pool temperatures ranged from rather cool to almost steamy hot. One even had a waterfall, and that warm water falling on the neck and back was heavenly!

After trying several of the pools, both in the river and among the tropical vegetation my son and I settled by ourselves in the uppermost pool. Because it had two streams running into it there were areas of both warm and cool temperatures. Pretty neat.

One couple in our small group lived on another planet. They had had a slew of shots before the trip---none are necessary---and in the beginning talked about the fear of Dengue fever. So it was no surprise to learn that they had not even packed bathing suits. How clean could those pools be? Wow, did they miss out. In general this couple was a real pain in the neck. I hope wherever they are they might read this and identify themselves.

We stayed in the pools as long as possible, and begrudgingly got out when it was time to leave. Our skin was  pretty pruney anyway. It had been great fun and the gorgeous scenery was absolutely spectacular.

Our hotel was only ten minutes away. Our single bungalow  faced directly across from Arenal volcano. It was going to be a good night!

            On my third trip to the country, with grandchildren, we visited Baldi Spa and Springs.  It was at the end of a hot, humid day when we arrived looking for some cooling relief. This is a large facility, and again there were many pools of varying temperatures. The landscaping was tropical, lush and lovely, but my preference was that of Tabacon. The big attraction for the kids was the large water slide. They couldn’t get enough of it. Their mother stressed the importance of following the rules.

            But some smart-aleck fellow decided that the rules applied to everyone else and went head first down the slide.  He let out a blood curdling cry when he hit the bottom dislocating his shoulder. My daughter was the first to reach him and it took four people to pull on him to relieve his pain. Another fellow somehow cut his head hard enough to bleed.  

           Arenal volcano was the backdrop at both resorts.   Two different hot springs in the same area and two different experiences, influenced much by the crowd and facility. Baldi was aimed more toward families with children, a little more Disneyland, where Tabacon was aimed more toward relaxing and the adult population.