Tuesday, October 27, 2009

The Belgrade Cathedral in Hungary

Unfortunately, I have not just purchased the world's largest zoom lense but the cathedral in Szentendre is called the Belgrade Cathedral in honour of the Serb population who built it and it is pretty spectacular due to the red pain that covers the walls and the tower - making sure that it really stands out across the town

Unfortunately, when we were there, it was closed as it has some pretty interesting icons and the like inside but we were able to walk the the slightly unkempt gardens and admire the marvellous building itself

There was also a museum of Serbian culture in the grounds of the Cathedral as well but we were there at lunch time and so that was closed too so we were not able to discover more about the Serb culture that has existed in this part of the world for such a long time - but which given the fluctuations between rulers and religions has passed backwards and forwards over the centuries

Posh chimney pots and interesting shop signs


Szentendre, as well as being very pretty and on the banks of the river, had some rather elaborate chimney pots on display as well as some rather traditional shop signs - either that or they are works of art and I am too uncultured to realise!

Nose under a doorway


Corvin Kor memorial

October 23rd is a national holiday in Hungary to celebrate the bravery and lives of those who were killed in the anti-Soviet Uprising in 1956. One of the key centres of the Uprising was the square at Corvin Kor which provided a really strong tactical position as it dominated 2 of the main roads into the city - Ulloi utca and the Korut - vital for the supply and management of any siege that either side may have tried to mount.

The symbol of the resistance is a statue of a boy, called the Boy of Pest and he is annually covered in wreathes and flowers on the 23rd as people turn up to pay their respects - the building has plaques that commerate the lives of those who were involved in the uprising and died either as a result, or later in prison or in exile and is a small oasis of calm off one of the main roads in the city

A very traditional Hungarian pub name - I think not!


Little Serbia in Hungary

On Saturday, as there was no rugby to play, we took a trip on the HEV from Margit Island to the town of Szentendre, the first town in the Danube Bend after leaving Budapest.

Whilst being a complete tourist trap in the height of summer, it is easy to see the appeal of this small town that has enjoyed an interesting history due to the large influence of Serbs following the Turkish invasion of Serbia in the 14th and 15th Century - to the extent that the architecture is very balkan in style - especially the Orthodox Catherdral, with its red tower and walls and the small cobble streets - reminding us of parts of Zagreb (couldnt really comment on how much like Serbia it is as have only been to Belgrade)

Now the town does not really have any Serbian connection and the population is very much Magyar but the influence remains.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

First snows of the winter?



The view from the window on my plan flying back into Prague from Riga was a pretty spectacular this afternoon with the first snows of the winter being visible on the top of the mountains - I am not sure that the photos do the views justice but...

Strange conversations I have overheard

Sitting in hotel lobbies means that without any effort, you can end up overhearing some weird and wonderful topics of conversation, but the one I have been ear wigging on this morning probably takes the prize so far

The concept of a long range and/or short range sniper rifle being discussed by 3 deep south american gentlemen in the hotel lobby in Riga - certainly there seems to be some professional differences of opinion and I have no idea what the final outcome of the conversation was but if I catch up with them, I will update!


 

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Early morning sunrise in Latvia


Having arrived at 1am last night, it was great to be greeted by the sun this morning - especially considering that the last time I was here was white night time and so there was over 20 hours of daylight - this time, it is the other way round (or certainly moving that way)

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

St George and his Dragon - this time in Prague

It would appear that St George, so beloved in England, can be a little fickle with his affections, especially in Central and Eastern Europe. He is also to be found in the castle in Prague - this may of course have something to do with a suggestion that the Dragon represents not a real dragon, but the Turks, and St George is the christian army defeating them and so in this part of the world, it has some real meaning.
Personally I prefer the story of some little bloke on a horse fighting a huge dragon to save a damsel in distress but then again, I did always have my head in the clouds a little

Believe it or not, its a Skoda


Whilst we were in Prague, we saw some amazing Skodas - here is one of the best, and not it is not a joke!!

Operation Anthropoid and the Church of St Cyril and Methodius


On a small street, less than 5 minutes walk from the river in Prague is small church, one of the hundreds that seem to be dotted about the city - and it is one of the less impressive ones but it was the scene of the culmination of one of the most incredible stories of bravery of WWII.

In 1942, Operation Anthropoid was put into operation - the idea being to assasinate Reinhard Heydrich, at the time, the 3rd most powerful main in the Third Reich - and someone seen as a potential successor to Hitler. He was also the 'Protector' of Bohemia-Moravia (Czechoslovakia) and more importantly, the author of the Final Solution - the programme to clear Europe of the Jewish race. Arguably, one of the most evil and notorious men in a regime known to be crammed full of evil and notorious men, he was also known as the 'Butcher of Prague' and his cruelty would appear to have not been limited by any moral or philosophical boundaries

In May 1942, 2 Czech agents of the SOE, parachuted into occupied Czechoslovakia, along with 6 other agents, 1 of whom would turn betrayer for the sum of 1 million Reichsmarks and a new identity, with the plan to assasinate Heydrich as he drove to work one morning.

Ultimately, their operation did not go to plan and they were forced to abandon their previous escape route and take refuge in the church, with 5 of the other operatives, where they were eventually surrounded and took shelter in the crypt (not before 3 of the party had taken poison and committed suicide). After several days of unrelenting attack with bullets, explosives and even an attempt to flood them out by the occuping forces, the remaining 4 men killed themselves - but not before they had managed to succeed in the overall mission as Heydrich died of blood poisoning following complications in surgey to remove shrapnel caused by the SOE attack.

Jan Kubis and Jozef Gabcik were certainly brave men - they escaped from Czechoslavkia after the invasion in 1939, joined the French Foreign Legion, fought in the fall of France in 1940 where they were both decorated for their bravery and then escaped to England and joined the Free Czech forces - where they were selected for the SOE with the brief to set Europe alight.

The assasination of Heydrich led to some incredibly brutal acts of reprisal from the Nazis, including the total destruction of Lidice, where, as in Oradour-sur-Glane in France, the Nazis liquidated a complete village of around 500 inhabitants, men, women and children - all told, historians estimate that around 5,000 people were murdered in repsonse to the assasination of Heydrich.

As for the man, Karel Curda, who accepted his 30 pieces of silver to betray them, he married a German woman, was given a new identity, worked for the Gestapo and despite it all, was caught, tried and executed for treason in 1947 - I would love to say that he was severaly tortured and divulged his secrets under extreme duress and so was forced to turn traitor but there is no evidence to suggets that he did - it was a decision motivated by greed and money - and this was man who had trained and prepared for the mission with the 7 men he betrayed!


It is possible to visit the crypt of the church where the men took shelter and it has been turned into a small musuem detailing the story of the operation and its aftermath - it is possible to see the last efforts of desperate men as they attempted to tunnel through the crypt wall and into the sewer network as a means of escape but unfortunately, it was all too late for them as the cellar was being flooded

I remember watching a film called 'Operation Daybreak', starring Anthony Andrews and Martin Shaw about this event and beign so sad at the event of it as there was no happy ending but it is even sadder to see where it all took place and to know that there was no way out for the men who took up the challenge and did ultimately sacrifice themselves - but I suspect that the human cost of the war in Central and Eastern Europe would have been a lot higher if Heydrich had been allowed to live, purely given his racial policies and implementation of some abhorant practices

Weather update

Hungarian winter has started to appear around the corner with the temperature set to get down to -3 on Saturday so rugby training could be fun tomorrow, especially if the predicted snow actually materialises - bizarre turn of events considering that it was 25 degrees 10 days ago - soemone has explained to the CEE weather gods about the concept of global warming

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Sleeper train from Prague to Budapest




Yet another first - exploring CEE by train - environmentally friendly, quick and comfortable and saves on the cost of a night in a hotel.

Possibly the way to go even for business trips as long as the times aren't too anti-social although I have no idea what it would be like getting to Riga from Budapest on the train - I suspect there is a reason why people fly!


Unfortunately, we seem to have been abandoned for 2 hours in the middle of the Czech Republic whilst we waited for other trains to join us from around the whole of CEE - Warsaw, Minsk, Moscow, Berlin, Bratislava and a number of other places

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Red Bull airrace - the support acts
























The Red Bull flying team called the Flying Bulls in old Barnstorming planes, a Grummann Wild Cat WWII fighter and a Cobra gunship in the Red Bull colours

Red Bull airrace - the flyers















http://www.redbullairrace.com


with the start to the race being to fly under the Chain Bridge before shooting up and back down the river in a series of serious G turns, this is not a job for the faint hearted - called onto the race course with the immortal lines, 'Smoke on', the pilots are truly flying by the seat of their pants and it is an incredible display of flying - even if we had no idea who won.

Red Bull airrace - the Breitling air display team




















A Swiss watchmakering firms version of the Red Arrows - very impressive, especially over the River Danube with the Parliament and Pest as the backdrop

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breitling_jet_team

Budapest Wine Festival


















5 days long, up in the Castle - wine tasting, food and amazing views. Very simple approach - within your entry ticket you receive a glass and a carrying puch for it and then you buy tokens instead of cash. The wine producers then charge what they think their wine is worth and the measures are not small either!!

It is a great way to taste some of the best wines in Hungary - although not recommended on a Sunday afternoon though