Nice apartment 2 minutes walk from Jason's apartment

Was supposed to meet Jason for breakfast at 9.30 but in the end we meet up at 10.00 am as we are really tired and are woken up at 7.30 am by the smoke alarm. Someone has smoked in their room and the fire brigade turns up!

Me and Harry go to Lidl to get some supplies. Lidl is really cramped!

Huge lemons in Lidl!

Then we walk back and we meet with Jason at Cosy Cafe Budapest. Have a nice breakfast there

Breakfast with the gang

On to the House of Terror. Really long and tiring but very interesting. A bit about the Jews but mostly about the Russian oppression. There is a big chain wall outside which symbolizes the iron curtain. So sad so many people died. Don't tell anyone but I think I have lost my sunglasses.

Remembering those who died under communism

Communist prison

House of terror is exhausting

After that we stop for a snack at Muvesz Kavehaz. I have a Hungarian cold selection of cheeses and salami. It is very nice. Also a really nice fresh lemonade. There is a weird guy at the cafe who looks like he is on drugs but has money so they don't ask him to leave. He is weird and a bit scary. Staff are a bit antipatico.

Pit stop

Nice cafe inside

Walking around the Jewish quarter is so nice. I buy some lovely earrings at a shop called Judapest.

After that off to the Great Synagogue. We take a guided tour which is ok. Didn't give that much info. I love the renovation though and the tree of life in the courtyard. I wonder if we can get our family's name on there?

We then visit the exhibition on the ghetto which I find really interesting. Unfortunately I am tired by now so do not read all the boards but if I had time I would have spent hours in there. Mimmi and Harry are not that interested but Jason and I are in there for ages. I would definitely go back there and also sit in the grounds of the cemetery. Found it weirdly peaceful.

Outside the synagogue

The Great Synagogue

The tree of life

Holocaust Memorial

Love this car in the Jewish quarter!

Now off to Simply Kertz ruin bar. It is nice but I am sooo tired by now and have back ache. Very quirky but stools are not my thing. Turns out Miriam picked up my sunglasses when I left them on a seat in the House of Terror and never said anything So annoying!

Simply Kertz Ruin Bar

Simply Kerzt

Simply Kerzt

Simply Kerzt

The boys chilling

Simply Kerzt

The girls bonding

Off to look at the murals. The one celebrating Hungary's victory over England at football and one of the Rubik's cube.

Victory over England!

Dinner at Koleves. Nice ambiance in a garden setting.

Dinner

The old foggies (Jason and Miriam) go home as tired and Bubi and Boo go bar hopping.

First stop Gozsdu Udvar. It is a sort of passage way with loads of bars, stag parties etc but a bit of fun.

Next stop Spiler bar where we stop for a drink. \240Nice view for Harry of the pole dancers in the bar opposite in full view lol. Couldn't take his eyes off them.

Then tired and we walk home so bar hopping is actually one bar :)

There is so much more I want to do in the Jewish quarter but just not enough time. I could have stayed for weeks.

To bed exhausted and early start tomorrow as off to Lake Baton

Fire alarm goes off AGAIN!

Lake Heviz

Lake Heviz

House in Lake Balaton

Lake Heviz

Lake Balaton

Lake Balaton

Argued with Mimmi about what time to leave as usual as she wants to stay more by the Lake. I planned having dinner by the lake and then driving back but Harry doesn't want to. So rush about trying to find at least a little snippet of the lake to see. Would have liked more time to see more of the lake. It seems really long!

Long drive back to town, quick refresh, park the car then off to dinner at Big Fish. Strange restaurant. You have to order everything at the counter and it is super confusing. Also they refuse to give us dessert as they say the kitchen is closed which I think is out or order. Food is delicious but an expensive meal

Dinner at Big Fish

Walking around we see some beautiful buildings at night

Off for a nice cocktail. Don't remember the name of the bar. It is next to a cigar lounge. The cocktails are amazing. Budapest feels very safe at night

Last stop of the evening and the highlight in my opinion is to bar Giero to listen to authentic gypsy music

Parliament

Kossuth Lanos Ter

Nice tram

We visit a really interesting exhibition on the 1956 revolution. Very sad. It is free and I would really recommend it with interviews from survivors.

After that we walk to the Shoes on the Danube memorial. Heartbreaking

Shoes on the Danube

We then move on to Szechenyi István Ter with a nice view of Castle Hill but the traffic is \240really bad and it is really hot.

We then go into the Pava Udvar hotel. It is a beautiful art deco building. I want to have lunch there but Harry and Minmi say it is too expensive.

Pava Udvar

Szechenyi Istvan Ter

We have a bit of a tiff because we are \240traipsing around looking \240for a place to eat when we could have gone to Pava Udvar! In the end we end up in Hummus bar. The waiter is weird and it is just ok. After lunch we are walking away from the restaurant and a guy barges past us and says " Get out of my way" Rude!

On to visit St Stephen Basilica. Beautiful interior and nice view at the top. Weird mummified hand!

St Stephen Basilica

We then walk to Szabadsag Ter. A nice square with a fun fountain.

At this point Mimmi isn't feeling well so says she will meet us at parliament. We make our way there and Mimmi arrives 1 minute before the booked tour is due to start!

The tour is quite interesting but our one in London is better as you can actually go into the chamber

Parliament

We are knackered after that. Mimmi suddenly is \240feeling better! So she still walks around whilst we take the metro home to relax a bit and then out to dinner at Gettó Gulash with Jason

We then walk about in Gozsdu Udvar, a bar area. It is a bit of fun but Jason is in a bad mood and is a party pooper. Just Chiilax Jason and have a laugh! You won't get that much time to do so with your mum and dad

Gozsdu Udvar

Off to bed. Another exhausting \240day! Tomorrow should be more relaxed

Me on \240the tram

Dad on the tram

Liberty Bridge

We walk up Gellert Hill. It is quite a walk up to the Citadella. We stop half way for a rest on the grass and I stupidly leave my phone there when we start walking again. Luckily Mimmi runs down and finds it.

The walk isn't really worth it as the Citadella is being renovated and you can't really see the view

View barriered off!

A bit of a view

Liberty statue

We then walk down the hill looking for the cave church. Can't find it initially then we finally do. \240We meet two women from Turkey but who live in London. The church is quite unique

Harry praying again

Beautiful wood work

We then go to the Gellert baths. It looks quite Roman. Nice. Jason joins \240us. We actually get some sunbeds. Harry and I leave early as I want to get ready for dinner.

Off to Stand, a 2 star michelin restaurant for Jason's birthday celebration meal. Lovely meal.

Off back to the flat to give Jason his presssies and cake. Hope he likes them! I am not that impressed with the cake to be honest. I am also really worried the candles will set off the smoke alarm but it was all good

Pesti Vigado

We then have lunch at Paris Passage. It is a nice setting but they seat us right in a back bit saying there is a private event in the main part where they are \240playing violin music. Doesn't look at all like a private event, people are working on their laptops and there are lots of free tables. The staff aren't particularly friendly and the service isn't great. The food is ok, nothing special and expensive

Paris Passage

We then go to Gerbeaud Cafe where I have been to with Agi. It is less touristy than the New York Cafe, less spectacular but more genuine. We have some nice cake. No queues to get in and not so expensive. On the way we stop at a chocolate shop and buy some artisan chocolate.

Gerbeaud cafe

We then go our seperate ways to do some shopping. Mimmi wants to come with me but I don't \240want to. I want to go to out of the way shops not on the main tourist drag and she takes ages in every shop she goes into!

I go to a shop selling macaroons, a shop selling artisan chocolates, a shop selling clothes, bags and pictures from Hungarian designers and I buy some pictures, 2 souvenir shops were I buy more pictures and a shop selling embroidered items and I buy \240a tablecloth and runner for the table. They say in the shop that they are \240the only shop in Budapest selling hand made table clothes, yeah right! However when I tell them I am \240half Hungarian they are really nice.

I then walk down Vaci ucta which is the main shopping street. It is very touristy and the restaurants try and get you to go inside. At the end of the road is the covered \240market hall but I don't go inside.

Shops

Vaci ucta

Mimmi never got one of those ha ha

We then take \240a cab to Rosenstein, \240a Jewish restaurant for dinner. It comes highly rated \240but \240to be honest I didn't rate it that highly. Maybe it would have been better if you could actually order what you want on the menu but they only have certain dishes on certain days so the things we wanted were the wrong day.

The above is when the trouble starts and I get really upset. Mimmi and I and all of us really have a massive row. I don't know how the subject of Gaza comes up but I mention that earlier in the day Mimmi got angry because I said that I loved her and I wouldn't let our differences about the war in Gaza effect our relationship and she gets really angry. We start rowing about the war, her saying \240there is a genocide, all of us saying there isn't, the usual stuff. She is shouting and getting upset and then a table next to us asks us to stop and Harry takes their side, Jason says Harry is being horrible to Mimmi and not taking her side against the table that complained, Mimmi is in tears and it ruins the meal. She decides to walk out and the whole thing really upsets me and it ruins the day.

We then take a cab to the boat pier as I had booked a cruise on the Danube and Harry \240and Jason are really rowing about it in the cab and it is really embarrassing.

I wish Mimmi wasn't so influenced by social media on this subject. Anyway don't mention the P or G word!

We make up in the end and we have a nice cruise on the Danube but no commentary

Lions

So as the cable car isn't \240working we catch this small bus up to the Castle District.

We get off and go to buy tickets for Fisherman's Bastion and St Matthias Church. A long queue and you have to queue for each one separately! Pretty stupid if you ask me. Loads of tourists. I would say that the Castle District is \240one of the busiest areas of Budapest.

St Matthias church

We then climb to the top of Fisherman's Bastion. Nice views!

It starts raining! The first time and we take refuge in a really nice cafe called Ruszwurm Cafe. I thought their speciality was strudel so I convince everyone to have strudel which is nice. However everyone else is eating cake and Mimmi wants to try some. I tell her that is not their speciality. I just re-read the info on the cafe and their speciality is cake! Ops!

Next stop Hospital in the Rock, a really interesting museum about a hospital in a bunker which was used during the second world war and then the 1956 revolution. Unfortunately photography is not allowed but very interesting

We stop at a little hole in the wall place down an alleyway for lunch called Budavari Retesvar. Had savoury strudels. Delicious

We then catch the bus again and go to the Castle and pass by Sandor's Palace where the president lives. The area is \240a bit of a building site. It has nice grounds and nice views but it is a bit weird. It is not a castle you can actually visit. Inside there are museums which we weren't that interested in. Hungarian art, museum of the Castle, a library. If we had more time I may have had a poke round the museums.

Sandor's Palace

The Castle

We then visit a garden. It is \240not on my schedule! Shock! Horror!

Unscheduled garden stop

We then get a cab home as we need to get ready to leave for Mateszalka. I go to the shop to get some snacks for the journey and off we go! ! It is raining, I don't know if that is a bad omen and adds to my strange mood, just a bit down thinking about what happened there. Me and Harry find it strange that there is so little traffic on the motorway, not like the jam packed UK.

I then realise that check-in for the hotel I have booked in Mateszalka is only till 7.00 pm! Oh shit, it is already 7.00 pm. Jason calls the hotel to let them know we will \240be arriving at 8.00 pm. Asks them if they speak English? No they say. So he tries in Hungarian. I have to say he manages very well. After he makes all that effort they then pass him to someone who can speak English. Oh well! Mimmi is \240stressing me out as she wants to go to this pizzeria that closes at 8.00 pm and we are due to arrive at 7.45 pm and we have to check-in as they are waiting for us. What are \240we supposed to do, leg it around Mateszalka in the dark, in the rain, trying to find this random pizzeria?

Anyway we finally approach Mateszalka in the rain

Mateszalka

The guy from the hotel is waiting for us on the street. They only accept cash and want payment upfront and also want to know what we are \240having for breakfast and what time we want breakfast. Then they take us to our room. Plain and old fashioned but fine. Don't know how much the kids will sleep with our snoring. Off quickly to find some food. We find a hamburger place which is on this dark and rainy courtyard. We park up and struggle to get to it because the parking is full of pot holes and puddles but we get there in the end. It is a glorified street food van with canopy attached but it is full and we have to wait for a table. It is good though and cheap and kind of cool. Off to bed after a long day

We get up for breakfast but as they only have 2 tables there is no room so we go back to our room and wait. \240We then have breakfast. It is ok nothing to write home about

We start chatting to one of the owners who asks us why we are here. We explain we are trying to retrace our family's history and he advises us to talk to Dr László at the Mateszalka history museum.

We walk around looking for the Jewish quarter. It is strange walking the streets of Mateszalka knowing that my mother, her brother and her family walked these same streets and a place she called home could betray them. I feel like the ghosts of the past are walking with me.

We find Kossuth Ucta, the road which was the main Jewish quarter. A lovely boulevard with lovely trees, You can see investment has gone into it. First stop, the Tony Curtis museum, free to enter, a small homage to the actor and a weird doll museum. Most of the information is in Hungarian so we can't understand it. There is an interesting letter

Letter to \240Tony Curtis about his film on the Hungarian Revolution

There is \240a cafe but the staff are not friendly and they sell souvenirs. I really regret not buying any as although they say they will be open, when we come back a \240couple of hours later they are closed.

Next stop the Mateszalka history museum. A bit of a strange place with loads of horse carriages on display.

We are told Dr László isn't in yet and should arrive at 12.00 so we ask for the key to the synagogue and that is our next stop

Mátészalka history museum

Mátészalka history museum

Mátészalka history museum

Mátészalka history museum

Mátészalka history museum

The synagogue. This was emotional for me, to think that all my family came here.

Memorial of all the jews murdered in Mateszalka

Inside the synagogue

Memorial

Outside the synagogue

My family

My family

My family

After a long time in the synagogue, it is strangely peaceful and I could have stayed there all day, we go back to the history museum to give the key back and see if \240László has arrived. He hasn't. So annoying. Would have loved to speak to him. So we decide to go and have lunch and try again

We go to the pizzeria we were supposed to go to last night. The pizza is suprisingly good. They can't \240speak Italian. Don't know why we thought they would. There is a children's birthday party inside but we sit outside

Lunch in Mateszalka

After lunch back to the museum. No sign of László. Oh well we give up.

Next stop is walking where the ghetto was. It is just houses now. No sign or memorial. To think Bertalan was there. \240It starts raining

Next stop is to try and find Agi's house. An impossible endeavour as it turns out. I can't remember the outside and none of the houses seem right. We walk around for ages looking at random houses. We find one that is near a post office and Jason daringly rings the bell. A lady on the ground floor looks out of her window and Jason is trying to explain to her what we are looking for. She speaks for ages with Jason trying to help. I don't think she understands what Jason is saying and I don't think Jason \240understands \240what she is saying! It is nice she tried though. I have a sense that people, the old generation are keen to share their history with anyone interested. Anyway it is the wrong house. She says a doctor had lived there before.

After walking for ages we give up. We did get a good overview of the town though.

We get into the car. Now we are looking for the location of the sawmill. Another wild goose chase. We go to a location near the railway that could have been it but it doesn't look big enough. There are some random logs. There is a man standing about and Mimmi says let's go and ask him but Jason doesn't want to. I think he is exhausted from trying to speak Hungarian. Mimmi goes anyway and is talking to him. How? Google Translate? Jason sees and goes over and they are talking for quite a while. I think people in Mateszalka are quite bored. Nothing to do there so they welcome these random tourists asking questions. He directs us to another part of town where the company who took over the sawmill had their operations, but again just a random field.

Is this where the sawmill was?

Or here?

Here? God knows

We are feeling quite negative and low at this point. Last stop the Jewish cemetery. Does it still exist?

Yes it does. We get to a field with a farmer in it and low and behold there is the cemetery. A sense of sadness comes over me again. Some are well kept, others neglected. We try and look for my great grandmother's grave but we are having no luck, it starts to rain again and I am getting bitten by mosquitoes. I know the grave is here \240but where? Also I am wearing flip flops, not great for the terrain. Jason finds it hurray! I don't know why it was so important for me to find it but it was.

We also find the grave of another relative. Will need to do more research on that one. No more though. I would have thought there would be more if they were all buried here. Maybe the gravestones have sunk.

Miriam starts walking around, gets near the entrance and makes an amazing discovery. There is a storage shed and it is dedicated to my great grandmother! Built by my great grandfather Bertalan. How amazing, and how amazing that it is still standing. I wonder if it has been restored in the last 80 years? Surely wood can't last that long? Maybe it can. Maybe the Schreibers had really good quality wood! What about the plaque though. We look at it for ages. I am in awe. The farmer looks at us weird. I tell him the plaque is dedicated to my great grandmother. He still doesn't' say anything. Just stands there watching us. It makes me feel a bit awkward. I realise he is waiting for us to leave so he can lock up. It was nice for him to give us the time and give us space but it felt a bit uncomfortable

We get back in the car and drive back to Budapest. It is raining, I have mosquito bites and a cold. I am tired but I am so glad I did this trip with my family.

We get back to Budapest, park the car and take a cab to the Jewish quarter to a restaurant that I didn't know was Jewish but it is

We then go to New York Cafe. Big queue and very touristy. Nice interiors but fake marble, feels quite Disneyish. Also expensive. A bit of a tourist trap.

Get seated. We went for breakfast and no food for an hour apparently. They have a 1 hour window when they don't serve food and we arrive exactly in that 1 hour window.

Nice table though and musicians playing music.

There is a family nearby, father, mother, child. All on their devices not talking for the whole time we are there. Even whilst eating and when the musicians are playing.

New York Cafe

Next stop the Szechenyi baths. Parking is a nightmare but we get there in the end. The baths are VERY busy! It has a lazy river which is strong! Good fun though. Mimmi wants me to have a cocktail but I am not feeling well. Caught a cold. I also go to the indoor bath which is nice as well.

We then say goodbye to Jason. Ah we will miss him and make our way to the airport. Drop off the car and off to the lounge which is ok. I find some bigley in the airport and buy the poppy seed one. Also buy some Hungarian salami.

All in all it was a fantastic trip with mixtures of joy and tinted sadness and emotional about the past. Strangely I felt quite connected to the place although I have never really felt Hungarian in the past.

Thank you Budapest! I will be back!