Day III - The rest of the day
Haha! After the late lunch at 2+ pm cos the tour ended at about 2 pm, we headed down to the Liszt Ferenc Museum. At first we thought that the Musuem was along Liszt Ferenc utca - I mean, cos we did not refer to our map and we saw this on the way to buying lunch (at Liszt Ferenc utca), so we thought this (picture below) would be the musuem, haha!
Twin really wanted to visit this musuem (shes the musically inclined one) and I thought it would be interesting, so we were pretty obstinate about wanting to enter this building, even when all the visible entrances were locked. Pretty puzzling considering that it was only 330 pm in the afternoon and the musuem would only close at 5pm. Only then did we realise that we were mistaken and peruse the map again - to find that the musuem is at another utca! Doink.
Anyway, this is the Lizst Ferenc Academy (suspect sch for music) mistaken for the musuem (it does look like a musuem right?)
This is his statue along the utca named after him.
And this is the nondescript entrance to his musuem. Conpared to the academy, this looks like a home. And it is! This musuem is actually built from his home! Haha. One interesting fact was that both twin and I didn't know that he was a Hungarian until we found that he has a musuem here.
It is irritating to try to summarize Liszt cos he is a great musician of his time, very widely acclaimed and definitely, a womanizer i think. Haiz.
A little history of Lizst (written by others):
Franz Liszt was born in Hungary to a father who worked for the Esterhazy family, and who soon recognized his son's prodigious gifts. After studies with Czerny and Salieri in Vienna in 1821, Liszt quickly made a name as a piano virtuoso, performing in London and Paris. By fourteen, he had written Don Sanche, an operetta that was produced in Paris. Here he lived from 1823 to 1835, becoming friends with leading literary figures and painters as well as with Berlioz and Chopin. These two composers along with Paganini, who he heard with amazement in 1831, were the primary influences in forming Lizst's complex aesthetic character.
Franz Liszt, genius, showman, vain but generous, worldly but religious, friend and influence on many of the greatest musicians of the period, remains a complex figure for us. While some of his more flamboyant music may be taken less seriously, great pianists have shown that some of the seeming bravura elements have a spiritual element when properly understood and assimilated. Bela Bartok, a composer who would seem to represent the antithesis of some of Liszt's more questionable qualities, said in an essay: "The essence of these works we must find in the new ideas, to which Liszt was the first to give expression, and in the bold pointing toward the future. These things raise Liszt as a composer to the ranks of the great."
His musuem showcased his musical achievements and the reconstruction of the first level of his flat, as well as the display of his various possessions that survived the years. It was very tempting to look out of his window where he composes and tries out melodies (there is a small piano like instrument that seems to be for that purpose) and wonder what he saw when he was writing all his tunes. Yet, it was sad that we had to bear in mind that while the room was reconstructed to resemble his original room, the surroundings outside the room would have changed over the years. =(
A while later, we heard music playing from the adjacent room and decided to investigate it =)
And found out that it was like a music exam for trombones hehes. We heard this guy playing a duet with a lady on the piano. =) however, later the guy was stopped by the examiner. perhaps the examiner felt that he had heard enough to assess the guy le.
We proceeded on to Terror Haza and saw this pretty sight on the way.
And reached Terror Haza! Haha in a matter of minutes actually. Can you see the word Terror in the picture? thats actually the top of the building. really cool right?
The exhibition we saw commemorates the 700 thousand Hungarian citizens who fell into Soviet captivity during World War II. It was very depressing to look into the musuem and all that they have to offer, because the museum truly appeals to many senses, like touch, sight and hearing. By then there was already the media, and therefore, twin and I got to see many clips of how brutally the Hungarians were treated during this era.
Hungary, being geographically situated in between the opposing forces, is always drawn into the wars whether it be of her own will or not, and because of this, architecture and citizens suffer. It is said that most buildings in Hungary are not more than 99 years old because during the wars there was so much damage from being ravaged during the war and there was no point in building something which would only be destructed later, so that ended, for a long time, the building of the nation. The citizens are being forced to join the war because of the leading leaders and also because of immense pressure from other nations.
One of the very depressing videos we saw inside was that of many many human bodies, some of them with severed parts, tractored into a big newly dug hole. It was very emotionally disturbing because in this world, we being used to the notion of human rights, would never imagine such inhumane things happening, and it chills you to think that humans were not allowed the same rights that we now think is basic.
They also had exhibits of cells where the revolters of communism and war criminals were locked up and the reconstruction of the execution which is very very very cruel.
This is a tank in the Haza probably used in the war.
No other photos from this place because it was really too depressing for us to want to snap anything else. We came out of the place feeling displaced as in previous days we were looking at beautiful majestic places.
We also went to the Ratheus (think it is what they call City Hall - building holding the Council Chambers and Mayor's office.) which was a neoGothic building I think but there are no photos here cos it was already very dark and we could not capture it properly. We went in and asked the person in charge if we could go in to visit the place and he said no. The next moment, he locked the plac. Grrs! Laughs, guess it cant be helped that we went so late.
Since there was nothing to see there, we moved on to the Opera House, which we did want to tour but was too late because it was closed to the public with the performanaces starting in an hours time. We actually wanted to catch an opera there - but we had language and financial concerns.
Haha! After the late lunch at 2+ pm cos the tour ended at about 2 pm, we headed down to the Liszt Ferenc Museum. At first we thought that the Musuem was along Liszt Ferenc utca - I mean, cos we did not refer to our map and we saw this on the way to buying lunch (at Liszt Ferenc utca), so we thought this (picture below) would be the musuem, haha!
Twin really wanted to visit this musuem (shes the musically inclined one) and I thought it would be interesting, so we were pretty obstinate about wanting to enter this building, even when all the visible entrances were locked. Pretty puzzling considering that it was only 330 pm in the afternoon and the musuem would only close at 5pm. Only then did we realise that we were mistaken and peruse the map again - to find that the musuem is at another utca! Doink.
Anyway, this is the Lizst Ferenc Academy (suspect sch for music) mistaken for the musuem (it does look like a musuem right?)
This is his statue along the utca named after him.
And this is the nondescript entrance to his musuem. Conpared to the academy, this looks like a home. And it is! This musuem is actually built from his home! Haha. One interesting fact was that both twin and I didn't know that he was a Hungarian until we found that he has a musuem here.
It is irritating to try to summarize Liszt cos he is a great musician of his time, very widely acclaimed and definitely, a womanizer i think. Haiz.
A little history of Lizst (written by others):
Franz Liszt was born in Hungary to a father who worked for the Esterhazy family, and who soon recognized his son's prodigious gifts. After studies with Czerny and Salieri in Vienna in 1821, Liszt quickly made a name as a piano virtuoso, performing in London and Paris. By fourteen, he had written Don Sanche, an operetta that was produced in Paris. Here he lived from 1823 to 1835, becoming friends with leading literary figures and painters as well as with Berlioz and Chopin. These two composers along with Paganini, who he heard with amazement in 1831, were the primary influences in forming Lizst's complex aesthetic character.
Franz Liszt, genius, showman, vain but generous, worldly but religious, friend and influence on many of the greatest musicians of the period, remains a complex figure for us. While some of his more flamboyant music may be taken less seriously, great pianists have shown that some of the seeming bravura elements have a spiritual element when properly understood and assimilated. Bela Bartok, a composer who would seem to represent the antithesis of some of Liszt's more questionable qualities, said in an essay: "The essence of these works we must find in the new ideas, to which Liszt was the first to give expression, and in the bold pointing toward the future. These things raise Liszt as a composer to the ranks of the great."
His musuem showcased his musical achievements and the reconstruction of the first level of his flat, as well as the display of his various possessions that survived the years. It was very tempting to look out of his window where he composes and tries out melodies (there is a small piano like instrument that seems to be for that purpose) and wonder what he saw when he was writing all his tunes. Yet, it was sad that we had to bear in mind that while the room was reconstructed to resemble his original room, the surroundings outside the room would have changed over the years. =(
A while later, we heard music playing from the adjacent room and decided to investigate it =)
And found out that it was like a music exam for trombones hehes. We heard this guy playing a duet with a lady on the piano. =) however, later the guy was stopped by the examiner. perhaps the examiner felt that he had heard enough to assess the guy le.
We proceeded on to Terror Haza and saw this pretty sight on the way.
And reached Terror Haza! Haha in a matter of minutes actually. Can you see the word Terror in the picture? thats actually the top of the building. really cool right?
The exhibition we saw commemorates the 700 thousand Hungarian citizens who fell into Soviet captivity during World War II. It was very depressing to look into the musuem and all that they have to offer, because the museum truly appeals to many senses, like touch, sight and hearing. By then there was already the media, and therefore, twin and I got to see many clips of how brutally the Hungarians were treated during this era.
Hungary, being geographically situated in between the opposing forces, is always drawn into the wars whether it be of her own will or not, and because of this, architecture and citizens suffer. It is said that most buildings in Hungary are not more than 99 years old because during the wars there was so much damage from being ravaged during the war and there was no point in building something which would only be destructed later, so that ended, for a long time, the building of the nation. The citizens are being forced to join the war because of the leading leaders and also because of immense pressure from other nations.
One of the very depressing videos we saw inside was that of many many human bodies, some of them with severed parts, tractored into a big newly dug hole. It was very emotionally disturbing because in this world, we being used to the notion of human rights, would never imagine such inhumane things happening, and it chills you to think that humans were not allowed the same rights that we now think is basic.
They also had exhibits of cells where the revolters of communism and war criminals were locked up and the reconstruction of the execution which is very very very cruel.
This is a tank in the Haza probably used in the war.
No other photos from this place because it was really too depressing for us to want to snap anything else. We came out of the place feeling displaced as in previous days we were looking at beautiful majestic places.
We also went to the Ratheus (think it is what they call City Hall - building holding the Council Chambers and Mayor's office.) which was a neoGothic building I think but there are no photos here cos it was already very dark and we could not capture it properly. We went in and asked the person in charge if we could go in to visit the place and he said no. The next moment, he locked the plac. Grrs! Laughs, guess it cant be helped that we went so late.
Since there was nothing to see there, we moved on to the Opera House, which we did want to tour but was too late because it was closed to the public with the performanaces starting in an hours time. We actually wanted to catch an opera there - but we had language and financial concerns.
The Opera House at night across the street
With nothing else left to do (so late at night le and because everywhere closes early) and it being the last day we would spend in Budapest, we went back to Liszt Ferenc utca for a good meal. 
Side Dish! Haha. Nice wrap with chicken and meat sauce.
Catfish pasta with soft cottage cheese (which twin doesn't like) in meat sauce
The place is actually very dark but we lightened the photos so you can see what we ate haha.
This was us super contented after a very good meal in the restaurant behind us - our only fine dining experience in the 9 days haha.
-And went back to the hostel to prepare for the train to Wien tmr. Realised we did not take any photos of our Hostel (Green Bridge - it is a nice and cosy place! With FREE internet haha!) and so, here they are.
The corridor leading to the hostel in the building without their sign
And our beds. =) Haha. Guess whose is whose? =) (Clue: mine is not the messiest contrary to popular belief)
With that, we ended our tour of Budapest!
Next will be Wien haha!
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