Day two in Budapest

Our second day in Budapest, we went outside the city to an historical park. During Communist rule, many massive monuments were erected inside the city. Rather than simply destroying them, as many other cities did, many of these monument were removed from view in the city and erected in this park for historical preservation. This is not a tribute to Communism, but rather a warning to never forget what it was like to be under totalitarian rule.

Afterwards, we had soup at a small cafe and then went to the Budapest Opera House for a ballet "gala," a three hour three-part presentation of 1) folk dancing, 2) classical and modern ballet, and 3) ballroom and competition dancing. The Opera House was considered one of the finest in Europe after its completion in the late 19th century. Much of it was destroyed during the war but it has been restored to almost its full former glory. Unfortunately pictures were not allowed inside.

After the dance performance, we decided to go back to the same cafe because the soup was so good. We had another delicious Hungarian meal. I keep commenting on the meals, and sometimes photographing them, because the food has been so incredibly good. We keep saying this cuisine needs its own "Julia Child" to popularize it the way she did for French cooking.