Budapest IV- The Synagogue and Market Hall - day 15

On Thursday 12th April we started our day by going past a Gluten Free bakery we had found the night before when walking to the restaurant for dinner - Free Bakery at Dob u.28 in the Jewish district, and bought some croissants for Thomas' mom and myself.
Once again I was surprised to find such a shop in Budapest. They sold bread, pies, cakes, sandwiches, croissants and soups.

After breakfast at a nearby cafe, I went in search of a chemist as I had woken up with a very itchy throat. I asked for Betadine throat spray and Strepsil lozenges, but the pharmacist said they didn't sell Betadine spray in Hungary, but she could give me something similar.

The rest of the day I sprayed my throat and sucked a lozenge every couple of hours as directed, but didn't feel any relief, and later in the day I started to cough as well!

Our next stop was the Dohány Street Synagogue or Great Synagogue, just around the corner from our accommodation.

It is the largest synagogue in Europe and the second largest in the world with a capacity to sit almost 3 thousand people. 

At the gates we had to go through a security check, then pay an entry fee and the men were given a paper kippah to cover their heads before going inside.

The synagogue was built between 1854 and 1959. It suffered some damage during the war but restoration only started in 1991 and lasted until 1998, financed by the State and private donations, with Hungarian Jewish American Estée Lauder contributing US$5 million.

Two different memorials in the Synagogue courtyard

In the rear courtyard - Raoul Wallenberg Holocaust Memorial park - there is a huge monument - the holocaust memorial -  looking like a weeping willow whose leaves bear the names of Jewish victims, made by sculptor Imre Varga.

We had first seen it all lit up on our first night through the fence when we walked past the Synagogue, and it was beautiful.

Holocaust Memorial - during the day and at night time

From the Synagogue, we walked to the Great Market Hall at Vámház krt. 1-3 on the Pest side of the Liberty Bridge.

With an area of 10 thousand square metres, the neogothic building with 3 floors was inaugurated in 1897. During WW II the building was completely damaged and was closed for many years. During the 1990's it underwent restoration and is now one of the most visited tourist attractions in Budapest.

Beautiful roof tiles and central window

The ground floor was a colourful show of fresh produce, candies, spices, pastries, meat and fish stalls and on the top floor is where you find the eateries, clothing and souvenir stalls.

We first went around the produce area where many stalls sold the famous Hungarian paprika. Then we went upstairs and looked around the food stalls, ordered our food and sat down to eat lunch. I can't remember what I chose, but most of us chose chicken. 

I found the owners of the stall a bit abrupt and grumpy but I guess they have to deal with so many foreigners who can't speak English and have to repeat themselves hundreds of times every day...

After lunch we walked around the souvenir stalls and I bought a couple of fridge magnets.

I also bought a small backpack to be able to carry my laptop on the return flight.

I wanted to put my carry-on suitcase inside my big suitcase as I had unloaded a lot of stuff in Portugal and it was quite empty. 

In the market hall there was a funny exhibition of "Food porn" photos. I must have been hiding under a rock because I had never heard of this expression!
Anyway this was all about "miniature people" with food being used as building materials, a ski slope, a pool, etc. Quite well done I must say and very funny.

Before leaving we bought a couple of Hungarian sweet pastries for dessert, which we enjoyed later in the day. We really loved our visit to the market. 

After leaving the market we crossed the Liberty bridge on to the Buda side so we could climb Gellért Hill and visit the Statue of Liberty, but that will be a story for the next post.

Liberty Bridge

This panoramic photo at the Liberty bridge was taken by my daughter on her iphone, and shows both sides of the Danube River - the buildings leading to the Parliament on the right and Gellert Hill on the left. My husband and I can be seen on the left.