Roman Ruins and a Good-bye...
Trip Start
Sep 28, 2011
1
56
63
Trip End
Nov 02, 2011
Where I stayed
Annadin Female Hostel
Obuda , Budapest, Hungary
Thursday, October 27, 2011
So I set off on another adventure. I made sure I checked the time and how long it was taking me, so that I would know how much time to allow to get back. I didn't want to be late for my last visit with Istvan. The day was a little overcast, alternating with sunshine, but was fairly warm. I walked with my music playing and stopped every now and then to look at the interesting statues along the way. The first statue I came to was in honour of the Jewish Hungarians that had been killed in the Holocaust. It was at that statue that I became aware of the "Shoes Along the Danube" story. This was the memorial along the Danube near the Parliament Buildings. As previously mentioned, the memorial is a series of bronzed shoes that are placed haphazardly along the walk on the Danube, representing the thousands of Jews that were shot - literally out of their shoes - into the Danube during the Second World War. As had been the case all along my journey, I was constantly seeing things that filled in my story like pieces of a puzzle.
I saw another statue near the bridge, along the Danube, that I think (from a very awkward google translation) was in honour of the men who were killed by the fascist government, for deserting the military between 1944 - 1945. I am thinking that they maybe were standing up for their principles at the time. In any case, the statue was very interesting to look at. I spent a few minutes looking at it, before heading on my way across the bridge.
I had crossed almost every bridge now in Budapest. I took a picture looking up the Danube towards my hostel and towards the historical part of Budapest. I then continued on my walk. About halfway across the bridge, I realized that I was on the wrong side of the bridge. The lanes were clearly marked with bicycles and from the very annoyed looks I was getting, I should have been walking across on the other side of the bridge. In Budapest, you take your life in your hands as a pedestrian in a bike lane. I walked as quickly across as possible and then down the stairs towards the train tracks.
I took some pictures of the food stands to show people back home. These were common in both Budapest and in Romania. I went to one selling pastries and talked to a very nice lady who spoke some English. I bought a delicious pastry and cappuccino and asked her about getting to Aquincum. She told me to get on the train going past her stand. I thanked her (in Hungarian) and went towards the tracks. I looked in the direction the tracks were going and saw a walking path. I decided to continue on my walk.
As always, the beauty of getting lost is that you often see things you would not otherwise. I ended up walking to a park that had a giant Rubik's cube in it. I took a picture, because I had forgotten that the Rubik's cube was invented by the Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik in 1974. It was originally called the Magic Cube and won many awards. As of January, 2009, 350 million Rubik's Cubes had been sold, and it is considered the world's best selling toy.
Walking along a road that led to a deserted part of the city, I saw a path going through a field that led to some interesting looking houses. I decided to explore that path. I don't know what made me take that path, but I ended up on a street that led back to the highway. As I walked along, on the left hand side appeared a fenced area with some large rock formations. As I walked along a few more meters, I realized that although I had gone in a complete circle, I was looking at the Roman city of Aquincum.
Aquincum is one of the largest archaelogical parks in Hungary. In the 2nd century, it was the capital of the Lower Pannonian province. It flourished for over 110 years, and was one of the most important cities in the Roman Empire. The area is now known as Obuda.
I had been fascinated with the Roman Military encampment near Brasov, Romania, but this was unbelievable. It was very large and I spent about a half an hour just walking around the outside taking pictures. I was feeling so lucky. I had gone from being disappointed at not being able to see any Roman Ruins, to seeing two sites. There were parts that were not excavated, but large sections of walls, pillars, altars and enclosures were intact, giving you an overall impression of how the city must have looked at one time. I noticed people walking in among the ruins, but when I looked at my watch I realized that I would have to start walking back to my hostel or I would run out of time. I knew where I was now, so the walk back would be easier, but it was still going to take me a minimum of 45 minutes to walk back.
I was so tempted to go into the ruins to look around, but ultimately seeing my friend was far more important. I was hoping I would get a chance to come back (it turned out that I was not able to go back on my trip and I also missed seeing the amphitheater; however, it is just one more reason for me to go back to Budapest. I have since discovered that you need at least 1/2 day to walk through the entire area, as there are descriptions and pictures of how it would have looked). As I walked back towards the bridge that would take me back, I noticed a formation in between the two roads. As I looked closer, I realized it was an Aqueduct. It was so strange seeing an Aqueduct in the middle of the road, but this was part of the fascination of Europe, seeing the ancient and the modern interspersed.
As predicted, it took me almost an hour to walk back. I was so hot and sweaty that I had to clean up. Istvan arrived at 3:00 pm and we set off on a walk. We were only able to visit for an hour, but I was happy to be able to say good-bye. After leaving him to walk back, I was wiping tears away, because he had become such an important person in my life and I didn't know if I would ever see him again. Whether Istvan knew it or not, he had been instrumental in helping me to face my fears. Although I didn't like it at the time, his words to me telling me how annoying my lack of confidence was, were what spurred me on to push myself in Northern Romania. I was going to miss him...
