Ghetto: Not What You Think it Means.

Ghetto: a slum area occupied by minority groups.  This is the definition that comes up in the dictionary, however I find it to only be partially true.  When referring to the European Jewish Ghettos of the World War II era, this more refers to the concentrating of Jews to a specific area in order for them to be deported easily and ultimately killed.  The Budapest ghetto escaped this.  It was one of the only, if not the only ghetto that was liberated and not liquidated.

Today I took a stroll through the Jewish Quarter of Budapest, which is consequently, right near my flat.  It is one of the most beautiful, moving, and intriguing cityscapes I've seen.  You can feel the walls talking.  I did this pretty aimlessly while following a walk that my guide book suggested.  I first stopped at the Great Synagogue which was renovated in 1995 and also serves as the Museum for Jewish history here in the city.   I decided not to go in because it involved at ticket and a tour, and I just wanted to wander around.  But, I did manage to get some pictures from the outside.  In the courtyard are gravestones of many of the Jews that died during the Holocaust.  The next stop was another synagogue on Rumbach utca.  From the outside it doesn't look like much, and there is only one type of ticket you can buy for 500 forint (a little over $2).  No tour, and a cheap price, sure!  I wandered in and was amazed at what I saw.  It looked like it hadn't been touched, my mouth visibly open.  It was here that I felt so impacted by the Jewish culture of WWII Budapest.  I really encourage you to look at some of the pics on my facebook, even though they didn't come out as well as I would have liked due to poor lighting, or rather, too much light.  I felt the presence of those who worshiped in that place and could picture those praying to their God to get them out of the ghettos and to stop the Shoah.  It's a beautiful and haunting building both in physical form and spirit.

Ceiling of Rumbach utca Synagogue

The next two stops involved tunnel networks connecting buildings, one of which was supposed to be the entrance to the new Jewish Ghetto, but then World War II ended, so it obviously wasn't needed.  They are cool looking I guess, but the Rumbach utca Synagogue still had me reeling, so this didn't seem nearly as impressive.  Between this area and the next synagogue (which really wasn't anything, but did have a Kosher restaurant inside), I found a lot of cool galleries of young Hungarian artists.  Finally!  I have found the quirky artists of this city.  I was overly elated and whenever a shopkeeper started talking to me all I could respond with was, "This is so cool.  Thank you so much!"  I finally sort of felt my place here in the city.  While I've been loving it, the clubs all around me aren't really my jam, but this area definitely was.  Today, I fell in love with the Jewish Quarter of Budapest, and would gladly live there any day.

The Great Synagogue

This evening off Andrassy utca (sort of the fifth avenue of Budapest) I went to a chain coffee shop, Costa Coffee, to do some work with a group of friends.  At first, I was dreading the project I had to accomplish.  But, again, finally found someplace that felt cozy and like home to me.  Not only was I out of my house, surprising I know, I homeworking in a coffee shop on one of the prettiest streets in the city.  My new friends Dan and Verena then mentioned that there is a jazz club off Kiraly that basically has open mics every Wednesday.  I am more than excited.  I have found my personality in this city, and couldn't be happier.