I've been in Budapest for the past couple of days, soaking up the summer heat and checking out the courtyard (and other) cafes in the downtown 7th District old Jewish quarter, which is where I have my apartment.
Unfortunately, my laptop is acting up -- so, despite the free WiFi service in many cafes in the area, I have been having some trouble connecting (and uploading pictures).
On this trip, I used the popular Barladino cafe, on Dob utca, as a sort of "office," sitting at the wall, where electric plugs are located, using the Wifi and sampling the fare, and meeting people. Barladino is known for its generous 3-course lunches starting for the equivalent of 6 or 7 dollars.
Just down the street, on Kertesz utca, is the Hummus Bar -- wonderful half-size falafel pitas for the equivalent of about $1.75.
I didn't have enough time to check all the other places, but I glanced in to several of the courtyard or garden cafes in the district while hurrying to get somewhere else. These places, located in the courtyards of abandoned buildings or in vacant lots where buildings have been pulled down, have become a popular tradition in Bpest. Minimalist decor, very casual; often open very late.
Poland -- Cornerstone of Museum Laid
Site of new Museum. Photo (c) Ruth Ellen GruberThe cornerstone of the long-awaited Museum of the History of Polish Jews was laid in Warsaw at a high-profile ceremony Tuesday. The museum, years in the making, will be located in what was the World War II Warsaw Ghetto, across from the Ghetto Heroes monument erected there in 1948.
Read AFP story"Prior to the Holocaust, the Shoah, Warsaw was one of the world's main centres of Jewish life where politics, culture, publishing and Jewish theatre thrived -- in fact it was the leading centre, surpassing other cities in the US and Europe," project director Jerzy Halbersztadt told guests at the site.
During the Holocaust, the district was inside the infamous Warsaw Ghetto, where all told Nazi Germany imprisoned more than 400,000 Polish Jews, many of whom died of starvation or disease or were sent to death camps.
The bricks used as the cornerstones came from the World War II-era foundations of the last headquarters of the Council of Jews of the Warsaw Ghetto, the scene of a famous wartime uprising, Halbersztadt said.
"So we have come full circle and beginning the construction of the museum is also an element of closing this circle," he added.
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