06/20/2019
Journey of Heart
Budapest, Hungary
Warsaw and Krakow, Poland
Copenhaghan, Denmark
St. Petersburg, Russia
Stockholm, Sweden
Kiel, Germany
Helsinki, Finland
Tallinn, Estonia, Center of Matryoshka
In Budapest, I visited the National Museum and explored its history from prehistoric times until today. The revolutions of 1989 brought with them the end of Soviet occupation of Hungary. Budapest succeeded in taking advantage of new economic possibilities and pursuing development more efficiently than the other parts of the country. The local government law legislated after the transition provided new rights for the districts of Budapest, like the right to own and finance. This shift is evident in how the city is laid out.
Separated by the River Danube into Buda and Pest, the two parts of Budapest couldn’t be more different. Pest is flat and modern, while Buda is characterized by hills and medieval cobblestone streets. I explored the hilly old town of Buda by the hop-on-hop-off bus, visiting Castle hill, Fisherman’s Bastion and a delightful array of lively and hip indoor markets, rich with crafts and fresh goods. Despite the differences between Buda and Pest, I saw no high-rises, thus the sun shone upon the entire city. I also did not note any visible poverty in the form of homeless people or beggers. I was puzzled by this and learned that while one third of Hungary lives in deep poverty, it is actually a criminal act to beg or to sleep on the streets of Budapest. Is poverty a crime? Such a law feels inappropriate to solve a problem.
In the evening, I attended the Budapest Gala, a grandiose concert featuring a wide range of repertoire from operetta to gypsy orchestra singers to Hungarian classical music to ballet and finally, a cimbalom show. Following the concert I dined on a sunset cruise along the Danube River.
Leaving Budapest, I realize that of the many places I have traveled to, my heart longs to explore Budapest further. Livable, light traffic, easy to get around and architecturally beautiful and inexpensive, five days was certainly not enough and I plan to return. Now, off to Warsaw and Krakow, Poland.
From the year 1939-45 Warsaw was largely destroyed by German occupation. After World War II, Unesco helped rebuild the country. In my photos you will see two sculptured symbols of Warsaw and a building that was Stalin’s Administration. After independence, today, it is the place of culture and science and undoubtedly the most recognizable building of Warsaw. It is the highest building in Poland. I took the train to Krakow, a town untouched by the war. Most memorable in Krakow were the organic markets and then the Wieliczka Salt Mine, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Excavated from the 13th century, this mine produced salt until 2007. The mine's attractions include shafts and labyrinthe passageways, displays of historic salt-mining technology, an underground lake, four chapels and numerous statues carved by miners out of rock salt.
St. Petersburg, Russia- a vibrant and culturally rich city with sociable and approachable people. A livable city with minimal traffic. Perhaps the livability has to do with UNESCO designating the city as a World Heritage site, which led to the World Bank loaning $31 million to prepare for the tercentennial celebration in 2003.
The city is a major destination for the legendary "White Nights" in May and June during which the sun never seems to set. With the low rise buildings, it's as though the city is washed in light during the late hours.
I sampled vodka for the first time, choosing my favourite of the ‘Russian medicine’ to bring home for my family. A lover of gemstones, I visited several amber shops, for Russian Baltic amber jewelry. A Russian saying goes, “the sun glows for a day, candles for an hour, matchsticks for a minute, but yellow amber can sparkle forever”. With souvenirs in tow, I continued a historically-motivated journey through the streets of St. Petersburg.
The second largest city in Russia, St. Petersburg is an industrial center, with heavy military-industrial production and military basing and production. I remember when I was in university as an intellectual in the late 70’s, reading the Communist Manifesto, and engaging in dialogue about social welfare. I recall the nation supporting the working class, providing and subsidizing education and medical needs. Now funding such support has gone to the armed forces, maintaining the armed forces over social welfare.
We have now departed St. Petersburg and are heading towards Stockholm, Sweden. I’m sitting at the stern of the cruise ship, watching the spectacular Baltic Sea around the archipelago and my many memories of my trip to Stockholm with my son, Konaam, are coming back to me.
First, it was winter of 1985 in Paris. Konaam was three years old, and we were on the train from Paris to Stockholm. The people in the coach were smiling kindly at Konaam who was acting sweet and making them laugh. At that time I was looking for better opportunities for my family.
The second time I came to Stockholm, I was trying to save him. I touched base with a friend whom I hold dear to my heart, a friend from university, Rostam. Konaam and I were welcomed to stay with Rostam and his lovely wife for one month while we got Konaam situated with a new beginning in Sweden. With the help of Rostam’s credit, I purchased Konaam a second-hand Jaguar and commenced to align the necessary pieces to meet basic needs. The next day we drove the Jaguar to Gothenburg. We had a fun time on that drive together. We had meaningful communication, and listened to music. He excitedly interpreted his rap music for me. In Gothenburg, we filled out his immigration papers with a lawyer for his residency permission.
Alas our cruise ship docked in the northern German port of Kiel for a day. I enjoyed walking the beautiful port and town. At the time of departure I was informed that pro-climate protestors have surrounded our ship, the Holland America Cruise Line, in several kayaks, small boats, climbing equipment and in an occupied harbour-quay crane. There were about 50 people blocking the departure of our vessel, saying that “cruises kill climate”. On the deck, I observed the Police’s attempt to clear the protestors by approaching the kayaks by boat, and tossing the kayak-bound activists into the water, and confiscating their kayaks. They also seized their paddles, leaving the protestors in the water. This event stopped the departure of our cruise ship for several hours and the Captain was informing us with updates each hour. He informed us that they had called the USA authorities, who contacted the German government to bring in the special forces. My fellow travellers and vacationers were from all over the world, and while they were in a frenzy to reschedule missed flights and arrangements, I kept my eyes on the activists whose heads were bobbing in and out of the water.
For five hours I watched how brutally the police were treating the young protesters. After being held hostage for 5 hours on this ship due to an environmental demonstration, I have a message for the German government. Learn from the mistakes of all the leaders of Iran in my lifetime, both the Shah and Ayatollah. Rather than engaging the opposition or holders of new thought, you are suppressing them. Create a new dialogue with the new generation. Hear their needs.
On one hand I have to say the activists have me reconsidering my travel vessels.