Go To Budapest

 

Day 1

AM meeting at Cairo Airport with GTK Trip Leader– Check-in for Flight Cairo/Budapest.

Arrival to Budapest airport   47°26’17N 19°15’07E & Transfer by private air-conditioned modern bus to Hotel & check in.

In the evening, transfer to the Danube River Cruise for dinner and, meantime, get acquainted with the sights of Budapest: the Parliament, the Fishermen’s Bastion, the Matthias Church and the Royal Palace.

It is a way to admire the beauty of the Danube River, the magnificent scenic divider and connector of Buda and Pest.

Day 2

After breakfast, the students will spend the morning having a fun-filled and informative walks about history, society, architecture and what Hungarians are actually like. Walks are focused around the best sights Buda and Pest have to offer. The goal of this walking tour is to discover and experience the city through the eyes of the insiders, to bring to life streets, bridges and statues and of course to have fun. Free time for lunch (excluded), different options are available in the city center.

In the afternoon, transfer by public transportation to one of the Hungarian Houses (or the university of Budapest) for a lecture and workshop about the contemporary social/political/economic state of Hungary and how far the impact of the different empires (Roman / Ottoman / Hapsburg / Soviet) on the Hungarian character of today is (confirmation of the workshop in the house or the university will follow)

Dinner & Overnight.

Day 3

After breakfast, the student will immerse in the Ottoman Era through the Ottoman walking tour, supplemented by public transport. Today’s Budapest and a great part of Hungary used to constitute part of the Ottoman Empire. Budapest was an Oriental city back in the 16th and 17th centuries. Mosques, Turkish baths, oriental shops, caravanserais, and several other elements of a Muslim city were present. Even Hungarian language contains approximately 600 Turkish words.

There are some elements visible even today from this fabulous Oriental world. The students can take a look at the house from where coffee spread towards Europe, there is a small Turkish cemetery in town. Among other Turkish elements, the most impressive monuments of the period are the Turkish baths; four of them still work and you may enjoy the comfort of the 16th century Turkish luxury.

Turkish baths in Budapest can be even better than the ones in Turkey, since the ones in Turkey are in short of water, but most of the ones in Budapest were built on top of hot springs even with curative effect.

The tour will focus on the influences and remnants of the Turkish Empire in the city. Explore the monuments of the Ottoman Empire and opt to visit an ancient Turkish bath at the end of the tour to relax.

The guide will lead the students past Turkish houses in Buda, and alongside bastions and tombs. They will also pass by Matthias Church  47°30’06N 19°02’03E, a Catholic church that was once used as the Suleyman Mosque. Then visit the most western holy place of the world of Islam, the crypt (‘türbe’) of a Muslim saint, the Bektashi Dervish Gül Baba    47°30’57N 19°02’05E.

Free time for lunch (excluded), different options are available in the city center.

In the evening, transfer to the Opera House of Budapest   47°30’10N 19°03’30E to enjoy one of the world’s most popular operas, CARMEN. A riveting drama of love and jealousy, filled with famously alluring melodies and captivating dances.

The Hungarian State Opera House is a neo-Renaissance opera house located in central Budapest, on Andrássy út. Originally known as the Hungarian Royal Opera House, it was designed by Miklós Ybl, a major figure of 19th century Hungarian architecture.

Dinner is excluded.

Day 4

After Breakfast, transfer to the former Summer-Residence of Queen Elisabeth (1837-1898), in Gödöllő (30 km from Budapest), the second largest baroque chateau of the world – Grassalkovich Castle).

Gödöllő is a Hapsburg historic town which dates back to the 14th century. The city is famous for its Royal Palace   47°35’45N 19°20’51E, which is the second largest Baroque castle in the world. Gödöllő also played a significant role in Hungarian art history. Between 1901 and 1920, the artists’ colony of Hungarian Art Deco was based here. The city is also home to the Saint Stephen University (Szent István Egyetem), a renowned institution of agriculture.

Lunch is included during the tour in a local restaurant.

Back to Budapest and visit The Hospital In The Rock   47°30’01N 19°01’53E, the former top secret Nuclear Bunker and Emergency Hospital – under the codename of LOSK 0101/1. The caves and tunnels were connected and fortified and used as an air raid shelter. Much more than a mere museum or bunker, this exhibition illustrates in the original surroundings the ambiance of the tragic final days of World War II, and later, the chill and naïveté of the early days of the Cold War. Few other exhibitions will bring the students so close to the true feeling of that era.

Free time for dinner (excluded) & Overnight.

Day 5

After breakfast, Personnel and realistic insight into what life in Hungary was like under Communism and what has happened since. This walking tour also provides an interesting firsthand account of life pre and post Iron Curtain and helps to understand the local way of living and not just see the city from a tourist’s viewpoint. The undercover stories reveal interesting facts about traveling, housing, education, media, propaganda, sport, healthcare, religion, economy under Communism and in comparison with the post-Communist era. Tour provides clear picture about what everybody over 30 lived through and how it affects current attitudes of locals. Sights of this interactive adventure include the 1956 uprising areas, the bronze bullet memorial, the flag with the hole and the eternal flame, the secret exit of a military bunker, the last Communist memorial in the inner city and other symbols of “Soviet friendship”.

Transfer to The Terror House   47°30’24N 19°03’54E. Having survived two terror regimes, it was felt that the time had come for Hungary to erect a fitting memorial to the victims, and at the same time to present a picture of what life was like for Hungarians in those times. In December 2000 ˝The Public Foundation for the Research of Central and East European History and Society˝ purchased the building with the aim of establishing a museum in order to present these two bloody periods of Hungarian history

The House of Terror commemorates the victims of both the Communist and the Nazi regimes in Hungary. The building served as the former headquarter of the ultra-right (Nazi) party in 1940, and its basement was used as a prison. During Communism, the building was taken over by the State Security (Hungarian version of the KGB). Hundreds, or perhaps even thousands, were tortured in the House of Terror.

Lunch is included during the tour in a local restaurant.

PM visit Memento Park  47°25’34N 18°59’56E: an open air museum in Budapest, dedicated to monumental statues from Hungary’s Communist period. There are statues of Lenin, Marx, and Engels, and several Hungarian Communist leaders Statue Park, which is probably the best-known attraction within Memento Park. The gigantic monuments displayed are powerful reminders of dictatorship. The students will have no fear to climb up next to Lenin for an once-in-a-lifetime photo opportunity.

Farwell dinner in local restaurant & Overnight.

Day 6

Breakfast in hotel. Check out  & Transfer to the airport for flight back to Cairo. End of GTK services.