Budapest extra time-please help!
 

Hi, <BR> <BR>I will be in Budapest on business for a few days in early December. I have never been to that part of Europe before and will be taking 3 vacation days to stay and experience some of it. I am interested in WW2 and ancient history, archeology, and art and less in food and churches. I would very much like to visit the site of a former WW2 POW camp. Any suggestions and known 1-2 day side trips out of Budapest would be helpful. <BR> <BR>Thanks <BR>

Although it sounds trite, try a danube night cruise. You see all the major sites of Budapest beautifully lit with a historical explanation. They have ear phones for each language so you do not have to sit and listen to all languages. Also, on Castle hill there are the caves. We were there in September and toured them, however, due to funding, they indicated that they may be closing them. They were very interesting since they were used by the Germans in the war as barracks, rest areas, etc. The caves had a kitchen area, hospital, showers and plumbing. Although the artifacts are gone, walking throught them with the guide was very interesting. Also on the hill, behind the Hilton is the archeological ruin they discovered when building the hotel. Although you are not interested in Churches, Matthias church on the hill inside is a work of art.

Without looking at a map, I would think that the closest major camp is Mauthausen (near Linz, Austria if I remember correctly - Linz is about 5-6 hours by train). Haven't been there but have heard that it is very interesting to visit. There is Theresienstadt (Terezin) just north of Prague, but the Deutsche Bahn site shows that it takes longer to get there. It would take you about 10-12 hours to get to Cracow, Poland, which is very close to Auschwitz. I am not very familiar with camps in Hungary, so I couldn't tell you if there are any. Probably nothing major, since the Germans really didn't take control until 1944, and the Jews were shipped to Polish camps. A great site for WWII site information is www.geocities.com/pentagon/7097/index.htm. It will provide you with information about important sites, including current conditions. A guy named Marc Terrance has written a travel-related book on the camps. He posted here a few months ago. His Web site is www.concentrationcampguide.com. You can find photos and ordering information there. A great book that I read in college is Konnilyn Feig's "Hitler's Death Camps: The Sanity of Madness." It gives fascinating histories on the camps and info on what they are like now. While in Budapest, be sure to visit the military museum up on Castle Hill. It is toward the far end of the complex from the castle, on the backside by a large canon. There are very interesting displays there on WWII and the Communist experience. Castle Hill was the site of brutal fighting toward the end of the war, as the Germans used it for a strong defensive position. Unless I was mistaken, you can still see bullet holes in some of the buildings. There are also world famous art museums on the hill.

There have been lots of posts on what to see/do in Budapest. If you do a dearch for budapest fowler you should at least get mine! I'll try to post later when I have more time :)

Mary Ann, <BR> <BR>Thank you for the information. You provided me with the perfect combination of what I am looking to do. Because you seem to know from my few words a solution that fits me well, I will also take your advice and include the church on my trip. <BR> <BR>Ill follow up with you after my return. <BR> <BR>Regards <BR> <BR>Tom

Dan, <BR> <BR>Thank you for all the detail on this. It will be very helpful. You S Fowler and Mary Ann have given me a good start on my plans. <BR> <BR> <BR>Tom