the Danube Bend Esztergom and Szentendre

Basilica as seen from Sturovo Slovkia

Today I took a tour of Danube bend why is it called the Danube bend well looking at a map of Hungary you see between Esztergom and Szentendre the river turns sharply south in the direction of Budapest.  We first headed off to Esztergom it was a small group of 8 people and we went in a van.   They first did a small detour to Sturovo Slovakia the Germans blew up the bridge between Sturovo and Esztergom Hungary the bridge on their way out of town.,was rebuilt in 2001. You can go between the two countries with no passport, so the tour likes to point out that part.  We drove up to the hill to the Basilica and I was already thankful I was on a tour and did not have to walk.  The Primatial Basilica  of the Blessed Virgin Mary Assumed into Heaven and St Adalbert is the largest church in Hungary. After a tour of the Basilica we had some free time to explore I went outside and found this enormous statute depicting the Crowning of King St Stephen., who was born in Esztergom in 975.  

crossing The Maria Valeria Bridge

inside St Stephen Basilica

The Crowning of King St Stephen

 Esztergom

Next stop was Visegrad and the ruins of the medieval royal residence and up to the Citadel so we could have a view of the Danube.  We then headed towards Szentendre but we first made a stop for lunch at the Hunting lodge restaurant two Germans from the tour invited me to share a table with them and it made an interesting lunch conversation as one was East Germany. I decided to splurge and order lamb chops and a glass of wine.  We then continued on to Szentendre  which was a very pretty town. Szentendre is a we had a bit of a walking tour as our guide explained where things were and then we had almost 2 hours to explore on our own. There were quite a lot of museums in Szentendre, I rambled up alleyway and into churches I climbed up some steps to a pretty part of town and discovered the smallest synagogue in the world Szanto Memorial House and Synagogue. It is a beautiful memorial to the family who created it and some of whom were transported to the death camps in 1944

Visegrad Royal residence

yummy

up the stairs to the Synagogue

Szanto Memorial House and Synagogue