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Singapore Airlines Suites

"Beyond first class" 

Be sure to watch the video after the first part finishes.

Woman Killed By Stingray in Florida

A holidaymaker was killed yesterday when a 75lb (34kg) stingray leapt from the water and struck her as she relaxed with her family on the deck of a private yacht off the Florida Keys.

Judy Kay Zagorski, 57, died in front of her parents and sister, who frantically tried to revive her and summon help after the incident off the island of Marathonin.

Initial reports suggested that the victim was killed by a slash to the neck from the spotted eagle ray’s venomous barb. But officers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FFWC), which was investigating, said that Ms Zagorski had died from the impact, which knocked her backwards and sent her toppling across the deck.

“As far as we have established, it was the impact that killed her,” said Gabriella Ferraro, of the FFWC. “We found no puncture wounds on the victim.”

Horrible story.  Found out about this after returning back to our hotel from a snorkeling trip to Stingray City. We saw about a dozen huge stingrays - some at least three feet across. The ones we saw looked just like the picture above, but they were solid gray, not spotted.  The boat operators assured us that they were a different type than the one that killed Steve Irwin and were completely safe.  Confession: Whenever one swam close to me, I would leap for my husband. I am the world's biggest wuss.

Lots of Interesting News Out There...

...but I'm a bit distracted.

My opinion on Obama in a nutshell:

It's not about race.  It's the fact that his politics lean so far left.

Punta Cana

This was the first vacation we've taken with all three kids in three years. Everyone was happy to be there and to spend time together. Dozens of shehechiyanus would not have been enough. We had a fabulous time.

The foggy special effect in the first picture came courtesy of the humidity, which caused the camera lens to fog up:

 

 

 

Something is a little strange in the perspective below. The man is not as small in comparison to the trees as it appears - he's actually much further away:

I was a little disappointed that there weren't more colorful flowers in the Dominican Republic, but I did find these interesting looking ones: 

 

 

 

 

No words could describe this sight, which the picture does not do justice.  The moon was full and shining very brightly.  It would have been a better picture if I'd remembered to bring along a tri-pod:

 

 

 

The sun shows up after a fast moving rainstorm:

Horseback riding on the beach:

 

Sailing to Saona Island on a catamaran.  Saona Island is on the Caribbean side of the Dominican Republic.  The water is warmer, very calm and clear aqua.  At Punta Cana (the main resort area of the country), the Atlantic Ocean meets with the Caribbean and the water is darker green and has bigger waves.

 

 

 

 

Sunset through the window of the bus on the way back to the hotel.  I took several very bad pictures as we lurched and bounced around the many potholes that dot the roads in the DR.  They make driving anywhere a roller coaster-like adventure:

 

Really enjoyed the trip.  The people are very friendly, have a good sense of humor, are proud of their country and happy that Americans want to visit. The food was just ok - lots of pork is served, which I don't eat. There were many American Jews were there over Christmas - also a lot of Brits, a few Aussies, Germans, Japanese and French. Our sons said the Brits were a lot of fun at the bar late at night. One took over as bartender, apologizing because he couldn't serve the beer at the proper temperature - it was too cold.

We were all introduced to the DR national drink, mamajuana. Everyone does a double-take at the name.  Eldest son brought some of the tree bark and herbs home to give to friends (we were totally ignorant of the fact that it is advertised as an aphrodisiac until we got home and looked it up on the internet - just thought it was an interesting and tasty aperitif) and got stopped going through customs.  Fortunately, we had a souvenir bottle of rum (photographers are everywhere taking pics of folks and pasting them on things.  we bought one on a bottle of rum) and the customs agent opened it and poured it over the mamajuana fixins.  Apparently, you can't take the stuff into the states dry.

Everything is just a bit on the edge of wild in the DR. It hasn't turned into Disneyland yet which is what makes it so much fun.   

Space Travel

Leave the solar system via this wormhole.

Yeccchhhh

Note to self - when traveling, from now on bring along papercups:

Atlanta set up secret cameras inside 5 different hotel chains from the Holiday Inn to the Ritz Carlton and caught every single one of them failing to properly wash the room's glasses.

At every single hotel, regardless of price, the glasses were simply rinsed out and left for the next guest. Some hotels used dirty bath towels to wipe the glasses. One hotel employee rinsed the glasses after cleaning the toilet—using the same gloves. Another one sprayed the glasses with blue cleaning fluid that was marked "Do not drink."

Link

Where I Wish I Was

Right here. Oh yeah.

Oh How Completely and Utterly COOL

A "flying saucer" that glides three metres above the ground and carries two people has gone into commercial production.

US company Moller International has begun to manufacture parts for its Jetsons-like personal flying pod, the M200G Volantor.

The M200G is the size of a small car and is designed to take off and land vertically.

Read about it and watch the video.

Via Memeorandum

Cape May

I had some surgery done yesterday - (nothing I feel like discussing and nothing to do with the big "C") but just to let you know, blogging will remain slow for a bit until I am back up to par. 

Below are some pics of Cape May from last week to fill some empty space on this page.  We had a very interesting week - we rented a huge house and invited lots of people who came and went in shifts, including family - MIL, BILs, SILs, etc and old college roomates.  It was fun but not as relaxing as usual because I felt like I had to play hostess and make sure everyone was having a good time and had all they needed. Also, we brought my parents along, and we were able to see up close how slowed down they are.  As soon as I am able, I am going to find them a retirement home.  They are slowing down mentally as well as physically and I am really concerned about them being on their own.  They get mad ay me whenever I bring it up, but it's reached the point where I think I have to make the decision for them.

Anyway - here are some of the happy thoughts of the trip and a good taste of the flavor ofthe area.  We've come to Cape May 14 of the past 16 summers, and there's a good reason for it - the place could not be anymore charming with beautiful beaches, Victorian gingerbread architecture and absolutely fabulous reastaurants.  Everyone there seems to be into gardening or else there's something in the sea air - the flowers were amazing:

 

Click to enlarge the rest:

   

 

Husband and I got up and stole away on our own in the early morning fog:

 

Husband engaged in his favorite pastime - reading the WSJ on the beach:

The sun coming through the clouds, which mostly disappeared by 10 am:

 

   

 

 

More Pix

 

The lobby of the Four Seasons Budapest where we stayed.  A truly gorgeous hotel.  I was fascinated by the floor which was intricately tiled.  It covered a huge amount of surface and was a masterpiece of work.

(Those three blobs with spikes sticking out of them on the right seemed totally unnecessary to me, and I was horrified and shocked and disturbed to see that someone had actually cemented them to the floor, right on top of the tiny tiles that others had spent painstaking hours placing in lovely whorls and patterns.) 

 

The Holocaust Memorial on the grounds of the Dohany synagogue in Budapest.  It was finanaced by the actor, Tony Curtis.

 

A building that had been hit by gunfire during WW2.

A stained glass window from a church in Prague.  Interesting because it's beautiful, but also because it, and many of the other windows in this church, contained ads for the businesses that paid for their installation.

From the Jewish quarter, names upon names upon names - walls filled with them - all the Jews of Prague who died during the Holocaust.

I took lots of pictures of statues. 

I wonder what the Hebrew says?

   

Another statue.

No offense to anyone, but the beanies made me laugh.

 

Pretty Easter cookies.

 

Our guide told us that this type of cobblestone was very old and that locally they are called "cat's heads."

Blue skies.

Spring in Eastern Europe.

Maybe my favorite shot of the trip. She was painting Easter eggs. 

Theresienstadt

Theresienstadt lies about 30 miles outside of Prague. We took a tour with Jews from London, Scotland, France and South Africa.

Memorial stones left by visitors - I saw them all over, on every grave, at every Holocaust memorial site in Budapest and Prague:

People actually still live in this town. I don't know how they can stand it. We were shown where the Germans lived, the swimming pool made for them by slave laborers. Their luxurious apartments overlooked the crematoriums.

   

Prague: Medieval Sights

I enjoyed Prague, but found the medieval sights all over the city to be a bit creepy at times. We did not visit the museum below. If we had, I might have been able to find out the meaning of the mosaic picture of the man underneath the sign.  It may not be visible to you, but on his hat is a Jewish star:

The opening gate that greets you at Prague Castle:

Some greater detail:

Gargoyles:

 

 

The scariest sight of all - look closely and you'll see the photographer:

 

A Side Trip to Szentendre

On our last day in Budapest, we decided to leave the area and visit Szentendre, an artsy little town about a half-hour train ride away.  It was a cold and cloudy day - but the first picture was taken in sepia which makes it look even worse:

Two things which I didn't quite know what to make of in Szentendre. First - cooked ice cream?

And second, this picture:

   

Back to the New World

Ah.  Home again!  Loved the trip, but I am very glad to be back and to leave the medieval world behind.  It would take hours and days of effort to tell a day-by-day detailed  story.  I'm not going to even try.  What follows are some general impressions and some pictures and whatever spills out along with them.

Budapest, a good deal of which was destroyed by the nazis, is a city of recreated 19th century architecture.  It is Euro-refined, dignified, beautiful with the Danube running through.   

Budapest's Dohany Synagogue is the largest synagogue in Europe and is supposed to be quite beautiful inside.  It was closed for Passover while we were there.  When I found out, I came close to tears.  Oh, was I looking forward to seeing the inside. I snapped a few pictures of the building and surrounding area.  As we were leaving, we were stop by a Lubavitcher guy who was looking for a tenth for a minyan taking place in the local Chabad. Cool!  We couldn't get into the synagogue, we wouldn't be attending a local seder, but this would be a very interesting experience.  The guy was young and very friendly, chatting to us and telling us where to visit.  (He sent us to another synagogue that was "open."  Turned out to be a hollowed out wreck - though one with great beauty and potential - that they were trying to restore.  We went in, snapped a few pics and left a few forints.)

Husband, who became Bar Mitvah, attended Hebrew school and is a Cohain, has mostly turned his back on religion, doesn't believe, couldn't care less and just went along to Jewish sites for me, was trailing along listening as the Chabad guy and I talked.  Well, we get upstairs to the minyan, and the good times stop as far as I am concerned.  Husband is ushered into the main room and I am shunted off to the women's area behind the mechitza.   There was one other woman there, sitting up front. All the action was in the men's room next door. 

At best, I think separation of men and women in synagogue is stupid.  It is actually demeaning to men in making the assumption that they are so overcome by animal instinct in the company of women, that they can't get over it sufficiently in order to concentrate on/accomplish anything. I am not buying it - - unless the "man" is a 13 year old.

The Chabad house had things set up so that the women could not even see the Bimah nor service at all, but only hear it.  And of course women can't be part of an Orthodox minyan. When all was said and done, I was still glad we'd had the experience.  I'd never been behind a mechitza, and now, I know what it feels like.

Dohany Synagogue - on the grounds behind it, by the way, is a Holocaust tribute which was paid for by Tony Curtis, who's family was from Hungary:

Around Budapest, one can see many roofs like the one on this church:

The city's star attraction, the Parliament building, which is so strikingly awesome and beautiful, taking a bad photo of it is impossible. (I had to resize the pictures in order to post them and unfortunately, they lose some detail this way.)  The building can be seen from many places and differing perspectives from around the city:

The Danube River. If you ever have a chance, take a long, slow boatride down it listening to Strauss's famous waltz. Ok, it's a bit cheesy and touristy, but effective, nevertheless:

The Budapest Market has all kinds of foods, crafts and things for sale and arranged in stalls. I've never seen so much paprika in my life. It was all over the place - both hot and sweet, whole and crushed, powder and paste.

To be continued...

Budapest Flowers

Finally Figured it Out

I was able to resize the images and post some pictures.

From the Jewish cemetery in Prague - the oldest Jewish gravesite in Europe dating from the 1400s.  It's a very famous site and was extremely crowded with tourists:

The Old Jewish Cemetery in Josefov, the Jewish Quarter, was created in the 15th century when Jews were forbidden to bury their dead outside their own district. Space was scarce, so bodies were buried on top of each other in an estimated 12 layers.

Frustrating

I just can't upload any photos.  And I am too tired and mush-brained to create any verbal pictures.  I have blisters on the soles of my feet from all the walking we've done.  We are getting very little sleep - still jet lagged.

Through some incredibly stupid screw up (90% my fault), we missed our train last night.  We thought it left at 10pm, but it actually left at 7 pm.  The next train wasn't leaving until 5:50 am. We were going to sleep in the train station, but it was cold, it had very uncomfortable benches with huge spaces between the slats through which my posterior seemed to want to migrate, and it was filled with unsavory looking characters.  By about 10:45pm, we decided that whatever we paid for a hotel could be considered as life/theft insurance and was very well worth the expense.  We went to a hotel and slept for a few hours and then came back.  Made the train on time, arrived in Prague at 12:30 pm this afternoon.

I have many good pictures to share.  I hope I will be able to post them upon our return. The scenery is beautiful and fascinating.

In other news - The Washington Post came down on Nancy Pelosi's trip to Syria.  What a surprise!

HOUSE SPEAKER Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) offered an excellent demonstration yesterday of why members of Congress should not attempt to supplant the secretary of state when traveling abroad. After a meeting with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in Damascus, Ms. Pelosi announced that she had delivered a message from Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that "Israel was ready to engage in peace talks" with Syria. What's more, she added, Mr. Assad was ready to "resume the peace process" as well. Having announced this seeming diplomatic breakthrough, Ms. Pelosi suggested that her Kissingerian shuttle diplomacy was just getting started. "We expressed our interest in using our good offices in promoting peace between Israel and Syria," she said.

Only one problem: The Israeli prime minister entrusted Ms. Pelosi with no such message. "What was communicated to the U.S. House Speaker does not contain any change in the policies of Israel," said a statement quickly issued by the prime minister's office. In fact, Mr. Olmert told Ms. Pelosi that "a number of Senate and House members who recently visited Damascus received the impression that despite the declarations of Bashar Assad, there is no change in the position of his country regarding a possible peace process with Israel." In other words, Ms. Pelosi not only misrepresented Israel's position but was virtually alone in failing to discern that Mr. Assad's words were mere propaganda.

As far as I am concerned, her actions give women in politics a bad name. (Oh well, here's someone who gives men in politics a bad name.)

When I hear about the history of Eastern Europe in detail, as they were buffeted between nazi fascism and Stalinist communism (not to mention thoise crazy Hapsburg royals and the violent paganism which preceeded them all), all I can say is, I am so very glad to be a citizen of the United States.  We've been so very fortunate that we are located where we are and that for the most part, those who came before us have made the right choices. We have been born in the right place at the right time.  It could have been much different. It could have been much worse.

Much of Budapest was destroyed during WW2.  There are 9 bridges across the river Danube - all were bombed out and had to be rebuilt.  They rebuilt them in the same style as they were before they were destroyed, giving the city the same OldEuro air.  Prague, on the other hand, gave in to the nazis very quickly.  And Hitler loved Prague, apparently, and wanted to spare it in order to make make it a German city.  So, it survived WW2 mostly unscathed.  Lots of ancient churches and statues.  Very interesting architecture.  I like both cities - both are worth visiting.  Budapest is quiet and less commercialized.  Prague is WILD and CRAZY. Zillions of visitors. Prague is sophisticated and financially successful.  Budapest is European and less successful, mostly because it has favored the socialist party in its voting record, from what I understand. Yet it is refined and dignified, and the people are very friendly.  Prague is rebellious and young.  Prague wears a nose ring and eats sushi, Budapest wears native dress and eats a lot of goulash. That's not a completely true or fair analogy, but hopefully, you get the idea.

More when time permits... 

I Tried...

...but for whatever reason, I cannot get any pictures that I've taken from Budapest to post here.  Are the files too big? Is it because I am using an old laptop that's just a bit too buggy to manage it?  Because I am trying to do it from Europe instead of the USA?  I am stumped. 

Hungarians have been through quite a history.  They speak terrific English (much better than I speak Hungarian!), they are friendly, and they know how to cook fantastic food. Budapest is beautiful and quite a fascinating place to visit. Tomorrow night we take an overnight train to Prague.  Jet lag is a drag, but we are having a great time nevertheless. Walking for miles every day, taking lots of good pictures.  Hope I can post them upon return.

Travel Research Part 2: The Jews of Prague

From the Jewish Virtual Library (Part 1: Budapest):

In the early 18^th Century, more Jews lived in Prague than anywhere else in world. In 1708, Jews accounted for one-quarter of Prague’s population. Unfortunately, the golden age ended with the ascension of Empress Maria Theresa who expelled the Jews from Prague from 1745-1748.

The Jews returned to Prague and conditions improved during the reign of Emperor Josef II (1780-90). Joseph II issued the Edict of Toleration in October 1781, which affirmed the notion of religious tolerance. He allowed Jews to participate in all forms of trade, commerce, agriculture and the arts. Jews were encouraged to build factories and school systems. Jews were even allowed to attend institutions of higher learning. In the chedar (study rooms), a western-style education was encouraged, Jews were not only taught Hebrew and Yiddish, but also basic accounting. The government also required Jews to switch their business records from Hebrew and Yiddish to German to facilitate better government monitoring. In fact, the Jews appreciated Joseph II so much that they named the Jewish town, Josefov, after him, and this name still exists today.

During the 19^th Century, Jews gradually became emancipated. Temporary civil equality was granted to Jews under the law in 1849. The ghetto was abolished in 1852 and Josefov became a district of Prague. In the 1800's, Jews became caught up in the culture wars between the Czech-speaking middle class and the German-speaking members of the Austro-Hungarian empire. From the 1830's to the 1870's, Jews began to adopt the German language and assimilated German cultural patterns. Following the 1870's, however, the growth of Czech nationalism increased the level of antagonism felt by the Jews. By the last quarter of the 19^th Century, a network of Jewish institutions dedicated to Czech-Jewish acculturation emerged; however, not all Jews supported them, some remained faithful to German language and culture, while others favored Zionism.

In 1899, Zionism began to become popular in Prague among the young professionals and students. They formed their own Zionist organization, Bar Kochba, which published Selbstwehr, Self-defense, a Zionist biweekly publication in Prague from 1907-1938. Conflict between the Zionists and the Czech Jewish nationalists existed; Jewish nationalists (Zionists) did not want to be involved in the national conflict over the usage of German and Czech language, while the Czech-Jewish assimilationists were involved because they resented the German denigration of Czech culture and also wanted to have a rapprochement between Jews and Slavs in Czech lands.

German was spoken widely among many members of the Prague Jewish community and continued to be taught despite the tensions with the Czech-Jewish nationalists. During the first decades of the 20^th Century, German-speaking Jews in Prague produced a large body of internationally acclaimed literature. The most famous of these writers were Franz Kafka, Max Brod and Franz Werfel. This is the last generation of writers and intellectuals before World War II.

World War II

On March 14, 1939, Slovakia declared independence from Prague and signed the Treaty of Protection with Nazi Germany. The next day, Germany occupied Czech lands. At the outbreak of World War II, 55,000 Jews lived in Prague, almost 20 percent of the city’s population. At least two-thirds of the Jewish population of Prague perished in the Holocaust.

In the Czech republic, about 26,000 members of the Czech Jewish community escaped and emigrated to various countries and regions, including Palestine, the U.S., South America and Western Europe. Not all Czech Jews were so fortunate, 92,000 Jews remained in occupied Czech lands. Seventy-four thousand of the Czech Jews were imprisoned in Terezin and 80 percent of those were deported to Auschwitz, Maidanek, Treblinka and Sobibor. Other Czech Jews were sent directly to death camps.

Post-World War II

Following the war, about 13,000 Czech Jews remained. By 1950, half of them emigrated to Israel.

In May 1945, as Germany was being defeated, the Soviet Army entered Prague. A provisional government was installed, but the Soviet presence enabled the Communist party to gain influence. In February, 1948 the provisional government was ousted, and the Communist Party took power. From 1948 to 1949, the Soviet block supported the newly created State of Israel and therefore allowed Jews in the Czech Republic to immigrate to Israel. However, following 1949 emigration was virtually impossible and Jewish life was stifled by the Communist regime.

Communist rule was unpopular and ruthless and a movement demanding socialism with a human face gradually emerged in the 1960's. In 1968, a Slovak Communist, Alexander Dubcek, became the party leader and, in a movement called Prague Spring, began to introduce sweeping reforms to make the government more democratic. The Soviet Union disapproved of these changes and, together with the troops of other Soviet-bloc countries, invaded Czechoslovakia in August 1968. The subsequent period of so-called normalization wiped out all democratic trends and intensified the stagnation in all spheres of life.

As change began to sweep through Eastern Europe in the late 1980's, Czechs more openly protested and called for reform. Demonstrations resulted in the resignation of the Communist party leadership in November 1989. Alexander Dubcek, the Prague Spring reformer, was elected chairman of parliament and dissident playwright Václav Havel, the acknowledged opposition leader, was named president. In June 1990, the country held its first free election since 1946. On January 1, 1993, the country split into Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Prague, the historical capital of the region since the Ancient Kingdom, was adopted as the capital of the Czech Republic.

The Jewish Community Today

Today, about 1,700 people are associated with the Jewish community in Prague, however, a revival of Jewish life is occurring. Many Jews found it easier to be quiet and hide their identity during the Communist era and so many people learned of being Jewish only after 1989. The average age in Prague’s Jewish community has dropped from 70 (the average age in the 1980's) to about 55 because of increased involvement of younger Jews.

The center of Jewish life is the historic Jewish Town Hall, which houses Jewish cultural, social and religious events. A Jewish kindergarten, sponsored by the Lauder Foundation, recently opened in Prague. A new Jewish old age home also opened recently. There is also a monthly journal, Rosh Chodesh, and a radio program "Shalom Aleichem."

While Prague has many beautiful historic synagogues, there is sparse synagogue attendance and many synagogues are only open on high holidays. "Beit Praha" is a Conservative congregation and conducts Kabbalat Shabbat services every Friday evening. The Reform community has several congregations as a result of different splits, the largest of which is Beit Simcha, which is even older than Beit Praha. The only Rabbi in the Czech republic resides in Prague, other services are lead by community members.

One of the major problems facing the Jewish community is the rise of skinheads and many of the Jewish leaders are worried about the lack of action against the rise of xenophobia and violence perpetrated by them. They believe the skinheads are misusing their rights to free speech and the government should not protect them during their marches.

On the other hand, the Jewish community is pleased with President Havel, who they see as pro-Jewish and were relieved when the extremist, right-wing parties were unable to gain a seat in the Parliament in the last elections.

Travel Research

I normally try to do at least a bit of research before we travel to an area.  Usually it takes the form of putting together a list of the places I would like us to visit.  (The formal division of labor: Husband takes charge of restaurants, I take charge of everything else.)  This time around, the research is taking me into some different areas.  Hungary and the Czech Republic had thriving Jewish communities prior to WW2. I wanted to research a bit about what happened to them and what the communities had been like before their destruction.

From the book, "Jewish Heritage Travel:  A Guide to Eastern Europe" by Ruth Ellen Gruber, Hungarian history as seen from a Jewish perspective:

Hungary

Jews lived [in Hungary] in ancient Roman times, well before the arrival of the conquering Magyar tribes who came from the east in the ninth century, but more modern Jewish history began here with the immigration of Jews from Bohemia, Moravia, and Germany in the 11th century...The following centuries were marked by pendulum swings from persecution to prosperity, from expulsions to acceptance.  A relatively long period of stability for Hungary's Jews began when Muslim Turkish forces defeated Hapsburg armies in the early 16th century and incorporated most of Hungary into the Ottoman Empire, which had long been a refuge for Jews expeled and persecuted in Western Christian countries. Anti-Jewish terror and and mass expulsions of Jews from cities accompanied the recapture of Hungary by the Hapsburgs in the late 17th century.

Many Jews fled, many others arrived and things improved:

The Edicts of Tolerance issued in the 1780s by the Emperor Joseph II eased many restrictions on where Jews could live and granted them other civil rights. By 1850, Hungary's Jewish population reached 340,000.  Jews played vital roles in Hungarian industry, agriculture, business, and finance, even before achieving full, formal emancipation in 1867.  They were active, too, in culture, the arts, and the professions. Before WW1, 42 percent of Hungarian journalists and 49 percent of Hungarian doctors were Jewish...From mid-century until WW1, the Hapsburg rulers raised 346 Jewish (or formerly Jewish) families to the nobility.

Anti-semitism began to rise again, and many Hungarian Jews changed their names to make them more Hungarian sounding.  Many Jews intermarried and converted to Christianity. 

At the outset of WW2, Budapest allied itself with the Axis powers and was rewarded with parts of Slovakia, Transylvania, Yugoslavia, and sub-Carpathian Ruthnia that had belonged to Hungary before WW1.  More than 800,000 Jews lived in this "Great Hungary" in 1941.  Hungary's ruler, Adm. Miklos Horthy, initially staved off the deportation of Hungary's Jews. But after the Germans occupied the country in March 1944, the full-scale annihilation of Hungarian Jewry began.  Between April and June, aided by what one nazi chief called the "zealouys and full participation" of Hungarian police, the Germans rounded up more than 430,000 Jews in provincial towns and villages and deproted them to Auschwitz.  Meanwhile, tens of thousands of other Hungarian Jews died in forced labor battalions, on ghetto streets, or in mass executions...In all, out of more than 800,000 Jews in Great Hungary before the war, at least 550,000 perished, and most Jewish communities in the provinces were wiped out.

...Estimates of the number of Jews in Hungary today range from 54,000 to 130,000 - or even thousands more, depending on the definition of "Jew."  All but a few thousand live in Budapest, and the vast majority are secular or unaffiliated with Jewish institutions.  Still, as in other postcommunist countries, Hungary has seen a dramatic revival of Jewish communal activities and individual assertion of Jewish identity since the fall of communism.  Budapest today boasts a full infrastructure for Jewish life: synagogues, schools, a Jewish community center, kosher shops, and cultural programs and institutions including a Jewish university incorporating a teacher-training college and rabbinical seminary.

Next:  Prague.     

The Grand Canyon Skywalk Opening Ceremony

Very cool video from CNN.  As far as the controversy goes, I say more power to the Hualapai Indian Tribe.  I hope it's a successful endeavor and makes them lots of money.  I hope that hotels and restaurants are built and that millions come to see and enjoy the canyon.  More than anything, I really hope that the skywalk is safe.

The deck is anchored deep into a limestone cliff. As people walk across it, the glass layers creak and the deck wobbles almost imperceptibly.

To one side, the Colorado river appears as a slim, pea-green ribbon. To the other is a triangular dip in the canyon's ridge, known as "Eagle Point" because it looks like a bird with outstretched wings.

When the wind blows, only the most daring visitors resist grabbing the steel rail to steady their knees.

According to the video, the engineers claim that the skywalk could support the weight of seventy 747 airplanes. 

I'd love to see it in person.

Budapest

A short while ago, I posted a query asking if anyone could help me find out information about attending a seder in Budapest.  A few days passed, and I thought, oh well, guess I'm not going to hear anything...

Then suddenly, a reply.  TM from Jewlicious directed me to Bruno,  the author of the Judapest blog.  Within hours, I had all the information I needed. Even better, Bruno has posted all the contacts re: Seder 2007 in Budapest for anyone else who may be searching for them - in English, as well as all kinds of terrific links and facts about visiting Jewish places of interest.

Thanks very much, TM and Bruno!

While I Was Away

I spent the past several days in Scottsdale, Arizona, tagging along on a semi-business/golf watching trip with my husband and some friends (I took the same trip last year and posted about it, some might recall).  Once again, it was a great trip despite a couple of unfortunate misplacements of my 50 yr old marbles.

I don't know what happened to me this weekend, but it seems like I had some sort of black cloud over my head because I kept losing things.  First, when it came time to leave I couldn't find the post-mastectomy elastic sleeve that I wear when I travel on a plane (it prevents swelling during pressure changes in flight).  I looked all over the place, before finally finding it underneath some things in the cabinet under the bathroom sink at the last minute. 

While we were there, we went into Old Town Scottsdale, which consisted of shop after shop after shop selling silver and turquoise jewelry.  My girlfriend and I were roped in by a very good saleswoman, and we each bought necklaces and matching earrings.  I wasn't unhappy about it later because I really did like the set, but I thought that we might have overpaid a bit for this "designer jewelry that is sold exclusively in our store and no where else, signed by the artist" etc etc.  Anyway, I wore it to dinner that night, and somewhere along the way, lost one of the earrings.  It was one of those dangling sorts of earrings that was attached to a wire which went into the ear and did not have a back on it.  Sometimes the wire can work its way out of the ear, which is what must have happened. 

The next day, girlfriend and I retraced our steps while the men watched the FBR golf tournament.  We'd eaten dinner at another hotel, and went back there and asked people at the reception desk, the restaurant and the gift shop.  They couldn't have been nicer,  carefully checking their lost and found and taking my name and number in case it turned up.  We went up to the restaurant and checked around the table where we'd eaten.  We took apart a couch we'd sat on for a few minutes.  Nowhere.  Couldn't find it.  I wasn't very happy about it, but what could I do?  So we continued on with our day, walking through cactus gardens, having lunch, browsing shops, etc.  Later, when we got back to our hotel, I figured I'd better ask at the reception desk there as well.  The woman behind the desk called housekeeping and wonder of wonders, they had it!  Someone had found it in the driveway the previous evening.  It must have fallen as I was getting out of the car.

However, when I tried to call my husband to tell him that I'd found the earring, I discovered that my cell phone was nowhere to be found. We tried calling it, but didn't hear it ringing, and no one answered it, it just flipped over to voicemail. I'd searched the car for the earring and hadn't seen the phone, so it couldn't be there.  I felt like such an idiot. 

When we got the car the next morning to drive to the airport, girlfriend's husband decided to try to call my cell one more time just in case and...we heard it ringing!  It was under the front passenger seat. 

A few pics:

The sky was a gorgeous shade of blue.

It's very difficult to make out, but up top in the background, you can see golfers and spectators at the FBR Open.  I watched a couple of hours at the end of the match. All in all, it's about as dull seeing it in person as it is watching it on TV, except for the people watching and free food and drinks in the clubhouse. I have no closer golf pics because they don't allow cameras into the tournament, and they are very strict about it.  I had my camera in my purse, which they searched.  I had to leave it at will call, which was a royal pain in the rear end.

My obligatory fountain pic.  If there's water, I must photograph it.

Cacti.

I risked my life just to see more of it.

Just look at that sky.

Hey, there's more cacti.

They just don't seem to run out of it.

They grow up high.

And they grow down low.   

   

So exotic to my East Coast eyes.

Sunrise, snapped from the car window on the way to the airport yesterday morning. We arrived back to frigid temperature and wind chill near zero.
Man, but it's cold.    

I have resolved to keep a close eye on a the few remaining marbles I possess because I just don't have the time or inclination to search for anything else. 

NYC on New Year's Eve

The place was wild. The City (That's what I grew up calling NYC.  There is no other.  It's THE City) was packed with people and it was fun just to be there. 

A view of Central Park from the south:

There were lines waiting to get into the Carnegie Deli:

 

New Year's paraphernalia was being sold all over the place:

New York's finest, getting ready for the mass craziness in Times Square.  Across the street from this group we could see the police administrators referring to maps and pamphlets that were inches thick, planning details and going over procedures with one another.  I do not envy them their job on this holiday:

We had lunch at our favorite NY lunch joint - The Redeye Grill:

Maybe we should stay for dessert sometime:

An afternoon view of Times Square, from a distance:

Radio City Music Hall.  We used to go there when I was growing up.  I always loved the live orchestra and the Rockettes.  They don't show movies there anymore, but I think they still have the Rockettes: 

Christmas decorations - Saks Fifth Avenue:

Holiday window displays:

Rockefeller Center:

The Apple Store was crowded, but we went in anyway:

We didn't go into MoMa, but we did go into one of their gift shops. I fell in love with a bowl, a set of coasters, a vase and some cubes, among many other cool items.

Interesting doors:

My son was in NY with some friends and they came to meet us for a drink at Mickey Mantle's. They left for a party, and we went to change for dinner.  We had a 10 pm reservation at Aureole's.  It was close to our hotel, so we walked.  Saw lots of elegant folks along the way, dressed in tuxs and evening gowns.  The atmosphere on the street was electric.  The entire restaurant erupted at midnight, people blowing horns, hugging, snapping pics. Sorry, but I am censoring the photo of me in my New Year's tiara.  LOL.  We walked back to the hotel around 1am, went to bed and flew home New Year's Day.