Budapest: Day 4

By our 4th day in Budapest, I'd decided that if I 1) spoke Hungarian or 2) had actually mastered other language and had the ability to acquire another one I would totally move to Budapest for 6 months.

My love for the city persisted, despite the dreary weather that greeted us as we left the hotel.

We drove to the Lauder Jewish Day School, which is by many measures a miracle. The Jewish population in Budapest was destroyed by the Holocaust. Yet, on the outskirts of the city is a school which enrolls 100s of young Jewish students.

The school itself was beautiful, and the principal was brilliant and inspired and passionate. I was really taken about by the spirit of the school, which defied all our preconceptions about post-Holocaust Eastern Europe. We were treated to lunch in the cafeteria, although I ate very little of the deep-fried mushrooms, creamed spinach, and french fries.

Our next stop was the JCC. I remember very little of this part of the day outside of struggling to stay awake. At Siraly (pronounced Seer-eye), however, I was much more awake, thanks to Siraly's amazing story and their delicious hot cocoa. Siraly (side note: Siraly (Seer-eye) is on a street called Kiraly (Keer-eye)) is a restaurant, performance space, meeting place for young Jews (and non-Jews)in Budapest. The synagogues and other organized Jewish settings in Budapest are very much dominated by a 60+ crowd, and Siraly was a response to the younger generations desire to connect to Judaism in a new way. Very cool.

That evening, we were all invited to Tamas Halasz's (artist and critic in Budapest and friend of Neils') apartment for a party. There was delicious cheese and chocolate, a birthday cake for Neil, and lots and lots of wine. Mid-way through the evening I realized that all the Dorot Fellows were hilariously drunk. I think I missed the memo.