Our first stop was Heroes Square...
It has significant history for our family!
My mom live just across from Heroes Square when she was born in 1953 to 1956.
In 1956 during the Russian invasion of Hungary, the Russians moved in their tanks and set them up in this square facing outwards. For a week my mom and her family hid in the basement of their apartment, while they heard shots being fired into their neighborhood.
Because of this...my Grandfather decided that was it and planned his escape from Hungary.
In the dead of night... He took my Grandma, aunt (4) and mom (3) along with a port-a potty and my Grandma's fur coat and escaped to the East. Only telling his Mother of the plan the day before. They left everything behind... and left in hopes of a better life somewhere else.
At the time Canada was accepting refugees who had backgrounds the oil field and with my Grandpa's education in petroleum engineering, that is where they were headed.
The escape story is one straight out of a book. They crossed over bridges, having to time it just right so the security lights wouldn't give them away. They walked for
My Grandpa left the three girls in a ditch and walked to a light in the distance. He came upon a Austrian farmhouse. Being the genius he was, he was able to communicate with the people and they went back to retrieve my Grandma, aunt and mom. They stayed there for a few days and then they went to the refugee camp in Vienna for a few weeks. While they were there, my Grandpa went to the Canadian embassy and was given the ok to fly into Canada with the family.
One of my mom and aunt's favorite memories about going back 'home' was the Budapest Zoo. It is said to be one of the oldest zoos in Europe. The kids had a great time and it literally had every animal under the sun!
Then we were off to Vaydahunyad. A palace that was built from piece from all different time periods.
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