Reflections on Budapest
Hungary: August 11 - August 13, 2006
We stop in Bratislava, Slovakia on the way to Budapest. We only spent a few hours there but it seems like a charming European city, although much smaller than most other European capitals. The architecture and cobbled streets are pure history but there is still evidence of modern times, like the Soviet mark of having a major highway directly next to a several hundred year old church, or the street vendors selling t-shirts, a must in any respectably-sized tourist town.
Budapest makes quite an impression, especially when you stay in a hotel several hundred feet above the city with an amazing view of the whole city. Our hotel is an experience unto itself; it used to be a military fort with the battle scars to prove it and with a remnant of its history as a dungeon hanging from the ceiling in every room in the form of a ring where the prisoners chains used to be attached, its not easily forgotten. The hotel is spacious and nice except for the bathroom situation. Each room has its own shower and sink, but the floor shares two toilets down the hall, separated by sex. The shower is not a pretty sight. I spend the whole time hunched over trying to avoid the strange brown stain on the floor and the shower curtain that doesn't look like its been changed since the hotel was a dungeon.
On the same citadel as our hotel is a former Soviet monument that is now designated a Peace and Victory monument. I believe some part of the facade was altered before it was renamed.
The next day starts with a trip to the monument of Raoul Wallinger who gave out thousands of exit papers to Jews before and during WWII. We visit the Hungarian History museum which was interesting but not quite interesting enough to keep me awake the whole time. But our next stop was one of the coolest things we saw on the whole trip. Matthias Church was breathtaking inside. The entirety of the interior was painted; all different kinds of designs or pictures. The columns, the walls, the ceiling, everything. It was too dark inside to take decent pictures without a flash, but as the caretakers haven't seemed to figure out yet that flash wears away the paint, our whole group got dozens of great pictures. It was funny, they let us do something that could potentially damage the beauty and history of the church, but a group who was talking too loudly got soundly rebuked for being disrespectful. Outside was a recreation of the fortress surrounding the church called Fisherman's Bation. IT IS AMAZING! There are no words to describe it! Despite the massive throng of tourists to the point of not being able to take more than a few steps without interfering in someone's group picture, you still felt transported back hundreds of years to when such a structure actually served as a defense.
One of the places we went to dinner while in Budapest, despite pandering to tourists, was a fun little Gypsy restaurant whose main draw was not the food, but the dinner entertainment. There were several different kinds of dances: two couples doing typical pair dances, two men banging sticks on people's tables and making their plates jump, or two women swinging in circles with vials of wine balanced on top of their heads. My favorite though was the violin player who could play so fast his fingers were a blur. He was a show unto himself, making the violin laugh, cry, and even flirt. Quite a good time.
If you ever go to Budapest, visiting the "House of Terror" is a must. It is the occupation museum of Hungary and is housed in a former Soviet building where people were kept prisoner, tortured, or even killed. The upper floors house a very modern and impressive museum with great descriptions of everything and an atmosphere that is truly chilling. In the basement, you can see the rooms where people were held, starved or tortured. Even with dozens of people around you, you still feel terrified, like you can't breathe, and cold down to the bone. Its extremely well-done.
Budapest is also one of the homes of authentic Turkish baths. I was almost able to visit them, if not for some communication difficulties and my being devoid of patience after 2 straight weeks of traveling. I heard they were very dirty and the other customer's lack of modesty was quite revolting, but it still would have been fun to see.
Of course, Budapest had some great tourist shopping, but I found it wasn't as cheap as I anticipated. Many of the souveneirs were not unique to Budapest, although obviously the postcards and t-shirt I probably couldn't have gotten anywhere else.
It seemed to be a pretty cool city with a fascinating, sometimes horrible, history.
We stop in Bratislava, Slovakia on the way to Budapest. We only spent a few hours there but it seems like a charming European city, although much smaller than most other European capitals. The architecture and cobbled streets are pure history but there is still evidence of modern times, like the Soviet mark of having a major highway directly next to a several hundred year old church, or the street vendors selling t-shirts, a must in any respectably-sized tourist town.
Budapest makes quite an impression, especially when you stay in a hotel several hundred feet above the city with an amazing view of the whole city. Our hotel is an experience unto itself; it used to be a military fort with the battle scars to prove it and with a remnant of its history as a dungeon hanging from the ceiling in every room in the form of a ring where the prisoners chains used to be attached, its not easily forgotten. The hotel is spacious and nice except for the bathroom situation. Each room has its own shower and sink, but the floor shares two toilets down the hall, separated by sex. The shower is not a pretty sight. I spend the whole time hunched over trying to avoid the strange brown stain on the floor and the shower curtain that doesn't look like its been changed since the hotel was a dungeon.
On the same citadel as our hotel is a former Soviet monument that is now designated a Peace and Victory monument. I believe some part of the facade was altered before it was renamed.
The next day starts with a trip to the monument of Raoul Wallinger who gave out thousands of exit papers to Jews before and during WWII. We visit the Hungarian History museum which was interesting but not quite interesting enough to keep me awake the whole time. But our next stop was one of the coolest things we saw on the whole trip. Matthias Church was breathtaking inside. The entirety of the interior was painted; all different kinds of designs or pictures. The columns, the walls, the ceiling, everything. It was too dark inside to take decent pictures without a flash, but as the caretakers haven't seemed to figure out yet that flash wears away the paint, our whole group got dozens of great pictures. It was funny, they let us do something that could potentially damage the beauty and history of the church, but a group who was talking too loudly got soundly rebuked for being disrespectful. Outside was a recreation of the fortress surrounding the church called Fisherman's Bation. IT IS AMAZING! There are no words to describe it! Despite the massive throng of tourists to the point of not being able to take more than a few steps without interfering in someone's group picture, you still felt transported back hundreds of years to when such a structure actually served as a defense.
One of the places we went to dinner while in Budapest, despite pandering to tourists, was a fun little Gypsy restaurant whose main draw was not the food, but the dinner entertainment. There were several different kinds of dances: two couples doing typical pair dances, two men banging sticks on people's tables and making their plates jump, or two women swinging in circles with vials of wine balanced on top of their heads. My favorite though was the violin player who could play so fast his fingers were a blur. He was a show unto himself, making the violin laugh, cry, and even flirt. Quite a good time.
If you ever go to Budapest, visiting the "House of Terror" is a must. It is the occupation museum of Hungary and is housed in a former Soviet building where people were kept prisoner, tortured, or even killed. The upper floors house a very modern and impressive museum with great descriptions of everything and an atmosphere that is truly chilling. In the basement, you can see the rooms where people were held, starved or tortured. Even with dozens of people around you, you still feel terrified, like you can't breathe, and cold down to the bone. Its extremely well-done.
Budapest is also one of the homes of authentic Turkish baths. I was almost able to visit them, if not for some communication difficulties and my being devoid of patience after 2 straight weeks of traveling. I heard they were very dirty and the other customer's lack of modesty was quite revolting, but it still would have been fun to see.
Of course, Budapest had some great tourist shopping, but I found it wasn't as cheap as I anticipated. Many of the souveneirs were not unique to Budapest, although obviously the postcards and t-shirt I probably couldn't have gotten anywhere else.
It seemed to be a pretty cool city with a fascinating, sometimes horrible, history.
posted by Megan Humphreys @ 11/20/2006 12:24:00 PM
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