the land of grimaces??
If you want to take a step back into time and/or have your stereotypical expectations of Eastern European gruffness, lousy food and lack of modernization met, fly with Malev Airlines (the Hungarian national airline) and then go through immigration in Budapest. We've seen more than our fair share of immigration officials, but these were right up there in the top 5 most hateful for their wordless slapping down of our passports on the counter (and it wasn't because I'm an American) and the sneers of contempt. The topper was the lady immigration official who stormed out of her cubicle to yell at a Chinese tour guide who was trying to gather his unruly flock of middle-aged women travelers. "Please be quiet. Vee are trying to vork here!" I'm not sure if he completely understood her, but he was stunned into silence, as was everyone else in the baggage claim area.
Yep...Hungarians are a sad looking people and a folk not given to warm hospitality...at least not in shops or restaurants. We walked out of a restaurant when our waitress didn't return to our table to take our orders. Perhaps she decided that she didn't feel like trying to speak English, maybe it was time for a cigarette break (and, my God, do these people smoke!) or perhaps this is normal. We left the restaurant and opted,instead for stall-purchased fyllo-dough wrapped potato and cheese strudels.
Franz Liszt
All this aside, it was great being in Budapest again. I had visited in 1999 when western food chains were just starting to crop up on shopping streets and the bulk of the visitors were roving groups of Russian men in black trench coats. These days, there are more visitors from western Europe (especially Italians) and there is a definite sense that a lot of money has gone into fixing up buildings, roads and shops. In fact, the apartment we rented was purchased by an Englishman who is putting a lot of money into fixing up the place and furnishing it with all the comforts of a western European apartment (actually, this apartment is only 3 square meters smaller than the place we lived in in Amsterdam). It was a great deal and it felt really nice to have a little "home" for a few days.
We enjoyed warm, sunny spring weather and the lilacs and blossom trees were in their full splendor. The trees all had new leaves of a brilliant bright green that you only see in the beginning of spring. All around the city, locals pruning off lilac flowers to bring home and young couples making out in public places seemed to be common signs of spring.
Chain Bridge
We did loads of walking, traveling from Buda (the older city) on one side of the Danube to Pest on the other. The architecture is beautiful and the imposing facades of the large stone structures give way to charming courtyards with wrought iron railings (if you were lucky enough to catch a glimpse through an open front door). The sidewalks are wide and roomy (maybe we only noticed this because we were coming from Bangkok, where it wasn't unusual to encounter small sidewalks with deep holes, trees, salespeople, dogs, etc.) which made it a pleasure to stroll. The broad streets and sidewalks are in marked contrast to the claustrophobic supermarkets and shops. Shopping for food was truly unpleasant due to the lack of personal space and the total lack of healthy or tasty looking items on the shelves. The bulk of the food is from Hungary and not imported, which meant that there issn't a very big variety of produce (though LOADS of Hungarian sweet peppers) or of packaged goods. The one exception was the wonderful market hall, which had a wide selection of meats, veg and, of course, souvenir packs of Hungarian paprika.
The Synogogue
One day we rented an audio tour (like the ones you get in a museum) for self-guided walks around the old castle and the Citadel on the Buda side. We also spent a half day in one of the 15 thermal bath complexes in the city and really enjoyed the pools of varying temperatures, the outdoor thermal pools and the strong current pool.
Szechenyi Thermal Bath complex and an impending storm
Buda Castle
Parliament
While in Budapest, we also ran into a couple of friends from the ice (we're everywhere!) and we enjoyed some meals together. I particularly enjoyed hearing their different perspectives on the things we were seeing. For example, I felt that there wasn't a whole lot of English spoken or written in the city (either on menus, billboards, or shops), while they were surprised at how much English there was. One thing we all noticed and enjoyed was the frequent use of exclamation marks in Hungarian. Was this a direct correlation to their frequent use of directives (especially by civil servants)??? Who knows...but we did enjoy that they also used these exclamation marks when they translated sentences into English and German....Press the foot pedal to operate the water!!! All visitors must use a locker!!!
Fishermen's Bastion
Chain Bridge with St. Stephen's Basilica in the background
St. Matthias and the Fishermen's Bastion
What one really misses after a short period of time in Budapest is some diversity. Traveling on the train for a short day trip to Szentendre or on the metro, you can't help but notice that everyone is pasty white. For me, though, the food, the tiny markets, the lack of diversity and the lack of warmth from the people did nothing to dampen my enthusiasm for Budapest. The feeling of spring amongst the beautiful streets and buildings was enough to make me happy!
P.S. As I finished writing this posting, I switched to the New York Times online to see a front page article about the rise of Anti-Semitism in Budapest. There are currently more than 80,000 Jews in Budapest, more than in any other part of central Europe and the fact that Hungarians, 19 years after the end of communism, are now able to show that they are believers might be part of the same zeitgeist that allows far-right extremists to now show their hatred. I've grossly simplified the situation, so please see the May 7, 2008 article for more in-depth analysis of the situation.
