7/5/07 - 11:04AM - Wow, that was a quick stop, but still fun. As many of you know, Buda and Pest were, until the 19th century two different cities on opposite sides of the Danube. I stayed in Pest, just up the street from the really cool Parlaiment building:
It was kinda scary going to a country whose language I knew nothing about. With German, at least I knew the very basics, but I didn't even know 'thank you' in Hungarian. One thing I learned though was that not only do they say 'hello', they say it both upon greeting and leaving. Also, the 'S' is pronounced 'sh' but 'sz' is our normal s so Budapest is Budapesht. A lot of borrowed english words obviously need that sz, like busz and szex (I stayed near a seedy area).
Anyway, after getting settled, I headed out at 1 to accomplish an ambitious agenda in less than a day. I started by getting food and wanted something authentic. The hostel owner recommended a nearby restaurant that had goulash for about 6 bucks. Wow. I had my reservations about goulash, maybe because it sounds like goulags or ghouls, I don't know, but this was very delicious. It's basically a big bowl of soup with potatoes, meat, and some veggies, but it was soooo good. I highly recommend that Sarah, who enjoys making new/experimental stuff, try to find a traditional Hungarian goulash, I'd fly to Denver for a bowl.
I then walked to the main area of the city, explored, then took a bus to Statue Park. Again, as many of you know/remember, after the Soviets liberated Hungary from the Nazis, they didn't leave. Communist leaders were put into place and statues were erected (standard commy affaire). After communism fell, many of thesee statues were put in this park. It was very cool, certainly something that'd make any John Birch Society cardholder shiver. This statue previously stood on a hill over Budapest:
The whole design of the park was symbolic, too. The front gate was big and nice, but nothing was behind it really, pomp with no circumstance, much like communism. Here's another one (I'd do more but the internet is really slow here):
I really enjoyed the visit and although I had already learned communism doesn't work thanks to Sid Meier's Civiliation computer games, the thought was certainly reinforced by the exhibits of Statue Park.
Back in the city, I walked around again and got dinner at McDonald's and ate it by the river. I know, it's McDonald's but I'm trying to not spend so much. The fries were really good though. I was told later by a guide that when the first McDonald's opened after the fall of communism, people thought you needed a passport to get in, they didn't really know what it was.
At 8, I did a night tour, there were only 3 of us and the guide, so that was cool. We walked all around and then took a cruise on the Danube. The city is very modern, helped by the fact that most of it was destroyed by WWII or the 1956 revolution. They call it the Paris of the East, but I don't know if I'd go that far, but certainly the nicest formerly communist city I've ever been to. Here's a couple pics from the tour:
3 comments:
A fine choice of music - it was one of my jury pieces my freshman year of college. I think the Etude in Db ("Un Sospiro") is my favorite, but Liszt never disappoints.
Also, I remember eating some goulash in Salzburg (I can't remember where, or I would have recommended it) and it was deliiiiicious.
Those statues are rad! Especially the one of that guy playing jai alai.
Man, I wish I was one of the "many" when you bring up a historical reference and say, "as many of you know..." Who woulda thought you were just your everyday auditor?
You know, Jeff, Liebestraum was Grandma and Grandpa O's song (at least according to Grandma). She used to play that as often as her Jesse Evans Smith records. Of course, Bette Davis dissed it in "All About Eve" - "I detest cheap sentiment!" A classic, nonetheless.
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