East-Central Europe's largest city is of course, Budapest. It's a really cool, green, pretty and interesting city where we spent four fascinating days.
As you may already know, Budapest was formed in 1873 with the unification of Buda...
...and Pest.
The two halves are of course separated by the Danube. The Széchenyi Chain Bridge was the first in Budapest to cross the river, built in 1849.
St Stephen became Hungary's first king in the year 1000, and the large basilica pictured below houses his right hand. But more importantly, it is where the greatest Hungarian of 20th century is buried. The one and only Ferenc Puskás, who led the Magical Magyars to the 1954 World Cup Final.
Built around the same time as the basilica is Europe's largest synagogue. The building of the Dohány Street Synagogue was inspired by Moorish Spain.
Another of Budapest's monumental buildings is the Hungarian Parliament Building.
Beautifully detailed inside and out, the building is a slightly larger copy of the Palace of Westminster in London.
We were there on October 23rd, the 56th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. A national holiday since 1989, the day is used both to commemorate the victims of the failed revolt and to demonstrate for or against current political issues.
What began as a small student demonstration, soon gathered such momentum that the communist government fell within a week. On November 1st, the new Prime Minister, Imre Nagy, withdrew Hungary from the Warsaw Pact and declared it a neutral country. However, on November 3rd, the USSR retaliated and quickly surrounded Budapest. The UN and USA did little to stop or even condemn the Russians, partly because in the same week, Israel, France and the UK had invaded Egypt.
By the end of the fighting one week later, 2,500 Hungarians had been killed. There are still bullet holes on the Buda Castle today.
We learned of the revolution and life behind the iron curtain at the moving House of Terror Museum.
Remnants of Hungary's communist past can be found at Memento Park, which provides a refuge for unwanted statues.
One Soviet tradition that does bring a smile to all is the Children's Railway. What better way to see the beautiful Buda hills than by exploiting the labour of those under 14 years of age.
This part of the city is really beautiful, especially when viewed from a chairlift.
Other classic Budapest activities that we had to engage in were
- A smooth shot of pálinka in one of Pest's ruin bars
- A hearty goulash
- Enjoying the view from the Fisherman's Bastion
Speaking of heroes. Hungary's new conservative government has recently introduced guards at many of its sites. Because they're new, they can often be seen giggling at themselves or aiming guns at tourists.
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