Budapeszt 2!

Okay my first full day.

Adriano works in the morning so my other Firstie from Hungary promised to meet up with me. He knows a lot more about the city and is a good travel buddy. I basically did 6 hours of walking all around Peszt with Balint. We started at Hero's Square.  I appreciated the statues. We walked and  I looked at the Opera House. I've never been to an Opera. Yet. 

The best buildings of every European city are their Churches. It's where all of the money went, so it makes sense. In St Stephens Basilica we sat and I just enjoyed the splendour (and the relief from my feet) for quite a while. It's always quiet, with a certain glow. I think so anyways.  The ceilings are always beautiful too, though it's a strain on the neck. This was the first time we went up about 500 spiralling steps to the top where we could look at the city from up high. Man, am I unfit, Insanity days are officially over. 

The next best building in an the city is the Parliament, which from Buda looks magnificent. One of the best. (Well of the ones I've seen). But up close on the road side there was sadly a lot of construction going on- which ruined the effect. Megh. 

Balint and I went into an antiquarian and, Hungarian) - they all make me happy. I bought  The Paul Street Boys (Hungarian: A Pál utcai fiúk) which is a youth novel by the Hungarian writer Ferenc Molnár -  a valuable souvenir. 

We stopped in one of Balints favorite pubs to try a Hungarian drink called Unicum I seriously thought it was disgusting. Peppery Tabasco Sauce flavour. Oh well... try everything once right?

Going to cities for the first time, museums are essential. Yet I didn't think I could manage the Naitonal History museum or anything of fine arts without a true guide to explain it all to me. So instead, Balint and I both being Higher European History students of Kate's - we went to the House of Terror. 


 The lady had promised that there were English subtitles under everything, but I really wish I had paid for an audio guide. Even so - it was very well laid out and I now understand more. However, going to a museum where you haven't actually learnt the topic in the first place, it's always overwhelming on how much I DON'T know about any situation. The building was once the headquarters of the AVH secret police. Many political prisoners were taken there for torture. Apparently the walls were of double thickness to mute the screams - not a great thought. 

It was interesting in that it focused on both the fascist and Stalinist regimes, and represented the atrocities of both. Now, I don't know if this is because I couldn't understand the Hungarian, but it seemed that it represented both, not making either side better - which is something you don't always get in a museum. There were prison cells in the dungeon which were harrowing. In each prison cell and in the last hallways there were dozens of pictures of people. I thought they were all prisoners- as it had been when I went to Auschwitz. Going through a hallway like that you always look at one particular picture and feel pain, and more to think that for every one person that is remarkable, there are a dozen that are not, that don't catch your eye. It's always so sad.

That's what I understood from the lack of English anyways. But it turned out it was the exact opposite, the prison cells - I had gotten it right. But the last hallway was pictures of spies/torturers from both sides (many still alive) who had allowed the atrocities to happen. A completely different feeling then... 

Anyways, by the end of the day I was exhausted. I got back to Adriano's, had dinner with his lovely family, and was asleep by 9:30. 

Appreciation Overload.