Budapest Untour, Summer of 2002
by Jerry Perlmutter, Woodridge, IL
Let me start by sharing my biases so you can see my remarks in context and judge them more fully. I am 70 years old and quite robust for my age. I have a background in the social sciences so I am very much interested in culture and psychology when I travel. I exercise daily and eat a diet low in fat (no red meat, little cheese etc. although I do eat poultry and fish that is broiled), sugar, salt. I look for whole wheat grains. Abroad I depart dietarily at times to try ethnic dishes that I think are "unhealthy" just to get into the culture that is new to me. I am an ethnic Jew (I do not practice the religion), but I am brim full of Jewish values that I learned growing up.
Historical Context
Many times I bumped into Hungary's history because it is so alive to its citizens. Hungary has been occupied by other cultures, other countries for 340 years. Its first modern experience with freedom started just fourteen years ago with the withdrawal of the Soviets. Many people, especially the younger 20 to 40 year olds, are excited by their new-found freedom, very nationalistic, and are in the middle of forging a new national/cultural identity. They draw on their cultural history (the open air museum in Szentendre, and the Ethnographic Museum just behind or east of the Parliament building) especially in the rural areas. They value the freedom, politically and economically, modeled by Western Europe and the United States. They very much want to join the European Union. Many go abroad to study with the intention of bringing their skills back to build the nation. They are very idealistic about their country.Hungary was the dominated country in the Austria-Hungary combination. They started and lost World War I, which was ended by the Trianon treaty. I learned in school to call it the Treaty of Versaille that called for reparations and the ceding of territory by Austria/Germany, which Hitler used as a rationale for starting the Second World War. Hungarians lost much territory and citizens also, and they too felt mistreated (and still do feel the "injustice"). When Hitler started WWII, Hungary joined Nazi Germany in the hope of regaining their lost territory and citizens. They got Germany's agreement to spare Hungary's Jews. There are indications that Hitler never actually expected to honor the agreement. In 1944, Adolph Eichman went to Budapest to initiate sending Budapest's Jews to the concentration camps and he also formed a Jewish ghetto in Budapest including in it the great/large Dohany Synagogue. Seven thousand Jews that died that winter are buried in the courtyard of! this Temple. Hungary secretly sued for peace with the Allies. Hitler found out and had the city of Budapest shelled from its Castle Hill heights. Again at the end of this war Hungary lost more territory and, I heard, 800,000 citizens, many of these to Romania. They were brutally occupied by the Soviets, after all Hungary had sent it soldiers to fight with Germany against Stalin in the Soviet Union. This is the backdrop for what one sees in Budapest today.
Specific Sites, Restaurants and Activities
We stayed at the Aranykez apartment, 4th floor, right around the corner from Vaci Utca (Vatszi Utsza, phonetically)...The Hungarian language is believed to be derived from that of Mongolian invaders mixed with some Finnish. How is that for a formidable combination! There are no English cognates. You look at the signs above stores and cannot figure out what they sell or do unless you get cues from what is in the window. Second language signs are few, and when they exist, they are likely to be in German, like subway signs. There is a high degree of linguistic and social isolation that is created. If you are confused ask younger high school age kids if they speak English. Now students can take English as an optional language in high school. My wife and I tried very hard and in 2 weeks learned how to say thank you in Hungarian. The pronunciation of words is very difficult for English speaking folks (go back a bit and see how Vaci Utca is pronounced). In 2 weeks we had one conductor who called out the station names in a manner we could understand. Know the sequence of stops ahead of time so you c! an anticipate where to get off. A few times people could see our confusion and offered us help in English. Sometimes we went to a series of people for help with directions and could find no one that could help us. We got through with a great map of Budapest made by Budapest Transport Ltd. that Idyll gave to us and instructed us on how to use it. The rest was intuition and problem solving.Check to see that the offered apartment by Idyll is very close to a train station. Train trips more than 20 minutes are rare. And these subways are the most efficient way to travel. The 3 major lines interconnect.
The "Big Three" of Architecture
Around the turn of the twentieth century when Hungary was part of the Hapsburg empire, Austria-Hungary, Hungary enjoyed a wealth that surpassed their previous history. They wanted to build a Parliament Building that was special and would show the world their wealth, culture and investment in a democratic institution. They commissioned competitive architectural renderings. The first three were determined; and they were thought of so highly that all three were chosen to be built. The result is the Parliament, the Ethnographic Museum and the Opera House. All three are beautiful and not to be missed.The Parliament can be toured (consult a guide book or the Idyll rep in Budapest after you arrive). But if the Parliament is in session, tours are not available. I took a tour--it was short and sweet, and I saw the Crown Jewels of Hungary and the inside beauty. I almost wish the Parliament was in session then. I would have preferred to find out how to be a member of the audience and see the building as it gets used, and not get so rushed through.
The Ethnographic Museum contains exhibits about Hungary's history and its rural culture. Find out about the origins of Valentine's Day, for example. It is a wonderful story. And you get a chance to view this beautiful building at your leisure. There is a restaurant on the street on the north end of the Parliament about one or two blocks east (walking away from the Danube). Break here; the food is good (it is not in any guide book we consulted) and there is a large outdoor serving area.
Oh, and the Opera House, built to be smaller than others on the insistence of the architect. It is a beauty. Again the tour was quick, the guides English somewhat limited. Go see a performance and forget a tour. We saw a Jubilee Concert celebrating the 50th year of a Budapest Symphony orchestra. So three other orchestras joined to play for this celebration. There were 265 musicians on stage and horns on both sides at the front of the top seats--what stereo. They played the 1812 Overture, the Wellington Victory Symphony (Beethoven) and others. We had the best seats in the house in the 6th row of the orchestra. Got them a day in advance and paid $22 for them. The Opera House is the only venue that can handle these many musicians because the front of the orchestra elevates to become a forward extension of the stage. At the left of the Opera House is the restaurant we ate at that night, the Belcanto. I have never had chicken as tender. And they emptied my wallet. After 8:30 pm t! he waiters sing opera arias, but we had to go on to the performance.
We were told that Budapest, a city of 2 million, has 30 symphony orchestras! The musical performances available are numerous. We attended 7 in our 14 days.
Don't Miss the Churches
St. Stephens Basilica is right in downtown Pest. They recently added an elevator to the church so you get a panorama of Budapest without climbing endless stairs. Go after you have spent some time in the city and you will recognize some buildings. Take your Eyewitness Travel Guide to Budapest. The book's pictures will help you in what you are seeing. Inside the church, it is receiving a major renovation. At this time you can see the old and new to see what vast differences the restoration is making. And you can watch the renovators working to see some of how they do it. This is a beautiful church interior. ZhuZha, our Untour official, speaks wonderful English and is very informed about Budapest's history and present day life. She told us the country has a flat income tax rate of 45%. The renovation of the churches uses this governmental money. When we asked her how she felt about her money being used this way (being agnostics, we were surprised) she said that all of the churches and synagogues are helped, so she felt ok about it.Another beautiful church is Matyas (St Mathius), which is in the Castle Hill area. We saw this church by attending a performance of the Mozart Reqiuem; the experience was outstanding. In the square that this church fronts on (Holy Trinity) is a pedestal built out of gratitude by persons who survived the plague. While up on the Hill go into the Fortuna passage. There is a book store with Hungarian fiction translated into English. You can sit and read and sip tea or coffee. The people who run this store are warm folks. There is also a place to snack there. The Ruszwurm Cukraszda at this address: Szentharomsag u.7 has a wonderful selection of wonderful pastries, but their outside is small and their inside is hot when the weather is warm.
Another church is St. Annes Baroque. It is ornately beautiful, has a wonderful organ (we heard a recital there). It is in Buda at Batthyany Square. Just behind the church is an interesting neighborhood just to walk around and look. And on the square is Angelica's, a restaurant with a very large number of menu items, and with the largest number of outside tables we saw in Hungary. It is inexpensive and the food was good.
Szentendre (S)
At the northern end of the green subway line, right next to the booths where you pay for the green line, is the booth to pay for the train to S. Its cost is not included in the card we got for public transportation. We chose not to go on the tour of the Bend area offered by Untours because we were most interested in S of the 3 towns included. And we read such wonderful things about the outdoor museum, we wanted to spend a whole day in S. Our trip to the outdoor museum was a big disappointment. There is no self-directed guide in English included. The people who sat at the buildings spoke only Hungarian, and not all of them showed much interest in doing much of anything when we came to the building. Others tried but communication was difficult to impossible. We saw rural buildings not much different than I have seen elsewhere. The markers for graves were very interestingly carved wooden posts, but we saw these at the Ethnographic Museum. There is a calendar of events for the outdoor museum, some of which would be of interest (like wine tastings or folk dancing), but we got this brochure at the Outdoor Museum. I don't know if the government tourist agency has this info; I didn't see it anywhere, however, I never asked for it specifically. The bus for the Outdoor Museum (#7) is behind the train station. The trip is 45 minutes. Look at the return times posted at the bus stop. We got times at the intourist agency and they were the wrong times. This is the only place we had to pay to use their toilets. (By the way, toilets are clean and modern at all restaurants and all of the other public facilities we used, in spite of what your guidebook might say). Use a trip to S to get out of the city! into the country and nature. There is a river with a viewing area with benches to just sit and rest. In S we had a great museum experience at Margit Kovacs museum. Her ceramic work is terrific. Get the audio guide. We wanted to go to the Amos and Anna Museum. but we wasted so much time getting to and back from the Outdoor Museum that we didn't have time. Untours suggested the House of Rad Raby (?) as a place to eat. I was underimpressed. Look around at menus; there are lots of restaurants.Margit Island
Another place to go to when you are over "citied" right in the city, in the middle of the Danube. The other couple in Budapest one of the weeks we were there didn't like it, not much to do or see. Our reaction is the opposite we took a bus from the southern tip of the island to the north end. On the southern side of the street just across from the Thermal Hotel we found a cool, pleasant restaurant (there are 2, this one is closest to the road). Then we walked south and stopped at a large beautiful outdoor garden to the left (east side of island), then a fountain that had intermittent music, and then a metal sculptured obelisk commemorating WWI. We stopped and sat at benches along the way. It was a good respite. We were warned about the tram! (2 and 2A) to the island as being frequented by pickpockets, as this was a tourist route. My wife warned me as we were about to step off the tram to watch my wallet as she had done several times during the trip. It was like the boy who called wolf, and I payed no particular attention to her warning. She reports that from a trio of three men near the exit door one threw a sweater to another who was going to use it hide his attempt to get my wallet. I must have surprised him with agility I showed getting off. He couldn't get to me in time. Out of frustration he said something to us. I am sure it was a curse word, but I didn't understand his Hungarian so I wasn't wounded by what he said. This is the only place on public transportation day or night that we felt unsafe. I travel Chicago-style with my hand on my wallet in my pocket whenever I am uncertain about my safety. This time the wallet was in an inner pocket of the pocket with a zipper on it. So I never had the opportunity to test it! out. Where are the police? You rarely see any. And this route is so well known, why don't they clean it up? Money lenders operate openly day and night at the first outdoor table at McDonalds on a side street off Vaci Utca. They flash their wads of money in plain view and we never did see them challenged or stopped.Miscellaneous
How do you know what events are happening in town. Go online to www.budapestsun. com. They list many and some 2 weeks in advance. Start reading it a few weeks before you depart. They also review new restaurants and movies. Then buy the paper when you get to town. It comes out on Thursday. Shopping--Try the upstairs at the Market at the end of Vac Utca for "folk art", but be prepared to bargain. On Vaci Utca is the state store, Folkart Haziipar, where we found the same items at the market a bit cheaper and no bargaining. We liked both, but we don't enjoy bargaining.Special Events--We got there for the Jewish Cultural Festival (last week of September). We heard a terrific concert of klezmer music and gypsy music. We went to the Dohani Synagogue Museum and appreciated the 2nd floor exhibit on women. One part had the pictures of Jewish women leaders, professionals and intellectuals. All died in the holocaust except one who haunts me. Her last name was Balint. She was a psychoanalyst. And she survived the Camp. When she went back to Budapest to live after the War, she experienced anti-Semitism, and committed suicide.
Around the 3rd week of September is the wine festival. A couple of days before we left it started. These initial events were not attractive but what was happening later on was attractive. St Stephens Day is the major holiday. It occurs on August 20th or thereabouts (check). It has fireworks that we saw because they were postponed because of the flooding of the Danube. It was a half hour of fireworks from 3 separate locations simultaneously on the Danube (two were the Castle and the Citadel) while laser lights played of the buildings with designs and sayings. I have never seen fireworks as good as these. And the people on the streets near the Danube were so festive.
Restaurants--The best was the Bagolyvar, right next to Gundels. It is Gundels cheaper sister restaurant--very good food at a decent price. The Vegetarium was special. It has a good, healthy salad bar and whole wheat breads or rolls. Their cooking is creative. And the prices were reasonable. The Aranyszarvas (Golden Stag) in Szarvas Square in Buda was another special place. It is just over the Erzsebet Bridge on the Buda side. I had a mixed grill which included pheasant and wild boar that was excellent. It didn't have a view, but the romantic international music played by a good organist added much to atmosphere. The Gandhi and the Govinda restaurants were both closed and a sign on the former says that after rebuilding the Govinda will be folded into the Gandhi.
House of Terror--the newest museum near the yellow line subway's Oktogon stop, located on Andrassy Ut was informative. Uses photos and movies of the Nazi occupation and then the Soviet occupation. 80% of it is about the Soviet days. The Nazis and Soviet governments used this building to interrogate and torture prisoners. Some the cells are still there in the basement. Some films are interviews in Hungarian with survivors. Lots of younger people attend and watch with rapt attention. They are learning about their parents and relatives lives and the recent history of their country. Take an audio guide in English. The text is on paper is in the rooms too, but about a third of them are missing. After this we felt no need to go to Statue Park; this was more complete.
We thoroughly enjoyed having a full two weeks in Budapest and recommend it to others. There are more important sites to see that we did not have the time to do, for example, we did not get a chance to just wander through residential areas like the Buda Hills and Watertown. My wife, Murry, said she liked Budapest so much she could imagine living there (we did meet a very contented retiree from San Francisco who lives there).