History, Happenstance, and Hipsters

If I had to pick three words to sum up my weekend in Budapest, these would be it.  Here is a little bit about how I experienced each:

History:

I think the most interesting parts of the city were some of the memorials.  The first one we encountered was outside of the Parliament building and was dedicated to rebels who had been killed by a Soviet firing squad.  A plaque near the memorial declared the following:

“The system of communism has failed in every sense.  However, it will be very hard to get rid of communists, for there is nobody as dangerous as the usurper of a failed system, who abandons the system, but guards his loot and power position.”

We walked quietly for a while pondering that thought.  Another memorial that struck us was a row of bronze shoes along the Danube River commemorating Jews who were lined up and shot into the river by the Nazis.  Some of the shoes had little tea lights in them, and I can only imagine how haunting they would be lit up at night. 

In addition to these memorials, we got to enjoy Castle Hill, Heroes Square, Andrassy Avenue, the Parliament Building, St. Matthias Church, Fisherman’s Bastion, and more.

 

 

Hipsters:

Someone told me just before I left for Budapest that the city has a very big underground scene.  I would never have guessed that, but they were right.  Probably the biggest example of this underground “hipster” scene is the network of ruins bars scattered around the Pest side of the city.  The bars are nestled in the ruins of communist buildings, with lights winding up railings, writing all over the walls, and all sorts of mismatched furniture and odds and ends.  Very different, very hipster.

 

 

 

 

Happenstance:

One of the challenges I am discovering about travel is trying to make plans.  So little time, so many opinions, so much to see.  While we got to go to most of the major sights I was hoping to see, some of my favorite things we did were the ones that were very random or by accident.  The first of these was a Sunday bazaar we stumbled upon right across from our hostel.  There were booths everywhere with spices, art, jewelry, and random antiques.  Very different from the Grand Market Hall, which was an impressive building, but a tourist trap of knick-knacks and souvenirs. 

Another random thing we did was a river cruise.  This was not completely random, because my family, who had been to Budapest before, recommended it, but it felt a little odd when we realized we were definitely the youngest people on the boat.  But we got an absolutely beautiful view of some of the landmarks lit up at night, and it turns out that even though we went with the cheapest “one drink, no dinner” option, they really don’t seem to notice if you swipe some strudel or grab an extra glass of champagne…

All in all, the weekend was a success.  We covered the sightseeing, the nightlife, and learned a little bit about flexibility and travel.  We also called Prague “home” for the first time, and I am happy to be back.  I spent the day exploring the Kafka Museum and enjoying some cool fall weather, just appreciating what a cool city I currently live in.  Next adventure on the list: a day trip to Czech Switzerland to see where Narnia was filmed!

 

Here are some more pictures from Budapest:

 

At the Baths

 

St. Stephen's Basilica

 

Lights at night

 

In front of Parliament