Final Thoughts on Budapest (John's Part)

So a handful of final thoughts from Budapest:

On our last day, we figured our tired legs had logged enough miles of walking to warrant a couple hours in the renowned Széchenyi thermal baths located in City Park. Our visit on our last day can also be explained by our sincere reluctance to join the strange mix of locals and foreigners of all ages, wearing all manner of bathing suits, from the child-friendly to the embarrassingly inappropriate. But, we managed to curb our inhibitions, decipher the rather complicated series of entrance procedures, and find a nice place to sit and relax in the warm, mineral-rich waters. The experience was worth it, I think, if only for the amazing (and sometimes awkward) people-watching opportunities that arise from sitting in a large bath with hundreds of strangers.

One of the most interesting themes running throughout our Budapest trip was the Hungarians’ attitudes about their Communist past. We’d already received a nice dose of this sentiment living in Berlin, but here in Budapest the hostility and disgust is blatant. The exhibits in the House of Terror, the museum now located in the former headquarters of the Communist secret police, were hardly neutral in describing the Soviets or the Soviet-backed regime. Memento Park also subtly communicated how they felt about that dark forty years: Budapest has relegated every last Communist statue once standing in the city to this random plot of land on the remote outskirts of town. Our lovely hostess wondered why we would even want to venture out there. Though the Socialist-Realist sculpture was very interesting to see, you definitely got the sense that they’d rather forget all this even existed.

Lastly, if you plan to go to Budapest, we would recommend hiring a private tour guide for several hours. The Magyar (the Hungarian word for Hungarian) language is unbelievably difficult to even pronounce (much less understand) and very little of Budapest’s signage was in English. Thus, a little local knowledge went a long way in personalizing and enriching the city. However, this is apparently not something that “young folks” do; when our guide, Gabriella Török, showed up, she immediately approached the old couple sitting next to us and was shocked to discover that we had in fact hired her. We were her youngest tour ever! But no big deal - Gabriella provided the best four hours of the trip, and we would definitely recommend her.