Budapest Pt. 1

This weekend I traveled to Budapest. My parents were arriving Saturday afternoon and traveling with friends to take a Danube river cruise. They planned to arrive Saturday afternoon but due to the unreliable and not convenient plane schedule between Bremen and Budapest, I left Friday so I could tour the city before they arrived. My hotel was on the Buda side of the Danube river and beside the Chain Bridge, which was the first bridge to connect Buda and Pest. Today, the city is Budapest, a combination of the two old cities. The Buda side is the oldest and is also the side with hilly topography. The Pest side is newer and flat. The Danube river separates the two sides. I did not know that Buda and Pest were different cities until I went to Budapest.

Saturday morning I had arranged to take a solo tour of the city with a Tuk Tuk guide. Since I was only in the city for less than two days, I felt this was the best way to quickly see the city and learn about it. The guide picked me up and we drove around the city in a motorized type of carriage tricycle. It was quite fun and my guide was very entertaining and informative. 

Some recent history about Budapest is that Hungary sided with Germany during WWII but when they saw Germany was going to lose, they secretly sided to join the allies. When Germany found out, they moved into Budapest and killed all the Jews. The soviets came in and defeated Germany but also made Hungary fall under soviet communist rule. They remained under communist rule until 1991 when the last of the soviets left Budapest. During communist rule, no repairs to the WWII damaged buildings took place and all construction during that time was very plain and industrial looking. Since 1991, the city of Budapest has been restoring buildings and revitalizing the area. One area that has recently undergone changes is the Jewish area. Today there are museums revitalization happening there. The second largest synagogue in the world is in Budapest, and the Jewish area has developed an active nightlife. Many buildings that were in ruins have been pieced together with eclectic, hodgepodge decorations and turned into “ruin bars” which are very popular with the locals at night and very touristy during the day. A deeper look into the history of Budapest revealed how there are two very beautiful buildings on each side of the river. The one on the hill on the Buda side is the palace. It is very large, ornate and impressive from the outside as it towers over the river and the city, but it has been striped and emptied on the inside. It once housed the royals of Buda, but now there is no king or queen so the building is a museum. The much larger, ornate building on the Danube river bank on the Pest side is the government’s parliament building. The city has statues of historical figures scattered throughout the city to commemorate their contributions to Hungarian history. The Tuk Tuk tour was well worth the time and expense, and I would definitely do it again for an overview tour of a city, especially if I travel alone.