Budapest, Parliament, Day 11

After the opera, the busses took us to the beautiful neighborhood housing the exquisite Parliament buildings where we had a walking tour for about 45 minutes. Liz filled us with historic trivia from the Communist regime and modern day life. We walked past the American embassy, fenced in since the Iraq war.

She talked a bit about her own family, including her parents who were arrested by the Communist regime. She and her husband, an engineer. Live a modest life with their son who attends the "third best high school" in Budapest, stressing the importance of education. She decided as a young adult to stay in communist Hungary, not wanting to me a refugee. On the contrary, her son has the freedom to study and live anywhere. She values culture and loves opera, accessible at 5Euro seats. Her family lives in a 3 room, 500sq ft apartment and, therefore each room has multiple purposes. Her commentary was humorous and poignant. Her parting words: "we all will die eventually, so enjoy the journey."Read more