Central Europe Part 2, 2024

To round out the morning, I headed to the House of Terror, which gave a very in-depth, fascinating overview of the twin tyrannies of Fascism and Communism which governed Hungary between 1944 and 1989. To add to the immersion, this museum is actually located in the former headquarters of both the fascist and communist secret police and included a tour of their torture dungeons.

Following that insightful experience, I headed over the river to the Buda side of the city for another walking tour.

I really enjoyed this walking tour - it was led by Mate, a Hungarian History student. He and I quickly got on very well and geeked out on some of the weirder aspects of Hungarian history, such as during the period when Hungary was a Kingdom without a King led by an Admiral without a Navy!

Buda is much nicer than Pest in my view, though I imagine living on the Western side of the Danube in reality would be much more boring as a resident. Buda is far greener and much quieter than Pest and feels a lot more walkable. The views from hilly Buda are also much more impressive than the relatively flat Pest.

Mate explained that part of the reason Buda is so quiet is due to a relic of Budapest's Soviet occupation - the centre of Buda used to be by far the most expensive part of the city and so during Communism all of its original residents were deemed to be enemies of the revolution and sent to the gulag. In their place, numerous working class families were granted their homes 🏘️. Due to laws passed during the transition to capitalism, aimed at preventing the commercialisation of the old Buda city centre, these families are now unable to sell or to rent out their houses. So today, these incredibly desirable homes are inhabited by the descendents of those original beneficiaries who can't really afford them and have no ability to generate any money from their properties.

It was a fascinating tour which covered aspects of history from as far back as 896, when the Magyars first inhabited this corner of Europe. As the only fortifiable site in all of Hungary, the area has unfortunately been subject to multiple sieges, resulting in a persistent sense of architectural renewal throughout the town centre.

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It certainly felt like an enjoyable way to end my trip, but as I write this I realise that I allocated far too little time to Budapest - there is so much I haven't done and so much remains here to be explored. In all honesty, the same can be said for Munich and Vienna too - these cities and their surrounding areas have so much to offer visitors and it is so difficult to fit everything into one trip.

Having said this, if I were to spend this time again I don't think I would have done anything different. Each day has been a learning experience, whether in terms of history, language, geography or culture. Visiting such a mixture of cities, from the tiny Vaduz to the expansive Munich, from the attractive, cultured Salzburg to the eclectic, proud Budapest, has been so rewarding and worth every Franc, Euro and Forint spent.

As I was leaving Vienna, Haji asked me where my next travels would lead me. It's a great question and in all honesty there are so many possibilities it's so hard to narrow it down to one area. One thing is beyond doubt though - travelling the world, experiencing different cultures, immersing myself in a country's history and getting to know the feel of a place is so satisfying and so rewarding that I hope to continue to do it for years to come.Les mer