Learning the Language: Budapest (updated with more photos)

(Updated with more photos, mostly at the end)

Random things I won't forget about Budapest:

The parliament building, as seen from the Buda side (top photo). (I stayed in Pest, which is the newer, hipper, flatter, easier to navigate side.)

Budapest was settled in 896 by the Hungarian Magyars, and both St. Stephen's Basilica and the Parliament building reach 96 meters tall in honor of that date. No other buildings are permitted to surpass that height. The first stanza of the national anthem is 96 seconds long, and you're also not allowed to live longer than 96 years. (I'm told that last bit is a joke...)

I've read that the Gothic revival-style building has 40 million bricks, 40 kg of gold, and half a million precious stones. It was built by more than 1,000 people. It has more than 20 km of staircase and 691 rooms, the largest building in the country. The red star placed on top of the main dome of parliament during Soviet rule was taken down in 1989.

Parliament

St. Stephen's Basilica

The Shoes on the Danube Bank memorial honors Jews who were shot during World War II. They were ordered to take off their shoes before being shot at the edge of the water and plummeting into the river, which carried them away.

I'm told that 70-80% of the city was destroyed by the end of the Second World War. Aron, the main guide for a walking communism tour I attended explained the many "ruin bars" in the city--derelict buildings that have been repurposed, quite distinctively, as pubs. (I can't begin to write about how informative and fascinating the tour was. Religious holidays were not allowed, for instance: Santa Claus became Father Winter, etc.)

If you have any ailment, the thermal pools are recommended. The water comes out at a natural 78 degrees celsius. I went to the Szechenyi pools, after I discovered that there are cool pools as well! From stomach to heart issues, the water is recommended on a regular basis. If you're having trouble with fertility, the thermal pools are your answer. Proof is in the hippos. Some years ago the Budapest zoo's hippos were not procreating as hoped. So the thermal water was brought on scene. Sure enough, the babies started arriving, and so many arrived, in fact, that baby hippos become an export of Budapest. Judit ("YOU-dit", the Hungarian version of Judith), my walking tour guide, said that if we see hippos in other European countries, they likely came from Budapest.

Speaking of water, aside from paying a high price to get cool for a small time, I learned not to pay for water. There are numerous sources around the city--some more basic sticking up out of the ground, and some beautiful sculptured fountains in the squares.

Turns out I rode the first metro line in continental Europe (the yellow line) my first day in the city, and didn't even know it.

Budapest is home of the Rubik's cube, as well as the ballpoint pen, the carbonator (putting fizz into drinks) and safety matches.

It is also well known for paprika. One of my regrets is not having a chance to try mushroom paprikash, recommended by my guide. Goulash is traditional in Hungary, and the mushroom paprikash is a vegetarian version. I did try the red-and-white polka dot packaged sweet treat she recommended, called Turo Rudi, which is dark-chocolate covered cottage cheese. When Judit saw the unconvinced faces in the tour, she said that it tastes like chocolate covered cheesecake. She suggested we enjoy Hungary's cuisine while visiting: "Just go home and eat lots of salad and you'll be fine."

If you have a broken heart, or you want to learn how to speak Hungarian in a night, the elixir is palinka, the country's traditional (and highly potent) drink.

To say hello, you say "szia," pronounced "SEE-ya." And goodbye? Judit says: "Hallo." The word I'm most proud of learning (and admittedly one of only a few I've come away with) is egeszsegedre, which means "cheers." There are 44 letters in the Hungarian alphabet, and I'm told that because of the way the language works (instead of using separate words for concepts like prepositions and pronouns, those elements are affixed onto words), they can fit what would be a whole sentence in English into one word. Judit offered an example: "Hey, you can't take all the cabbage from that." Oh, and if you're watching a movie with aliens or the devil, and they speak a foreign language, there's a good chance they're speaking Hungarian.

The website Omniglot lists useful phrases in a variety of world languages. One useful phrase, in addition to "hello," "thank you" and "where's the restroom?" is "A legparnas hajom tele van angolnakkal," which translates to "My hovercraft is full of eels." Omniglot writes: "This phrase is used in a sketch about a badly translated English-Hungarian phrasebook from the British TV comedy show, Monty Python's Flying Circus. It's possibly the most useful phrase there is." Because of that, it's translated into numerous languages. (While on languages I must note that I cannot right now remember how to include accents on words... the alien-hovercraft deal should have four of its own...)

Fisherman's Bastion was quite cool... I was told all of the buildings in that area are about 800 years old. Also watched the crossing of the guard at the "White House."

Hungarian wine (another thing I missed) is supposedly quite good, and quite cheap. I'm told they're very good at winemaking and quite terrible at marketing.

Because I'm fascinated by cemeteries in different countries... (including a shot of the controversial section for Soviet soldiers, in the same cemetery):

Hungary has had quite a history, and the last 500 years have been rough, with one occupation after another. The Turks, the Austrians, the Germans, the Soviets--some would come in under the guise of "liberating" and then "forget to leave," says Judit. Independent Hungary, only 25 years old, is not yet a democracy, said Aron. It is a post-communist country, and he said that the leadership did not even change hands. In fact, he argues that the nation is less democratic now than it was in 1990. (Someone keeps painting "Victator" onto a building in town, spinning the name of the prime minister: Victor.)

Bribing is still the way to get the things you want: the school you want for your child, or your surgery in two weeks instead of seven months. This latter one was a personal example from Aron; When his physician told him this sports surgery would take place in seven months, Aron handed him an envelope with 20,000 forents (roughly 60 euros) and not long after he received a call that the surgery had been moved up. It's necessary, Aron says, because doctors are paid so little in Hungary that they are leaving in large numbers--the brain drain.

But it's MUCH different than before the curtain was lifted in 1989. Aron said that in high school his history teachers could no longer look students in the eye, and many questions that were asked were answered with "don't ask that question." Soon history teachers were quitting and taking on other work.

There is an agreement between Hungary and Russia to keep the memorial honoring Soviet soldiers killed during WWII, which can be viewed from the windows of the American Embassy, and which a statue of Ronald Reagan (the cutest of the presidents, our guide Ursula said) keeps his eye on.

One of Ursula's friends got to vacation to Vienna when she was young. The family bought bananas, an "exotic fruit." (I probably don't need to explain the lack of availability of most things, particularly exotic fruit--Ursula called Vienna a "different galaxy.") When the family went to cross back into Hungary, the bananas were not permitted, for surely they would be sold on the black market. So the family sat and ate banana after banana. Ursula says that was the first and last time her friend has eaten bananas.

The popular car during the communist era was the Trabant. An old one was parked up near the former palace, and Judit said that it is referred to as the "paper jaguar" because it is constructed from flimsy materials: "cardboard and plastic and glue." You couldn't just go buy it and pick it up the same day. You had to pay ahead of time and wait. Judit's grandparents waited 6 years. She said the joke at the time was, "If you want your child to have a car, buy it for him when he's born."

"Szimpla," the most popular ruin bar, with a Trabant

There was also a phrase that made light of the mass exodus that occurred after the first and second World Wars: "The last one out needs to turn out the lights." Fortunately, you wouldn't guess it now.