Trivia time. Budapest is two cities, yes? Buda on the west bank and Pest on the east. But all the way up into the 19th century the whole thing was called Pest-Buda. Hardly trips off the tongue. I wonder if it was an early marketing genius who thought of switching it around?
Another thing Budapest has plenty of is reminders of its position on the fault lines of Europe. From the UK the west of Europe feels like the “important” part, but in reality places like Budapest and Vienna have very convincing claim to be pretty much the “centre” of Europe given how they have been rocked by all the major political motions of the 20th and earlier centuries. One touching monument were a series of small iron balls scattered over the walls of a government building that was the site of a massacre by the communists in the 1950’s; each ball marking a bullet hole. In many places, even very central, glorious buildings of the 19th century have facades that are literally crumbling, unmaintained for decades through all the troubles. Empty spaces in the great castle complex of Buda show where bombed-out parts previously occupied by German soldiers had to be pulled down. Our guidebook has plenty of memorials, statues and eternal flames to draw our attention to, many relating to those who fought or suffered through the Communist occupation, or the Nazi occupation, or the Turkish occupation, or the Hapsburg occupation. The American and British embassies both have their entrances in streets gated off from public access by permanent metal security barriers.
So in some ways its a sobering city. But the beautiful September sunshine makes it hard to be too reflective, as does the enjoyable Hungarian wine and the buzz of a city that is now clearly fully modernised.
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