Offbeat Cities: Budapest
October 19th, 2009 by Zain Iqbal
It’s hard to believe that twenty years ago a whole new realm of travel was about to open in a region that was previously closed to the entire world. This week marks the 20th anniversary of the fall of socialism in Hungary and since then the country has become destination for travelers in search of a culture, language and history that are truly unique for Europe. The best place to get started is right in the capital: Budapest.
Separated by the Daunbe river, Buda and Pest are actually two separate cities; the former occupying the hilly region west of the river with the latter lying in the flat plains on the east. In its 2000 year history, Budapest has been touched by a variety of cultures over the last two millennia; 150 years of rule under the Turkish Ottomans; 50 years as a second capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire; and 45 years under Soviet socialist rule. We’ll highlight three must-see and do activities for this city with a dual personality:
The Gellért Baths
Turkish Baths – Arguably the most popular reason to go to Budapest is to take advantage of traditional Turkish baths, a leftover from Ottoman rule which the Hungarians seamlessly incorporated into their own culture. The baths were originally built around the numerous hot springs in the area, and since the period of Soviet-rule many of them have adopted a quirky – some say complicated – manner of admission. Arguably the Gellért Baths, located in the Gellért Hotel, are the most famous in Budapest where you can relax under an impressive Art Nouveau structure. Check out the website of the serious-sounding “Budapest Metropolitan Bath Directorate” for more information on baths, including listing of all-year versus seasonally-run baths, times, and admission tips.
Budapest offers opera and ballet performances on its grandest stage
Hungarian State Opera House – Just after the union of the Kingdom of Hungary and the Austrian Empire, Emperor Franz Josef commissoned this neo-Renaissance Opera House to be built in the center of Pest, bringing Viennese culture and style to the second capital of the newly-formed empire. While this opera house may not have the size and scale of some of it’s modern counterparts, like La Scala in Milan, it’s acoustics are well-renowned throughout the music community. The opera house also offers a great chance to see a performance that won’t exactly break your bank account. Information about operatic and ballet performances can be found in English at the Opera’s official website.
Lenin's legacy ends up in a park outside Budapest with other "heroes" of socialist Hungary
Memento Park – You’d think years of Soviet rule would give Hungarians a sour taste in their mouth when it comes to socialist iconography, but the citizens of Budapest decided to take it in stride and created a space to their former overlords. This fascinating park, dedicated to the “spectre of Communist dictatorship” has a a variety of statues and monuments that were created by the Soviets to celebrate, well, their own heroism as well as noted Hungarian socialists. It’s an eerie look into the communist past, but it’s well worth the bus ride from downtown Budapest. If you’re really into Communist nostalgia, you can find a veritable treasure trove of goods at their store, neatly detailed on the park’s website.
photos by Joe Mabel and zoonabar via Flickr, and by PDXdj on Wikimedia.
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