Chefprefers BLOG

My previous time in Hungary was very short, so I didn’t get a full appreciation of this glorious country. Our 2018 trip had us arrive to meet my brother and take a Danube cruise to Passau in Germany. We wined and dined, as my bro likes to do. We visited the Buda Castle and went North to the artist town of Szentendre. We had a lovely stint with the time we had.

This time, my wife and I stayed in Pest, which allowed us to explore the eastern inner city. If you didn’t know, the city is split into two: Buda on the western side of the Danube and Pest on the eastern side. Our hotel was central to the Café district in Pest. The old world buildings are at a certain height (96 m), which are regulated by the two buildings in the city, St Stephen’s Basilica and the Hungarian Parliament Building. No building should be higher than the Church and the government. Interesting, the old world style I’ve seen in Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Copenhagen, Madrid, Barcelona and Munich. So at some stage, during the 19th century, the restricted height in some of those cities were established.

One reason is that the soil is very soft, and the building methods weren’t up to modern-day practices. Ie digging underground foundations. Anyway, my perception of Budapest had changed, and I was fascinated by the narrow lanes and the 19th-century look. There has been plenty of construction in Hungary over the last few hundred years; the Hungarians have had a hard time. Starting with World War I, where most of the city was bombed, then WWII destroyed what was built, and then the Soviet tyranny from 1945 to 1956. 

However, if you were to see it today, evidence of war is disappearing. I did see one building with lots of shrapnel and perhaps bullet holes. But it was rare.

Budapest is a city to explore, although it’s far different from its neighbouring city, Belgrade. Belgrade is a city, bit like Brussels, the corruption of the developers, where one building is different from the other, old and new, making it a mosh pit.

The Hungarians should be proud of this city and hopeful they can have a century without wars; it can be a place to be.

Next up, Smoking is still a problem in some of these countries.