One night while I was in Budapest, I wondered to myself, who
are these people? Where did they come
from and what constitutes a typical Hungarian?
More accurately described as Magyars, Hungarians originally emigrated
from Central Asia, most likely around the Ural Mountains. However, when finally settling in what is now
Hungary in the 9th Century, they co-inhabited with those already
living in the area (Slavs and Avars), thereby undergoing a change in their Asian
appearances and looking more European.
As the Budapest tour guide mentioned, they lost many of their Asian
features, including black hair, almond-shaped eyes, and bronze-toned skin, and
instead adapted a paler complexion and taller stature. Therefore, my bewilderment of why these
people did not seem to have a distinct Magyar look compared to Germans or Slavs
was merited with a historical reason.
But the Hungarians did keep one feature that significantly differentiates
them from the rest of Europe: their complex and otherwise isolated language.
Many Hungarians would tell me that their language is one of
the most difficult to learn. It is not an
Indo-European language, but rather a Uralic language, and its closest relatives
are located in Western Siberia. Some of
the reasons behind why Hungarian is such a difficult
language to learn is that there are about 18 cases (some say 35 based on
preposition pairing), and Hungarian has 14 different vowels. As you can imagine, walking around Hungary
can be daunting when words for simple things look like complicated tongue
gymnastics (I found the joke in the picture posted below hilarious).
Luckily, I participated in the free walking tour while in
Budapest to learn much about this country’s history, allowing me to forgo extensive
research now. After the Hungarians
finally settled in Central Europe, they quickly adapted Christianity in order
to make peace with other Christian powers in the region and to ensure their
survival as a people. Hungary was a
powerful force within Europe through much of the Middle Ages, and it reached
its high period during the late 1400s.
However, Hungary was then divided into three parts, two of which were
pretty much conquered by “Habsburg Hungary” and Ottoman Hungary. The Ottomans ruled Budapest for some time
(they were responsible for erecting many of the Turkish Hamams on the Buda side), but they never controlled all of
present-day Hungary, as it lay on the edge of their Empire. Eventually, the Hungarians were able to drive
the Ottomans back, only to be subjugated by the Austrians. Hungary was ruled by the Habsburgs until the
19th century, when their rebellion finally yielded more
sovereignty through the dual monarchy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
After WW1, Hungary lost more than 70% of its territory (and
about a third of its Hungarian population) by ceding territory to Romania,
Czechozlovakia, and the kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes
(Yugoslavia). Hungary sided with Germany
during WW2 to regain some of this territory (though, confusingly for me, was
also allied with Romania despite having a large Hungarian population in
Transylvania). At the end of the war,
the Soviet Union invaded, making Hungary one of its Soviet satellites. Hungary witnessed its most effective uprising
against the Soviet Union in 1956, when Nagy praised student and labor uprisings as
a democratic and national movement. At
first the Soviets had agreed to withdraw their troops from Hungary, but a day
later they reversed their decision on rumors that Hungary wanted to withdraw
from the Warsaw pact to become a neutral state (similar to Austria). As Judt mentioned in his book “Post-War”, the
allies were unable to take advantage of this situation or argue against Soviet
interference in Hungarian affairs due to French and British interfering in the
Suez (Egypt). The Soviets succeeded in
invading Hungary and quelling the rebellion.
Nagy was sentenced under a secret trial and executed. In 1989, The People’s Republic was dissolved,
free elections were allowed, and the Republic of Hungary was formed.
What a Great City to Visit
Before I had traveled to Budapest, many people told me that
it was an awesome city that they loved visiting. Despite centuries of being subjugated by
other powers, including the Turks, Austrians, and Soviets, the Hungarians I met
during my time in Budapest were very friendly and seemed to have no animosity
toward foreigners. This made for a very
hospitable tourist experience, which would be enough to make any city worth
visiting. However, Budapest had its own
unique charm that made it my favorite city in Europe to visit so far.
First, Budapest’s architecture is very interesting, with a
nice mixture of Baroque and communist-style buildings. To me it seemed like a grungy European city
one expects to see in a 1980s pop music video.
Second, the prices were very cheap, which made me feel better since I
spent a lot more than I planned to in Vienna (the Western lifestyle is not
affordable for a PCV). Budapest was also
easy to navigate and get around, and it never lacked anything fun to do.
Word of Budapest seems to be getting around in the US as a
tourist destination, but many people don't seem to know why. I don't know many people who can name a
Hungarian landmark, or who want to visit a Hungarian museum, or to visit for a
particular Hungarian dish (besides goose pate, maybe). But what Hungary lacks in iconic buildings or
famous artwork or culture, in makes up for in a cool, laid-back culture.
I arrived in Budapest after an 3.5-hour train ride from
Bratislava. The train station reminding
me of the archetypical train station one would expect to find under Soviet
rule. Supposedly, Hungary was allowed
much more freedom in regards to capitalism compared to many of the other
satellite states, so many foreigners from the Soviet bloc would visit Budapest for a
weekend of shopping and indulging in a more “European” lifestyle. After taking the train to my hostel, I
discovered that a group of twenty tourists had recently left from the hostel,
and for the entirety of my stay I would share the whole hostel with only one
other guest. Under any other
circumstances, this would have meant a boring stay for me in Budapest, but
luckily I had plans to meet with people I already knew.
First, I was able to schedule the Budapest leg of my trip
with a friend from college, Brian. Brian
and I lived in the same house at UChicago, and he recently finished Business
School and was hoping to relax somewhere in Europe before returning to
work. By word of Facebook posts, we coordinated our trips to
meet in Budapest, until I returned east to Macedonia and he continued west
toward Prague. As soon as I settled into
Budapest, I put on one of my last remaining clean shirts and met with Brian in
the park to take advantage of the pub crawl.
Humorously, all but one guest and the tour guide were dudes, so it was a
bit of a sausage fest, but the pub crawl was great nonetheless. We began by playing beer pong in a basement
of a bar, before ending our visit at two ruin bars.
Ruin bars are one of the elements of Hungary that make it so
great. If I had to describe a ruin bar,
I would say that it was a bar that was constructed out of an abandoned
warehouse, stuffed with random trinkets and furniture that really made no
sense. Usually these ruin bars consisted
of an outdoor beer garden and/or a dance floor and DJ, and of course, cheap
drinks. The first ruin bar that we
visited was neat, as it was supposedly built out of an old dentist’s
office. But the last bar we visited,
Instant, was the coolest bar I had been to in all of Europe. I felt like I was at the party in Uncle
Buck, but surrounded by Alice in Wonderland themed decorations. Navigating through the bar, there were so
many nooks and hidden rooms, which typically contained a couple making
out.
 |
| Arriving at the train station in Budapest |
 |
| Starting our pub crawl |
 |
| Instant Ruin Bar |
On the second day, Brian and I met in the center to take the
free tour of the city. Much of what we
learned I already described above in the history of Budapest, but we visited
such landmarks as St. Stephen’s Cathedral, the Chain Bridge, and the Buda
Castle. After, I visited an AIESEC entity during their Local Committee meeting.
One of the members was nice enough to translate most of the meeting for
me since it was delivered in Hungarian.
Once the meeting ended, we sat in the main park and drank beers, like we
sometimes do in AIESEC Prilep. It was nice to hear from these students about the challenges of typical people in Hungary, and what they wish would change about the politics, culture, and attitudes of people in their country. I had
hoped to also visit one of our Macedonian interns who was matched for an internship in
Budapest, but she was too busy to meet during my stay in the city.
During my last day in Budapest, I spent the majority of the
afternoon relaxing in the natural springs.
The main thermal bath, located in the City Park, is the most popular
among tourists and overall is not that expensive. The baths themselves were not very hot, but
many of them contained minerals like sulfur or were induced with menthol for a
relaxing experience. After soaking in
the baths and enduring multiple periods in the saunas, I returned to the hostel
and met with Brian for one final night in Budapest. We met at Szimpla Kert, drank some local
beers, and reminisced about our days in Pierce at UChicago.
The next day, I rushed to the train station to take an 10AM
train to Belgrade. With minutes to
spare, I almost lost my way and missed my train, but luckily one of the
conductors helped me into a car on the other side of the platforms. With a sandwich and water to help me endure
my long journey back to the Balkans, I bid farewell to the coolest city in
Europe that I had so far visited.
 |
| With AIESEC in Budapest |
 |
| Goose! |
 |
| At Szimpla Kert |
No comments:
Post a Comment