Budapest – An old city of two halves

We are currently parked up at a motorhome dealership (N47.67564 E18.78804) at Piliscsév, just outside of Budapest.  We have electric, water, heated shower and toilets, a little kitchen area with cooker and fridge, WiFi and 24-hour security - all for FREE!  The last time we had it this good was at Thessaloniki in Greece, when we stayed on a motorhome dealership there.  The place has spaces and electric for 50 motorhomes but there is only us and a very young French couple with a very cute little white Scotty dog.  They trained to be nurses 5 years ago and have been working and saving hard since then so they can travel around Europe for a year in their converted van.  Their English was very good and we spent a while sharing information on where we have been and stayed.

Sonny (the motorhome) enjoying an 'all-inclusive' for free near Budapest!

Leaving Lake Balaton we had quite a long road trip to Budapest 96 Miles (153kms). We stopped off at a ‘Bubbles’ launderette enroute to do some washing - we had a lot! A 11kg wash and dry for only €7.50. Continuing on, we did a double take when we saw aTesco supermarket on the side of the road -  it was like we were back in UK!  We have been used to seeing Lidl and Aldi everywhere in Europe and that is where we do most of our shopping but not a Tesco. We passed a further 4 before getting to Budapest and we have since found out that they are all over Hungary and are Hungary's third largest employer.

The train station is a 2-minute walk from the camperstop and 50 minutes later we were in the centre of Budapest.  The last time we were here was 5 years ago.  Nothing much had changed, apart from there are a lot more cars and tourists – pretty much like most popular cities.

Walking around it is noticeable that 40 years of communism seemed to have been eradicated.  There are no communist statues or plaques, or street signs, in fact we only spotted one building that still had Russian writing on it.  Momento Park just outside the city is where all the monumental statues and plaques from Hungary’s Communist Period (1949 -1989) ended up.

Crossing by Chain Bridge, you get a great view of the 'Buda' side.

Chain Bridge

We walked up to the Castle District, where we spent a lot of time wandering around the outside of the castle, that commands a high position overlooking the Danube.

Great view from the Castle

The ornate Matthias Gothic Roman Catholic Church

Lovely fountain at the Castle

We walked back across to 'Pest' side, via another of the many bridges across the Danube.

We stopped off at the market to get some street food - it was delicious but expensive - 11,100HUF (nearly 35 Euros) for something that comes in a box and 2 beers!  Everything is charged by weight so it was hard to guess how much it would all come too.  We expect things to be expensive in a capital city but come on Hungary this was street food in a market hall not some posh restaurant!!

Enjoying street food in the market hall

St Stephen's Basilica – on the Pest side of the city.  A beautiful church both inside and out.

So, here comes a bit of history folks: From 1945 the Hungarians were under the control of Moscow. When Stalin died in 1953 they believed they might be free from Soviet rule, unfortunately this wasn’t the case.  On 23 October 1956, students and workers took to the streets of Budapest to demand personal freedom, more food and the removal of Soviet troops and secret police from Hungary, it became known as the Hungarian Uprising of 1956.  Red stars were torn down from buildings and a 30-foot bronze statue of Stalin in Hero Square (a gift to the dictator from the Hungarian people) was pulled down leaving only his boots on the plinth. What started out as a peaceful demonstration turned into a full-scale revolution.  Not long after, the Soviet tanks went into Budapest to restore order and brutally killed and wounded thousands of people.  The revolution was quashed and Soviet control resumed.
Heroes' Square – Budapest's largest public square created in 1896 to mark the 1,000 anniversary of the country’s birth.

Heroes' Square

Parliament Building - where the 1956 uprising started

Listening to a tour guide (who were showing some Americans around), she said that her grandparents felt safe under communist rule.  A job meant ‘a job for life’ and there was no unemployment.  On a passport, the Hungarian people were able to travel out of the country 3 times a year and anywhere they wanted in Hungary. When you ordered a car, you started paying deposits towards it and had to wait about 20 years before you took delivery of your car, which more than likely was a Trabant.  But, she said they were happy.  The younger generation, however, likes things as they are now and said since 2004 the EU had injected a lot of money into the country and it was thriving.   So, pretty much thanks to a lot of money the UK inject into the EU - Mmm I wander how Brexit is coming along!

I haven’t lived under communist rule but I believe in free speech and freedom of travel and don't think I would have liked 40 years of communist dictatorship.

Although we are not big city fans, we spent a lovely 7 hours walking around this one soaking up its architecture and history.  It is a beautiful city with a lot of stories to tell.

Sally x