A Tumultuous History

- May 19, 2025

An alarm going off at 6:00 am after missing an entire night's sleep is a tough way to start a day. Funny missing a nights sleep was no big deal when I was in University. But admittedly, I doubt I ever got up at 6:00 am back in those days! But a really good breakfast with a couple of 'strong' black coffees kick started our day. Months ago we had booked a 5 hour Budapest walking tour. After a 10 minute van ride to the 'Pest' side of Budapest, we exited at the Parliament Buildings. Our hotel is on the 'Buda' side of the Danube.

We were treated to a 1 hour 15 minute tour of the Parliament buildings. It is quite the building. It is the third largest Parliament building in the world only slightly smaller than the one in Romania and the one in Argentina. We are not sure what that is about. It was completed in only 17 years. It is an architectural master piece. It is laid out in two identical sections. One end houses their parliament and the other end sits empty only being used for ceremonial purposes. By the time the building was ready for occupation the government system no longer had the intended Senate to occupy it.

Our guide today was fantastic. If all of our booked excursions on this adventure are as good, we are in for a real treat. She grew up in Budapest during the communist regime. Her 'frankness' about the realities of Hungary's history were fascinating. Hungary has had a tumultuous history. It has been occupied by virtually every European power throughout history. It's 'Golden Age' was during the 60 year Austro-Hungarian Empire. (1867-1918) It was during these years that the magnificent Parliament Buildings were built (1885-1902) and most of the other impressive buildings like their Supreme Court and their Agricultural Building for example. Unfortunately these 2 buildings are under restoration so we were only looking at cloth facades that covered the outside painted to look like the real things.

Hungary was dealt an almost fatal blow with the WWI peace process. That is what happens sometimes when you outright lose a war especially a world wide one. But it can be argued that they really got screwed. 75% of their land mass, all of their natural resources which consisted of gold and silver mines and their rich forest region, and their only port was taken from them. They lost 60% of their population. It is little wonder that they joined Hitler's Regime. They saw the opportunity to possibly re-establish their former glory days. That did not work out. By 1944 Hitler and the Nazis turned on them. They spent the rest of the war being treated like most other European countries were with thousands of people sent to the 'death' camps.

As our guide pointed out, they were liberated by the Russians/Soviets. It was a short celebration. It turned out that they were 'taken from the frying pan and put into the fire'. From 1945 until 1989 with the fall of communism, they were kept under a tight leash. As our guide said, communism was a system that kept the people poor while enriching the rulers. But she also said that she had no idea that they were poor until communism fell and Hungarians were finally able to travel. She was fascinated by what other countries' citizens actually had. However, Hungary's GDP is still incredibly low. It is not a rich country!

We are presently sitting in our room waiting for our reservation time at an authentic Hungarian restaurant tonight. (at least we are told it is authentic)