My very first trip abroad was when I was 17, and I traveled to Budapest to visit my older brother, who was living there at the time. The year was 1997, and Hungary was still slowly pulling itself out of a long history of war and Soviet occupation.
25 years later, I have now returned to Budapest to see how both I, and the city have changed. To be perfectly honest, when I was 17, I had little else on my mind than partying and meeting girls. Now that I'm a little older, I'm able to look at this city from a completely different perspective.
The city itself has changed in significant ways. There are so many more foreigners now than when I first traveled here. In fact, one is hard-pressed to find someone who doesn't speak English. I actually counted five blocks before I heard anything but English being spoken. There's even a TGI Friday's here, for God's sake.
But some of the city is still as I remembered it. The first thing you will notice about Budapest is its fairy-tale-like beauty. The architecture here is stunning, and one's mind often becomes exhausted by the sheer amount of aesthetically pleasing and historically significant landmarks found here.
I'm quickly discovering that Budapest is one of those cities that can literally feel overwhelming, simply because there are too many unique sights, sounds, smells, and tastes for one to process.
However, it should be noted, that Hungary has not always been such a pleasant place to visit. Years of war, occupation by the Germans, and then the Russians, have left their mark on the city and its people. Monuments that mark Budapest's tragic history permeate the town.
And war continues to play a part in the city, even today. As Hungary neighbors Ukraine, there are plenty of refugees who have fled Ukraine and are now calling Budapest their home.
Yesterday, I spent the morning volunteering at one of the refugee shelters located in the city, and I can tell you, the stories I heard from these refugees are equally tragic and heroic. But I will save that story for another time.
In this post, I'll keep things simple. In two words I'll try to express my views of Budapest as a whole: COME HERE!
I'm not kidding. I've done a lot of traveling over the last few years, and I can say with some authority that this city is beyond compare. The food, people, culture, everything is worth your time and money.
Assuming I can find an apartment, given the current refugee crisis, I plan to stay in Budapest for another two months. With every day that I spend here, bringing another profound life experience, I promise to continue writing about this magical city in future posts. Safe travels, everyone!
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