Budapest

Without a doubt this has to be my favourite city I have visited so far. Its got tree lined avenues, wonderful monuments, many street cafes, a river ( a famous one at that) not to mention castles, palaces, thermal baths and good wine. This is the parliament building overlooking the Danube. The river Danube links the two towns of Buda on one side and Pest on the other - hence the name. On the Buda side there is Castle Hill complete with an old citadel, the ex royal palace which is now the national art gallery and the Fishermans Bastion to name a couple of things. What is the Fishermans Bastion you ask - its the merengue looking building on the right. At no point was this ever part of the city walls it was simply built as a folly. A rich mans folly at that. Some people simply do not know what to spend their money on. I could have spent my time lazing in one of the cities many many thermal pools - most of them housed in ornate art deco style buildings - and the next time I visit I will do just that. There is definately going to be a next time. With only 2 1/2 days here though I had to be more frugal with my time. After visiting the Castle Hill district, I moved to the far end of Pest to visit Heroes Square and take a peek at the art deco style zoo. This was a lovely walk helped along by the temperature - we got an unseasonal 30 degrees here yesterday. But one of the highlights for me has been my visit to the House of Terror Museum. This is a normal building on one of the nicest streets in the city - only in the mid 40's it was home to the Nazi's, then it was home to the Arrowcross Party and eventually the Hungarian / Soviet Secret Police organization. Basically since 1944 it was home to whichever group of the day was responsible for torture and confessions and informing on your neighbour. Hungary was the battleground between Germany and Russia during the second world war. After the war, the Soviets took control (although Hungarians never voted in the communists). The Hungarians had a revolution in 1956 and ousted the Soviets and put their own prime minister in charge. Despite officially agreeing to this, just a few days later the Soviets brought the tanks in, killed the prime minister and the government and siezed power - which lasted till the 1990's. The museum inparted alot of information, most of which I was totally ignorant of before. It was fascinating and chilling at the same time. What really makes this place creepy is that you visit the cellars - a labyrinth of cells that ran the whole length of the street - and see the cells in which the 'confessions' were gained and the executions carried out. If you are ever in Budapest, this place is a must. After the intensity of the House of Terror it was great to be able to sit back on the shores of the river Danube drinking a glass of wine, watching the world go by. The only thing I have to worry about at the moment is the ever increasing weight of my packpack...