Viszlát (au revoir), Budapest

It’s not like you’d have to pull teeth to get me to return to Budapest (though I’m leaving with two fewer than I arrived with). It’s a fabulous city to visit, and I think it would be a great place to live. Mind you, I’ve only been here a month, and in that time it’s gone from summer to cold autumn and I don’t really do cold. I’ve actually needed the winter coat I bought back when it was still hot. (It was a good price and style; I didn’t think I’d be wearing it here!) I’m planning a quick return visit in December, when it will be seriously cold. If I’m going to be freezing, at least I hope there’ll be snow on the ground.

I’m impressed with the dental surgery I was recommended. I’d been having trouble with a couple of back teeth and they had to go. I really liked that the dentist and periodontist actually listened when I said I was anxious about the procedure. They organised for me to have intravenous sedation, which did the trick but also knocked me around for a few days. Julie came along to keep me company and to make sure I got home OK afterwards. In December I’ll decide on any follow-up work.

For this last week I’ve been staying in the former Jewish ghetto area in District VII. It’s a fabulous area, within easy walking distance of anywhere I want to go. I’m always happy to walk everywhere, but the trams and metro are also very close by, as are the two cinemas I’ve been to and some great restaurants. 

I’ve checked a few things off my “to do” list, including making visits to St Stephen’s Basilica, the House of Terror (a museum housed in a building where both the fascist Arrow Cross Party and the communist Department for Political Police after 1945 (which became the State Security police) tortured and executed thousands of people), and the quite disturbing Holocaust Museum.

It’s not surprising, given Hungary’s long history of occupation, that there is now a real sense that Budapest is a city filled with young people enjoying themselves and their freedom. Kids in their twenties are the first free generation within living memory. Their parents and grandparents grew up under communism, and their great-grandparents went through the hell of the Second World War. There is a lot of creativity evident in the city’s fashion, music, art, design, graffiti, filmmaking, café and bar/”ruin” pub scenes.

This past week, Jules and I spent a beautiful afternoon walking up Gellert Hill, from where there are great views over the city. Tonight I’m leaving for Dublin, on my way back to New York, where I have a November marathon to train for.

It feels like I’ve been here longer than just four weeks. Quite a lot has been happening behind the scenes, too, including a very exciting creative project with Patrick, in Bali. We’ve stayed in very close touch since we said our au revoirs in Kuala Lumpur in March.