London CallingPrehistoric JourneyThe Long and Winding RoadEdinburgh on the FringeSeeing DubleUn Beau DésastreA Walking Tour of BarcelonaThere's No Place Like RomeRome part 2Pretty...Reichenbach FallsOktoberfestNo Museums In MuseumTownThe OperaI Expected More Buddhas
 | apdelong |  | Europe 10.0 |  | I Expected More Buddhas |
Not enough votes to display rating.
Sep 28 2010, 11:49 PM
Embed trip
View in Google Earth
Rss news about this trip
GPX Track
Journal
Location
Budapest, Hungary
Sept. 27, and Sept. 28 in Vienna
It was our intention to take the 9:50 train from Vienna to Budapest, but I was running late and taking my time so we just missed it. Alex was livid and I had no excuse other than I thought we would be alright on time, which I was apparently wrong about.
He said that all that was left to do now was to call the prostitute who approached us our first night in an alley and gave us a card with her phone number and her name, Kitty. I told him about the brothels that I passed by the day before and that I looked up online how prostitution is legal as long as it is government regulated in Austria meaning that a brothel was a much better place. Prostitutes are required by law to have health screenings twice a week making them some of the healthiest people in Austria.
So we went to Lust Haus 70 and I paid for half of Alex's girl because I felt badly. They said I was a good friend and gave me a free lapdance.
Of course none of that actually occurred, other than the business card; we made the train and arrived in Budapest in the early afternoon.
Right away I noticed two depressing things. First there were a lot of poor people around, more than I had seen in my first half hour in any other place. Second the exchange rate for Hungarian forints was pretty good for the euro, but then thinking about it critically it was only slightly better having the US dollar; get your act together America!
Alex and I went to the spot where the free walking tour was meeting and found a pizza place to eat nearby because it seemed like all traditional Hungarian dishes contained a lot of meat and we were in somewhat of a rush. I ordered a pizza loaded with vegetables that was pretty good. Alex got a pizza that was advertised on the menu as great for ladies, it was. When our food came his had a bunch of lettuce in the middle and it turned out to be filling in the hole that was in the middle of the pizza. Needless to say he kept a slim figure this day.
Our walking tour was themed towards the communist and the post-communist Budapest and Hungary. The tour guides Agnes and Gabor were very knowledgeable having grown up during the communist period. They were very quick to mention that it was not all bad and not all good during both periods of Hungarian history. For one, under communism, everybody had a job; however, no one had to work hard, so no one did.
They explained how the Hungarians had things much better than the other nations in the Warsaw Pact because they had an uprising in 1956. The Soviets quickly suppressed them, but realized that the Hungarians did not want communism so they were more lenient. Hungarians had coca cola and pepsi whereas none of the other Warsaw Pact countries did. In the 80s Hungary got Mtv. Gabor described the 50s and 60s as dark communism, but during the 70s and 80s it was more happy communism.
We passed by many communist buildings that were distinctly plain and buildings that were pre-communism that were falling apart except for the first floors which had been renovated. During the communist period no old buildings were renovated, if they fell then a new communist building was erected in place.
Another good thing about communism was that everyone had free healthcare, but because doctors had pretty much the same salary as everyone else it became customary to tip them either with a gift or money in an envelope. This custom is carried on to present day, even though the people pay taxes for public doctors these days.
At the end of the tour Agnes and Gabor showed us relics of the communist times including, little drummer memorabilia (Communist version of scouts), good worker medals, propaganda cards, communist party member book, and more.
When we got back to Vienna Alex went to a restaurant near the hostel and I went to make the rest of my sauage, cheese, and pepper meal. When I looked in the refrigerator the bag with my name on it containing my food was gone, but the cheese remained. This was disheartening and suspicious, but I got over it and went to the restaurant to eat with Alex.
The next morning I used my cheese to make myself grilled cheese sandwiches for breakfast using the free bread they provided, so it did go to good use. I tossed the leftover pitas because they were barely food and I shoved a bunch of pretzel sticks and a banana down the maid's throat for throwing away my food ultimately asphixiating her...just kidding about that last part.
Comments |
Log in to add comment |
No comments