King of the Budaivar

Since I mentioned Prague and it's castle overlooking the city on a hill, I would be remiss not to mention that Buda has an even grander castle of its own. Behold, Buda Castle...

Built by the Austrians after the 1848 Revolution to keep the Hungarians under control. It's easy to imagine it as the seat of a great empire. Like many such places it is not only a fortress but a city-within-a-city, comprising a palace, shops, restaurants, museums, and:

A church, Szent Mathias.

A picturesque series of towers, the Fisherman's Bastion:



Statues of Hungarian worthies, such as King Stephen:



And even a series of underground caves. Not bad, Fatherland!

Be Praguematic

So...Prague! Home of absinthe, Vaclav Havel, foreign exchange students and would-be bohemians from all over the world.

My first impressions of the city were famously unfavorable. Now that I am giving the place a second chance, it hasn't improved too much, though I certainly can understand what draws so many people to it.

Certainly it has many fine old buildings, though not as many as Budapest. In general it is a bit more touristic than Budapest, with a slightly thicker concentration of chain stores and fast food outlets.

On the other hand, there are festive lights in all the major squares and the chill weather gives the place a Christmas air, even though Christmas is sitll almost two months away.

In my brief time here so far I walked around a bit and looked into the Czech National Museum. Unlike its Hungarian counterpart, the Czech National Museum doesn't seek to glorify the history of the Czech people but is much more of a natural history museum, with rooms full of mineral samples, stuffed animals, and a special exhibition on the solar system. All this seems a little bit incongruous with the Baroque statuary and vaulted ceilings, but none of the exhibits seem to suffer for it.

I suppose the difference between Prague and Budapest is that while Budapest is dignified and stately, clearly the sometime home of both a grand empire and a thriving intellectual and artistic scene, Prague is sort of a medieval Disneyland, a little too precious and cute for its own good.

The crowds of tourists are mainly responsible for this. Even now, during the off-season, the tour groups buzz like mosquitoes everywhere. In the Old Quarter and near the castle you have to positively wade your way around through masses of Americans, Germans, Chinese, Spanish, Koreans and every other nationality which can spare the money for a but of old-world sightseeing.

The higlight of my trip was almost certainly the Puppet Don Giovanni, which is exactly what it sounds like - Mozart's opera enacted with puppets and a classic recording playing in the background. Of course it had to cut down brutally - from over to hours to an hour and a quarter - but it was still a rollicking good time.

L - R: Don Giovanni, Donna Anna, Leporello

Rumble on the Danube

A couple of days ago I descended into the Metro to find the place swarming with riot police. The trains, too, were crowded with yelling groups of people and more riot police. Was it a political demonstration? Were people taking to the streets? Some kind of Halloween event? Then I saw everyone wearing the same scarves amd I realzed what was going on.

A football match.

I wonder what it is about football that has enraptured the rest of the world but has so completely escaped us Americans.

Revolution Day

Don't ask me what the banner says because I don't know.

Last Friday I decided to take advantage of the Turner Exhibit at the Fine Art Museum. Much to my surprise, the exhibit was free. After I had my fill of Madonna pictures and Turner's Italian paintings I walked outside to see a crowd of people standing in Hero's Square listening to Beethoven. I recognized it because it was the 'Egmont' Overture, which I learned to play during my brief time with the Brandeis Orchestra. I had no idea what the crowd was up to, or why the were playing music by a German composer.

After the overture ended they all produced Hungarian flags and sang what I assume was the Hungarian national anthem. Apparently it was Revolution Day (which explains the free museum pass), the anniversary of the 1956 uprising which ushered it the more moderate Communism which lasted until the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Politics in Hungary are currently in a bad way. Elections are coming up the Far Right is expected to do very well. Partly because of the economic crisis, partly due to growing prejudice against Gypsies, and also because the ruling Socialist Party disgraced themselves when the former Prime Minister was caught on tape at a cabinet meeting talking at length about how terrible the economy was becoming and how they'd lied to people.

Looks like there are crazies all over.

What Hungarians Drink

Earlier in the day, Magyars have a European-style passion for coffee. Cafes (kavezok) abound, serving the usual array of coffees, teas, espressos, lattes etc.

Later on, when something a bit stronger is needed, they turn to:

- Beer. Most Hungarian beer is pretty terrible, but there are a wide range of imported German, Belgian, and Czech beers.

- Wine. I haven't had much Hungarian wine so I can't really comment. Apparently Georgian wine is excellent, and when the Russians invaded the imports stopped. Some people talk about this wine-less period as if it were a war itself.

- Palinka. Strong fruit brandy, generally made from apricots, peaches, cherries or plums. Usually the aroma of the fruit used is very apparent.

- Unicum. This is Hungary's national bitter, and it is terrible. A dark, soupy medicinal-tasting potion for the truly intrepid.