The Trip

Getting there
Budapest is one of the most easily reachable Central European cities. Just ten hours drive northeast of Florence and two hours from Vienna, it is linked by good highways as well as by train. As we were staying for a week, we made a road trip (from Florence) out of it, spending 2 days in the Friuli region of Italy before reaching our final destination (see the pages on Pordenone and Udine).

Between Italy and Austria	The open road and the mountains

Post-Communist Budapest
For me the most visible aspect of "Westernization" in Budapest is the omnipresence of worldwide brands. Since the fall of the wall in 1989, Hungary and other "eastern" countries have been the targets of companies looking to expand in a new market. You can now get anything in Hungary, though prices (in forints) are at par with Euro prices in the rest of Europe, while salaries are not. The main drag boasts Max Mara and Escada, but you don't see anyone wearing that stuff; the locals prefer the huge malls popping up in the burbs. The upcropping of "western-style" hotels has made tourism a major business here, and they have quickly learned to charge entry fees to everything, though they tend to be rather low by most standards (1-2 euros). As areas are becoming gentrified, the clean-up of buildings has been slowly taking place, though many home-owners prefer to fix the inside of apartments but leave the outside in ruin. It is amazing that so much of the beautiful architecture in Budapest lies in the ruin of only 50 years: white buildings are blackened with dirt that looks as if it were accumulated over half a milennium. On the other hand, when given the opportunity, the Hungarians appear to be marvellously clean. In museums, theatres and concert halls, cleaning staff are omnipresent, and bathrooms everywhere are spotless, especially if they are newly rennovated. Budapest is clearly a city in transition, and it will have to be seen what changes will come as they continue their aproach to the rest of the EU.

A sign advertising paprika flavoured chicken breading... I think.	A sign for salami, on which someone has graffitied "Go Vegetarian".	The westend shopping mall, complete with food court

Crappy cars and other forms of transportation: a dying race
Just 6 years ago, one saw many more "eastern block" cars on the road in Budapest. Now, trabants are rather rare, and all the common european brands whip by as in any other city. Locals say the traffic is terrible and that driving is very scary. This is relative -- if you've driven in Rome or Sicily, Hungary is nothing. Budapest residents claim that their yellow line subway is the oldest in europe. The photo below shows that is rather squarish and old looking, and the man inside doesn't look too happy about it.

Do trabants only come in beige?	Contrasts in time	An eastern block Fiat	The first european underground.