A ROSE BY ANY OTHER
NAME
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| Budapest |
The Danube is the
second longest river in Europe after the Volga. It begins in Germany in the
Black Forest and flows through 10 countries before emptying into the Black Sea
in Ukraine. The Danube also has the unique distinction to flow through the
capitals of four countries: Vienna Austria, Bratislava Slovakia, Budapest
Hungary and Belgrade Serbia. With each country and language there is a
variation in the spelling of the Danube River.
In Germany the Danube
is called Donau. In Serbia it’s Dunav. In Hungary the Danube is Duna. In
Slovakia and in Poland it is Dunaj.
My name is Gregory
Dunaj.
SWIMMING UPSTREAM
My
father’s heritage was Polish, Mom’s was Slovakian, but according to a family
tree compiled by a cousin I also have family in Hungary. According to the
current borders the Danube does not flow through Poland, though my family name
is Dunaj. Somewhat confused we learned while in Budapest, the “J” at the end of
my name means “from the area” of the Danube and southern Poland is a part of
the Danube River basin.
In any event a visit to
this central portion of Europe is akin for me to swimming upstream to the old
spawning grounds.
A MELTING POT
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| paprika |
As we did our research
for this side-trip out of Nantwich England where we spent the holidays,
Budapest Hungary became more and more alluring. Budapest was once part of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire, fought with the Axis powers during WWII and was ruled
by USSR until the collapse of Communism in the late 1980s.
It was first settled by
the Romans, then came the Magyars, then the Mongols, then the Turks ruled, then
the Austrians and Germans and then the Russians, each leaving behind a bit of
their culture. Between the opulent buildings erected during the Hapsburg
dynasty and the dour Soviet-era edifices, the many thermal baths, popular with
the Romans and the Ottomans, now found throughout the city, the Hungarian
opera, the paprika and the goulash and the Ruin Bars that rose from the Jewish
Ghettos after WWII, there was a lot to see and experience. With Janet's research and planning we managed to see everything on our list.
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| St. Matthias Church |
Today, Budapest is a
melting pot of Hungarians and Germans, Jews and Slavic people and though the Hungarian language
is unwieldly and nothing we’ve ever heard before, nearly everyone in
Budapest speaks English! There’s a certain elegance and sophistication and ease to this
sprawling city and it was an easy choice for us to make, especially since the
Florin, the local currency, was tanking. At the time of our visit, it was 1 Florin
to $0.0026 USD.
Hungary is part of the
European Union and you can pay in either the Florin or Euros, but you get a
great exchange rate with the former. If you pay in cash you’ll get Florins back
as change.
YOU CAN GET THERE FROM
HERE
Once in Europe it is
easy to get on a low-cost airline like Ryanair to go anywhere for a fraction of
the cost of flying directly from the United States. The combined cost of our
flights roundtrip from Manchester to Budapest was less than $500, but that’s
because we wanted to check bags, in order to bring back some Hungarian wine,
and to pick out our seats beforehand. Without those add-ons though the flight
could have been about $125 each.
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| Hungarian Opera |
We also used Ryanair to
book round-trip transfers from the airport, rather than taking a train to
Budapest. That cost $60.
Janet of course did her
research and had planned a great itinerary for our 5-day visit to Budapest.
Part of her plans included a couple of dinners out, a visit to a thermal bath,
a night at the opera, a night at the Ruin bars, 1 ½ days of a personal tour
guide, a visit to the Parliament and to St. Stephen’s Basilica and to the vast
Great Market Hall and a visit to the Soviet era Memento Park, situated just
outside the city’s limits.
Yes, we made ourselves
right at home in Budapest.
Thanks for reading
Love Janet and greg
© 2023 by Gregory DUNAJ
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| a relative of mine |
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