An Introduction to Budapest - Zsuzsa and Malcolm Style
Our first trip to Budapest was in the spring of 2001, exactly 25 years and 1 month ago. Hungary had come out from under communist control only 10 years earlier and was a fledgling country trying to find its way. Our train rolled in from Salzburg and stopped at the border-checkpoint to pick up some armed border patrol officers. They walked through the train checking passports and not showing any smiles. The train was an older multi-cabin car that had seen its better days. We arrived in Budapest knowing that the place was different than anywhere we had ever been. Susanne’s unique history with Hungary made it so. This was also our first trip outside to an emerging country. Traveling with our then 18-year-old son, our minds were open.
In the intervening years, a lot has happened. We've gotten 25 years older. Hungary had drifted into an autocratic society and now Orban has just been voted out which hopefully will change that. The train service has improved. The city has grown. Zsuzsa is now a Hungarian citizen. (Zsuzsa is Hungarian for Susanne.) Hungary is now a member of the European Union. But one thing hasn't changed, the people of Hungary are some of the friendliest and warmest anywhere and have welcomed us back every time. Interestingly the younger people, who did not live through the communist era, are more open than the older and with good reason.
A little more background for some of you that may not know. Both of my (Zsuzsa's) parents were Hungarian as were my maternal grandparents. Except for my grandmother's sister this was the total extent of my family. I was born in Washington DC and raised in a house that was full of Hungarian traditions, language, and culture. My first language was Hungarian. I didn't learn any English until I started first grade in San Antonio and then I learned it fast. But I continued to speak Hungarian at home and with my grandparents.
My grandmother lived with us in Houston from 1979 to 1987. She would tell us stories of things that happened in Hungary and particularly in Budapest. Of summers spent out on Lake Balaton. My grandparents lived here during the 1900s to 1940s. My grandfather had been in the Hungarian Army and became a General sometime after World War I. Both of my grandparents came from what is now Romania but at the time was part of the Austrio-Hungarian empire. My grandfather, grandmother, and mother escaped before the Russians seized Budapest in 1944. They made their way to the US in 1950 as did my dad and were living in Washington DC when I was born.
Fast forward through the almost 40 years since my last relative passed away and the 25 years since our first visit. My family is now gone and there are no known relatives in Hungary or anywhere. I have no one at home who speaks Hungarian. So, it's gotten rusty. This is our fifth trip to Hungary. We have collectively spent a total of almost six months here. We came in 2001, 2011, 2015, 2016, and now in 2026.
On a trip here in 2011, we had stopped in to visit the school where my mother had gone in the early 1940s. To my great surprise, I found a school-picture of my mother on the wall.
What are we feeling now? We’re feeling some apprehension about being here. We’re not sure why. Having spent so much time here before, you'd think we got this. Perhaps it's not knowing whether this will be our last trip here. Perhaps it's coming into a different apartment with its own quirkiness. We’ve taken our first few rides on public transportation. We’ve gone to the store and now remember the drill.
What is it that excites us about this place? It's a combination of things. We love living in a city that's easy to get around on public transportation. It's small enough to know well, but big enough to have everything we need. We decide on dinner in the morning and walk down and buy fresh ingredients from the market the same day. For Malcolm, it's watching Zsuzsa's Hungarian coming back into her voice. Every day she speaks with more confidence. You don't have to understand Hungarian to see the confidence.
We've never lived in the inner city of a big city together. There are so many things to do. Immediately across the street from our apartment is the Liszt Academy, the Hungarian equivalent of the Juilliard School in the US. We can sit on our balcony and hear them practicing. There are concerts or some form of recital almost every day. And most are free or minimal charge. There is street music of all kinds.
Writing about Budapest is going to be different than writing about our other travels. We’ll continue to write about the things we’re doing but in short clips and often in contrast to things as we see them in the US. We’ll also try to include more of what we are feeling and how we are doing at just ‘being.’ We’re trying to stay in the moment here and savor our experiences. Thank you for going along for this ride.
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