Budapest: The Twin Cities.

Impulsively , I am recognizing my affinity for the city of Budapest, and realize that I'll be spending much of my time here. While I don't live in the capital, it is quite easy to get forth and back... by car, bus, or train. I've taken all three methods of transport, and all are worth it.








I draw this association to the 'twin cities' for two reasons... first of all, it's baseball season (in my mind and in the US), so naturally I am thinking of the Minnesota Twins. [Brief interposition: I'll be pulling for the Twins all the way to the Series and am looking forward to watching their run.] And, secondly, it's (sort of) relevant in regards to the historical foundation of the city. Only in the late nineteenth century, Budapest became one city occupying both banks of the Danube with the unification of the west-bank Buda and the east-bank Pest.

Nonetheless, it's an amazing city and I feel fortunate to live so near. I just spent a week in Budapest at the Hungarian Fulbright Orientation Seminar. My entire week was humming, just as I like it... packed full of introductions, lectures, tours, and even a few Hungarian language classes. So, professionally, I was loaded... and then, of course, I had to make time for independent fun as well.



It was rad... I finally had the opportunity to meet all of the American Fulbright grantees to Hungary. There are a total of twenty-one Fulbrighters from the US, and they're some pretty impressive cats. Everyone has a unique assignment and a dynamic background... from religious studies to political science to set design to mathematics to medicine and further. But beyond the scope of the grantees, the attention and care that the Fulbright Commission offers us continues to be top notch. Annamária and the entire crew in Budapest have been so kind and generous.

I really appreciated the ad rem lectures of the weekly programme. I learned a great deal about the Hungarian political structure, economic climate, history, higher education model, cultural dispositions... all sorts of valuable information to set me up with a deeper knowledge-base as I head out, wandering and wondering... There were a few specific presentations (particularly: Dr. Tamás Daróci Bárdos, composer / conductor who, for one year was a student of Zoltán Kodály; and Dr. Balázs Ablonczy, expert in political philosophy and foreign scientific reviews) that elevated my interest in sociology... thus, inspiring me to start gathering information for a future essay. I've got a bunch of ideas strewing now, but I'm trying to collect them to explain my perspective and reaction to cultural differences and integration... well, that's the broad scope, but most likely I'll focus on a much narrower spectrum. For now, it's still too beautiful outside to stay still and write... so, I may not roll on the essays until winter.

Outside of the lectures and logistics, we spent a lot of time touring the city... and, again, there's no way I can offer the tour with words (or even with photos)... but here are a few spots we visited... more sights for a return trip, more photos for another post...




Walking along the river (on the Pest side), this is a shot of the Buda Castle at dusk...

Csendes Létterem... hip chaotic coffee house in district V.






Here are the Fulbright offspring... checking out the Hercules Fountain at the Castle of Visegrád...


This is the authentic fifteenth century wine cellar of the Rennaisance Étterem... after a royal feast (four-course meal, palinka, wine, etc.), Visegrád port of call...


Hősök tere (Heroes' Square): home to both the Museum of Fine Arts and the Palace of Art.





Invitational dinner at the home of the Public Affairs Officer (a beautiful Buda mansion on the hill)... I had the opportunity to speak with Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis, the US Ambassador to Hungary, in addition to a handful of diplomats telling their stories of their foreign service tours, etc... pretty wild! [photo credit: David Grosskopf]

Just another gorgeous building in Budapest... original ornamentation, ridiculous colour!







And, there is a reason why people don't make a big deal out of any other river bends... there's nothing like the Danube Bend from atop the Visegrád Castle (home to Dracula for over a decade)...