07/08/2010

Yet again, having felt disappointed with Prague to begin with, but for it to grow on me (mainly from the atmosphere at the hostel and night life over things to do/see though)- I reached Budapest today and felt a similar feeling, but there doesn't even seem to be nice old town here- it is modelled very much on Paris- I hate Paris.

I'm on a boat (mimics the piss-take you tube video), but this is not as cool as it may sound- there is no wifi, my one tiny source of light is a small circular window which is pretty much at water level, the room is just wood and it is in the basement of the ship and is really rocky. It is tiny with just a bed and a sink in it, as are all the hostel rooms, there is no common room (just what looks to be a rather expensive restaurant) - it isn't really a hostel, but one of these joined hotel/hostel ventures, where they have basically had a tiny bit of space left, made a communal toilet and shower and bunged loads of tiny rooms down there and called it their "hostel". Not the best environment for meeting people at all and it is quite a distance from the centre of town (though I managed to walk it). Oh and the pipe from the toilets upstairs run through my room so you can hear every echo from the toilet basin- great! There is a wedding party- Butlin-cheese-esque in nature going on above my head: my ceiling IS the dance floor: it sounds like elephants are going to invade, this room is like an aural torture chamber- I have tried to phone the hostels up in the area to get moved, but can't get numbers to work or there are no rooms left- b*****!- tempted to go to the station now and sleep there. There isn't even a communal area apart from the ridiculous expensive bar and it is quite a distance from the main town (Whilst I walked it in the day, wouldn't want to at night).

Luckily!?!? the room was ready for me when I arrived early this morning so I could freshen up and chill out for a bit, also I was able to buy breakfast at the hotel/hostel before I went out. Started the day the only way one should having been screwed up on a Sleep train all night, by a bus tour! Saw all of the major sites (though I just missed out on the open top bus, so my photos are a bit lame) and didn't have to think or move for 2 hours, also it stopped near the Citadel and allowed me some hassle-free souvenir browsing and nice views over the city- expensive though: about 11 euros- definitely out of proper Eastern Europe now. One thing that strikes me about Budapest is the number of homeless people, beggars and drunks on benches: everywhere- there are drunk old men passed out on the street or on park benches, many people with missing limbs on crutches, the floor or wheelchairs begging for money, a woman with a sick young girl begging for help because she has no job and can't afford to get her sick daughter medicine, teenagers who are wasting away with a sign saying something like "Help me"- I must have seen around 100 people that fit one of these categories today?

I got off the tour bus at the second to last point and strolled down (Via getting lost a million times) to the Holocaust documentation centre. Budapest is horrible to navigate- it is really easy to get completely lost! The museum seemed strange at first: it is the biggest such centre in Europe, yet I was the only person in there. The focus was on Jews and Roma victims, but there was some mentioned of other "asocial" groups.

It was very hectic, lots of sounds, videos playing, images appearing on the walls, personal affects, diary extracts, it did not avoid shocking the viewer and delved very much into how the Hungarian government were already anti-semitic and how the very quick, systematic expulsion of Hungary's Jews (the quickest of the time) couldn't have been carried out without the Hungarian co-operation, towards the end the exhibition focuses on dilemmas and attempts at escape/ rebellion from Jewish victims and commemorates those Hungarians who did help. The last room is the new "Historical Syanogue" accompanied by a temporary art exhibition.

From here I walked towards Alcu Ueta and had lunch at Anna's cafe, then strolled down to look at the Great Synagogue and Tony Curtis funded Holocaust memorial: it is a steel weeping willow- beautiful and highly symbolic. Then I went over to the Terror Museum about Hungary under occupation, but whilst Lonely Planet had state it was open till 7:30pm Saturday and Sunday, it was not and I didn't want to waste the money for 30 minutes only in there. Then walked back to the boat- wondering whether to get the metro tomorrow (have to walk for about 15 minutes to metro station, buy a transfer ticket, validate at the station, change metros in the centre and not get lost) or I could walk it and it will take about 40 minutes)?? Decisions, decisions... anyway whatever I decided to do I will need sleep to complete the task! Salzburg tomorrow- can't believe I'm half way through the trip already!! See my mum at 1pm.