Back to Budapest

It is a joy to go back to places that I have loved on previous visits. New Orleans comes immediately to mind. I have been there a dozen or more times, but I eagerly anticipate each trip there. Happily, returning to Budapest did not disappoint--other than that it was far too short a visit. My youngest son said as we were rolling into town, "When can we come back?" I replied that I did not know, that at some point in the future we might return. His response made me laugh and pause to think: "I don't want to leave until I know when I am coming back." That is true love of place.

So what is it about the city that causes one to fall so completely for it? It is an old city. The Hungarians appeared in the late 9th century. After the Mongol invasion (Hungary is a much invaded nation) in 1241-42, the Buda castle was fortified and on the left bank Pest emerged. In the 13th century Buda took over the role of Székesfehérvár as regal seat, thus becoming the country's leading town. The castle was enlarged and reshaped and churches were erected (Matthias Church, Maria Magdalena Church). It was under King Matthias that the Buda castle had its golden age. It was in this period, too, that Pest equalled Buda after it had recieved privileges from the king. Today, Pest is the happening side of the Danube--you make money and you spend it in Pest. The Buda side of the river is more beaucolic. It is hilly and elegant to Pest's hustle and bustle. Somehow the combination works. It is not as easy a city to get to know as Prague, but that makes the returning to it all the more attractive.