the airbrushed parliament building

The Tourism Office of Budapest wrote on its website: “That Budapest - one of the most beautiful cities in the world – has developed where it is, is not down to some historical accident. Take a look at Gellért Hill, right next to the River Danube as it flows majestically through the centre of the modern city.”

Agree? Apparently many people do, as the city gets more than 24 million visitors each year. However, I would say that the word “modern” is a bit misplaced when we talk about Budapest. Why not use words like unique, authentic, or even exotic? In both sense—good and bad, that is—Budapest changed a little since—well, I don’t really know when. This is the city where you could still see buildings from hundreds of years ago. Remember Madonna’s movie “Evita”? If you thought it was filmed in Argentina, you can’t be more mistaken: It was here in Budapest. And only last year Steven Spielberg came to town to film “Munich”. If you asked me whether Budapest looked like Munich in the 70s, my answer is I don’t know. I was not even born yet. But if Mr. Spielberg chose Budapest to fool people to make them think that actually the movie was taking place in Munich, I may assume it answered better.

First stop; let’s head over to the Nyugati Pályaudvar (trans. The West Station of Budapest). It is the first railway station of the city. It does look very impressive, doesn’t it? Well, it must be! It was designed by Gustav Eiffel in 1870s, the man behind the framework for the Liberty Statue and the Eiffel Tower. The building stands tall today as it was. Never doubt that inside it looks as beautiful. Outside, however, is a different story. I think the building could make use of a little repainting at least to clean out the griminess. If you think the picture looks good, surely the station needs some airbrush in real life too.


Nyugati Pályaudvar–Now and Then

In fact, I think most buildings in the city would need some renovation as they still remain in their “original” condition. I have nothing against antiquity, especially not in Budapest architecture. It is definitely one of the most beautiful sights in town with the entire pattern, statues, and all. But not to be rude, I miss one thing: color, folks! Things might have colors a long time ago, as you could see the trace in the pictures; and I would like to see them return one day—but no more grey, please.

Next is the tram. The picture below shows tram number 2, which was bought in 1967 – 1978—and the good (or bad?) news is that it is still running. Wow…! It is not grey, but I still wouldn’t say it’s modern, that’s for sure.

And just what else remains the same in Budapest? Somebody told me it’s the mayor! Mr. Gábor Demszky has been in charge since 1990, which means he has been voted for 4 consecutive times. Not bad, really! He was even named as one of the finalists for “The 2005 World Mayor“. But this year has gone a little rougher for Mr. Demszky. People blame him for changing Budapest into the city of potholes:

Blikk claims to have found the “king of all potholes,” on Mexikói út. At 192cm long and 13cm deep, To further their research, Blikk sent a reporter to survey a stretch of Route 35 in Hajdú-Bihar county (as punishment for what is anybody’s guess). He reportedly counted 117 potholes in a one kilometer section or the highway near Pród.

A displeased man who addressed himself as Pilu has created a website to criticize Mr. Demszky called demszky.com; to match the mayor’s demszky.hu. He offered the ownership of the site to Mr. Demszky, if he promised not to run in the next election. As for me, now I’d just shut up and listen. Bullet-proof vest ready!

For more pictures of unairbrushed Budapest, click here and here: