Revisiting Hungary

Photo by Ervin Lukacs on Unsplash

I first visited Budapest in 2008, over fifteen years ago. I recall being swept away by the grandness of its architecture and stunning skyline. The stone lions that guard both sides of the Chain Bridge were embossed in my mind all these years. I recall with fondness sitting in one of the city’s many parks and devouring fresh sour cherries (‘meggy’) acquired at a nearby market, and visiting the Dohány Street Synagogue complex. It consists of what’s referred to as the Great Synagogue (the largest in all of Europe), the Heroes’ Temple, the graveyard, the Memorial, and the Jewish Museum. It stands there in large part thanks to funding by Estée Lauder and Tony Curtis.

But I recall being struck by the overall silence, and the numerous signs saying ‘zárva’ (closed) that I’d encounter. Sure, there were flocks of tourists in pursuit of a travel experience that was then even less expensive than Prague, but overall the cityscape was devoid of actual Hungarians. The…