BELOVED BUDAPEST
Video
I created a video about Budapest, Hungary’s capital, for the “Connecting cities” project. I took these photos while I was with the Erasmus program there, and I wanted to share with you my once in a lifetime experience! Enjoy! #connectingCities
All about Erasmus
Last year I was given the opportunity to participate in the Erasmus program. The city I was chosen to go was Budapest. As a student there I made a lot of friends, with most of them coming from other countries and cultures. As you can imagine, I broadened my horizons, I shifted my perspective about a variety of things and, as a result, I changed a lot about my way of thinking. My stay abroad was for one academic semester (about 6 months), where I was a student at Karoli Gaspar University! In particular, Erasmus is actually an exchange program between European Universities, in which students from European countries connect, collaborate and share their feelings and ideas with each other, while studying in a foreign country. In this way, students become more open-minded and self-confident.
Now, its time for me to show you some of the main attractions that Budapest is famous for, including what I felt and what I thought while being there. Also, I will try to make a comparison of these attractions to the Greek culture and natural heritage, trying to find out the similarities between these two ostensibly different countries, Hungary and Greece.
Danube River
To begin with, one of the most famous attractions in Budapest, and Hungary in general, is the Danube river. While gazing the Danube river and its calm waves, I surely admired the serenity and the beauty of Hungary’s nature. It is such a nice place, where there are a lot of small kiosks, coffee shops and restaurants, in which you can enjoy this breathtaking landscape and view. It is definitely a place where even your deepest thoughts can be unfolded. Once, while I was drinking my cup of hot chocolate during a boat cruise through the river, it felt like I was in a sailing boat into the Aegean sea. Instantly, the lyrics of Randy Newman’s song came across my mind… ‘’I am looking at the river but I am thinking of the sea’’. Many feelings passed through me and along with this, the sense of nostalgia of the sea and my country made me feel that I am into the Aegean again.
Fisherman’s Bastion
It is said that one of the best known attractions of Budapest is “The Fisherman’s Bastion”, which was built in the 19th century. The Bastion is a castle named after the guild of fishermen that was responsible for defending the stretch of the city walls in the Middle Ages. At this time, it is a city viewing terrace, with a lot of stairs and walking paths, and serves the best panoramic view in Budapest! It is a spot that many tourists visit, in order to take amazing photos of the view and, of course, themselves, for remembering their holidays! Needless to say, the architectural style and placement of the castle makes you feel like you are a part of a fairy tale, by taking you back in time, especially in the wintertime.
Museum of fine Arts and Heroes’ square
When I started finding out more about the city, I discovered that, not only the close to Danube side of Budapest is amazing, but also the other districts both Buda and Pest. For example, there is an enormous square called ‘’Heroes square’’ in which huge buildings and monuments are exhibited. I recall that a guide was telling us once the detailed history of the square, and we were all amazed about how similar the Greek and Hungarian architecture was. For instance, the Museum’s of Fine Arts designers were inspired by the ancient temples of Greece, and that’s why the front of the building is classical with massive Corinthian columns. Apart from that, its exhibitions contain pieces of art from Ancient Greece and Rome, which is something that made me feel really proud.
Life in Budapest
In my opinion, Budapest is definitely a suitable place for traveling, but only someone who lives there can ascertain how the everyday life and behavior of its local citizens is. As a student there, sometimes I had reservations about some specific things, such as not being accompanied while walking home. But that’s an apprehension I would have in any city that I am not familiar with. In general, Budapest is considered an overcrowded city and people there are kind-hearten and open-minded, such as many Greeks are.
Christmas time in Budapest
If you go to the city center of Budapest during the Christmas time, you will find small wooden houses selling traditional Hungarian, sweets, food and art, and everything smells cinnamon and coconut. Its typically called the “Christmas Market” and you will surely have a blast while being there!
Food similarities between Greece and Hungary
While spending 6 months there, I tried to taste all kinds of different traditional Hungarian food. My main conclusion was that their recipes were similar with the Greek ones, but Hungarians use more spices and bigger amounts of garlic and onion. As an example to the above, both Hungary and Greece have a traditional recipe for stuffed peppers. In Greece this recipe is called ‘’Gemista’’, and apart from peppers, stuffed tomatoes and other vegetables may also be included. In Hungary, its called ‘’Töltött paprika’’ and, by default, there are only stuffed peppers included. In Greece, “Gemista” is stuffed with minced meat, rice, garlic, tomato sauce, onions and oil olive while in Hungary, it is stuffed with pork, rice, onion, garlic, paprika and tomato sauce. So, you can imagine how similar these recipes are to each other, despite the small differences that may occur.
Baroque style
Additionally, I need to write about the baroque style that characterizes Budapest. While walking around the city, the roads and the buildings make you feel like you are starring in a mystery movie! Most of European countries are conducted with this architectural style, which is why they are considered to be so “unique” and “special” compared to other countries. In Budapest, you will notice these buildings of Baroque architecture mainly in the castle district, but also in the Szechenyi Thermal baths, the Royal palace and St. Anna’s Church. This style makes the city an absolute architectural paradise!
Homeless People
Now days, there is a situation which many countries are facing, mainly due to the financial crisis that hit the European Union. Unfortunately, in both Budapest and Athens, are a lot of homeless people and their number is constantly being increased. Most of them are living in subway stations, underpasses, parks and areas with high criminality rates. A high percentage of them are drug addicts and alcoholics. The problem in both Budapest and Athens is that there aren’t enough shelters that can provide a descent place to live to those who can’t afford it. So, inevitably, they end up living in the streets. For example, as a solution to this unfortunate situation, the City Hall of Athens is planning to open an overnight shelter for the capital’s homeless, but this kind of plan needs a lot of effort and time to be invested in order to be successful soon enough.
In conclusion, we realize that these two cities, Budapest and Athens, have come to deal with poverty due to all the problems caused by the financial crisis. As a case in point, the high level of unemployment was a fatal factor for the loss of many homes, which led to the increased number of homeless people all around the county.
Erasmus conditions
If you are a new Erasmus student, don’t worry, you will quickly make a lot new friends from a bunch of different countries! Erasmus students are very friendly and open to new friendships and experiences. I remember the very first course where we got to meet each other. That course was the Hungarian language one, and my first thought about it was that the difficulty was pretty much the same as the Greek one. All the Erasmus students were joking about the difficulty of the language, and how we could cope with it. We couldn’t even pronounce the words in the right way! It’s really hard to speak Hungarian fluently…
Fortunately, 6 months are enough to find out a lot of hints about living in Budapest, and of course to get along with them too. I have to admit that I am really glad about choosing Budapest as my Erasmus destination. I gained a lot of experiences, felt a lot of emotions and I had the chance to bond with so many people from around the world!
I strongly believe that if it wasn’t for Budapest, I wouldn’t be able to understand how much my country relates or differentiates with another one, or how identical or opposite it can be in various aspects! I would definitely not change a thing!
