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Budapest, City of Contrasts, Opens to the World (Arnie and wife Dana pose for the camera with a panoramic view of the beautiful city of Budapest in the background. We are repeating this earlier story by Arnie). By
Arnie Greenberg This past month I rekindled an old love. I returned to Central Europe, just as much of it was joining the European Community. There were parades and happy celebrations -- and for very good reason. People in Hungary and the Czech Republic looked cautiously to the future for a better life and a bigger slice of the economic pie. It will happen, I think, but it may take awhile, since the Euro won't come here for a few years. But the countries are starting to take Euros as payment for services, and some menus show prices in the local and European currency. Even hotel prices are rising. But finances aside, I spent the better part of two months in vibrant countries with rebirth on their minds and construction, expansion and a happier future in their hopes. Consider the fact that Budapest was heavily destroyed by war and revolution and that both Prague and Budapest were under Communist domination until quite recently. There is a lot of rebuilding to do and a lot of catching up in the area of social reform in Hungary, more than in the Czech Republic. (Budapest's famous Chain Bridge stretches across the Danube).
The signs are there. The future will change the city. Actually, there are already changes with the fast food chains in most areas, as Macdonald's and Burger King spread their tentacles. But there are also beggars and the homeless sleeping in doorways. On Vaci Street, parallel to the Danube, upscale shops proudly display modern goods for eager shoppers. I fear, however, that the shoppers are mostly tourists, since I was told that the average salary in Budapest is about 1200 Euros per month. That is hardly a decent wage if prices are so high. But not all Hungarians are poor, as attested to by the cars, clothing and restaurants filled with local business people. And speaking of restaurants, one eats well in Budapest. From a typical, clean, art deco restaurant like the Mozaik on Rakoczi Street, where a decent meal of goulash and wine with a typical desert can cost under $20 to Gundel, that opulent eatery with orchestra, doorman and service fit for a king, where one can dine in sumptuous comfort for a mere $100 to $150 a person or more. But Gundel is special as well as famous. Near Heroes Square and the zoo, this reserve for the rich once owned by Estee Lauder, is filled to capacity. Not everyone there was a tourist. Karpatia is also recommended for traditional food in a Renaissance setting. (You can purchase native Hungarian embroidered goods, pictured below, while in Budapest).
I hardly felt like a local in this magnificent setting, whose atrium-covered lobby rose nine stories above the street. Breakfast in the vast sun-filled room complete with giant palm trees, international newspapers, fresh fruit in each room and a glider aircraft hanging from the ceiling all gave me a feeling of decadence. But I enjoyed it anyway. Budapest has a long way to go…but it has also begun to recover. Consider the fact that the Germans destroyed all the bridges except one. Even the mighty Chain Bridge was destroyed in the forties. (Looking towards Budapest's Mathias Church).
But today, this mighty bridge, the nearby Elizabeth Bridge (named after the Emperor Franz Joseph's beautiful wife, known as Sissy) and many others newly redone, tie together two sides of a city that functions as one. It is actually starting to look like Paris…with tree-lined streets, cafes and a river running through it. There are two cities: Buda, high and dominated by spas like the Gellert, heritage castles, neo-gothic Matthais Church and Fisherman's bastion or Gellert statue which affords a mountain high view of the river, and Pest with its British-styled parliament, the largest synagogue in Europe (Dohany Street Synagogue) at the edge of a one-time ghetto, and the bustle of a modernizing mega-city. (Budapest's stunning Dohany Synagogue, below, is well worth a visit).
This is a city of contrasts -- a city with a vibrant history, operas, theatres and street markets and countless museums. From here people fled from the Communists in 1956 to a better world. But many returned to the city of their birth, to the Danube, to the new Europe, ready to join the modern world. Buda and Pest are waiting for you. IMPORTANT
TO REMEMBER… Gundel Restaurant Reservations: Tel: 468 4040. Karpatia Restaurant Tel: 317 3596. Tourism Office of Budapest: www.budapestinfo.hu (Click below for more travel).
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One
can see modern or refurbished buildings next to derelict and shabby ones all boarded
up and falling apart. But they, too, will be given new life. It's a matter of
time. Even in the poorer areas, there are those buildings that shine under new
coats of yellow or beige paint. 
As
for me, I was fortunate enough to stay at the Sofitel facing the Danube and the
famous Chain Bridge. My view was spectacular as boats drifted by my window, people
were whisked to the top of old Buda's castle on a silent funicular and Pest lay
below filled with visitors from all over the world. 
Two
cities connected by modern bridges, but there is only one Budapest. And between
the two, on a river that is hardly "blue," stands Margrit Island ready
to welcome walkers, picnickers and locals searching for green spaces.