Communism "light"

(In the pic: famous East German and Soviet-era Trabant car. A real relic of the old days)

We braved Nordic winds, rain and wintery weather to do an excellent walking tour of Budapest today. Our guide, a Hungarian woman about our age, was a real character, very expressive and boisterous.

Speaking in a thick Hungarian accent, she told us that though the 1956 revolution, aimed at restoring democracy to Hungary, was crushed ruthlessly by the Red Army, it was not a total failure in the sense that it brought the country some freedoms not available in other Soviet-controlled countries.

Fearing another uprising, the then prime minister offered the people of Hungary a "lighter" version of Communism (then the hardcore version being experienced in places like Bulgaria and Romania) if people got with the program. In exchange for playing ball, Hungarians were able to listen to M-TV, drink Coca-cola and wear denim jeans. We were also surprised to learn that (according to our guide) the country is still incredibly corrupt and has fallen back economically, far behind its other Eastern European neighbours who joined the EU at the same time as it did.

Besides our walking tour, the other really cool thing we did was go swimming in the Gellert thermal baths, one of many baths in the city and a major attraction. They were built by the Turks, who occupied the country for 150 years (our Lonely Planet says, rather harshly, this is something Hungarians should be grateful for, the many Turkish baths the invading Turks left behind, "after all it could haver been the British").

It was so relaxing soaking in the warm, healing water. The hotter baths (38 degrees) were seperated into mens and womens sections, and this allowed a lot of old men to walk around in these little white sheets wrapped around their genitals, buttocks exposed. Quite comical outfits. I wore hired swimming togs and kept my buttocks well out of view.

Writing now, I feel very tired and ready for sleep after two hours in the baths.

Tomorrow we leave for Pesc (pronounced "Paisch") about 3 hours south by train. Lonely Planet describes it as being "almost Mediterreanean". We shall have to see. Looking forward to a quiet place to stroll and having a few Dreher beers and maybe a class of Tokay.

We have both loved Budapest. What a wonderful city...the old metro trains, grand architecture, suspicious communist attitudes, rich history, great food and "buzz".

Pic: Statue of a Hungarian policeman from era of the First World War, his belly full of hearty stew and beer.