Past & Present

I just had a nice visit with a woman who was an exchange student in East Germany. Here is an insightful essay from a man comparing his time in Hungary before the fall of the Soviet Union with the Hungary of today.

When I first visited, as an exchange student in January 1989, Budapest was the capital of Communist Hungary. And despite the moroseness that hung over the city like a cloud, it held a certain charm beneath layers of dirt and gloom. When I returned last month, a journalist on vacation, Budapest was Europe, as European as Paris or Barcelona, and as dazzling.

 

Trackback URI | Comments RSS