DAY 1
This morning we take the train to Germany, which leaves from Prague’s Central Station (hlavní nádraží) and, four hours later, arrives in Berlin’s Central Station (Hauptbahnhof).
DAY 1
Our (early bird) train departs from Budapest Nyugati, one of the city’s four train stations (good thing we checked which one we were leaving from first!). The train ride to Prague takes around six to seven hours, and I take full advantage of this extra sleep time. Due to delays, we arrive around 3pm, and are positively hungryyyy. We sit down for lunch at Maitea, a highly-praised vegetarian restaurant. This time, Dad is the one to get a veggie burger, which he says is “so good that it has reconciled [him] with vegan food”. Whatever that means. I get a vegetarian svičkova, which consists in soya slices with a cream sauce, served with dumplings and cranberries. It’s divine, and just what I needed after that long train ride.
We start off our first day in Budapest with a nice breakfast in the Terézváros area, before visiting the nearby House of Terror. The latter was once used by the fascist Arrow Cross Party and AVH (the Hungarian equivalent of the KGB), but has since been converted into an establishment dedicated to exposing the aforementioned 20th century fascist and communist organisations, as well as remembering their victims (many of whom were interrogated, tortured and sometimes killed the the building itself). With its stressful soundtrack and stern staff, the museum is truly a somber place. The basement features reconstructions of cells that the AVH used to keep their prisoners. While I find the visit informative, I tend to agree with critics of the museum who have argued it minimizes the Hungarian people’s role in the crimes committed under their previous administrations, and leans more towards blaming its foreign occupiers instead.
