Budapest Day 3 -- Terror Háza

After the fireworks, we made our way back home -- dodging street cleaners along the way.  The next day brought more beautiful weather (but warmer) and more walking for the Pattons.  We walked down Béla Bartok and stopped for a quick meal at The Nevada Pub.  This place had quickly become our favorite because the wait staff knew some basic english and seemed to enjoy our continuing struggles w/ the Hungarian language.  

While I think that is basically true, we later had to question if they really enjoyed our company or just our 20% tipping when regulation tipping (which we found out on about the 6th day) in Hungary is 10% at best.  Lessons learned.

For lunch, we split a meat sandwich -- don't know what kind of meat it was but since it wasn't really a sandwich either, I suppose it doesn't matter. It was two garlic bread looking things with some type of ground meat covered w/ cheese and warm tomatoes.  It was good enough...ish - and I ended up w/ extra tomatoes.  

Mmmmmm...meat sandwich

Another quarter...cha-ching!

After the meal, we splayed our city map out across the table to figure out our route. When we asked the waiter if we were correct. He said for us to take such and such bus to such and such trolley blah, blah, blah.  We told him we were walking and he just laughed and traced us out a route. 

Obviously, by Day 3 we knew public transportation was an option - there were trolleys and buses everywhere -- (oh, and a subway system, but we knew that was out of our league).  However, we didn't have any idea of how to go about using them (didn't know how to buy a ticket, didn't know where to buy a ticket, didn't know where to get on, didn't know where to get off, didn't know which bus/trolley to get on, etc...). 

We both thought we could figure it out if need be, but after months of awesome going away parties and get-togethers a little extra walking wasn't going to hurt us.

Today's plan was to hit Andrassy Ut. Andrassy is a famous street in Budapest that houses ritzy hotels, restaurants, cafes, museums, shops, and old villas that date back to the Hapsburg empire.  All I know is that it was really, REALLY, long. The two places we wanted to see on Andrassy were the Terror Háza (House of Terror) and Heroes' Square.  

After what seemed like hours, we came to the House of Terror. 60 Andrassy Ut was the Hungarian seat of power for both the Nazi secret police in the 40's and then again for the Soviet secret police during the Cold War. It has since been turned into a museum.  

I don't know what word to use here, Meliss and I both really wanted to go to the museum, but to say we were excited about, or looking forward to going is not right. We just felt like we needed to go. 

There were limited pictures allowed once inside, but the building itself is enough to legitimize the name.

When the sun is at the right angle, "terror" runs down either awning.

The victims line the outside walls.

The museum consists of the ground, 1st, and 2nd floors and then the basement cells.  The tour begins with a lobby that is dominated by a Soviet tank sitting on a oil fountain of sorts.  When facing the tank, you are facing a wall with the faces of the Hungarian victims of 60 Andrassy Ut. 

It is also the last spot where pictures are allowed. 

                                    

                       

                     

Wall of Victims

From there it is up to the 2nd floor by way of a glass elevator.

The ride is short -- but when the doors close the faces of the victims surround you on all sides (including the mirrored reflection on the doors themselves).

So unless you close your eyes you are forced to stare at them the whole time. Chilling.

Each room has its own theme - some artifacts, some video testimonials, some wholly preserved rooms from either Nazi or Communist officials.  Most of it was in Hungarian (each room had an english pamphlet to explain what we were seeing), but the language wasn't necessary to get the impact.  

While the whole exhibit was powerful, the torture/execution cells in the basement particularly, probably the most striking image was the last room.  After spending a few hours walking through one room of horror after another, the last room is filled with the NAMES and PICTURES of the Hungarian people that were known to be collaborators with either regime.  According to the literature, many of the people pictured are still alive. 

We were both happy we went and happy to be leaving. If it was easy to forget over two days in sunny and beautiful Budapest that we were now living in a country that had spent half the last century under the occupation and control of two brutal regimes, then this gave us a huge dose of reality.  It was a strange feeling seeing elderly Hungarians after this...and knowing they had lived through what we just saw.  

We were thankful it was still a nice sunny day outside as we left -- we needed it.

Next -- Heroes' Square...