In a Nutshell - Hungary

 Parliament Building Budapest - photo by JoAnn Sturman

by Scott Sturman

In 1933 eighteen year old Leigh Fermor, fed up with school life in England, decided to walk from Amsterdam to Istanbul.  Carrying only a small pack, letters of introduction from his parents to friends who could help along the way, a few books, and just enough money to get by until more could be wired to him at the next major city, he began his journey, just as Hitler’s specter loomed over the Continent.  His travels and experiences are described in his books, A Time of Gifts and Between the Woods and the Water.  We joined his route along the Danube at Budapest, not on foot but in a river boat, which would take us as far as Giurgiu, Romania, near Bucharest.  

The Magyars or Hungarians came to Hungary from Ural Mountains in the 9th Century.  They brought with them what some say is the second most difficult language to learn.  Using the familiar Latin alphabet nowadays, the words are long and packed with consonants and a dizzying variety of punctuation that is incomprehensible to the non user.  While walking through a park on the Pest side of the river, I heard a man yelling at his dog in Hungarian and realized the dog understood more than I. 

Budapest - photo by JoAnn Sturman

Hungary is flat and low which makes it difficult to defend against big, nasty neighbors.  The Mongols slaughtered 50% of the population in the 13th century and would have added to the carnage, if they had not been compelled to return to Mongolia to elect a new Khan after Genghis Khan’s sudden, unexpected death.  The Turks and Austrians occupied the country for nearly 400 years and to make matters worse, Hungary was on the losing side in both WWI and WWII, reducing its boundaries to the present day size of Indiana.  The country suffered heavy damage to its infrastructure during WWII and had the great misfortune to be liberated by the USSR until 1989.  It’s a lot of time to make up.

One in five of Hungary’s 10 million people live in the capital Budapest.  Hilly Buda and flat Pest are separated by the Danube River but now form one city.  The areas adjacent the Chain Bridge with Budapest Castle on the Buda side and the Parliament Building on the Pest side are filled with gorgeous buildings and fine restaurants and shops.  The streets are clean and safe to walk at night. 

Danube River Budapest - photo by JoAnn Sturman

Religiosity and fertility rates mirror the European paradigm–less than replacement levels of births and low church attendance, although in Hungary most children are baptized either for cultural considerations or to place it safe for spiritual reasons.  Cigarette smokers abound among young, old, men, and women, but the population is generally slim and few waddle from side to side like too many Americans.

Hungary is dominated by the Pannonian Plain at the base of the Carpathian Mountains; it is an area with hot, sunny summer days and top soil reaching 100 meters deep.  An extraordinary number of crops thrive in this environment but none better than paprika, a generic term for a variety of peppers of different piquancy, which are sun dried then chopped finely for cooking.  Traditionally, 2/3 of available seeds are included in the final product, while 1/3 spared for planting the next spring.  The Hungarians are the world’s major producer and are quick to add the quality is the best, as well.

Paprika Piquancy Chart

The main source of revenue is tourism and agricultural products, but the current recession damaged the Hungarian economy significantly.  The average worker makes about half of his counterpart in western Europe, but prices are not proportionally lower.  In addition to all other taxes, Hungarians pay a whopping 27% VAT on all goods and services, yet the government spends more than it collects in tax revenue.  In the eyes of the people, the only ones making money are politicians and former Communist Party apparatchiks, who control the economy.  Hungarians are fed up with politicians, the graft, and incompetence to the point that many have lost interest in voting.  The situation is reminiscent of similar frustrations in the United States, where politicians with middle class backgrounds enter Congress and metamorphose into scoundrels with personal bank accounts overflowing with dollars.  

  Kalocsa, Hungary - photo by JoAnn Sturman

“We have no friends but Poland and Finland,” our waiter complained.  “And we’re run by a bunch of crooks.  Where are you guys from?”

“California in the United States,” I replied.

“I love California–beaches, pretty girls, the movies...  Do you like Obama?” he asked bluntly.

“We’ve never had anyone like him.  Very left wing–some say he’s a socialist but many Americans don’t seem to care or understand.  He has an agenda which his autobiography and actions in the Senate foretold.   A complicit press lays cover for him, probably not unlike Pravda during the dark Soviet times in Eastern Europe.  There is not a tax he doesn’t like.  He spends money to buy support of the people and rewards his cronies with special favors and lucrative jobs.  His domestic policy is based on wealth distribution, monitoring our phone calls, using government agencies to punish political opponents ...”

“Hold on, my friend,” he interjected. “Are you sure he’s a Socialist and not a Communist?”

Budapest at Night - photo by JoAnn Sturman