Between Arany Janos Utca metro station and the Hungarian Parliament lies the Szabadsag Ter, or the Freedom Square. It is surrounded by huge beautiful buildings. A small obelisk with a golden star at its top, decorates the square – the monument to the liberation of Budapest by Soviet Troops during the Second World War. Today, it is the only Soviet monument standing in Budapest. Next to it, towers the fortress-like building that houses the United States Embassy. It is hard to miss, since in typical US-hysteria, the whole place is cordoned off to vehicles, and security guards man the perimeter.
On the street leading to it, from Arany Janos Utca, stands the beautiful Magyar Nemzeti Bank. The walls of the building are decorated with beautiful sculptures denoting people in different professions – traders, printers, metal workers, shepherds, farmers and many more. Opposite to it, across a small park stands the new glass building of the bank plaza, which houses Citibank and OTP bank and probably others too. It was a complete contrast to the beautiful building.
On the other side of Szabadsag ter, another massive and beautiful building rises up. Its massive greek archway attracts you to it. This is the headquarters of MTV – not the music channel, but Magyar Television (the Hungarian Doordarshan). I heard that the building has now been sold. Ahead of the Ter is the massive parliament building, with the statue of Imre Nagy standing on a small arch bridge. The place was crowded by old men and women, who wanted photographs with the statue.
I did not wait for the sun to set completely, before heading off in the direction of Arany Janos Utca. I crossed the road and headed into the dark alleyways that connect Arany Janos Utca with Andrassy Ut – to the Opera House. The streets were scary, and I remembered Gyula’s warning of not to step into the area between the big circle and the little circle. But then, the street had quite a few cafes in it. So, what the hell?
Earlier in the day, I noticed the famous “Crop Circles Logo” of Google, and pointed it out to Snag. She was upset. “I am scared,” she wrote in the messenger, “What if aliens kidnap us, and do experiments?” “We are going to fly home in a week’s time. What if they attack the aircraft?” I asked back.
She’s yet to find grapes in Budapest.
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