Budapest

There is something stunning about Budapest. It's a really active city for one, meaning that there are always lots of people running or biking, generally having a good time. There are a lot of youths in the city which creates a happy vibe. The city has walk paths beside every main road, even across main bridges... but not only that! The walking paths have biking paths attached as well, with little photos of people holding hands on one side and of people biking on the other. It makes you feel like you don't have to compete with the traffic for your space.

Speaking of space, for a city (and area) of 3.3 million people, I was happily surprised that personal space was respected (not like some countries which will not be named, cough, Italy, cough). Friendliness is definitely an 8 especially with the strange names of places. I asked for directions to the airport, and the response was: take tram 4-6 to Ngygati then take the underground to Kőbánya-Kispest.

You need to keep and eye out on your directions and on the signs, because the place names all start to look alike. I gained new respect for my students, as I think this is what English is for them. Quite overwhelming.

Some of the neighbourhoods were equally confusing, as it's a little strange to be dealing with an alphabet where there is a 0% similarity to English. That being said, not only did people seem to want to stop and give us directions, some of them even walked us a few blocks to our destination happy to use their English.

The city itself has grown from ruins. Many old restaurants in the city centre are made from renovated old buildings. The best bars in town are located in "ruin pubs", old warehouses turned nightclubs where every room has different music playing and a different vibe. Where entry is free and beer is E2. It's a good life, cheap alcohol so that students can have a good time, but plenty of pools and healthy choices as well. I didn't see the rampant homelessness that I see in Canada, as a result of drug dependance and liquor. It just made me interested in how their economy works.

The city has grown from ruin, and I think that's what makes the people so strong and lovely. They have a strong tie to their history and their communities. They know how wonderful their city is. Wikipedia knows it too: It is also ranked as "Europe's 7th most idyllic place to live" by Forbes,^[29] and as the 9th most beautiful city in the world by UCityGuides.^[30] It is the highest ranked Central/Eastern European city on Innovation Cities' Top 100 index. 

Different cities have different vibes. I've heard Venice be described as a ghost town and I can agree. It's a nice place to visit, but no one actually lives there. History has long passed and the same stories are told, and taken home with souvenirs. When you're alone in a small corridor, you can't feel the history, you can just feel the trapped energy of the thousands of tourists just looking for a cold drink.

Turin is a city of busy business people. It's a closed city. Fortunately, since it's the "place of Fiat" it hasn't been hit as hard as some other Italian cities by the recession. People continue to go out at night, walking around the city in their 6 inch high heels and every piece of jewellery they own. People want you to look - but don't touch. Look at the wonderful Italian food, the museums, the family... but don't bring your fare into an old recipe. It is what it is and that's the way it needs to stay. You can visit the museum, but don't bring up another view of history.

But Budapest, it feels like a Canadian city in Europe. It is inclusive and growing. It has reverence for the old, and it's open to ideas on how to update its old buildings and old ideals. Like other European cities, they don't throw anything out, they just find a new way to use it. Also, they just don't give a fuck - as depicted by the photo of the woman in full out thong, tanning on a public fountain, as everyone is sitting around enjoying the music.

#IloveBudapest and I will be going back.