So, Budapest. Stunning women and (my glw informs me), equally good-looking men,
fine wines and some edible food. Buda's Castle district is stunningly beautiful, while Pest is now a vibrant, bustling modern European city, with cafe culture, roller blading arseholes and even a troop of Hare Krishnas who jangled through there every lunchtime.
The contrast between the place now and the first time I visited it in 1992 simply couldn't be more stark. What capitalism hath wrought there is pretty damn marvellous.
With that in mind, I would strongly recommend a visit to the House of Terror, which is the old secret police HQ and one of the best museums I've ever been to. Takes you on a tour from the top of the building right down to the basement, where all the cells are, complete with padded walls to prevent suicide, a nice little punishment cell so small no-one could move in it, a gallows room and drains in the middle for sluicing the blood, piss and vomit away. :-(
It's bloody grim (wife was in tears at the end), but would serve as an object lesson for every tosser who thinks waving communist banners about is a clever idea. I came out of there both massively impressed by the museum and utterly, utterly furious.