In 1968 a 19-year-old woman in Hungary studied drawing and dreamed of becoming an artist someday.  She left on a short trip to visit her husband, who had managed to get to Austria to audition for a Western orchestra.    When she arrived, he told her, “I can’t go back; you can stay here with me, or you can go back home to your parents.”  She wrote home to explain, and she was not able to return for 17 years.

We met this artist when we wandered into a gallery in Budapest and she told us her story of growing up and coming of age under Communism. This lovely, sweet woman smiled a lot and talked about peace and harmony, but her story was chilling. She explained that she didn’t even realize she was not free until she left and home county. Without bitterness, she told us of a generation of educated young people who were exiled from the country, or worse.

Budapest has a haunted beauty about it.  The buildings, bridges and grand boulevards tell a story of ancient grandeur, then neglect of an elegant past, then stark, no-frills utilitarianism, and now lavish capitalism with chic, global luxury chains lining the streets in affluent neighborhoods.

After visiting the Terror House, a museum commemorating the horrors of the Nazi and Communist eras, our hearts ached.  This part of the world has seen plenty of turmoil for centuries, and its people have suffered immensely!

We gather from our conversation with this artist, and several other local citizens, and from what we can see around  us, that Hungary has not fully recovered from decades of oppression and neglect.   For some, the Velvet Revolution in 1989 brought wealth and opportunity; for others, jobs evaporated and life became harder – at least economically. The buildings here are breathtakingly beautiful, and as we read beforehand, Budapest is reminiscent of Paris, but still slightly tattered.

During our visit, the air was balmy, the trees were blooming in shades of pink, lavendar and white all over town, and the Danube was blue.  Springtime was in full bloom, and we hope that the beautiful weather is a metaphor for the state of the country in 2015.  May the long winter be drawing to a close in this country’s history.  We wish for it a long spring and prosperous summer!