![]() It is, explains legendary player Imre Horvath, a Hungarian national sport. To master it, however, takes years of practice. The concept is simple: flicking buttons across a tabletop soccer pitch in a bid to score a goal. Also known as sector football, this century-old pastime has a cult following of grown men, who came of age at a time when it was a key part of everyday life here. If Bakancsos Piac is imbued with the spirit of Budapest, then so too is the game of button football. ![]() Why Cape Town is one of the world’s most beguiling cities It’s a place to pick up unique souvenirs, but also get a good look at the soul of the city too. Classic Beatles LPs stand next to chipped vases. There’s every bit of bric-a-brac you could possibly want, from vintage lampshades to Egyptian-style bronze busts. on weekends, all the better for those who love to pick up a bargain before breakfast. Away from the tourist trail, it is an institution, a suburban experience and a place for those who love an impulse purchase, not to mention somewhere to hone your bargaining skills.īakancsos Piac opens at 6 a.m. And nowhere sums this truly local vibe up quite like Bakancsos Piac, a bustling flea market. That’s not to say, however, that the country, and Budapest in particular, does not have a strong independent streak. It is part of the European Union, a member of NATO and feels more westward facing than ever. Today’s Hungary has a much different spirit compared with that of the country that was occupied for so long. This speaks to the biggest, most chilling event in Hungary between the end of World War II and the collapse of communism: The 12 days in November 1956 when Soviet troops entered Budapest and brutally crushed an uprising demanding more democratic politics. The blaring of communist propaganda and the cramped cells ensure visitors are left in no doubt as to how challenging these times were.Ī hulking tank dominates the permanent exhibition. The wall of images showing the more than 3,000 people who perished here is a stark reminder of the brutality experienced by local people during the second half of the 20th century. Since 2002 it has been a memorial to those captured, held, tortured and killed in this building by both regimes, during what those in Budapest call the double occupation. In previous incarnations it was the headquarters of the local Nazi party and, following World War II and Hungary’s position within the Soviet sphere of influence, the head of the communist secret police. Today, it’s home to the House of Terror museum. An atmosphere of fear and terror was pervasive and 60 Andrassy was the nerve center of it all. It’s a sobering fact that, just 35 years ago, Budapest had a much different feel compared with its current vibrant air. The House of Terror museum building was previously a Nazi HQ and home to communist-era secret police.
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