I found the images of Kaikoura after the earthquake very upsetting, since my own memories of the two days I spent there are some of my best in New Zealand. As the town is cut off from the land, businesses are struggling with their summer season ruined. Even those with insurance may not be covered […]
A Tourist’s Guide to the Hungarian Revolution Part 2
Kossuth (Parliament) square On October 25, about 10,000 demonstrators gathered in Budapest’s Kossuth square in front of the Parliament. About 50 Russian tanks were parked in the square but the crews were friendly, chatting to demonstrators. However, no one seemed to know that the rooftops of the surrounding buildings had been occupied by armed Secret […]
A Tourist’s Guide to the Hungarian Revolution Part 1
Sixty years ago, a spontaneous uprising against the communist government of Hungary shook the world. This insurgency, lasting between 23 October and 10 November 1956, was the first major challenge to Soviet authority behind the Iron Curtain. The epicentre was Budapest where the violence was greatest and where signs of the revolution are still visible. […]