We began our day at 9:45 after a breakfast at Stex. We headed out to explore the Pest side of city and learn about how the history of Pest differs from that of Buda. Our first stop came after a tram ride alongside the river where we arrived at St. Stephens Church. We had some time to ourselves to explore the church and many of us took advantage of climbing to the top of the church to see the breathtaking views of the city. Next, we continued on to see the Hungarian Parliament building where we learned about the civilian protests in 1956 that were brutally oppressed by the Russian secret police. Bullet holes from the shooting of innocent and unarmed protestors can still be found around the building. After this, we moved on to Liberty Square which was built by the communists in the 1950s. We saw the liberty memorial which ironically does not represent any true form of Liberty for the Hungarian people. Though the Russians granted the Hungarians many material signs of liberty, the people were by no means free of the Russians and to this day despise the memorial. After a quick lunch, we resumed our day with a tour of the House of Terror – a former Nazi torture and prosecution building that now serves as a museum. We had a private and incredibly informative tour during which we were able to see the original prison cells and torture chambers for Jewish prisoners. We ended the day with a visit to the House of Baths and a group dinner in the evening.
