A quick stroll through the downtown streets and along the banks of the Danube began to put Budapest back in perspective after some 20 years absence. I was last here as a CNN correspondent when President George H.W. Bush visited in the heady days as the communist bloc was imploding and breaths of freedom were exploding across eastern Europe.
Much has changed. Much still to be done. The city a little brighter, even on a rainy afternoon.
Fancier shops, but that's only a surface gleaning. Construction cranes are always a good sign, though we know the economy is struggling. "We're not on the Euro yet," the guide on the incoming bus noted and added, "that is good for you."
Elections here and just recently in the Czech Republic and, shortly, when we are in Poland continue to shape the coalitions that are struggling with the post-communist transition to full market economies and the revision of social structures. This is what we hope our students will begin to grasp on this brisk tour.
CB 6/22/10
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