A Doctor in Hungary

(Distance from home 1227 km). Back in Budapest. The first time had been for the school trip but, as you know, in those situations the place you're in matters little. So we chose this city as a reward for the hard-earned degree of my freshly minted doctor and it was a totally different experience from the one 6 years earlier. Budapest is a fantastic city that recalls London when you see the Chain Bridge and the parliament, Vienna for the imperial avenues that cross it, Paris for the beautiful buildings scattered in every corner of the city, and it also carries that fascinating melancholy patina typical of the cities of communist Eastern Europe.

The city was born from the union of three centres: Obuda, the oldest part where finds of the ancient Romans were discovered but which today presents itself as an area of buildings typical of communist construction with a characteristic square with low houses on the sides overlooked by these immense blocks that create a very strong contrasting effect; Buda, the part called the citadel, where it is fantastic to walk through the characteristic alleys of the centre (a UNESCO heritage site) and discover between one glimpse and another the Fisherman's Bastion, the beautiful St Matthias Church and the castle; Pest, the lower part of the city characterised by the beautiful parliament, the largest synagogue in Europe, the very colourful market and the beautiful bridges, Heroes' Square, Vajdahunyad Castle and much more.

A piece of advice: according to many, the interiors of the parliament are something fabulous and if you want to visit it, book in advance or go with a guide, otherwise it's almost impossible to visit (we didn't manage it). The food is very particular and spicy but the pastry is something fantastic: mind-blowing stuff. A curiosity: St Matthias Church was a mosque reconverted into a place of Christian worship and it is the one where the famous Princess Sissi got married, to whom one of the seven points that allow the union of the two parts of the city is dedicated, with the immense Danube flowing in the middle.

Marguerite Island is also certainly worth it, a place for enchanting walks among the greenery....when the weather is good, since we were caught by a real storm! Other monuments of interest are Vajdahunyad Castle behind Heroes' Square, St Stephen's Basilica, the monument to liberation from Nazism on Gellért Hill, the market full of colours and smells so unusual for us, the Fisherman's Bastion which with the evening lights is something truly evocative, and don't miss a walk among the alleys around the synagogue. The biggest regret was not being able to visit the famous thermal baths for which Budapest is very famous. The city will certainly change over time given the countless building sites scattered around, so next time Budapest can only be even more beautiful than yesterday.