We went on a guided bicycle tour around Budapest this morning. There is a lot of traffic... walkers, bicycles, cars, busses, and trains. And they all flow and get along with each other quite well. A few times, we had to weave in and out of traffic to go around things. Our guide grew up in Budapest. He was 12 when communism fell. He told us how he hated school as a kid because the teachers were mean and the subjects were not interesting. Once communism fell, he started to learn English by watching Married With Children, WWF and some American cartoons. When he was 14, he was 1 of 5 kids chosen to go to a boarding in Connecticut. He remembers the first time he had ever received any praise was at this school when he turned in some good homework. We rode over a bridge to see the front of the Parliament. 
We saw a statue of Ronald Regan and George Bush as we rode to the Freedom Square which was given to Hungary by the Soviets.
Here is a House of Terror which is a museum about all the bad things that have happened to the people of Hungary including the things their own people did during during the wars. Even the old statues of communist leaders are in a museum here in Budapest. They think it is important to learn about history... even the bad things.
After lunch, we took the underwater train to the Parliament. All the tickets were sold out for the day so we couldn't go in, but we enjoyed walking around outside.
In 1956, the soldiers opened fire on the protesters in front of the Parliament.
The escalator o the underwater train was very steep and fast. The illusion of people standing at an angle made me smile.
We found the memorial for the Jews that were forced to remove their shoes and stand by the river to be shot during World War 2.
The Liberty Statue on the hill was also given to Hungary by the Soviets.
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