Visting the Gulag

Sitting in an office in Eger, Hungary, at the Flora Hotel. Yesterday we visited the small town of Recski, where from 1950 through 1953, the Hungarian gulag was located. The memorial includes a recreated barracks with Auschwitz-like wooden bunks, grim watchtowers, and glowering guards. No one knew about this place where thousands were forced to work in quarries and fed moldy bread, until Stalin died in 1953, and the camp was liberated. The descendants of the tortured have put up a chilling memorial here, showing photos of the persecutors and the persecuted.

Besides this grim reminder of an evil past, there is little else in Hungary to remind one of the former Soviet state. Lovely green rolling hills, lush forests, and an absolutely boggling language make this a true GoNOMAD adventure. See Kents Be Our Guest blog for more details.