"Hungary - a special relationship" Hungary by socrates_07

Like many Austrian I also go to Hungary regularly. But not only for shopping, I like this country and its beauty. The large Puztas, impressing building, delicious food... and of course nice people. If you go to Europe, try to visit that country!!!

Before I tell you more about Hungary I want to tell you a little bit about the relationship between Austria and Hungary..... and me and Hungary.

Hungary and Austria... I am not a historian so I dont know since when there is a relationship between these two counties. I just know that after the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 Emperor Franz Joseph had to reorient his policy toward the east. The outcome of negotiations was the "Ausgleich" concluded on Feb. 8, 1867. That was the begin of the AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN EMPIRE and lasted until the empire's collapse in 1918.

History notes that communism never truly conquered Hungary.
The Soviets suppressed a 1956 anticommunist revolution, but determined Hungarians continued their entrepreneurial ways under "goulash communism," allowing the existence of small-scale private businesses, which most communist nations forbade. As a result, Hungary's transition to democracy and capitalism has been the smoothest among the former Eastern bloc nations.

Hungary was one of the frist communistic countries which turned to the West, in which Austria played particularly important role. Hungary was the first communistic country which opened their border the the West. Actually just to one western country, to Austria.

The Berlin Wall was in effect breached in the summer of 1989 when a reformist Hungarian government began allowing East Germans to escape to the West through Hungary's opened border with Austria. By the fall, thousands of East Germans had followed this route.

Ok, that was a little bit history and politic. But also in sports. Soccer. Austria want to host the European Championship 2008 with Hungary (or Switzerland). Its not the first time that these two countries are interested to host such a big event. They applied for the EURO 2004 but Portugal won that election. I don´t know why these countries want to apply for the Championship again, maybe because also in football there is a great relationship. In football Austria and Hungary are rivals since the beginning. Only two countries played more against each other (England with Scottland) than Austria with Hungary.

Well, thats a lot general informations about the relationship between these two countries. But I also have a relationship to Hungary. I remember when Hungary opened the border to Austria my parent were one of the Austrian which visited Hungary. And they didn´t allow to go there whith them. Go to school, was their answer. We will be back in the evening! I couldnt understand it, why they but not me. I think it took about two years to go to Hungary. I don´t know why I wanted to go there, surely not because I wanted to go abroad. Since I was 2 yrs old I visited other counties. Yugoslavia, Greece, Italy and Turkey.

In 1986 I had another reason to go to Hungary. My first real girl friend was from Hungary, from Kecskemet. So my first holidays without my parents I spent in Hungary with her. Seldom the first love lasts forever, so also between us. Nevertheless, in the following years I went with friends to Hungary regularly. In my youth I really spent a lot of time there. It was great. My first holidays with my wife I spent... right, in Hungary. (except the summer when I met her in Greece, of course)

You see, this country means a lot to me....