TRAFFIC IN BUDAPEST -- DRIVING AROUND IN BUDAPEST

Traffic in Budapest seems to be getting worse every hour. It is worse today than it was yesterday and a lot worse than it was a year ago. There seem to be traffic jams all over the city all the time. Where are those days when you could zip through the city at 8 PM? Now you might sit in traffic even after dark.

The worst traffic is near Deak-ter, especially Bajcsy-Zsilinszky; Kossuth-utca coming off the Elizabeth Bridge; the Hungaria korut; and lately the Nagykorut. The constant traffic jam on Nagykorut is somewhat a surprise of this year because the two lanes used to be enough for a steady flow of traffic. Now it might take you 20 minutes to go from Rakoczy Square to Blaha Lujza Square, a 200 meter drive that used to take you 20 seconds.

Then there are the constant constructions. Perhaps because of the weather, road constructions in Budapest are always done in the peak tourist season. Why should the tourists enjoy the city if we don't? Let's show them what Budapest is really about.

But traffic is getting worse not only in Budapest but also the highways. A couple of weeks ago there was a 40 km traffic jam coming into the city from Lake Balaton. Now that takes long hours, to inch your way from Szekesfehervar to Budapest.

If you are a tourist who comes to visit us for a week and frustrated with the traffic in Budapest, cheer up. You will go back home and leave this mess behind. But we will stay here and carry on with our daily lives, slowly moving on this new road of market economy.