"Ho-hum" Romanium

My first morning in Hungary was my first morning in Europe. Having been dropped by an airport shuttle after midnight on a hill somewhere above Budapest (A kid of 50 about to enter the candy store of culture and history.) I start my walk downhill soon after sunrise. I am in search of the Danube, along whose banks I hope to find the heart of Budapest. As I walk along highly trafficked streets I have to skirt what feels like a huge traffic circle. But, wait! the traffic surrounds something I am sure I should recognize from my undergraduate studies. It looks like the remains of a Roman Amphitheater, but I had not expected to find Romans here. Surely there is an interpretive sign telling me and other visitors about this giant ruin. I do a tourist amble but see nothing--or is that a small sign over there? I cross the commuter traffic. Puzzlement and excitement rise together. 




Though the ruins are in far better shape than the rusty sign, I, like you, quickly see a word that must be the Hungarian spelling of "amphitheater." I see nothing that might be dates or historical data. I have been studying the Hungarian language off and on for a few years--never knowing if I would get a chance to use it--but I need the help of my compact dictionary. Yes (I have to laugh out loud) the sign is there to tell me through the rust that this is a dangerous place to linger and look. No, worse, it tells me that doing so is strictly forbidden. Apparently Roman ruins are so 'ho-hum" that the important thing is to tell us tourists who trip over them that our lives are in danger. I presume nobody has recently been killed doing what I am doing--that would have called for a new sign. Nevertheless, I am now truly excited. My 3-week, solo trip in Hungary among Hungarians is certain to also put me among the ancient Romans (if I keep my eyes open)! I carefully make my way across traffic and follow the flow of humanity and vehicles down to the Danube.





(c) from date of posting, by Bob Komives, Fort Collins