I’ve just returned home from a fascinating few days in Budapest. I cannot believe I travelled some 1115 miles leaving the mild weather of Elrick to freezing temperatures and snow in Hungary! It’s a beautiful city though and definitely on my “must do again” list. Travelling there is seamless and as in other European countries, they seem to have their public transport system, whether it be bus, tram or train, working. Despite the heavy snowfall, pavements are kept clear and shop-keepers take personal responsibility for keeping the front of their premises clean and safe. The streets are generally litter-free.

I also did some digging on social housing in Budapest and spoke to  ex-pats about their views on the housing situation there. I want to write about that separately and do some comparing though as localism came up in our conversation and that is something being looked at in the Scottish Government’s current housing consultation.

My last day there was rounded off nicely when leaving Vaci Utca to return to base  I chanced upon a student protest. Not being able to read Hungarian, a very kind camera-man offered me a cup of tea and an explanation. The students were protesting against what they see as the destruction of publicly funded higher education. Recent government measures dramatically cut state-funded college enrolment and imposed further restrictions on University students such as the obligation to stay and work in Hungary after graduation. I was beginning to feel more at home and although there are vast cultural differences between our two countries, everyday grievances tend to be very similar.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch – I knew I had a good few thousand campaign leaflets waiting to be delivered,  so it was back down to earth with a resounding thud today! The amount of walking and exploring done in Budapest over the last few days has proved excellent training and inspiration though and it’s now onwards and upwards in my own local area!