Hungarian National Day

The 23rd October marks the anniversary of events in 1956, when Hungarians protested about being ruled over by the Soviet Union - in effect, ruled over by Russians. Hungarians take the day off work (it’s a holiday) and celebrate. The day is marked by numerous official events - and, occasionally, by some violence.

I took advantage of the fact that entry to the National Gallery was free and so went around there. The National Gallery is vastly different to the British National Gallery - in that all the work is by Hungarians (or, in any event, Austro-Hungarians). Some of it is quite impressive, and some is sobering - seeing names of artists whose death is recorded as Auschwitz brings a stark reminder to the price of freedom.