The Bridge at Andau

The first year I was in Austria, my friend Jean came over for a visit. She had a meeting in Budapest and picked me up on the way. Admittedly, I am a terrible history student, so I really had no idea of Hungary’s past other than the fact that it used to be under communist rule. When we went into the city of Budapest, I remember telling Jean that it felt like there was a heaviness in the air. Kind of a feeling of oppression.

Today I finished reading the book The Bridge at Andau by James Michener. While it’s not a complete history of Hungary, it is the story of what happened to Hungary under Russian rule. The book tells the story of the Hungarian revolution/uprising in November 1956 and the subsequent exodus of a large number of Hungarian refugees into Austria. The story is told from the viewpoint of several composite characters. These are characters that Michener created from the dozens of interviews he did with Hungarian refugees who crossed the bridge at Andau.

I can’t wait to go back to Budapest now. I feel like I will see the city in an entirely different light. I have a better understanding of what the country and her people have gone through and an amazing respect for them because of it. I also want to go to Andau, Austria which is just an hour and a half away. They have rebuilt the bridge, created a monument to the refugees, and built an open air museum in the city.

If you are planning on traveling to Budapest, I highly recommend reading this book. Just a warning, though, it made me cry on the U-Bahn more than once. So if you’re going to read it in public, bring some tissue.