The Time Of Silence

(As a suggestion from some of my friends, there is an English version of one of the posts below)

When the metro lines of Budapest started to be designed, dozens of liters of Palinka were drunk by engineers and politicians. At least, it seems it was like this. There are only three lines and all them converge on a single point, Deák Ferenc Tér. To travel from Könbanya-Kispest to Örs Vezet tere means passing through 17 stops along 16 kilometres. The real distance between these two locations is plus-minus 3 Km.

It is also weird how the access from the entrance of the stops to the platforms was designed: In many cases, there is a single escalator. It may take more than a minute to get into the train on the lazy mechanic movement of the staircase.

But the strangest thing, the one without any explanation, is the silence. It was Wednesday, 8 am, at Deák Ferenc tér. Vagons moved along the railway as cans of sardines in the conveyor belt of the factories: millimetrically full. Only the voice from the PA interrupted the silent fog among the travellers. The sound of the shoes, the walks was the only noise at the platform. No words, no laughs, no cries...Shoal of fishes in the deep ocean they seemed. Many may say it was because it was early morning of a working day. The same silence prevailed at 10 am on a Saturday night.

The kingdom of silence does not extend all along the tube system. There are some metro stops where a storm of noise, voices, music... has its independent republic. It is the case of Klinikák in the VIIIth district. Close to this station the university hospital and the Medical University are located. That's why most of the students use Klinikák station to go and come to their classes. Many of them are exchange students, from all over the world, and they all speak a mix of Hungarian, French, German, English... Americans, Europeans, Africans, Asians... A patchwork of coloured skins, a mixture of accents takes place at this very station. And many of them have decided to move to the district.

The VIIIth disctrict is now recovering from years of the most silent illness. Located in the border of the centre of the town and new Pest, the neighbourhood was historically a place for crime, procurers, jonkies, drug-dealers, prostitutes... Underworld of deep voices. Nowadays the price of the condos in the area is raising as long as students are moving here. Grey colours change into those of the rainbow. The silent depth yells and quiet screams are getting out of the score. The happy witty laughs are becoming the main orchestra of the concert. Piano, andante ma non troppo, allegro... Holy noise.