So what’s so great about Budapest, anyhow?

Well, what isn’t? For starters you’ve got therapeutic bathhouses, cozy off-beat pubs, and the mummified hand of St. Stephen — that’s right folks, Hungary’s most famous religious icon now resides in a back room at St. Stephen’s Basilica, where a handful of forints will switch a light on above it to allow you a better view, vending machine style.

Budapest’s been a mainstay of Eastern European itineraries for at least a decade now — and it’s obvious there’s no shortage of reasons why. Between the psychologically-exhausting but brilliant House of Terror, night-tours by lantern of the labyrinths beneath Castle Hill, stunning city panoramics from Fisherman’s Bastion and dozens of other must-dos, this massive city could easily entertain you for a full week without even trying.

But as it turns out, one of the best reasons to explore Budapest isn’t even in the city itself — it’s about forty-five minutes away by bus, deep into the capital’s impoverished preamble. Statue Park, a large dusty yard surrounded by a gated brick wall, hosts a stunning collection of more than forty Soviet-era statues torn down from Budapest in the wake of the 1989 commie downfall, and it deserves at least a healthy portion of any traveler’s trip.

Look, there’s Lenin! There’s the hammer and sickle! Troops standing in formation! Soviet mantras and dedications to the cause and good state workers! Cough up the money for an English-language guidebook to put a story behind the statues — and to put your own memories of anti-communist propaganda and images of the Berlin Wall into context, provided you’re old enough to have them.

After perusing for a while, check out the small store of mementos by the entrance to see how the lion’s share of tourist junk here crosses the line of good taste — could you really buy a coffee mug that ironically declares “Work for the state!” with Hungary’s history of terror and oppression at the hands of the Soviets still so fresh in your mind?

Yeah, you probably could, and you know what? Maybe you ought to. Go ahead and stock up on those chintzy Soviet flasks and motto-laden postcards— I mean, that’s capitalism, right? Statue Park might be impressive but it’s obviously still a bare-bones operation — there wasn’t even a guard on duty when I visited. I dare say that this park will someday have human guides, organized tours and maybe even a turnstile. And if plunking down money on idiotic souvenirs is the only way to help that happen — and to maybe help Hungary out of its chilling poverty, the most enduring of Soviet legacies — well then I say go for it, comrade.

Go for it and be proud.

Want more information? Check out Statue Park’s website.

He never got his face on a popular T-shirt, but Fidel Castro is unquestionably the most iconic of the world’s communists. The 81-year old leader of Cuba — having suffered health problems since July 2006 — has officially resigned his position as president. His brother, Raul Castro, has been running the country since Fidel fell ill and is expected to be officially appointed as successor. In fact, Fidel hasn’t even been seen in public since he underwent intestinal surgery on July 31, 2006. According to one Cuban exile living in Spain:

We haven’t seen the Cuban dictator in the flesh since he withdrew through illness. This leads me to think that he may have died already.

The announcement was made overnight, and come dawn, most Cubans were still unaware that Castro had stepped down. AP reports that it wasn’t until 5AM that the announcement was made on the radio, hours after it had been posted online.

As controversial as he is charismatic, Castro ruled Cuba since 1959. Reaction to the news, as you’d expect, is radically mixed.

“It is like losing a father,” said Luis Conte, an elderly museum watchman. Or “like a marriage — a very long one that is over.”

Meanwhile, US President George W. Bush is stoked about the prospect of turning the nearby island nation into America’s tropical playground once again, saying he hoped to “help the people of Cuba realize the blessings of liberty.” For a price of course. Regardless of what it means for Cuba’s future, the landscape of international politics has certainly become a little less interesting.