Along with the rest of the Eastern Bloc, Hungary got rid of Communism in 1989. One would think that the ensuing twenty years would have given them ample time to adjust to capitalism. However, after a weekend in Budapest I discovered that the country and its citizens are still working out the kinks of the free market, at least at one particularly ironic attraction.

On Friday afternoon, my companions and I decided to go to the Soviet Statue Park. After the fall of Communism, the town decided to preserve the Soviet-era statues of Communist leaders and other symbols in a park outside of town. The park was on the Buda side of the Danube, out past the end of the metro lines. Thanks to the poor directions listed on the guidebook ad, it took nearly two hours to finally reach our destination. The last leg was a trip on a bus that did not accept Budapest tickets, so everyone was required to purchase a new one.

Once we finally made it to the ticket office at the park, we learned that they did not have any discounts for students, seniors, kids, etc.- a policy that stands in contrast to nearly every other place in Central Europe. Furthermore, a map of the park was necessary if you wanted to know what you were looking at (all the signs were in Hungarian) and it cost about $4. The statues in the park did provide an interesting look at the 40-year Communist regime. But with only 40 statues to look at, we were gone in about half-an-hour. I left the park with the feeling that my time and money should have been spent elsewhere.

Now it’s true that the park made good money by recognizing the inelasticity of the demand for tickets for those who make the effort to get there. Once I had spent two hours in transit, I wasn’t going to leave because they didn’t offer a student discount. Nonetheless, they clearly had yet to absorb the importance in a capitalist economy of person-to-person marketing. I, a foreign student who likely knows a lot of people who might be going to Budapest for a few days, am not going to recommend to them that they visit the park if I don’t think the quality of the product is comparable to the price. And, in fact, that’s what I’m telling you right now. If you are ever in Budapest, skip the Soviet Statue Park. There are so many other things to see in the Magyar Capital that you shouldn’t make the trip to the outskirts of the city for an overrated and overpriced experience.