Day 1
The next day I met up with a friend of Kate’s named Ezster. We picked up some transit passes and went out to a flea market with various trinkets and old relics of communism. Lots of little bits of history, but nothing that really perked my interest to cause a fuss to buy. In hindsight, I probably should have picked up a few things since they were next to nothing price wise, and they would have been interesting tidbits of history. I liked looking though. Ezster got a few boxes and jewelry. We got some refreshments at a stand later on since the heat was inescapable. There I got a 1 liter bottle of water and downed it in just a matter of seconds. Ezster got some fizzy water on tap which was significantly cheaper for some reason. I don’t quite understand the appeal for carbonated water, but its very common, and preferred out here. You have to specify that you don’t want water with gas when you ask for it. We took a bus back, even though we had to walk about a half mile to the stop in the heat. We were both exhausted, and she needed to get packing since she was leaving that evening. I got back to the apartment and took a chilly shower to cool off. By then Kate’s flatmate Hannah was back and I was able to meet her. That evening it started to cool off a little, so when Kate got back from work we went for a walk up to Gellert Hill. From there we could see both Buda and Pest illuminated under city lights. It was still kinda humid and warm, but it was nice. We took some detours on the way back and were able to see some interesting views of the city. We even made it down to the river since it was a bit cooler there and noticed that the water level was lower than it had been, but still moving quite rapidly.
Day 2
The next morning I walked Kate to work and then went wandering around on a walking tour of the castle hill. Saw lots of statues, monuments, and museums. The weapons museum was interesting with kids playing around with various era firearms attached to chains on a table top. Pistols, muskets, M-16, AK, etc. also, saw my AMD-65 in a display. Haha. Took a lunch break over at a sneaky little restaurant that was a little difficult to find. It was so hot and I was so dehydrated, I was dreading the cost of how much I wanted/needed to drink. Since they all charge for individual bottles of drinking water at restaurants. Thankfully this cafeteria style restaurant had full pitchers of water on each table. I loaded up my tray with stuff a chef who spoke little English assisted me with. It didn’t cost terribly much for the incredible quantity I got. Two fried pieces of pork, veggies, rice, pickles, cake, and some fruit. I then consumed the entire pitcher of water throughout my meal. My skin started to sweat again, and I felt rejuvenated. I wanted to check out some more sights, but it was still getting hotter, and there were lines of people outside the cathedral I wanted to visit. I made my way back towards Buda. I crossed the bridge and wandered around visiting various sites like Parliament, and wandered up the Danube river. There was the soviet monument that I saw as well. About this time I decided to head back. My legs were sore and it was still plenty hot. Later that evening I met up with Kate and Hannah at the apartment and we played a few games of cards.
The following morning I decided to head down Andrassy utca to scope out some sights along that area. It wasn’t terribly hot in the morning, so I managed to walk all the way down to a place called Heroes Square. There were many monuments, statues, and touristy things. I spent some time checking out some of the castles and buildings, following a visit to the Anonymous statute, whereas visitors will usually touch the pencil of the statue to cure writers block. There was even a statue of George Washington out there, along with the largest hourglass. At this point I found myself wandering into sprinklers to cool myself off, so I decided to hop onto the transit and head for an air conditioned museum. I made my way to the Museum of Terror which had many displays of the influence of the Nazis and Communism. Mostly dealing with the torture, abuse, and other atrocities that occurred during that era. It was sobering, but it had lots of interesting bits of information even though the museum was mostly in Hungarian with simple slips of paper with rough English translations. From there I made my way over to the Hungarian Museum of Electrical Engineering. This was described in my book to be a free tour, and sounded geeky enough to check it out. Even though it wasn’t free, there was a nice guy who led me and some others on an English tour even though the English was pretty choppy. They had some interesting exhibits along with other Hungarian specific inventions. I then headed back to the flat where Kathleen met up with me later and we went for a walk to go see the Shoes by the Danube memorial. There are a series of empty bronze shoes in memorial where the Jews were lined up along the river, shot, and pushed into the water. The weather seemed to be cooling down slightly, and it was a very pleasant walk during the evening. Budapest is very scenic under the city lights. We stopped by a fountain that was supposed to play music at the hour, but we just got bit my mosquitoes instead. We walked around and checked out various sites until we got tired and headed back.
Day 4
The next day Kathleen, Hannah, and I went for lunch out at the market. Just a few blocks away from the flat was a large building which had two levels. On the lower level, it was mainly a farmer’s market with produce, and the upper level had ready-to-eat food, along with souvenirs, and other merchandise. Kathleen had to get me to try langos, a fried bread piece with sour cream and cheese, sometimes ham and garlic along with various other topping choices. Terribly unhealthy I’m sure, but it tasted delicious. We walked around town, and I tried to go shopping for a new pair of sandals. Mine were pretty trashed, and would make an annoying squeaky squishy noise whenever I got them wet. I found a pair I wanted, but the place was closed. Kathleen and I got some delicious cakes at the coffee shop. Kate told me about how a little sparrow did a fly-by and stole her biscuit, so we fed the birds some. The shop gouged tourists with an automatic 20% tip, even though in Hungary restaurants have a flat expected 10% tip. Its almost unexpected to pay any more than 10% unless you were very impressed etc. We did some shopping around the mall, looking at various items. That evening we met up with Hannah and another woman from the program and we went out to eat at a fancy place. The atmosphere was nice, and they had a string quartet playing when we arrived. They asked for requests, and they played. Instead of asking for tips, they tried to sell us their CD which Kate purchased simply because it’d make a funny gift. We noticed that when our bill came, they had over charged us. Not only had they neglected to serve two of us dessert, but they didn’t honor the coupons they supplied us upon arrival. There was also a mysterious additional 10% on top of the included 10% tip. We had to do a little math with cellphone calculators, but eventually we figured out what we should be paying with coupons, tip, etc. We had change, and left it there on the table and left. It was a bit less than what was on our bill, but we weren’t going to let them take advantage of us. After that, we decided to wander off out of sight just in case some worker tried to flag us down. Kate and I went to a rooftop bar briefly and sat down for a few minutes before heading back to the flat. There we watched some Firefly on my laptop with Hannah. This sparked a ritual from that point on where we all watched some episodes before going to bed nearly every night.
Day 5
Went to one of the baths out by Androssy, near Heroes Park. It was huge. It was almost as large as some water parks. So many baths, indoor and outdoor along with various rooms for massages, steam baths, etc. It was a pretty vast and impressive complex. There was a swimming pool, hot bath pool and even a massive whirlpool which was a lot of fun to have the current tug you around. Hannah, Kathleen, and I didn’t spend too much time indoors, but made use of the extensive outdoor baths. We left shortly before closing time so we could make it out in time to meet up with another friend for dinner. Kathleen and I went out to eat later during a warm evening. We walked all the way out to a place mentioned in my guide book as being great food and cheap. Indeed it was. The place was a simple little restaurant, but getting service was near impossible. It was busy yes, but it took nearly 40 minutes to get our food after we sat down. Getting our check wasn’t easy either. The temperature was extremely hot inside, and tasting some soup wasn’t as appetizing as it would have been several dozen degrees cooler. It made the walk back to the apartment that much more enjoyable, even though it wasn’t that cool, it was far cooler than it was inside.
Day 6
Woke up with a nasty case of vertigo and dizziness, along with clogged sinuses. I could tell the night before that I was feeling a little sick, but thought it would be a simple 24 hour cold. When I woke up I realized it was a sickness that nearly prevented me from getting out of bed. I felt terrible, and figured I ought to simply sleep it off. Kathleen’s roomate Hannah went out and got me some tea and also gave me some biscuits along with. It made me feel better, and was able to get some more fluids in me, and I went back to bed. I spent most of the day there, and goofing off on the computer. I think we might have gone out to eat at a place just on the street corner that evening, but I can’t be sure. It was all pretty hazy in my head.
Day 7
I was feeling quite a bit better, but most of the sickness had migrated down into my lungs, making me cough a lot more. It wasn’t so bad throughout the day, but the morning and evening hours it was terrible. I decided I needed to chill out a bit at the public baths which claimed to have healing properties. They were just across the river, and only about a 10 minute walk away. Gellert baths were a bit expensive, but inside was quite impressive. They had marble columns, fountains, waterfalls, etc. I made my way to various pools and baths to outdoors where they had a large “healing” pool, and an even larger wave pool with cooler water. When they started up the wave machine, I went to play in them for a while. Too crowded to do any body surfing, but still fun to swim out in the deep end and bob around like a human cork. Inside I went to soak in some other pools. They had a gender specific section. They had another set of changing rooms and available loin cloths for those who wanted. Most men just kept their swimsuit on, but there were two large pools with very hot water. Also, there was possibly the hottest steam bath I’ve ever been in. I struggled to stay in there for over 10 minutes, but I knew it would help out my nasty cold and chest illness. Afterward, I cooled off in one of the more tepid pools, and decided it was about time to head out.
Day 8
I went for a walk up north and realized that my feet were getting some blisters after so much walking, so I simply hopped on a few trams and busses heading north where I wanted to check out some caves. I had a silly tourist map with me that barely extended where I needed it to. However, the key for the map covered a lot of important streets and bus routes I would need to get around. As soon as one bus started to veer in a direction opposing that of my destination, I hopped off. I stopped in a little convenience store and grabbed some chocolate milk, and some water. I was impressed on how rich and chocolaty the milk was compared to what I had previously known chocolate milk to taste like. I got on another bus and made my way. Eventually I noticed that the streets weren’t making sense anymore, and weren’t on my map at all. I figured I had overshot my destination, so I got off at the next stop near a highway interchange. In search of a map, and a southbound bus line, I passed two LDS sister missionaries. They were busy talking to someone, so I passed by to find a way under the busy road. Later I saw the missionaries come by, so I asked one where I could get to a bus to get me to the street I needed to get to. Sister Mandy Walker from SLC helped me out, and we chatted for a few minutes before departing. I was then invited to attend an English speaking meeting on Sunday, but since I would be in Bratislava then, I wouldn’t be able to make it. I then got on the bus, and got off at the correct stop, connected with another bus that went up near the caves. Once there, I talked with a guide there who informed me that English tours were only offered later on in the week, and later in the evening. I left and decided to hit up some other caves nearby instead. As soon as I got there, I noticed that it was the ONLY day of the week that they were closed. HA! So, I got on a bus and headed back down. I stopped at a shop and snagged a little something to eat.
One thing that bothered me about Budapest were the panhandlers who would linger around in touristy spots. Granted, panhandlers annoy me in the states, but these ones offended me more so. They would all perform the same display. Many would twist their legs/knees to walk at an irregular angle, wearing shoes too big so that they could appear to be walking on their ankles, like they were deformed. This along with other sympathy jerker displays were so formulaic they became highly irritating. I didn’t have a problem donating some change to street performers like a violinist who would play near a street crossing.
Day 9
I left fairly early in the morning to head out to Eger. It had cooled off significantly, and was almost cool. There was a little bit of precipitation in the air even. I made my way over to the bus stop which was a bit more challenging than expected. I asked a lady in town at an information booth as to which bus station I needed to get to in order to travel to Eger. She drew on my map the place I needed to get to. It took some time, but eventually I made my way across Budapest to one of the bus stations on the outskirts of town. From there, I found no place where to buy tickets for Eger, and nobody seemed to speak English. Frustrated, I managed to talk in broken English with a teenager who showed me on my map where I needed to go. I took the train to the stop he showed me, and at this particular bus hub, there still wasn’t any busses going to Eger. I managed to talk to another person who gestured to another bus hub on my map. It wasn’t terribly far away, but it involved backtracking a lot and going a long way on public transit. Eventually I made it to the station shortly after noon. I took the next bus to Eger even though the ticket was rather expensive. I was done running around.
One couldn’t buy a ticket, but simply had to pay the driver in cash upon boarding. He then printed out a receipt, and didn’t speak ANY English. Luckily I had exact change, and Eger sounds about the same in Hungarian. I sat down, immediately regretting not bringing my Zune. I managed to doze off asleep shortly after leaving Budapest on the 2+ hour drive. I woke up to see vast fields of sunflowers, and lots of rain. I was disappointed that it was raining, but it was nice to have some cool air for once. As soon as I got off the bus, I looked for the latest bus time returning to Budapest. I then made my way to the mall to get out of the rain and find something to eat. From there I managed to use Skype to call my mom for a bit, and munched on some strange pizza dish with corn, and delicious ginger cake with caramel and a type of jam. By then, the rain had calmed down to a mist and drizzle. I made my way through the historic district and through all the touristy spots. Eventually I got to the castle, paid admission and went along a (non English speaking) tour where we got to see the inner parts of the castle. From there I checked out various other exhibits until I had seen pretty much everything I wanted to. I made my way down to the city again and got to the wine cellar caves. I was told by someone manning the entry that there would be another tour in about an hour and a half, so I made my way around town to take some photos. Since I had some more time to burn, I went back to the mall and picked up a satchel or man-purse which seemed to be quite popular in Europe. I was able to empty the contents of my cargo shorts into the bag. Books, extra long sleeve shirt, snacks, and camera. I got back to the wine cellar about the time where they were starting the tour. I was then informed that the English speaking guide would not be available until two more days. I managed to get a piece of paper with English text that contained some of the tour monologue. After the tour, I had some time before the final bus, so I went window shopping through the town, but everything was closed up or closing. Everything turned into a mere ghost town within fifteen minutes. Then the drizzle became a bit more pronounced, so I headed toward the bus station. I had some time to kill when I arrived, but I didn’t arrive a moment too soon because the entire sky opened up and dumped water. I had a bench and a book. I didn’t mind until someone would come up next to me and begin to smoke, making my lungs cough more. The bus arrived eventually, and I took it back sleeping pretty much the entire way back. It was really late by the time I made it back to the flat. I had figured that Kate and Hannah were having their “girls night out” and wouldn’t be back from a night of drinking yet, but they were when I arrived. I barely had enough energy to stay awake and watch an episode of Firefly with them before crashing.
Day 10
It was a great day to walk around town. I traveled across bridge, hiked to top of Gellert Hill, and down. Took bus up to smaller cave, and did little tour with two other fat english speaking people. Tour was fine, but on the way back the only exciting bit the lady (who had terrible BO) decided that she didn't want to go back that way. (afraid of spraining an ankle?) So, we walked back the same wayI decided to take a trip up the river to Szendrez one morning. I took the transit up to the train station. From there my public transit tickets wouldn’t work the last leg up to Szendres, and I was a little concerned. I looked around for tickets, and could not find anyway in purchasing a ticket for the last leg. After unsuccessfully asking a lady behind a ticket counter, I decided to go ahead and hop on the next train. I saw a few teenaged kids flee the car I was on during one stop as an official boarded. I was trapped, but I approached him anyways and showed my useless transit ticket. I was unaware that one could simply purchase a ticket from the official, and I was lucky enough to have enough coinage for a ticket. After that little encounter I was able to relax a bit more for the remainder of the train ride. When I arrived, I had to wander around a little to find out where all the sights were at. It wasn’t very difficult, but I eventually made my way down to various shops and attractions. I visited the marzipan museum, and ate some delicious laglos. It was extremely hot, and I was lucky to have packed my bag with two water bottles. There were a few places where I was able to get blips of free WiFi, but I didn’t have much luck in sending or receiving email on my phone. I took a few photos, and wandered around a few shops. They all looked very similar to the shops in Budapest, and I had no real desire to buy anything at them. I stopped by a grocery store by the train station and snagged something to drink and to munch on for my trip back. I boarded the next train, and listened to some English speaking tourists behind me, but I didn’t have the energy or the interest in striking up a conversation. Before leaving Budapest, I wanted to get some things. I stopped in at the market and got some souvenirs, and then went walking down to pick up some amber for my mom. My sandals had been driving me crazy since they would squeak whenever they got wet, and would bubble/hiss with each step. Plus, they were gradually deteriorating. I stopped by a shop that had a specific brand of sandals in their display window. I found the shop within a hidden away courtyard, and nobody inside spoke English, or knew what I was looking for. I took my cellphone camera out, walked back to the street, took a photo, and returned. I was able to get the last pair of my size, and departed. I got back, and we had another evening of watching Firefly with Kate and Hannah.
Day 11
Before heading out to the caves, I had some time, so I tried to clean up the apartment a little by mopping the floors, and doing the dishes. After then, I stopped in at a local spot to get something to eat, then made my way over the bus stop where there were several college aged people were meeting up to go caving. Some were outdoorsy and had come prepared, while others were asking if the tour would supply them with hiking shoes. Everyone seemed to belong to some sort of hostel group. We took a bus on over to the Buda side, and another bus up to the cave. From there we split into 3 groups, and donned somewhat stinky coveralls, and hardhats equipped with headlamps. From there we marched across the street and over to the cave entrance. We had to descend a ways involving going down a ladder, but soon enough we were passing through several little tight spots. Our tour guide spoke fair English, but was very active, and would scamper around like a rock lemur. He also had an interesting carbide headlamp which had an open flame. It would sometimes go out when he dove head first through a small opening. At an intersection, he asked our group if what we had gone through was easy or hard. I was one of the first to reply, “easy!” and thankfully our group had a similar attitude. We continued down a much more narrow passageway, involving each of us to instruct the person behind us how to get around some sort of obstacle. One section was somewhat painful they nicknamed “the wedgie”. The passage was very narrow, and almost straight down. It was so tight that the coveralls would cling to the rock, and give the passer a painful wedgie. It lived up to its reputation. Inside other openings we saw fault lines, crystals, and even a few faces that were carved in stone. After a little under two hours we got to our lowest spot. It was beginning to get rather muddy, and would only get worse as we went lower closer to the Danube level. The heavy rains this season made for slick conditions inside the caves anyhow. We started to head back up. There was one section that had a difficult step which involved assistance from others, or being skilled at rock climbing. To the side was a very small crevice which we were told people could go through if they wanted. One guy was able to squeeze through with some difficulty, but he was a twig. I tried to, and as I was exhaling all my breath, trying to squeeze in deeper, I could feel my shoelaces being untied by the guide. The prankster was making me laugh, and my ribs couldn’t expand to supply me with oxygen. My chest started to swell a bit and I needed more oxygen. I tried to calm my breathing by taking slow breaths, but that put an enormous amount of strain on my ribs, and I felt my internal organs shift and move inside my torso/gut. I was able to get some assistance and was able to get out alright. Just a bit too tight. From then on for about a week and a half, my sternum was tender to the touch, and felt like I had a massive bruise, even though no discoloration occurred. We climbed on out via the “easy way” which ironically had lots of slippery mud everywhere. There was a small opening ahead where I wanted to conserve my momentum and pull myself through using my arms and a good jump. When I did this, I didn’t bother to check where my hips and back would be going. There was a sharp rock ridge that slammed into my lower back right above my hip near my kidney. The pain was such where I couldn’t form any words or even make a sound for a minute. By then I was able to move again and simply went on. The next few days it turned into a bruise on my back turned all sorts of colors. I think Kathleen managed to take a photo of it at some point. I’m not sure if I want to remember what it looked like. As we went higher in the cave, it still amazed me that even though we were deep in the ground at a cool 50 some degrees, it was still nearly unpleasantly hot due to the extremely high humidity. Even with a small amount of exercise, one manages to sweat buckets. We eventually made it out of the caves, and went back to the meeting place where we changed out of our coveralls. I then took the bus back to the flat where I took a much needed shower. Thereafter I got ready to head out to meet Kate at the bar with some of her friends for a farewell gathering. I ordered the some delicious fries to share with the table, and we kept ourselves entertained throughout the evening with various stories and chatting. I didn’t enjoy it that much since my lungs were having some issues with second hand smoke and my recent coughing fits. We headed back though and managed to clean up and pack for Bratislava.
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