Saturday, July 9, 2016
Budapest Day 2 (revised)
We woke with one goal: go to the public baths! Budapest has many of them from the Ottoman times. We chose the big bath in City Park, which was probably half tourists and half locals.
First, coffee. Everything is cheap here, so we splurged on a delicious and I got some pressed juice for a couple bucks (I refuse to pay 7 bucks for such a thing in the States. I still don't get the fascination with this product. It's just juice, people. Like the Juicy Juice your mom used to give you. Sorta.). Because I'm technically a millennial I post photos of food:
Then, the baths. The place we went is the biggest and most popular. You queue up, pay a fee (we went big and bought a special locker and each got a 60-minute massage), then you sit in all the different baths. There's a big outdoor section with pools of different temperatures, and many indoor pools, ranging from cold to hot, and saunas. I gotta say, it was fun. It's like an amusement park for adults. We easily spent 4 hours just lounging around. There were lots of pasty Brits around.
We also paid for these stupid green robes that nobody has except the suckers who pay for the extra stuff.
With only a few hours to spare, we got an uber to the Buda side of the Danube, where we went to the Citadel, a military structure with cool views. We ate some delicious concoction of ice cream, chocolate, cinnamon pastry, and whipped cream.
We ate at a somewhat fancy restaurant in a hotel - our crack at getting traditional Hungarian food. It was an old school place and hit the spot.
The day's last order of business was to go on a 60-minute night cruise on the Danube. I thought it was going to be cheesy but was pretty cool. It's an impressive city at night.
First, coffee. Everything is cheap here, so we splurged on a delicious and I got some pressed juice for a couple bucks (I refuse to pay 7 bucks for such a thing in the States. I still don't get the fascination with this product. It's just juice, people. Like the Juicy Juice your mom used to give you. Sorta.). Because I'm technically a millennial I post photos of food:
Then, the baths. The place we went is the biggest and most popular. You queue up, pay a fee (we went big and bought a special locker and each got a 60-minute massage), then you sit in all the different baths. There's a big outdoor section with pools of different temperatures, and many indoor pools, ranging from cold to hot, and saunas. I gotta say, it was fun. It's like an amusement park for adults. We easily spent 4 hours just lounging around. There were lots of pasty Brits around.
We also paid for these stupid green robes that nobody has except the suckers who pay for the extra stuff.
With only a few hours to spare, we got an uber to the Buda side of the Danube, where we went to the Citadel, a military structure with cool views. We ate some delicious concoction of ice cream, chocolate, cinnamon pastry, and whipped cream.
We ate at a somewhat fancy restaurant in a hotel - our crack at getting traditional Hungarian food. It was an old school place and hit the spot.
The day's last order of business was to go on a 60-minute night cruise on the Danube. I thought it was going to be cheesy but was pretty cool. It's an impressive city at night.
Budapest Day 1 (revised)
My prior blogs on Budapest got cut off. Here is the entire text. I made reference to photos that will no longer be part of this blog (same for Budapest part 2). I'm sure you'll still be able to follow.
With my rehab (dong about two hours per day while traveling) and activity, I've had no time to blog. So, here we go (writing on a bus from Sarajevo to Mostar).
Budapest:
As expected, my bags didn't make it to Budapest. I took public transit into the city because I had the time and wanted to see what it was like. Pretty old, eastern block-looking trains from the airport, but within the city there are very modern trams. I got out of the metro, quickly figured out where I needed to go by using sine reference points, was congratulating myself on having exceptional directional sense, then ran straight into a pole (about waist high) while not looking where I was going.
Our Airbnb apartment was really nice. It was in an old 5-story building with an inner courtyard. I recently read the Hungarian book "The Door," and I like to think that it took place in our building.
The apartment was right next to a very small and cute park. I made a point of drinking my coffee there one morning. It's exactly what I pictured as a quaint European park.
Tired, I walked around the neighborhood, ate some Wiener schnitzel, then crashed. For 13 hours. I meant to wake up at 8 but slept straight through my alarm and woke at noon. That afternoon I went on an "alternative" walking tour in the Jewish quarter, which is now quite bohemian. Lots of commissioned street art.
The tour ended with a beer at a "ruin pub", if which there are many in the city due to a recent law declaring that really old buildings can't be torn down (or something like that). So now bars are in really shabby buildings. It's kind of cool except for all the Brits having stag parties because beer is cheap in Hungary (about 2 bucks for a pint).
I met up with Jenny after the tour, and we went together dinner at a hip Jewish restaurant. Food is CHEAP in Budapest (although not as cheap as in Sarajevo), and pretty tasty. We walked to City Park, stumbled on a random party with a bunch of old people (locals) dancing (and in many cases butt-grabbing) to a live band. We bought a beer but unfortunately the party ended soon after we arrived.
Budapest:
As expected, my bags didn't make it to Budapest. I took public transit into the city because I had the time and wanted to see what it was like. Pretty old, eastern block-looking trains from the airport, but within the city there are very modern trams. I got out of the metro, quickly figured out where I needed to go by using sine reference points, was congratulating myself on having exceptional directional sense, then ran straight into a pole (about waist high) while not looking where I was going.
Our Airbnb apartment was really nice. It was in an old 5-story building with an inner courtyard. I recently read the Hungarian book "The Door," and I like to think that it took place in our building.
The apartment was right next to a very small and cute park. I made a point of drinking my coffee there one morning. It's exactly what I pictured as a quaint European park.
Tired, I walked around the neighborhood, ate some Wiener schnitzel, then crashed. For 13 hours. I meant to wake up at 8 but slept straight through my alarm and woke at noon. That afternoon I went on an "alternative" walking tour in the Jewish quarter, which is now quite bohemian. Lots of commissioned street art.
The tour ended with a beer at a "ruin pub", if which there are many in the city due to a recent law declaring that really old buildings can't be torn down (or something like that). So now bars are in really shabby buildings. It's kind of cool except for all the Brits having stag parties because beer is cheap in Hungary (about 2 bucks for a pint).
I met up with Jenny after the tour, and we went together dinner at a hip Jewish restaurant. Food is CHEAP in Budapest (although not as cheap as in Sarajevo), and pretty tasty. We walked to City Park, stumbled on a random party with a bunch of old people (locals) dancing (and in many cases butt-grabbing) to a live band. We bought a beer but unfortunately the party ended soon after we arrived.
Thoughts on Bosnia
I'm on a bus from Mostar (Bosnia) to Dubrovnik. Bosnia is a wonderful country with just about the kindest, most generous people I've ever met. This is in large part (though not completely, in my opinion... But what do I know) to having recently gone through a horrible war.
Our host in Mostar, a man in his 50's, had no choice but to take arms when his hometown of Mostar came under attack. As I understand it, the Bosnians and Croats were fighting on the same side, then began fighting each other. The Main Street in Mostar became the main battle line, and most of Mostar (a city of 100,000) was destroyed. Our host said he was only a civilian and didn't know anything about fighting. He was terrified, but after a month he said he was no longer scared and said "I could go like this to the snipers (sticking out his tongue in mockery) and not be scared." He is proud of his town. He has traveled the world (including Saudi Arabia three times, where he said everyone gives him free stuff because he is from Bosnia and they take pity on him), but loves his hometown and will never leave. His perspective on life is very simple: everyone is human (not Bosnian or Serb or whatnot), love don't hate. His affect is one of being carefree, but with with the knowledge and wisdom of having gone through a horrible time.
Our tour guide in Sarajevo, Erwin, is in his early 30's. He lived during the siege of Sarajevo for two months before his family (minus his father) escaped to Catalonia. There, he learned Catalan and Castellano, which has served him well. For years he gave free walking tours, but then his mom had a heart attack so now he's made a business of giving tours. He said Sarajevo only has one shot at recovering. If there's a terrorist attack, then the tourism industry will suffer tremendously (unlike Madrid, London, etc. which will always attract tourists despite terrorist attacks). He (like every other Bosnian we met) knows that his government is corrupt and painfully bloated/slow (64% of the government's budget goes toward administrative costs). He has a dark sense of humor, as he says do other Bosnians (this existed before the war but has since been exacerbated). But he was an excellent and generous tour guide. Of course all guides are incentivized by Trip Advisor and therefore go the extra mile, but I have no doubt that his service to clients was sincere.
Americans are very highly regarded in Bosnia. Madeline Albright was the one who first presented evidence to the security council of massacres. Richard Holbrooke (according to a documentary I watched) is highly regarded. Bill Clinton as well - even though our Mostar host keenly said "Monica Lewinsky and then Bill Clinton help us!" Our Mostar host was very happy to know we are Americans. He exclaimed "I love Americans! You all so happy and say 'oh this amazing'. I have guests from Finland. I talk English like Tarzan but they talk like robot. I say 'how are you' and the answer (he does an impression of a robotic, dour Finnish person)." He went on to talk about how he disliked travelers from Saudi Arabia because they have tons of money and act like it.
I've heard this many times before about American tourists. Even though we may be crude/ignorant of the world beyond our borders, I'd much rather we be that than condescending.
Sarajevo has a very long history of being conquered by others: Ottomans, Romans, Austro-Hungarians. Our host in Sarajevo said this gives them an openness to others (not in a "we are the world" sense, but there's definitely a baseline tolerance when you have Catholics, orthodox Christians, and Muslims living side by side. Funny how that works, and is in contrast to the way we self-segregate ourselves in the US (and other countries too, of course).
Side note: I'm reading a book by Krista Tippet from the On Being podcast, and she talks about John Lewis and john powell and the way the conceive of loving the other... Encounters and policies will help, but human nature is still to hold biases. Of course, implicit bias is becoming more and more accepted as an important lens through which to view the world, but I liked how john powell articulates that we're undergoing a shift from only policies (eg school bussing) to a more sophisticated understanding of human nature (implicit bias) as a necessary means for change.
Anyway, I really like Bosnia.
Our host in Mostar, a man in his 50's, had no choice but to take arms when his hometown of Mostar came under attack. As I understand it, the Bosnians and Croats were fighting on the same side, then began fighting each other. The Main Street in Mostar became the main battle line, and most of Mostar (a city of 100,000) was destroyed. Our host said he was only a civilian and didn't know anything about fighting. He was terrified, but after a month he said he was no longer scared and said "I could go like this to the snipers (sticking out his tongue in mockery) and not be scared." He is proud of his town. He has traveled the world (including Saudi Arabia three times, where he said everyone gives him free stuff because he is from Bosnia and they take pity on him), but loves his hometown and will never leave. His perspective on life is very simple: everyone is human (not Bosnian or Serb or whatnot), love don't hate. His affect is one of being carefree, but with with the knowledge and wisdom of having gone through a horrible time.
Our tour guide in Sarajevo, Erwin, is in his early 30's. He lived during the siege of Sarajevo for two months before his family (minus his father) escaped to Catalonia. There, he learned Catalan and Castellano, which has served him well. For years he gave free walking tours, but then his mom had a heart attack so now he's made a business of giving tours. He said Sarajevo only has one shot at recovering. If there's a terrorist attack, then the tourism industry will suffer tremendously (unlike Madrid, London, etc. which will always attract tourists despite terrorist attacks). He (like every other Bosnian we met) knows that his government is corrupt and painfully bloated/slow (64% of the government's budget goes toward administrative costs). He has a dark sense of humor, as he says do other Bosnians (this existed before the war but has since been exacerbated). But he was an excellent and generous tour guide. Of course all guides are incentivized by Trip Advisor and therefore go the extra mile, but I have no doubt that his service to clients was sincere.
Americans are very highly regarded in Bosnia. Madeline Albright was the one who first presented evidence to the security council of massacres. Richard Holbrooke (according to a documentary I watched) is highly regarded. Bill Clinton as well - even though our Mostar host keenly said "Monica Lewinsky and then Bill Clinton help us!" Our Mostar host was very happy to know we are Americans. He exclaimed "I love Americans! You all so happy and say 'oh this amazing'. I have guests from Finland. I talk English like Tarzan but they talk like robot. I say 'how are you' and the answer (he does an impression of a robotic, dour Finnish person)." He went on to talk about how he disliked travelers from Saudi Arabia because they have tons of money and act like it.
I've heard this many times before about American tourists. Even though we may be crude/ignorant of the world beyond our borders, I'd much rather we be that than condescending.
Sarajevo has a very long history of being conquered by others: Ottomans, Romans, Austro-Hungarians. Our host in Sarajevo said this gives them an openness to others (not in a "we are the world" sense, but there's definitely a baseline tolerance when you have Catholics, orthodox Christians, and Muslims living side by side. Funny how that works, and is in contrast to the way we self-segregate ourselves in the US (and other countries too, of course).
Side note: I'm reading a book by Krista Tippet from the On Being podcast, and she talks about John Lewis and john powell and the way the conceive of loving the other... Encounters and policies will help, but human nature is still to hold biases. Of course, implicit bias is becoming more and more accepted as an important lens through which to view the world, but I liked how john powell articulates that we're undergoing a shift from only policies (eg school bussing) to a more sophisticated understanding of human nature (implicit bias) as a necessary means for change.
Anyway, I really like Bosnia.
Friday, July 8, 2016
Budapest, Day 1
> With my rehab (dong about two hours per day while traveling) and activity, I've had no time to blog. So, here we go (writing on a bus from Sarajevo to Mostar).
>
> Budapest:
> As expected, my bags didn't make it to Budapest. I took public transit into the city because I had the time and wanted to see what it was like. Pretty old, eastern block-looking trains from the airport, but within the city there are very modern trams. I got out of the metro, quickly figured out where I needed to go by using sine reference points, was congratulating myself on having exceptional directional sense, then ran straight into a pole (about waist high) while not looking where I was going.
>
> Our Airbnb apartment was really nice. It was in an old 5-story building with an inner courtyard. I recently read the Hungarian book "The Door," and I like to think that it took place in our building.
>
Budapest, Day 2
First, coffee. Everything is cheap here, so we splurged on a delicious and I got some pressed juice for a couple bucks (I refuse to pay 7 bucks for such a thing in the States. I still don't get the fascination with this product. It's just juice, people. Like the Juicy Juice your mom used to give you. Sorta.). Because I'm technically a millennial I post photos of food:
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