Sunday, July 31, 2016

Budapest II

We set no alarm clock for our second day tour of Budapest, but awoke early enough to consume the free Breakfast in the hotel. It consisted of fluffy, crusty, delicious rolls with fresh butter and jam, meat and cheese slices, a bit of fruit, coffee and juice. We took the usual cab to the airport, bus to the metro, then the metro into town. I felt like we were sincerely absorbing the culture, using all the various types of transportation!
Although rain was forecast for Sunday and Monday, we had not a drop during our daytime adventures. Sunday night, however, we had thunder and lightning and the lovely sound of rain pitter-patting on the skylight above our room. The roads were wet as we made our way into the city, and as the morning wore on, we were barely aware of the sunrise showers. 
We wandered around town on this day, sans the heavy, bulky backpacks. After climbing the steps from the metro, we jumped on a Hop On, Hop Off bus, we made our way to the market, and what a market it was. I have to say it was rather packed with the touristy trap items of t-shirts, magnets, hats and pot  holders. Of course, there were some beautifully made, local Budapest and Hungarian items, such as lace, glasswork, leather items and scarves. But the real beauty of the market was the local foods and spices. 

Hungarian food is resplendant with paprika - spicy and sweet, and saffron. While packaged in a touristy way with a minature scoop, the paprika was a bargain, at less than three dollars for both flavors, and I purchased a significant size, again for under $3 American.* 
The taste of the food, what we enjoyed, was incredible with the Langos - the most awesome form of pizza ever! The crust was a light dough, similar to our breakfast rolls, only flat. It had been deep-fried and was ready for toppings. Several menu choices greeted our hungry eyes, and we went for the top of the line, everything version Langos. Sour cream was the first layer, topped by a variety of lettuces, then feta cheese, tomatoes, pepperoni, some sort of sauce again, pickled onions and cucumbers. We split one Langos and could barely finish it - it was just divine!

After we paid a dollar to go to the bathroom and purchased a few souveniers, we jumped on a bus, then changed to a different line. We made our way through the more wealthy parts of town to Heroes Square, next to a nicely landscaped park with castles,  a lake, bridges, and a church on it, and made our way to the bier garden. We enjoyed a Hungarian beer and then walked across the street to the Healing bath house at Scholinski (?), a goal of our trip. 

We were well rewarded! On the advice of Rachel's friend Laren (?), we both purchased a day pass, along with the rental of a cabin where we could change and store our belongings. The bath house itself was huge, beginning with at least 30 stalls/cabins that we could see, with pool after pool of warm thermal water, showers and massage rooms. We made our way outside and jumped right in, starting with the lazy river (that was actually quite fast moving) that went round and about at a fast pace, powered by jets along the floor. After a bit of time there, we went to the side of the pool to sit in the sun, and were thankful to find more wall jets to massage our throbbing backs from our prior day of carrying our packs. As we sat there, we saw people standing in another area where jets shot up from the floor of the pool to massage feet, calves, and whereever you wanted.  

We then decided to go explore the indoor thermal pools and saunas. It was non-eventful, with people just hanging out on the benches looking at each other or chatting with whom they had arrived, enjoying the healing warm waters. We stepped into the wet and the dry sauna, and placed our feet or sat in at least three indoor baths, the showered off before going to our dressing room. we were thankful to have brought a phone charger so Rachel could charge her phone in the common area while I dressed.

We had plans to meet Laran for dinner, so we made our way to our meeting place - an intersection on the east side of the Plaza of Heroes, Many people milled around the plaza, on all sides. As we waited, we heard loud, American rock and roll music begin to play, and saw an interesting site. People were congregating on the plaza, with a section on the back fenced in. Suddenly, two police motorcycles approached from the east where the baths and the beir garden were located, behind them were a couple of fancy suburbans, and then, two huge white custom busses. As we asked around, we determined that the futbol team - unsuccessful in their win last night, were being greeted home by the loyal fans. The team had not been to a Eurocup finals game in over 40 years, and the fans were very excited about their success. How many times to teams in America return to their home town after a finals loss with a police escort to the primary place of celebration in the city with wildly adoring fans? It was heartwarming.

Despite the excitement, we opted to go to the nearby restaurant to enjoy a lovely dinner, with me choosing soup again - an incredible vissyssoius of cabbage and cream, with an incredible pumpkin seed oil in it. Rachel opted for the salad with chicken. After dinner, we weren't ready to go home yet with the long light of the evening. Laran led us on the metro back into town, and introduced us to a tasty treat in several flavors which we enjoyed on the steps of the church. 

We went home - via Metro under Laran's advice, to the train station to the bus station, to the airport to the hotel! We greeted our hosts and went upstairs to pack for the early morning departure, another early day. 


*Since returning to the states I've added saffron to almost everything - eggs, dips and meat spices - and it certainly adds a delicious, rich flavor!

Monday, July 11, 2016

Budapest

A bright airy place overcoming darkness is how I would describe Budapest. From the friendly airport information attendant who introduced us to the Hop on, Hop off bus service that carried us around town for two days to the smiling and and subservient waiter where we ate our first meal, it felt good to be there. While I could still see remainders of a darker time - the cheaply made government housing, the aging Metro trains and stations with graffiti-ridden walls alongside the transit - most people were open and happy. One possible reason for the happiness was the Sunday evening game of the Eurocup finals, in which Hungary was playing against Belgium.
The plane ride to Budapest went smoothly with few wait lines and crowds at the Milan airport. Beautiful views of the town of Lugano, where Rachel resided for the past six weeks, greeted us, along with the gorgeous Swiss alps. An unusual neon green water peered up from the landscape, from a large lake and smaller waterways tha appeared to be holding tanks.

We were excited to arrive, despite the early departure hour of 8 am on a Sunday morning. We arrived downtown by 11 am and were starved while also exhausted from our early morning departure at 6 am to take a cab to the Milan airport. From the airport, we took a bus to the train station, and then the Metro into town. We did not think of possibly leaving our heavy backpacks at the airport, Metro station or hotel, but carried them around all day. Please think of this when you hear about the beer and wine we drank. We climbed possibly 300 stairs and came back down, to see the city from the top on the Buda side, and travailed down a switchback of steps and ramps on the Pest side, of at least 300 feet in elevation.


On to the schedule. We had picked up a snack at the airport, and purchased much too expensive juice on the  plane, not knowing that it wasn't free as it is on American planes. Thus, we were hungry, but didn't want to eat at the first place we encountered. The beautiful tulip shape applied gelato was certainly attractive, but our palates were craving a sandwich, soup or something more substantial. We picked a place called Platz and ordered a beer and wine right off the bat. We had remarkable sandwiches, that may not have actually been so incredible, but it was our memorable first meal in Hungary, when our appetites were strong.


We decided to jump right in to the church, St. Stephen's across the platz, and before we even explored the church, we were paying the fee in Forints to climb to the tower (reminder: With backpacks). Of course, the view was incredible, and exposed us to most of what we would see on our visit to Budapest. We rewarded ourselves with our first gelato of the trip, with at least one gelato a day! It was the cool tulip shape that attracted us, but the taste was sincerely rewarding. Rachel noted the best way to choose a gelato shop, since there is typically one shop on every block, is to determine if too many flavors exist, and is it visually attractive.


We were very thankful to Rachel's friend, Larren, for her suggestion to buy a 48 hour pass to Hop On, Hop Off bus service in the rather large city that is split by the Danube River. Two lines, one traveling East West and the other North South offered double decker buses with the top open, with headphones giving a verbal description of the sights we passed, and regular stops at the primary attractions of the city. Each bus had about 20 stops/points of interest, and we took advantage of almost the entire tour on both the red and yellow lines. And yes, ew, we put the yucky headphones to our head, hoping that the previous user did not have lice and had showered in the past week. But really, by late afternoon, we were so sweaty and stinky that we probably contributed to the sweat factor.
An awesome benefit of the Hop system was the free boat ride along the Danube. After touring the church, seeing a little of the city, we climbed off the bus at the boat stop, and while waiting for the bus, had a delightful Hungarian beer. That boat ride was delightful, passing in front of gorgeous buildings and castles, including the Parliament building, a lovely city park, and an ancient bathhouse. Budapest is famous for its healing waters, and was certainly a stop on our trip to the city that I described as romantic, with the beautiful architecture, parks and statues.


After the bus ride, we walked to the bridge where we saw a man walking on the uprights, and where Rachel wanted to climb herself. We took a few shots and hopped back on the bus, realizing that it would be our last tour, as the buses stopped running at 6:00 pm. We made it over to the other side, feeling exhausted, and rode the tram to the top. We barely wandered around, I purchased a couple postcards and a refrigerator magnet, took photos and made our way down the hill, slightly painful with those dang bags on our backs. We crossed the beautiful chain bridge back to the other side, and dragged ourselves to a street off of St. Michael's Platz, plopped down at an artificial grass signed restaurant and ordered a drink. Rachel had her first cosmopolitan, while I had a specialty vodka cranberry line drink from the menu.  I ordered an incredible vissischouis soup, while Rachel had tasty fish and chips.


We were rewarded for our lateness in the city by the celebration and preparation on the square for Hungary's participation in the Eurocup Futbol finals. Men and women, children and adults converged on the main platz, wearing red, white and green, with the flag painted on their cheeks, shouting and cheering as they were carried along by the crowd. We hung with the group a little while and then made our way back to the airport via Metro, then bus, then took a cab to our quaint hotel. Our legs and backs were tired, so we rested and ate the snacks we purchased at the train station and retired early.

Sunday, July 10, 2016

Istanbul

This is the first in a series of my recent summer vacation to Europe. 

I am a foreigner and a minority, and it feels strange. The sights, the smells, the sounds, the tastes and the feeling of exhaustion are overwhelming me. Sitting on a row of connected chairs has not been comfortable, with the shifting of a person's weight jarring my reverie. Each time an individual stands up or sits down, the entire row shakes and reverberates.  The air is heavy with humidity, and the lack of ventilation makes the scent of male and female body odor especially strong, including the man with a scent who just sat down beside me. I may have to move soon, to purchase water (with what other funds than my debit/credit card) and to eventually charge my phone at one of the charging stations. This is not the Houston airport, with cushy leather seats and USB ports every other chair. 

The Istanbul international airport holding area for travelers heading to different countries is not sweet. Packed with smelly people, old dudes, babies and snobbish women, not excellent food choices, no carpet, and a bar that makes you order a drink if you are to stand and watch the soccer game on their flat screen TV. 
"What do you want to order?" a young man with a menu asked me after I stood there for not even a couple of minutes. "Excuse me?" I said, twice, after he repeated himself when I did not understand his Turkish accent the first time. When I said, "nothing," he shook his finger at me and said, "Then you cannot watch the game." I was not supremely interested in pursuing the game, but it hit me as impertinent. I looked incredulously at the others outside the bar, although not really feeling it (they were farther out from the bar than I), smiled and walked away. Anything to make a buck in Turkey. I just heard cheering from the bar area. 

Ah, I was misled, or rather, I misled you, the reader. The area I entered from the plane held only gates from 300-309, as I discovered after sitting there for two hours. When I looked on the digital information area to find at which gate I would be boarding, I was led upstairs, and a whole new world was opened to me. Gates numbered 100-500 displayed glittering shops and restaurants, Starbucks, bars and lovely, large, clean, sparkling, uncrowded bathrooms. What had I done? I found my gate, walked around a bit to make sure I was tired, and then stretched out on the padded (yes!) seats on a row to snooze for a bit, and set my alarm to wake me up in 15 minutes in case I fell asleep. Thank goodness I did that because sleep I did!  And when I groggily woke up and read my book for a few minutes, I decided to check the sign again to make sure that it was the correct departure gate, and no, it was not. I quickly checked the board and found that was in a completely different terminal. The time was 9:10, with departure scheduled for 9:45. I boogied my way across the airport, and at about halfway, 9:13, a sign said gates 222-230 were 3-9 minutes away. I made it to the gate, in time to rest for a couple minutes before lining up to board. I'm now awaiting take off. :-)

After  a three hour flight, I landed in Milan, about 15 minutes early. I expected to go to the curb and grab a taxi, but when I went there, I was told that I must go to another waiting area, where there were no taxis, and await one. I was told that that was the area of the "local" cabs that took travelers to nearby addresses. Since it was midnight by now, I waited only 15 minutes before panicking slightly, as the airport was emptying, and no one was in attendance at the information booths. I called Rachel, after a couple of texts, and she talked to the front desk at the hotel who called a taxi for me. Imagine my surprise when I asked the cost for the one mile, five minute drive, and the cabbie told me 25 Euros! Of course, I had not been wise and exchanged money before I left, so I told him that all I had in cash was $28, and he took it. 

It was wonderful to see my eldest daughter Rachel after her six week nannying stint in Switzerland, and despite the fact that I probably only slept about three hours on the overnight flight from Houston, I found it difficult to go to bed, and once there, to fall asleep. We had an early Sunday morning flight to Budapest, but the thrill of the long day/night and future travel kept my mind from shutting down completely.