Budapest and Istanbul

I very obviously have stopped the Daily Blogging that I had hoped to keep up. Budapest was absolutely amazing... I had no expectations going into the city and was so pleased to find great architecture, interesting museums and a skyline that blew me away. I can honestly say it rivaled Paris for one of the most beautiful night scenes I’ve ever seen.

Just doesn't do it justice...

I stayed at the Home Made Hostel which was tucked in a great area of town. The owners were fantastic and made every effort to make us feel welcome to the hostel and Budapest. My friend Chris was there already so I threw my stuff in my room and headed to a bar around the corner to meet him and grab a bite to eat. From then on Budapest was an awesome blur... we met some cool people in the hostel and had some crazy nights. We went to the House of Terror Museum, spent four hours in the Hungarian baths (heated outdoor swimming pools that ROCK), took a trolly car up to a castle, ate traditional Hungarian meals, drank traditional Hungarian liquor, ate not-so traditional meals (all you can eat sushi train of awesomeness), saw Figaro’s Wedding at the Opera, went clubbing, made bets (and lost bets...haha Guido) and just had an all around amazing time. We formed a little family of sorts and it was very sad to say goodbye to everyone, especially Chris.

On Friday I headed to the much warmer Istanbul! Cagatay met me at the airport and it was as if not a day had passed since I’ve seen him. For the last week we’ve been getting up late, spending a LOT of time at the local tea house and having a great time catching up and spending time with other friends. I desperately wanted to go fishing...

which didn’t result in me catching anything except other fisherman’s lines. We went to the movies and saw the 3D kid’s animation film Alexander’s Adventures, and although I can’t understand Turkish and had the language capacity equivalent to a 3 year old, it helped that the movie is indeed for children! I could understand what was going on! :)

I’m leaving Turkey tomorrow, and I will miss it. There are things I love about this place and things I still have yet to understand.

I love...
the tea.
the slow pace of living.
the communal meals.
spending an afternoon smoking hookah and playing backgammon.
the pride of the people.
the food!
and of course my friends...


Cagatay


Demet

I’m still not sure why they ever thought it was a good idea to serve a scalding hot beverage in a glass without a handle, and I cannot get used to peeing in a hole in the ground. (On the same subject... Cagatay and I had a long conversation debating the importance of the bidet... another invention that I will not use. My point? I would rather my ass be dirty than my hand, because I use my hand for many things other than shitting.)

Next stop? Copenhagen. I’m simultaneously excited and apprehensive. Excited because it’s where my dad’s family is from! Apprehensive because it will be cold and rainy and I have yet to buy those gloves...

Day 3,4,5

Day 3 & 4

I spent the next couple days enjoying Vienna... sort of. It got VERY cold and on Sunday it started to rain. Saturday was a rough start due to party times with my new Australian friends on Friday night. Aussies always seem to be everywhere and hang out in groups, and they LOVE to party... I should have known it was a bad idea from the start...

The Aussies
Saturday morning Chris (one of the Aussies) and I went to a nice bakery for a chocolate croissant and some coffee to refuel for the day. We also attempted to get some orange juice and instead got this sweet, murky liquid that was in fact orange but tasted little like orange juice. We met up with Matt and Nate (more Aussies) and headed to the museum quarter. They went to the Leopold while I went to the MOMUK (Modern Art). I wasn’t terribly impressed with the MOMUK... the exhibition space itself is a bit lacking and I wasn’t too enthralled with the subject matter. Cubism never revs me up much... So I only stayed for an hour before heading over to the Leopold to find the guys. I’m glad I went because the museum is so grand that I didn’t get a chance to go to the basement exhibition. The exhibition was by an Austrian artist named Otto Meuhl and was one of the most disturbing things I’ve seen. Here is one of his paintings...

Now the paintings were not the issue. I’m okay (and quite like) when artists seek a reaction from their viewers and sometimes do so in odd disgusting ways. What was disturbing was the story of the artist himself. Meuhl started his life in a youth Nazi group and after the war ended up teaching mentally challenged children art. In the 60s he began to live in a commune and also began filming their activities, which included group sex, bestiality and sexual abuse of minors. Some of these films are on display in the exhibition. Meuhl was arrested and served time for abusing minors but was released and did not show any remorse for the victims. It wasn’t until this year that he apologized for his behavior. Needless to say, the initially unharmful paintings turned into disgusting representations of a lifestyle that those in the commune led, and were for the most part literal representations. It was quite disgusting. All of us left the exhibit in a weird funk, feeling like we needed a shower.

We took Saturday night easy and got up nice and early on Sunday. Chris and I hit up the little bakery again and had a proper Austrian breakfast. Soft-boiled egg, fresh baked bread, cottage cheese, tomato, cucumber, coffee, juice, yum. He took off for Budapest and I stayed in Vienna and tried to cope with the rain. It was not only crazy cold outside but rainy... and I went out with every intention of buying proper gloves and winter weather accessories, and then walking to check out another museum I didn’t get a chance to before. However it wasn’t long before I was reminded that it was Sunday... everything was closed. Cold, wet and defeated, I wandered back to the hostel and spent the day inside doing some much needed research.

That evening I had a beer with one of my room mates, Luke from England. We hung out at the hostel bar with Harlan from New Zealand and Greg from Arizona. We chatted about relationships and politics, museums and beer. It was a nice chill night. After a few I headed to bed. It is officially Day 5 and I am on my way to Budapest. More updates to come...

Day 2

I know I know... one post right after another... it's sheer madness.

Today was the second day of my journey and it has been rough. Last night was a nightmare on the train, with us being woken up every two hours! First, make room there are more people. Second, make MORE room. Third, move entire cars because we're leaving these at the next station. And finally, more people again. I hardly got a wink of sleep and after arriving at 9am I had to find my hostel. It was extremely easy to find, a mere two minute walk from the station. Unfortunately my room wouldn't be ready until 2pm so I had to find other means of entertainment.

I left my bags and took off down what seemed to be the busiest road I could locate. I walked for awhile until I ran into the area filled with museums! What joy! On my way into the Leopold Museum my bestie Matt Duncan called and we spent a good while chatting about how he should be in Vienna. The Leopard was great!! I got in for free (thank you ICOM) and got to see some great pieces by Picasso, Monet, Miro... the original Water Lilies by Monet is there! I had no idea. After a successful museum trip I grabbed some lunch items at a grocery store and headed back to the hostel.

I checked in and have since spent my time organizing the next few days, and leaving the hostel here and there for little random things. For dinner I ended up wandering off the beaten path to find this ADORABLE little cafe with the most amazing smells wafting out. There was a sign out front that I couldn't read of course so I went in and asked if I could sit at the bar. The woman seemed mildly annoyed, agreed and brought me a beer. I then noticed that every table had a "reserved" sign on it. I was crashing a party. Too embarrassed to order food I just sat quietly with my beer and my Berlin book and spent an hour absorbing the great atmosphere of family and friends eating and drinking together. No one seemed bothered by my presence and after staying longer than I should, I moved on. At this point I was starving and simply settled for a pizza on the street. Tomorrow I will hopefully be having something similar to the mussels she was making.... Yum.

Hittin' the Road

Day 1 -
I started today exceptionally early so that I could say goodbye to Tomas. After another two hour nap I got up, showered, finished packing and hit the road... or should I say rail? I’m on a train journey to Istanbul, with stops in Brussels, Cologne, Vienna, Budapest and Bucharest. However, I’m trying to get to Istanbul quickly, so I am only going to be stopping in a few days in Vienna, Budapest and Bucharest. Today has gone smoothly so far. I timed out when I needed to leave Cambridge perfectly, so when I got to London I had just enough time to walk to the station, buy tickets, grab some lunch and get to the train. St. Pancras was the first full on train station I’ve been to and it was magnificent! I didn’t realize they ran train stations similar to airports. I guess I should have known better... I had to go through security and customs, but there was something a little more special about the station. They had the same amount of food shops as well as unnecessary goods shops, but it felt cozier at the train station, more sincere than the airport. I almost expected to see a regular mom and pop diner!

About halfway through the first leg of my journey I had a bit of a realization. Wait a minute, I’m paying TWICE as much to sit for LONGER in just as uncomfortable a place... The same slight smell of body odor, the same over-run air conditioner, the same uncomfortable seats... though wider made just as uncomfortable because other people are facing you. When this is the case it makes you a little more self conscious when you can feel the drool peek out of the side of your mouth “Is she asleep yet?! Guys, time to party, and we have an audience!!”

When I got to Cologne (otherwise known to the Germans as Koln... yeah... thanks guys... let’s make a name for a place that looks absolutely NOTHING like the English word... that’ll show everyone... ) I arrived at the ticket booth to be scoffed at in German, and told that there was NO WAY I was going to get a spot on the overnight train to Vienna. I got really frustrated at this, and it’s a bit silly I admit. I am going to try to work hard over the next few days to rethink my view on travel, which at the moment is just sort of a nusance. If anything goes wrong I have an overwhelming feeling that it is the end of the world... hardly so. If I couldn’t get a train I’d just spend the night and go the next day. I wasn’t being that rational at this point... After sensing my obvious stress at the situation the German cooled his jets and explained that as a last resort I could wait for the train and ask the conductor if there was room. Guess what? I am on the overnight to Vienna which has hardly ANYONE on it!! Ug!

There have been a few funny/interesting points in the journey so far.

Annoying Lady Story
There was a young Asian woman fervently talking on her cell phone and subsequently twitching. A twitch which caused her to slap the pages and wrappers she was holding on her leg. No one seemed to pay much mind except the woman a few feet to her left. This woman was much older and dressed in a long, violently black trench coat. She had rings on her finger an a leopard print hat, which I am assuming she paid a large sum for. The hilarity ensued when the prissy woman became irritated at the young girl for slapping the papers on her leg. She would stare at the papers angrily, as if this gaze was enough to break the concentration the woman was pouring into her conversation. Finally the older woman started huffing, and when the young woman stopped slapping the papers (not because she noticed the woman of course, but because it was simply a twitch) the older woman would look slightly smug and satisfied, as if she’d made all right in the world. However, this wouldn’t last long, and when the slapping began again, I thought this woman would literally start shooting daggers out of her eyes.

“Where is the love? (I know... it’s in the Cologne train station...)”
Three women filed out of the train in a uniform style and each greeted their boyfriends (husbands? lovers?) with varying levels of passion. The first woman skipped to her mate, forcing a big smile from his lips and he lifted her into a swirling hug. They talked animatedly for a short time before a few deep kisses and they left. The second couple was much more timid, embracing in a short hug and a few pecks. As they walked on however they held hands and giggled softly. The third couple were severely romantic, as they locked into an immediate kiss. The kiss lasted quite some time and every time I looked over I expected them to have separated. Nope. Eventually I had to board the train myself, and was no longer able to gawk at the German love affairs.

Sigh.

Busy Bee

Oh hello! I didn't even see you there...

Well many happenings in the last few days... where to start, where to start. Last week was nice and busy. I went out on a couple of occasions. Thursday night I went to the bar to meet up for the weekly Couch Surfing meeting. I was really early and as a result had no idea where the group was. I sat by myself for a solid 20 minutes (two and a half pints in beer time) until my new friends Tomas and Alan asked me to join them. :) So I made new friends there who I ended up meeting up with again this weekend. Friday I had every intention of going out but when it's 50 degrees F, and raining, and you'd have to walk 40 minutes across town... you start to think "naw... I'll stay in tonight..." :)

I spent all day Saturday in the library and went out Saturday night. Sunday I went to London to the Notting Hill Carnival. It's the second largest street carnival in the world! Awesome. I got some fun pictures from the day, but they don't exactly describe the feeling of being there. Cajun cooking smells in the air and the strongest bass beats... I swear the whole day my chest was vibrating from the music. It was really a blast. That night we went to my new friend T.C.'s aunt's house for a house party. It was so much fun! Just a big family eating and drinking and dancing. I love that.

We almost didn't make the train back to Cambridge, but we caught one and had another party on the train with new friends.
Monday (a holiday here in England) I did boring things, like laundry and cleaning. In the afternoon I met up with my friend Simon (who's leaving for Vietnam... Have fun!!) to see The Secret in Their Eyes. What a great movie!! (Warning: It contains pretty graphic rape scenes and full frontal male nudity...) It was surprisingly funny and touching though... and completely in Spanish. In case you're wondering, no my Spanish isn't all of a sudden fluent, there were subtitles... :)

I worked hard all day today and tonight I'm heading to Pub Quiz! I hope they don't have too many English trivia, as I will be far behind if that's the case... but either way it's a few drinks with good friends!

Up coming plans: This weekend I'm taking gliding lessons! (look it up... awesome...) I'm also hoping to climb to the top of Beachy Head (as I realized I only have FOUR weekends left!! Ahh!!) Also, I will be shopping for my Oktoberfest costume and beginning the Cambridge Gallon Challenge. Good times ahead.






Jo and T.C.