The Day My Camera Died...and We Were Singin' "Bye, Bye..."

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Oh, you lucky people! I was in Budapest for at least one day before my camera broke, but more about that later! I had fall break from October 17 - October 25, 2008. I took a trip by myself to 3 different cities in 3 different countries and had to use 3 different currencies. Wow Europe is so complicated! This entry will be dedicated to Budapest. Lucky me and there was transportation strike in Italy on the day I was supposed to leave, so I had to make some alternate plans to get to the airport on Friday before my plane left for Budapest, Hungary. I left Perugia, Italy on Friday morning around 8:30 by but which took me straight to the Rome Fiumicino airport. I arrived at the airport at 12:30 after driving through rain and the madness that is Roman drivers! I had about 10 hours to wait before my plane was scheduled to leave at 10:30pm. Basically I just hung out in the airport all day and entertained myself by reading, listening to music, catching up my travel journal, and playing solitare by myself; I hope you can tell how entertained I was by this less-than-colorful description. But I did make it until about 8pm when I started to check in for my flight, then I had to find my gate, so that killed another hour. Interestingly enough i found a USA Today sports edition on a chair in the lounge and was able to read up on the latest college football news and the bowl prospects and even read up on my team the Jayhawks! The plane to Budapest went smoothly and I landed at the airport at 12:00am on Saturday morning. I had pre-arranged to have a taxi service take me to my hostel because public transport was closed for the night and it was way to far to walk. So my first night in Budapest I fell asleep as soon as I was given a bed in Colors Hostel.

My first full day of Fall break I woke up in the hostel around 8, ate breakfast, then headed out into the city of Budapest. First on my agenda was to change my Euro money into Forints, the Hungarian money. I changed my money at the bank, where you are supposed to get the best rates, it was a bit tricky, I'm not going to lie. I had no idea how their banks worked: First I had to enter a room with a guard and then they told me to go into the next room, where I learned I had to take a number, even though I was the ONLY person in the bank. Once my number came up an electronic board directed me to the correct teller. It was kind of intimidating, but I finally changed my Euros to Forints.

After walking out of the bank I walked straight across the Elizabeth bridge toward the Citadel and a statue that caught my attention. I climbed up the hill only to realized that I couldn't see the front of the statue because it was right next to the edge of the hill, but the sides and columns were pretty cool. Next I climbed the rest of the way of to the Citadel to look around. I saw some weapons from World War II and the walls of the Citadel, but didn't see anywhere to go inside. The Liberation Monument is also up with the Citadel; it is the Hungarian version of the Statue of Liberty and has two other statues at the base. Many vendors were also up by the Citadel, it seemed that the only purpose for the area now is tourism.

I walked to Castle Hill next. On Castle Hill there is, of course, the Castle, which now houses the History and Art Museums, a small town area full of resturants and cafes, the Fisherman's Bastion, and Matthias Church. I didn't go into the museums because I didn't think I would have time, and I was right! There is so much to see in Budapest, I almost didn't see it all without going to museums, but they did look really interesting. I walked around the museum grounds and then up to the lookout point at the fortress walls; there are gorgeous views of the city from up here. After walking through the streets past cafes and horse drawn carriages, I saw Matthias church. It is very bug, but unfortunately it was completely covered by scaffolding; they were cleaning and remodeling parts of the church. I was not able to see any of the church except for parts of the roof. The roof was covered with colorful tiles. The Fisherman's Bastion is next to the church. It is a walkway connected by seven towers that are intricately carved marble with great views of the city. My favorite view was of the Parlament building. The Fisherman's Bastion is named that because it is located in the "Fisherman's Town" and the local fishmarket used to be located there in Medieval times. After walking all morning next on my adgenda was to find lunch, which was a harder task than I thought possible.

I started out looking for a quick lunch in a Hungarian cafe that was recommended in one of my guidebooks; I figured since I am in Hungary I might as well try some local food...they are well known for Goulash. To reach this cafe I needed to cross back over to the Pest side and then walk towards the Opera house, not so bad right? NO. It was a lot further than I anticipated and it was hard to navigate the streets since they are not in a simple grid pattern. It took me probably an hour and a half to find this place, but I did see many sights along the way. Once I reached the cafe it was so busy that there weren't any places to sit and I kind of chickened-out because I couldn't speak Hungarian and I didn't want to just point, so I left to find an alternate place for lunch. I came across an Irish pub and thought they would surely speak English because on a sign outside they were advirtising the soccer games they were showing. Sure enough I went in and there was English everywhere and they served food too, not just beer! I sat down and ordered the Hungarian Goulash soup (at least I could still try goulash) and watched the game that was up on the TV. Becketts was the name of the Pub and it was a homey place, the people were nice, and the food was excellent!

After a nice lunch I walked back toward the Parlament building for a closer look and then walked along the Danube. At the river's edge there is a Holocaust Memorial that is made up of shoes commemorating those who died. It was a very interesting monument, but I didn't see any explanation near by; the only reason I knew what it was was because I had read about it before I went to Hungary. The rest of the evening I went shopping along the Vaci Utca--the shopping district of Budapest. There was a mixture of stores selling everything from high end fashion to stores selling souvenirs. I mostly did some window shopping, but stopped to pick up some postcards and a shot glass for my collection. Guess what! I also saw break dancers! There was a group of guys break dancing in the square and it was pretty cool! Check out my video! After shopping, I went to the grocery store for supper, so I didn't have to interact with any other people in restaurants 😊 and then for the rest of the evening I met the people in my hostel and hung out with them. Then the most tragic thing in the world happened! I dropped my camera and broke it! I was devestated and still am, especially since I was on the first day of my trip and still had some amazing places to go. This is the reason you will not be able to see any pictures from the rest of my fall break trip (at least until I figure out how much it costs to put my film pictures on a CD)

My camera dying ended up not being the end of the world, but it was pretty close! On Sunday, my last day in Budapest, I went to the Bodies Exhibition--yes the one where people have donated their bodies to science and they show how different parts of the body works. THey don't allow photos, so at least I really didn't miss out on anything there. The Bodies was so cool! If you are at all interested in science or learning about the human body this exhibit would be well worth your time. There were several different rooms to the exhibit and each room concentrated on a different aspect of the human body--bones, muscels, brain, nervous system, veins/blood, etc. I spent a couple hours in the morning there and then went back to the hostel to grab my stuff and to check out. I decided to take my bag with me the rest of the day because I was just going to be strolling around, it wasn't too bad taking the bag, but I wouldn't really recommend it if you can leave it somewhere. I went for one last stroll down Vaci Utca and tried to go to the market hall, but it was closed (I think it was a holiday weekend, because everything was closed!) Next I decided that I had to see Hero's Square before I left Budapest, and it was a good thing I did, because it was amazing! A very nice girl, after seeing me struggling with my map, stopped where she was going and took me to the subway station and helped me buy a ticket! I was nervous to use the subway and almost forgot to check which direction the line was going to take me before getting on! I did make it to Hero's Square after asking many people to make sure I was getting off at the correct stop. First view of the square is overwhelming; the statues and surrounding columns are just so huge! The monument commemorates the Hungarian soldiers that have fought in war. To the left and right of the square there are two museums, an art museum and a history museum. Behind the square lies the park and the zoo and another castle. The park must be where everyone goes on Sunday because it was packed compared to everywhere else I had been that day. I looked around forever to find a disposeable camera because I was desperate to have photos of Hero's Square. In my desperation I ended up paying about $15 for a disposeable camera--without flash! But I got my pictures, which I hope I will be able to show you all soon.

I walked to the train station from Hero's Square and decided to catch an earlier train to Salzburg, Austria than previously anticipated. It was kind of difficult to find where I needed to buy my ticket, and then, once I found it it was even harder to get someone to help me. I finally figured out you had to take a number and wait for your number to come up on the screen, which I think is kind of ridiculous, but seeing that no one in Europe knows how to form a single file line, I understand the need. With ticket in hand I boared the train to Salzburg around 6:30pm.

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Photos

Not Pleased
this is after I had been waiting in the airport for 9 hours...only one left.

Supper
this is what I live off of...soda crackers.

USA Today Sports
this is where i read about the BCS Bowl and KU football...In Rome!

Elizabeth Bridge
this is the bridge I crossed to go to the Buda side

Castle Hill
a view from the Elizabeth Bridge; I went there second

I Will Climb Up There!
I saw this and when I travel I have this mentality that I can do anything, so I thought, "Why not?"

Elizabeth Bridge
here is the other side of the Elizabeth bridge

Failure!
I tried to use the self timer, but missed myself! but the view of Budapest is pretty cool

Pest!
a view from the climb up to the Citadel

I Made IT!
well I climbed up to this monument, never figured out what it was, and couldn't see the front, yes! so i continued up to the Citadel

Weapons!
these were World War II weapons displayed at the Citadel.

Street Vendors
much of the area around the Citadel had street vendors selling "traditional Hungarian Crafts"

Gloriousness of Budapest
This was the view from the Citadel. You can see the Chain Bridge

Citadel Wall
the photos displayed on the side were documenting the building of the Chain Bridge.

Statue
at the base of the Liberation Monument.

Attack!
this statue was at the base of the Liberation Monument too.