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Hi folks!

I am back in the U.S. and very glad about it too. I can't describe the joy I felt at hearing my first nonrhotic accent at JFK:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonrhotic

I think I hit a little bit of a wall in Vienna and Italy. I enjoyed both but I just really needed some down time - mainly just to process all that I had experienced. Right now, I'm resting and relaxing in New Jersey - I'll more than likely be back in the Bay Area after the New Year. After the last post on Romania, I visited Budapest for about 10 days, Vienna for about 5, and then Italy for about 2 weeks (Venice, Florence, and Rome). Here are some pics:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8870546@N03/collections/

I'm not going to touch Italy as it deserves its own post. Hopefully, I'll get to that before Christmas. So just Budapest and Vienna for now. I really liked both of these cities - they are more expensive than most of the other places I visited but in my opinion, they are worth it. So I have one more word for you and then I'm really going to abandon "words" altogether - yeah, really! The word for these two cities is "civilized". Like what is more civilized than having a melange (coffee and water) in a Viennese coffeehouse? And what about taking a dip in the Széchényi Baths in Budapest? Or enjoying Renaissance art at the Fine Arts Museum in Budapest? And what about catching Verdi's "Un Ballo in Mascera" at the State Opera House in Vienna? Refinement, taste, restraint, and yes, civilization.

I'll get to Vienna a little later but in Budapest, I visited Castle Hill (awesome architecture and views), the Citadel (again with the views), the Budapest History Museum (a bit cluttered/scattered but the catacombs were cool), the National Museum (good but also scattered and a little overwhelming), the Great Synagogue and the Jewish Museum (definitely worth a look - largest synagogue in Europe and I recommend the guided tour), St. Stephen's Basilica (beautiful and enormous church), the House of Terror (very compelling multi-media exhibit about Nazi and Communist atrocities), the Museum of Applied Arts (excellent applied/decorative arts museum), the Ethnographic Museum (was okay but didn't blow me away), the Parliament Building (overpriced but the interior is pretty amazing), Margit Island (great place to go on a nice day), the Castle Labyrinths (also overpriced but cool to see - includes caves formed by springs, inhabited by prehistoric peoples, and used as bomb shelters during WWII), Heroes Square, the Museum of Fine Arts (temporary Renaissance painters' exhibit - exquisite - some great Titians, a da Vinci, some Raphaels.....also nice collection of 19th-20th century art + a pleasant surprise = some always appreciated el Grecos), Memento Park (unique park with some old communist statues - particularly atmospheric on the day I went with the dense fog - these guys really looked like apparitions from the past. takes a while to get out there but definitely worth it), and two different bathhouses (Széchényi and Király).

Budapest is a truly beautiful city - gorgeous buildings (the museums are works of art in and of themselves), craggy hills, grand boulevards and parks, and of course the Danube. The Museum of Applied Arts, the House of Terror, the Memento Park, and the Fine Arts Museum were my favorites. Even just walking around is fun. Stroll down Andrassy Street and along the Danube as much as possible.

I also enjoyed the company of the two guys that I couchsurfed with: Roger from Brazil (excellent guide and guitarist) and Szabi from Hungary (nice guy who took me to a speakeasy-type bar and then out for longos - fried dough with sour cream and cheese - highly recommended!) + my good friend, Claudine came down from Berlin for the weekend. Thanks again, Claudine - was great to see you!

Roger took Claudine and me all over town, threw a great dinner party, and invited me to events later that week. I saw an AC/DC tribute band called AB/CD. I thought they were totally rockin' and the crowd was way into it. The singer sounded remarkably like Brian Johnson and they even incorporated the whole Angus stripping down to his boxers thing. And imagine the following between-song banter in rapid-fire Hungarian:

Rendben, szeretnénk köszönetet mondani mindenkinek, hogy eljött ma este. Mindannyian itt van egy jó idő. ez a következő dalt úgynevezett "Hell Ain't a Bad Place To Be!!!!!"

The weird thing about Hungarian is that it's written in the Roman alphabet so it seems like you should understand a word here or there - not a chance! Hungarian is usually lopped into the Finno-Ugric language family (along with Finnish and Estonian) though a few scholars think that even this linkage is totally bogus. Basically, it seems to be its own thing and from what I've heard from a few Hungarians, an incredibly difficult language for non-native speakers to learn. Yes, tongues should get ready for a world of hurt with this stuff:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarian_language

One other thing about AB/CD is that the bass-player was playing a 5-string bass. If you really want to look like AC/DC, is this really necessary? I mean, when does Cliff Williams play much more than one note, let alone more than one string?

And Budapest is full of thermal baths. I went to two (Széchényi and Király).....both were awesome though the latter was the site of what I like to refer to as "My Night at the Gay Bathhouse". You're like "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Gay bathhouse?! Could you back up and explain please?" Well, as with most things like this, it started out innocently enough. In retrospect all the signs were there.....Saturday night, all men, bathing suit optional, etc. And my first clue should have been a guy asking me what I was doing that night on the way in. The guide book I had didn't mention anything about this - regardless of your persuasion, isn't this important information?!

Really, it was totally fine though I did have to fend off a few different dudes once I got into the tubs. It's nice to know that if things don't work out with the ladies, I could switch teams and be guaranteed at least modest success (Why is it usually possible to have what you're not all that interested in having? Funny how life works, right?) As much as women torment me and as much affection as I have for my gay friends, I don't think I'll be switching teams....especially after visiting Romania.......and then Italy - Mamma Mia! (yes, Italians really do say this.) Besides, is an around-the-world trip truly complete without an inadvertent trip to a gay bathhouse? And is "My Night at the Gay Bathhouse" the de facto sequel to Jonathan Richman's "I Was Dancing In The Lesbian Bar"?

And in Budapest, I met two people that reminded me a lot of friends of mine: Roger was kind of like a Brazilian Guillermo and his friend Lila was like a Hungarian Leslie.....their faces, their mannerisms, their interests, senses of humor and in Lila and Leslie's case, even their names - all quite similar. This was the first time on my trip where I met anyone, let alone 2 people that reminded me so much of friends of mine. Made me remember how much I enjoy my friends' company. Aw, shucks!

And what about the Hungarians I met? I largely enjoyed their company too and/though (?) I found them to be some of the most forthright (one could even say blunt) people I've met on my trip (my feelings were definitely mixed about this bluntness). Are Hungarians the antithesis of people from say Southeast Asia in this respect? - where saving face for yourself and others is of utmost concern? Hungarians stormed into Europe from Central Asia in the 8 and 900's, raiding places as far west as present-day Spain. How could this history of marauding carry over into being blunt and speaking out if you don't like something? Was it just random that the 1956 Revolution took place in Hungary and not somewhere else?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1956_revolution

So while you contemplate that, let's move on to Vienna or as I like to call it, the City of Music! While in Vienna, I saw a rock/dub/funk/oompah band from Bavaria, "Un Ballo in Mascera" at the State Opera House (classic love triangle + the acoustics were amazing.......so cool to see the spectacle, conductor, orchestra, costumes, sets, building, etc. and you can get standing room tickets for just 3-4 Euros), and even an Andean group playing ABBA's "Chiquitita". I was only slightly disappointed that they didn't dedicate the song to "all the niños out there." And I know it's cheesy but I listened to Mozart while strolling through the Schönbrunn Gardens - highly recommended. I even visited the gravesides of Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert, and Strauss. The cool thing is that they are all right there together. I've visited several gravesides on my trip but none meant more to me than visiting Beethoven's - someone who has been a true inspiration to me. And yes, this is where Chuck Berry and the Beatles and even E.L.O. (???) and Meat Loaf (??????) directed their entreaties to "roll over". Beethoven might listen to Chuck Berry and the Beatles but do you really think Beethoven is gonna listen to Meat Loaf?

I visited a few other places in Vienna: several coffeehouses, the Stephansdom, the Österreiches Galerie (home of Klimt's "The Kiss" among other worthwhile works), and the Leopold Museum. The Leopold was one of my favorite museums - it has the world's largest collection of Schiele paintings (colors and textures almost palpable - very nice) and a great permanent collection. When I visited, there was a temporary Munch exhibit that featured not only Munch's work but also artists that influenced him, artists that were influenced by him, and/or works that were related to his. Basically, it explored the concept of the uncanny. Is the following true? "No picture is itself uncanny, uncanniness only arises in the sensation of the viewer."

Check out the following:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expressionism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vienna_Secession

By the way, did Vienna enjoy two artistic heydays? One musical heyday fueled largely by patronage from the Hapsburgs during the 17 and 1800's (Mozart, Beethoven, Strauss, etc.)? And another visual arts one fueled more by industrialization and the subsequent population growth - creating a kind of critical mass around the turn of the century (Klimt, Schiele, Moser, etc.)? Did you know that Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Koloman Moser, and Otto Wagner all died in 1918? This year also marked the end of World War I and of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Vienna and Austria then entered into the darkest chapter of their history - the rise of Hitler, the Anschluss ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anschluss ), and World War II. Is another heyday possible after all this death, destruction, and hate?

While in Vienna, I couchsurfed with Andrea, a woman I met in India. She was an excellent host and introduced me to a few of her friends. I definitely enjoyed Austrian company - this was a bit of a surprise given that I'd heard people in Vienna were not all that friendly.

One other thing I enjoyed about Vienna was the outdoor Christmas markets. I know, I'm not supposed to like shopping but it was more about walking around, drinking Glühwein, and getting in the Christmas spirit than anything else.

And as usual, here are some randoms for you:

1. Did you know that there are about 100,000 Jews in Hungary now? And that synagogues are oftentimes named after the streets they are on? And that many Jews in Hungary were tobacco merchants? And that the Great Synagogue in Budapest shows Christian influence in its design and is the largest in Europe? And that during services, men and women are separated? Or that Jewish tradition holds that the dead should be separated from the living? Or that a Christian woman plays the organ at the Great Synagogue on Shabbat? Jews also give stones to the dead because you're not supposed to give the dead a living thing. Do most things happen because they are practical?
2. What's more practical today - xenophobia or acceptance? Particularly in Europe where certain countries are facing shrinking populations?
3. Was the dispersal of monotheistic faith practical?
4. Are Hungarians more interested in money than during communism? Do they aspire for more?
5. Is it absurd that Jews and Arabs are living side by side in Haifa and yet fighting in Gaza? Is coexistence already happening?
6. Have European countries become more homogeneous after World War II? Are European countries conspiring to make things boring? - the E.U.? the Euro? veil laws? socialized democracies? the metric system?
7. Are the countries of Western Europe like white dwarf stars....once controlling vast parts of the world and now fading away in power, influence, and in some cases population? Are these countries only working together now because they can no longer exploit their colonies for resources, labor, etc.?
8. Did you know that Hungary has the world's third largest parliament building? Where are 1 and 2? And did you know that the parliament building has huge rugs - all with 100,000 knots per square meter?
9. Is travel writing easy because you don't have to come up with stuff - it just happens? Could a Friday and Saturday evening be more different (or some might argue more similar)? Friday - AB/CD concert and Saturday - gay bathhouse?
10. If we could grow to accept ourselves, would not these other problems go away? Is no society exempt from xenophobia and prejudice? Did this serve us well in prehistory? Is it practical now? Did you know that the Ottoman Turks introduced coffee to Vienna?
11. Did you know that the cross on top of the Hungarian king's crown has two horizontal segments - one for state and one for God - showing they are linked. During the communist era, Hungarian Parliament convened only 8 days a year.
12. Should we not confront our fears?
13. Aren't illnesses caused by a variety of factors? Are people who say it's all in the mind willfully overlooking western medicine and vice versa?
14. Do parents sometimes get addicted to kids depending on them?
15. Which sounds more German - flughafen or schnitzelhaus? You're like, "Dude, that's a bit like asking which is more French - wine or cheese?"
16. Did you know that it costs 1 euro for 1 minute on a pay phone in Vienna? Isn't this like a negative tax system - charging those who can't afford a cell phone more? Is a cell phone company behind this somehow? Remind me of why capitalism is a good thing again.
17. Do you sometimes pay more and get more? But sometimes pay more and get less? Are there not more micro-services and internet cafes in India than in Vienna? What do we lose when we modernize?
18. In Europe, are prices artificially high because of less competition and more monopoly?
19. Can you tell the difference between the art of different European countries?
20. If you work at something long enough, will you succeed?
21. Did you know that Napoleon stayed at Schönbrunn for a brief period of time?
22. Did you know that the Vienna City Hall is called the Rathaus? Talk about truth in advertising - is there a more appropriate name for a building full of politicians and bureaucrats?
23. Is Joe Lieberman the Antichrist?

Well, alright! So I'll be in Jersey for a while, so please let me know if you'll be in the area. I plan to be back in SF sometime after the New Year and again, I hope to fill y'all in on Italy in the not-too-distant future.

Until then, all the best!

b

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