Blogs from Hungary, Europe - page 132

Farewell Europe » Hungary By korossylJune 18th 2007 No, I'm not leaving. This weekend I attended the Kövesdi Búcsú -- the "Farewell" in Mezőkövesd, a small town that's famous for being the home of the Matyó people, who form one of Hungary's most recognizable culture groups. Anyways, this was some sort of Catholic festival -- I'm still not entirely clear on the concept, but it has something to do with the Cult of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (cult is their word -- "kultusz" -- not mine!). Anyways, there was a giant open-air Mass, followed by the archbishop's parade, followed by a distinctly non-religious carnival type thing. An interesting insight into both some of the religious life if Hungary and it's modern culture. ... read more

Budapest began in a rather awkward fashion - me and my travel buddy had been accosted by hostel-tourist-board-pimps on the train, but the prices were a little more expensive than imaginable, so it was perhaps fortunate that the rosy smile of a i-help-you-find-bed guy welcomed my departure from the train. I could feel the tourist board types scowling as I dodged their cut and found a decent enough hostel offer not too far from the centre. The guide was nice enough to pay for underground and tram fares too. Something was up, but I can honestly say that my fears were left unearthed... it was just customer service a little more advanced than I was used to. Well, the first impressions of Budapest are two things. The heat... no wait, the Heat... and the crowds. ... read more

Slept until around 2pm as the previous night ended up being an extremely late one. Wasnt feeling entirely all that wonderful but feeling less than good in mornings was becoming somewhat routine. I ate a bit of 2 euro chinese food from down the street which was suprisingly good and filled me up completely, quite a steal. We decided to make our way to the house of terror museum which was the previous location of the Soviet Communist Police organization. The inhabitants were responsible for terrorizing the hungarians into adopting a what was essentially a dictatorship under stalin post world war II. The place was actually quite sobering, when first walking inside there was an antique tank ominously sitting in a large pool of oil. The further rooms were characterized by almost eerie music one ... read more

Hoping to hear from the doctor tomorrow the progress on my ear healing and the likeliness of flying to Rio next weekend.... read more

Nama pari paivaa Budapestissa on kieltamatta olleet pieni floppi. En ole saanut aikaseksi oikein mitaan, kavellyt lahinna muutamaa katua edestakaisin, mutta tutustunut sentaan muihin travellereihin. Mika tosin lienee koko homman juju loppujen lopuksi. Lisaksi olen vaihdellut hostelleja ja raahannut aivan liian painavaa rinkkaani pitkin helteisia Budan katuja. Tama sekoilu ei kuitenkaan (kerrankin) ole minun syytani vaan omituisten vaarinkasitysten summa. Taman saamattomuuden syy piilee viikonlopun myohaan venyneissa, mutta kerrassaan antoisissa illoissa joissa olen tutustunut seka Slovakian, etta Budapestin mainioihin juomatuotteisiin seka viihtyisiin kuppiloihin. Samalla myos lukuisiin yhdysvaltalaiskanssamatkustajiin. Kerrassaan hauskoja ja mielenkiintoisia iltoja :) Tanaan sentaan raahauduin House of Terroriin, kauhukartanoon nain vapaasti kaannettyna. Kaksi kerrosta erittain h... read more