eric's blog

First of all, let me apolgise in advance for any spelling mistakes in this entry. Im using a hungarian keyboard, and some of the keys are mixed up. Crazy, eh?

So weve had a few exiting days here, the craziest being our last day in Budapest. We were really lucky to be in town just as a big event was about to take place. The Red Bull Air Race was on sunday, and it was great. Imagine planes flying a few meters above the river, while manuvering through some big inflatable slalom gates, while the start and finish line was underneath a bridge. Very impressive, and even better because it was free. The banks of the river were completelz jam packed, but we managed to get earlz to get a great view, including the cool airshow before the race.

After that, we were able to go to a very fancy restaurant. We dont normally get the chance, but this was courtesy of mz verz lovely grandma. With her being hungarian, when she heard that we were headed here, she wanted to treat us to a nice dinner, so she put some money into my account. Isnt she great? and my roast goose dinner was fantastic too.

After dinner, we were to be treated to a special treat. Because it was the national holiday, the was to be fireworks launched from a couple bridges. So it was back to the river bank (and to the massive crowd of people) for the show to begin. When we got there, there was what I thought was a pre show to the fireworks. The sky behind the castle was getting lit up in a spectacular way. It looked like lightning, but the bolt was not visible, and there was no thunder. I later learned that this was actually the start of the craziness, as i heard that this is a rare kind of lightning (I think its called sheet lightning). Anyways, the show started, and all was well and good for the first 10 minutes. Then the wind started... suddenly it was so windy that things were flying everywhere. I thought it was all pretty cool at that point, even as the rain started. But a couple minutes later it all changed. The clouds suddenly just opened up, and the water just poured down. This is the hardest rain Ive ever experienced... we were drenched in a few seconds. This caused the crowd to suddenly turn to sheer panic. It was then a stampede to try to find some cover. You can just imagine the thousands of people that had been watching trying to run away through some narrow streets... it just doesnt work. Jocelyn and I just held on to each other in order to not get separated. We did manage to find some cover where we could wait it out. The crazy part about all this was that even during all the panic, the fireworks continued to go, which made it a sureal experience that wont be forgotten.

The aftermath of the storm was pretty intense. Our walk back to the hostel was full of debris all over. There were even some bricks on a street that had been ripped off of a building... scary stuff. I later heard that many boats had collided on the river too with all the wind and zero visibility.

In other news, my jeans were stolen. The night of the storm, my all my clothes were hanging in a laundry room at the hostel. Obviously, some guy had been soaked that night, so he wanted some dry clothes, and helped himself to my jeans and one of my shirts. Bastard!

P.S.: read Jocelyns blog for other that have happened if interested. http://jocelynpreece.travellerspoint.com

It's been a while since I've updated.... I guess I've been too busy to waste my time with the internet. I'll just give a quick recap.

We went to Prague and spent a few days there. What can I say? Great city with one major problem. Hoards and hoards of tourists. Sure, there was some amazing sights, and it really is a beatiful city, but take the tourist away and it would really be a magical place. Instead I just got sick of it quickly.

It was then off to the fountainhead of one of the best beers in the world. Plzen (Pilsen in german) is where the first ever lager was brewed, and Pilsner Urquell remains the king of beers. Even Jocelyn, who can't really tell one beer from the next, could tell right away that this was a special brew. We took a tour of the brewery, and then enjoyed a few glasses right next door.

Our next stop was Cesky Krumlov, and it involved a change of busses in the town of Ceske Budejovice (Budweiss in german). This is where the original Budweisser is brewed, and while it may not be as good as Pilsner Urquell, it is nothing like the budweisser at home. This one is actually good.

Cesky Krumlov was also really nice, but again overrun by tourists. It's a nice little town, with a river going around it like a horseshoe. The highlight of that town for me was renting some inner tubes and floating with the current down the river. It was a little cold (the rental guy didn't even want to give them to us, he said we better rent a boat instead), but well worth it.

After a night in the quite town of Telc, it was back to Slovakia, to Bratislava. This was a refreshing break. Although it's a big city, it is almost devoid of any tourist activity (maybe not quite, but nothing compared to the Czech Republic). Nothing too special about the city, but i liked it.

Now, as you can tell by the title, we've arrived in Hungary, in Budapest. I love this city, it's really great. Even though there are quite a few tourists, it doesnt feel so bad. This is probably just because all the sights are fairly spread out around the city.

After a day of sightseeing yesterday, today was really a magnificent day. It started with a lazy morning around the hostel, followed by a walk to a park where a picnic lunch was had (mmmmmmm....... hungarian salami is sooooooo good). It was then off to the baths. These are simply awesome. It's a great old building with a few outdoor pools, and then a whole bunch of indoor baths. It's great to go exploring all the way through. Different rooms have baths of different temperatures, steam rooms, or saunas. After a few hours of that, my muscles are feeling really relaxed. I love Hungary.