So You Say It's My Birthday...

Tihany, Hungary

September 20, 2007
N46°54.450
E017°53.237

Well, since I made Marc do a special blog for his birthday, he is making me do the same. I don’t have anything philosophical to say, like my body being a vessel or anything like that. I’m just happy that today’s technology allowed me to receive the Happy Birthday wishes from my family and friends at home.

A few days ago I warned my mom I might not have email or cell phone access in the Hungarian countryside. Her voice was strained; I could tell she was a little hurt that she wouldn’t be able to talk to me, her baby, on my birthday, a special day for her too. It was 34 years ago that I brought hope to her, my father and sister; helping them get through each day by diverting their attention from their current tribulations. I like to think I was sent to them with the purpose of providing them with the strength and courage to persevere.

By 9:00 AM, my time, I had heard from both my mom and dad who called me on my cell phone. My coverage has been spotty in most remote areas and both parents were happy they could hear my voice; wondering how 34 years passed by so quickly. When I finally rolled out of bed, I had several emails from family and friends.

Since we’ve been traveling, I thought days like today, Christmas and other holidays would be difficult being away from family and friends. I can’t lie, it’s been tough, but being able to hear my mom and dad’s voices today and exchange emails has made me feel as close in Hungary as I would in San Francisco. In fact, my Dad commented that it sounded like I was just around the corner, as my phone worked perfectly during his birthday greeting.

Marc and I will celebrate my birthday at a top restaurant in Tihany known for their excellent Hungarian cuisine and wine pairings. I’ll think fondly about my family and friends at home and realize they are with me in spirit.

This birthday was a challenge, but it reminded me how much my family means to me. It will be a birthday that I will remember forever; one spent in the countryside of Hungary.

A Vacation From Our Vacation...

Tihany, Hungary

September 19, 2007
N46°54.450
E017°53.237

The alarm went off at 6:30 AM and we officially started another “travel day”… we jumped a trolley to the Metro, took the Metro to the train station, and rode the rails southwest for 126KM to the town of Siofok, boarded a ferry and eventually arrived on the Tihany pier at 12:30PM.

When we arrived on the Tihany Penninsula, we walked about 2 KM, mostly uphill, to our accommodation for the next three nights only to be told they didn’t have our reservation. After several minutes of back-and-forth in broken English and Hungarian we found out that they had an available room. Thank goodness, since lodging in the village of 1500 residents is limited to say the least.

The quaint town of Tihany is set up on a hill that overlooks Lake Balaton; the land locked country of Hungary’s excuse for a coastline. It’s actually the largest lake in Central Europe and the area northwest of the lake is the famous wine region of Badacsony.

We look forward to relaxing in the countryside, enjoying the views of the lake and not fighting our way through a big city for a few days. Not that we expect any sympathy, but navigating our way through a large and unfamiliar city day after day gets very tiring. We’re kind of taking a vacation from our vacation for a few days.

Of course, we already have our food and wine mapped out for our time in Tihany, a mini-Napa—well, we’ll be the judge of that!

Stay tuned… tomorrow is the Big Birthday Post for you know who!

A History Lesson in Budapest...

Budapest, Hungary

September 18, 2007
N47°31.120
E019°04.900

Today, our last full day in Budapest, was spent checking out the remaining sites we hadn’t seen. This included the Citadel with its amazing views of the Budapest skyline and the Holocaust Memorial Museum. Unfortunately, the clouds came in overnight, dropping a little rain, and making another day at the baths very unlikely.

First, we headed to the Holocaust Memorial Museum which is located only a few blocks from our hotel. The museum and adjacent Synagogue detailed Hungary’s involvement and loss of life in the horrific events during World War II. We’ve read a lot of literature around the events, but seeing the pictures and listening to audio and video accounts from survivors we fought back tears as the films outlined the devastation.

At one point during World War II, Jews from other European countries sought protection in Hungary where Jewish people were somewhat protected by the government. The Jewish people in Hungary contributed greatly to the economy and continued to live in there homes; not in ghettos and internment camps as in neighboring countries and, from what we could tell, without the yellow star, or yellow badge the Jewish people were required to brandish.

However, the Hungarian government was caught playing both sides during the war—they worked with Hitler to regain territory they lost after WWI and then began negotiating with the British and Americans when it became evident that Germany was fighting a losing cause. Germany caught wind of the negotiations and in the early part of 1944 and sent in troops to occupy the country. A pro-Nazi government was put into place, the Arrow Cross Party, and this is when Hell began for the Jewish people of Hungary. They were rounded up and placed in ghettos though out the country with very little food or provisions to survive.

In May of 1944, the deportations of the Jews began, and, this is the most staggering fact, over 430,000 Jewish people were deported to Auschwitz in a time period of ten weeks! Marc and I were shocked as we read these numbers, shaking our heads in disbelief. In addition, Auschwitz, probably the most infamous of the concentration camps, had 1.3M people pass through its gates; of which, 1.1M were killed. Of those people killed, approximately 33% were either Hungarian citizens or deported from Hungary.

The Hungarian citizens weren’t limited to only people of Jewish descent. There were people of Romanian descent who fell victim to the atrocities. Most of these people were simply poor, living life as vagrant gypsies roaming throughout the countryside looking for work. Even before the Arrow Cross Party takeover these people were victims of government raids and forced to work as laborers or participate in military events—their freedom and dignity was frequently violated. They too became victims at Auschwitz.

We took our time walking through the museum, shocked by what we were seeing, but at the same time we are aware of the unfortunate history from books, including “Night” by Elie Wiesel, that we read during our trip. When we finally exited the museum and continued our walk through the city we reflected on what we saw. How could we as humans let this happen?

Then, you look at the news today, and you see the tragic events in Darfur. The World is letting genocide happen all over again—haven’t we learned from our mistakes?

Stories From the Baths...

Budapest, Hungary

September 17, 2007
N47°31.120
E019°04.900

The sun was shining and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, another perfect day to enjoy the city and, of course, visit the famous Budapest baths. After strolling by a few key sites, such as the Hungarian State Opera House, we took a long walk through the City Park before heading back to Szechenyi Bathhouse; the only co-ed bath house in Budapest.

Not only are the baths relaxing, but they generate great stories. Just imagine it… take a bunch of characters from the general population of say… San Francisco; young, old, locals and tourists and have them all jump into a giant swimming pool of warm water and simply enjoy each other’s company. However, the best stories have to be the, big gut, flabby butt and incredible camel toe sightings. Yes, there were multiple sightings—men’s toes (aka moose knuckle) and women’s toes, there’s no discrimination here. Of course, I can’t forget the saunas and a few great moments in the intense heat.

The other day when we were in the bath, I asked Marc if this would be a place he would take a date. He thought it would be a perfect date, probably not a first date, but maybe a third or fourth. We noticed a young couple, who both appeared to be British (based on accents), who were having a get-to-know-you conversation, that included their relationships with their parents, etc. as they waded through the water, occasionally touching hands, the sexual tension was thick enough it could have been cut with a knife. We figured they are both here, in Budapest, on a holiday, separately, but somehow met and are now enjoying the baths on their second date. We casually followed them around the pool for fifteen minutes or so before we got bored and headed to another pool.

Shortly after, we noticed two pretty young ladies, in their early 20’s, prancing around the courtyard in their bikinis—one in a gold thong bikini, the other in a pink floral suit that was very flattering. They were both carrying cameras and clicking posed pictures of each other strategically around the baths. From afar, it was obvious the thong was tiny, but when they got closer to us we noticed there was serious camel toe going on. In fact, at one point, in the intense sunlight, it appeared the gold bikini was translucent, and the young lady might as well have been running around buck naked. They attracted plenty of attention as they took pictures of each other with sexy faces and sultry poses. A man in his early 60’s, obviously smitten, got up the courage and offered to snap a picture of the two—I’m sure he zoomed in on the golden toe.

A few minutes after the golden toe incident, a man in his 70’s hauled his belly out of the pool, and exposed his sheer, gray, Speedo. I think he had the Speedo since he was a teenager, it had definitely seen better days. With that being said, I had the displeasure of witnessing a rear, male-toe, butt hair and all. I know, I shouldn’t have been looking, but it sucked me in, it was like a train wreck, and I couldn’t look away—I'm just happy I didn’t see the frontal view!

Hopefully, the toe sightings didn’t offend you, if they did, we apologize; sometimes the truth hurts. The next story isn’t about toes, but about big, fat, sweaty men.

Half of the bath was closed today for ongoing renovation required to keep the baths clean and functional. This meant only half of the saunas and the pools were open. We still wanted to punish ourselves a little bit in the sauna. However, as we entered the 75C (167F) steam room Marc chickened out and headed back to pools. I braved forward and walked into the room that was totally packed. It appeared to be a meeting for sweaty, fat guys... to be part of the club you must be over 60, wear a Speedo, weigh at least 250 pounds, and have enough chest and back hair to give the little lady in Vietnam, who removed Marc’s back hair, a full time job. All of the wooden benches were full of these sweaty, fat guys so I just stood there, looking at them looking at me, all of us sweating profusely. The heat in the room was so intense that when I breathed air in through my nose it actually burned my nasal cavity; I figured this was my body’s way of saying get the Hell outa here. Plus, I realized I wasn’t meant to be part of this exclusive club and exited stage left.

As we say… traveling is all about the stories.

A Day in Buda...

Budapest, Hungary

September 16, 2007
N47°31.120
E019°04.900

Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, is split into two distinct areas, Buda and Pest; divided in half by the Danube River. The majority tourist sites, including the castle, are located on the western, Buda side, of the river. We’re staying in Pest and haven’t ventured to the other side of the Danube—until today.

Before crossing one of the many bridges connecting Buda and Pest we strolled by the magnificent Parliament building on the Pest side of the river. A small rock concert was being held in the middle of Parliament Square; a band playing to about 50 screaming teenage girls. The squealing girls and the cheesy Hungarian hunk leading his band were enough keep us walking.

The riverfront walk was beautiful as we peered across the river, anticipating what was in store for us this afternoon. After crossing the Margaret Bridge we entered another UNESCO protected area and instantly noticed the cobblestone streets and brightly colored house were clean, free of graffiti and obviously the ritzy neighborhood of Budapest.

Weaving our way through the streets, we admired the churches, including the Matthias Church, looked back across the Danube towards Pest from the vistas high in the hills, and explored the Royal Palace. The superb weather allowed Marc to capture tons of pictures of the classic architecture and left us both with sunburned faces.

As the sun began to fall toward the horizon we made way down the cobblestone streets within the walls of the castle and over the Chain Bridge back toward Pest. As we walked over the historic bridge that was first opened in 1849, we took one last look back at the Castle on the hill before walking deeper into the neighborhood of Pest, no longer able to see the beauty of Buda.

A Rough Day at the Baths...

Budapest, Hungary

September 15, 2007
N47°31.120
E019°04.900

After a cup of coffee, dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, we walked towards the large city park that promised a lot of sites, including one of the famous Budapest thermal public baths. As we approached the entrance to the park we could see that it was barricaded and a large stage was sitting in the middle of the square. Shouting, chanting and flag waving filled the air. It appeared there was some type of protest going on and we decided to keep our distance and make our way directly into the park. The park was buzzing with activity on a sunny fall-like afternoon, with locals and tourists alike enjoying the weather.

Navigating our way through the park on the sidewalks packed with pedestrians and bicyclists, we passed the theme park castle on our right, before we found the stunning Szechenyi Bathhouse on our left. A newly married couple posed on the lawn of the grand building as their photographer snapped away; capturing the happy couple, flowers, bright sunlight, and famous building in the background.

The entrance to the baths was a little lackluster, to say the least, it looked like the entrance to a high school gymnasium instead of a majestic building. The view didn’t really change as we pushed through the turnstile and entered the locker room. The attendant assigned us a dressing cubicle to change into our swimsuits and store our belongings.

After changing we walked through the double doors into a grand hall adorned with high ceilings and ornate detail. There were two medium sized pools in front of us. People were relaxing along the perimeter of the pools where steps acted as seats in the 38C (100.4F) water. Directly behind the first pool was a larger pool, equally packed, but the water was a little cooler at 34C (93.2F). There were people coming in out of doors to our right and left that obviously led to more baths. We walked around for several minutes, just getting our bearings, before dipping into the 38C pool.

As we sat in the warm bath we noticed several people going in and out of a steam room. The sign above the door said the temperature was between 45-55C (113 to 131F); with the sweat dripping off these people it looked at least that hot. We had to check it out. The steam hit us as soon as we walked through the door, we could barely see, it had a smell of lemon-essence and was so hot it was hard to breath. Marc took two steps into the fog, turned around and walked right back out. I stood in the center of the packed, claustrophobic room for what I thought was 10 minutes, but it was probably closer to two before I ducked out to find Marc.

Opening doors and wandering through corridors I found more baths and saunas, until I finally found Marc sitting in a dry sauna that was 140F—at least it was a dry heat Marc said. It felt like we were back in Hanoi as we sat in the room for approximately ten minutes. Our skin felt soft and refreshed as we headed out to find another bath to relax in for awhile.

As we contemplated our next move we noticed a door that led outside and thought we would take a look. As we walked through the unassuming door we were greeted by three large pools, one of them a lap pool, all completely surrounded by the beautiful historic façade of the Szechenyi Bathhouse. The yellow building had a white balcony on the second floor that looked down upon three large, crystal-blue pools, in a courtyard the size of two football fields. A large swimming/lap pool at 26C, a fun pool at 32C and a toasty and relaxing pool at 38C.

The pools were full of families, young and old, frolicking in the water. A couple of men played chess on a waterproof board as they enjoyed the warm water and sunny day. You might picture beautiful, lean, tanned people lounging in the warm baths, and I hate to shatter that image, since that is what I would prefer. However, people of all shapes and sizes pranced around between the pools, ducking into a sauna for a good sweat, and then back into one of the pools. The sites weren’t always pleasant, but the warm pools made it possible to ignore everything around us and simply enjoy our bath.

We jumped from pool to pool and sauna to pool for a little over two hours before we were completely famished. We retraced our steps, found our little cubicle, changed and headed back into the park. The sun was shining brightly and we were very relaxed after our nice long bath.

Other Notes: We’re amazed at the amount of public drinking of alcohol in Hungary. It’s common to see some drinking in public in other European countries, but in Hungary it appears it is acceptable everywhere! This includes on the metro, in the stations, in parks, on benches, walking down the street… literally everywhere. As we walked through a park tonight, groups of kids, many of whom were teenagers, had a bottle of cheap wine, whiskey or beer and were passing it around the group. Additionally, many of the side-streets and parks are littered with graffiti, broken bottles, puke, and the smell of urine; most likely attributed to the consequences of drinking in public.