We join our travelling hero on his 3rd day in Budapest. The story so far:
The flight from Newark to Heathrowe was terrible. Right as we passed over those eastern regions of Canada, we had half-an-hour of the worst turbulence I have ever experienced. We're talking bone-rattling, stomach-churning, glass-in-cart breaking quality turbulence that went on for 25-30 minutes straight. The one redeeming part of the trip was flying into a fog-blanketed London. The fog was so thick that the lights of the city made it look like a patchwork quilt, so I wanted nothing more than to wrap my self in London and get some real sleep.
After arriving in Budapest, one of the first things I was half-jokingly told by the woman who picked me up was "Don't smile, and don't ever be nice. You are in Eastern Europe now, and we are all depressed and mean."
Hungary has an interesting history. They've been on the losing side of pretty much every war in Europe, and is conveniently located located in one of the "must have" spots for anyone trying to take over Europe. Budapest alone has been more or less completely destroyed by invaders, liberators, and floods at least four times in the past 1000 years by my count. The result is a city where the Architecture varies wildly. There isn't really anything left standing from before the neo-classical era of Hungarian Architecture, but since then Bupapest has gone through a "neo" phase for most types of buildings, so combined with the scattered, actually old buildings, the city is a bizzare mix of the old-looking, the actually old, and the painfully modern.
My apartment is very interesting. Here's a little puzzle for anyone who has read this far: I estimate my apartment to have about 1920 cubic feet of space, not including my bathroom and showerroom. I only have three pieces of furniture: my bed, my desk/chair, and my normal size dresser. Nonetheless, there is only one spot about 1sqft total in my entire apartment in which I can spread my arms and spin around without touching anything. What does my apartment look like?
I haven't explored the culture of the city very much yet, because I'm still a bit worried about my ability to communicate. I would say that most people <25>25years old do not. Some shopkeepers have a limited english vocabulary that pertains to their trade, but only enough to scam you out of some florints. As soon as I feel comfortable at least sounding out words and am able to sy things like "Do you speak English?" "How much?" and "I don't understand" I'll content myself with just enjoying the scenery.
Note: I haven't found reliable internet yet, so I don't know how often I'll be in contact. Also, I resolve to never proofread any of these posts. So there.
-Reece
