Sunday in Budapest with Mark

BUDAPEST IS INCREDIBLE! This is probably the first city I have been to on my trip where I feel I could spend all 5 months. (But that would be silly to do, seeing is how I will probably feel the same way about some of the other cities I go to, and why miss them because I like this one so much).

I had a bit of a rough night. I went out for a bit after I got here, just to do a bit of walking in the city at night and stretch my legs. I also hoped that doing a bit of walking would help me sleep better that night. Well I think I ate something before going to bed that just didn't totally agree with my system. I don't think I ate anything bad, but maybe had a little too much sugar, seeing as how I ate three pieces of what I can only describe as the Hungarian equivalent to Boston Cream Pie. But I woke up in the middle of the night nauseated and just plain uncomfortable (I don't think the incredibly fragrant fabric softener that the hostel uses helped either. So I slept in a little late, but felt fine when I finally decided to roll off my bed.

Once I was up and moving around I decided to do a little walking tour of Budapest. Wow, the architecture here is amazing. Every single building is ornamented with dazzling carvings, egg and dart molding, and massive sweeping curves. It is known to many as the "Paris of Eastern Europe." If Paris is the "City of Lights," Budapest is the city of "Copper and Gold." Many of the buildings have beautiful Art Nouveau mosaics gilded in gold leaf, and the majority of domes and sculptures have been cast out of copper. It made me think, "When did we lose this architectural attention to detail and love of opulence?" I assume it was when contractors started charging so much to hang drywall. It did remind me of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. The older parts of the Temple in Barcelona are expertly carved and ornately decorated, while the newer parts are much more plain and linear. The bike tour guide made a joke about how the original craftsmen had much more sophisticated tools, but went on to say it was a sacrifice to the almighty dollar. Cheaper to build minimal and fast than complex and slow, I guess. That seems like a cop out to me. Maybe this could solve the employment problem in the US. Start building these huge, complicated structures that take armies of men to complete and everyone that wants a job, and a good workout, will have the opportunity. Oh wait, us white folk are too good for that; we would just get a couple of Illegal Mexican Aliens to do all the manual labor... LOL.

I walked all around the city, in both Buda and Pest. (They were originally two cities separated by the Danube River, but merged in 1872. Actually it was three cities, but no one ever talks about Old Buda). I think I have developed a talent for getting to cities during their annual marathon, because, like Zagreb, today was Budapest's Marathon, so I was forced to navigate around the runners. I made it to The Hero's square in the City Park, the Royal Palace with its lovely views of Budapest, the National Opera, and The Citadell (the largest hill in Buda right on the Danube overlooking the entire city), plus all of the sights in between. The Citadell and the Heroes Square are at opposite ends of the map I have, so it was cool to do those because now when put pins in the map indicating places I have been the map will actually stay up on the wall. Because it was Sunday there wasn't a whole lot of "stuff" to do, and what there was didn't stay open very long, so it was the perfect day to walk a bit.

One of the most popular things to do in Budapest is go to one of its many Thermal Bathhouses. The entire city was built on a natural hot spring, so several large (and when I say large, the one I walked around in the City Park today took me 15 minutes to get all the way around) bathhouses have been constructed. They are some of the most beautiful buildings in all of Budapest, and still remain extremely popular with the locals. Maybe I will do one tomorrow, once I get tired enough to need a good relaxing dip in a hot spring.

Lots of tours available here, and things happening all the time, so I think I am going to really enjoy me time here.