Again more Budapest pix

More Budapest pix

I was lying...One last post - July 20

K, just one last post before I definitively put this trip to bed. Upon checking into my pension on what appeared to be a sleepy Sunday in Bratislava, the place suddenly sprang to life around 10 pm with heavy traffic speeding by until the wee hours. One would have thought my pension had front row seats to a Nascar race.

Also in the process of airing out the room, the open windows had attracted all manner of flying creepy crawlies. While I managed to dispatch most of them, a few gi-frikkin-normous flying beetles were well versed in the art of concealment and kept a lo pro until lights-out. Thus the night-time Nascar rumblings were punctuated by the occasional scream of "GET THE F--- OFF MEEEEEEE!!!" as one of the beasts would alight on my cheek. What my neighbours must have thought of these outbursts, I can only imagine...

The last hurrah - 19 July

Throughout my trip, the Danube and I have frequently parted ways only to be magnetically drawn back together again. There's something about that powerful current and wide expanse despite its dirty industrial stripes. Today I bid adieu to the mighty Danube and its touchpoints in Austrian, Slovakian and Hungarian territories.

Hungary is now a memory, having been left behind in favour of Bratislava on the Slovakian border. Brat is one of the smallest capital cities in Central Europe but it offers a kickass view of the Danube and surrounding hills from its 1000 year old castle promontory. The old town is charming with its narrow cobbled side streets and the architecturally rich Primatial Palace is something to see.

A train will shuttle me north to Prague tomorrow for a brief reunion before hopping on a jet plane bound for home. I am ready to return. While this trip has been peaceful, an architectural treasure and mostly a treat, it has also been challenging at times and lonely due to the language barrier.

My purpose was to explore some of East Europe's rich cultural heritage, taking a little distance from possessions and amenities, basically recharge my batteries. I now return to "The Colonies" with a renewed appreciation for home, human connections and chilled watermelon on demand.

Over and out.

Yo y'yo y'yo

Now you've got to figure if you hear "yo y'yo y'yo" in any language other than English, odds are pretty good it has nothing to do with rappin' homeboyz. And when the dude delivering it is a hay covered farmer in dirty overalls, that's got to be your dead giveaway. "Yo", the Hungarian word of the day translates as "good".

The mother of all electric storms - July 18

Angle as I might for a veto on monsoons throughout my hikes, Mother Nature had something different in mind. On my last day of open space back couny strolling, the heavens put on a show I won`t soon forget.

It all began with intricate cloud layers in subtle tones creating freakish formations. Then some funky web like clouds reached for the ground as though ghostly claws raking at the soil. Next, the sky turned dark as night and the wind began to howl. The effect was so creepy, I could`t help but glance over my shoulder for fear of funnel clouds. That`s when the light show kicked in. Multiple lightning strikes split the sky and the heavens opened wide.

I dove for cover under an elevated granary and crouched in awe as the spectacle unfolded. My granary provided welcome shelter for a few hours until I reconciled to the fact that the driving rain was here to stay and like it or not, I was headed for a soaking.

During my time under the granary, I played host to a few visitors of note. First a large bird alighted on the tree next to me. Not sure, but I think it was a ring-necked pheasant. Magnificent. Then a beautiful doe timidly emerged from the bushes before me. We thoroughly startled each other and she bounced away in a frenzy.

Once the lightning was over, I emerged from my shelter and trudged on in all my soaked glory. It`s all part of the adventure, isn`t it?

All things being dental...

You know what`s weird? I`ve noticed that Hungarians really have a thing for teeth. Believe it or not, I have passed through villages in the middle of nowhere - we`re talking boxed in by corn and wheat fields as far as the eye can see - where there is neither a post office nor a grocery store BUT the corner place is open 6 days a week to get your smile all fixed up shiny and new. You won`t catch Borat spoofing Hungarians` bad teeth a la Austin Powers!

A shout out to Gary for setting me straight on Hungary's affinity for dental hygiene. Some countries are known globally as good spots for cheap organ transplants. Hungary has earned a reputation as a cheap destination for good dentistry. Huh, go figure...dental tourism. Had I clued in earlier, I might've gotten my pearly whites gold capped!

Nem Egan Nem Egan Nem EEEEEEEGANNNNNN!

I flicked on the talking box the other night 2 get me to sleep and happened upon some Hungarian soft porn. The woman - clearly faking it - was screaming YES YES YES YES YESSSSSSSSSSSSS!!! Only in Hungarian, yes translates as egan (pronouced "ee-g`n"). It definitely lost something as the woman screamed EGAN EGAN EGAN EGAN EEEEEEEEEEEGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNN!!! Ever wondered how convenient it is that yes and no elocute as a single syllable in most languages? Makes it so much easier to do the do, wham bam thank you ma`am. However, upon introducing a second syllable, suddenly things get so much hairier. A mere observation...

Kicking up the dust - 17 July

Mz hiking boots chalked up a whopping 40 km of wear todaz. I deserve the ice cold Krusovice before me and am savouring everz drop. Mz marathon daz now has me in a comfortable spot to wrap up mz hiking in a few dazs. Can`t believe I`m in the home stretch!

Incidentallz, the Hungarian language makes wazzzzzzzzz more use of the z character than the y so their positions on the computer kezboard are swapped. That`s what`s up with this post!

The Hungarians whom I met todaz have been simplz terrific. Upon seeing me roll into his village, one man ran into his house and promptlz returned with a tall ice cold glass of water and a couple of peaches from his orchard. Ahhhhh, heavenlz. Here are some of the little things for which one grows an appreciation: refrigeration, a cold slice of watermelon, a splash of cold water on zour face.

Toward the end of the daz, I stuck mz thumb out to cover the last 15 km to mz destination. A woman and her daughter picked me up, adding thez could onlz take me half waz. Of course, I thought that was great. Thez went out of their waz to take me all the waz. Sooooo sweet of them. Zet another woman whom I asked for help with directions invited me in for lunch and a drink. Hungarians are such friendlz folks, thez reallz take their visitors to heart.

People usuallz assume I am German. When I correct them, there is alwazs a biiig reaction. Judging from the assortment of tourists that I`ve come across - tzpicallz czclists - north americans are a raritz in these parts and canadians in particular. When thez meet one, thez go out of their waz to make us feel welcome.

Putain de punaises - 16 juillet

This is getting to sound like a broken record. Is it not possible to go on walkabout without the truly unsavoury experience of bed bugs? And along with that, the associated nasty allergic reaction? 3 for 3 over the last 3 years` walks, ughhh. Am thanking my lucky stars for anti-inflams. I can only cross my fingers that I am not inadvertently carrying any unwanted hitchhikers in my bag. Then there was the car alarm going off every hour or so right outside my window. Classic case of the shadow side of travel.

Moving along...Big rain last night. So much so that the path was alive with all manner of crawlies. Snail soccer kept me amused for a good hour. Then I crossed the border into Austria and they were no more. Perhaps their professional standing was insufficient to grant them immigration under Austria`s quota? Things that make you go hmmmmm.

Am pretty well standing equal distance between Vienna, Bratislava and Mosonmagyarovar. If I had the inclination, I could set foot in 3 countries in a few hours. How cool is that?

Sopron - July 15

Lovely day of hiking. Peaceful, the aroma of wild flowers and the music of bird song accompanying me every step of the way. Not a whole lot of traffic either. Even found a blackberry patch where I spent a happy half hour picking and stuffing, stuffing and picking like a bear with its paw caught in the honey pot.

Must say though, Hungary has embraced the 21st C in a way I hadn`t expected. While a good number of historical buildings are available in towns and cities, villages and outskirts have adopted the model of developer style housing. To quote the "Weeds" theme, "there`s a pink one and a blue one and a red one and a yellow one and they`re all made out of ticky-tacky and they all look just the same." I must`ve been spoiled by all the historical eye candy on the Camino in the past 2 years.

Sopron however is a very different story. Think of it as an architectural Prague, only on a mini scale. The streets are filled with Baroque eye candy and I`m gobbling it all up.

As recently as 1921, maps were redrawn when the good citizens of Sopron voted to be reannexed with Hungary, thus the big knot of land where the town and its surrounding regions jut out into Austrian territory. Most towns have a "plague pillar" but Sopron`s is the best example in Hungary. The monument was erected in memory of the countless victims of the great black plague in the 18th C. In fact, most plague pillars are built over the resting place of one such hapless victim symbolically buried upside down so as to prevent the spread of the black scourge. It would be ill advised for tourists to go picking mushrooms in the direct vicinity. (So this is what is meant by the expression "pushing up daisies"!)

Sopron is also home to the famous Soproni micro-brewery. Yumm!

Flattery will get you everywhere

Part way through the day, I rested my weary dawgs on a village bench and out came a chatty senior keen on knowing all about me. She made a great show of her disbelief about my walking practices and said she wished she could follow suit but her knees required surgery and she would pass as she was too old. "Too old?", I exclaimed, "not possible". She revealed with a wry smile that she was 78 years young. She honestly didnt look a day over 65 but I went with 60 anyway. That comment made her so happy she was almost dancing on air. So sweet. I guess that goes to prove youthfulness really is a state of mind.

One foot in Hungary, the other in Austria - July 13

Left my picture postcard town this morning in favour of pastures, green or otherwise. I literally did an eeny meeny minie moe dance to cap my decision. How liberating not to be tied to an agenda or a map route! So the fates had me spend most of the day strolling through the quiet Austrian countryside. When the mood struck, I switched allegiances and walked on the Hungarian side then back again. Why? I`m thinking "because I can" is good enough reason.

While the countryside may be interchangeable, the rest is markedly different. Road conditions and signage are vastly better on the Austrian side and Austria`s villages radiate a much greater degree of individual affluence. While Hungary has been a member of the EU for a few years now, they have yet to migrate their currency from the colourful Forint to the Euro because their weaker economy has not permitted them to meet the EU`s GDP requirements...and it shows as I compare both countries in the course of a day.

In this neck of the woods, Hungary and Austria are heavily invested in the culture of the grape. So I anchored down in a lovely little pension on the Hungarian side of the border then sauntered 300m down the road to the Austrian wine mecca of Lutzmannburg for the requisite tastings. Bucket spitting notwithstanding, I was thoroughly pickled by 4 pm and everybody was my new best friend. Funny how my German improves when all inhibitions are lost...or perhaps I was mistakenly telling everyone I`d buy them a free round?! To put a nice finishing touch to a fine day, I ordered some wiener schnitzel in honour of the mere 100 km separating me from Vienna.

Western frontier - Wine country - July 12

Goodbye Budapest, hello Austria. Reasoning that the nation`s capital would have the busiest roads in 100 km, I leap-frogged over to the western town of Szombathely, a mere stone`s throw away from the the Austrian border. This area has a rich tradition of vineyards with a heavy Austrian influence. In fact, many of the country homes keep their legacy alive of fermenting vats in their basements. Funkayyyyyy!

Also thought of this neck of the woods as the proximity to the Austrian border would significantly up my chances of communication with the locals. Hey, spotty German trumps non-existant Hungarian any day!

My suspicions proved right on the money. Quiet country roads, lovely rolling hills and sleepy, quaint villages. To top it all off, I spent the day zig-zagging between Austria and Hungary. That just about sums up today`s walk. Purrrrrrrfect.

Have now reached the town of Köskeg, aptly referred to as the nation`s jewelry box for its treasure trove of colourful Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque buildings that together make up one of the most delightful town squares I`ve seen on this trip.

Self-flagellation

It may be Sunday but what is with all the self-flagellation as I walk down the country roads along the Austria-Hungary border? Hark, I say, religion begone. Rather tis to ward off the nasty bastardo flies. Nonetheless, am thinking locals returning from church are imagining the former and thinking me über-pious. Mmmm hmmmm...

A kind-hearted people

The Hungarians I met truly are a kind-hearted people. Looked like I was going to have 2 find myself a comfy field in which to sleep last night when a lovely woman took me under her wing and ferried me to no fewer than 3 villagers` houses pleading my case. The third took me in. I take it upon myself to pay this forward in the near future.

As big as my HEAD!

Well, maybe SLIGHTLY smaller but not by far. Here's how the story went.

Decided on an interesting looking restaurant in Buda, again heavy on the carnie leanings. Opting to leave the "stewed gizzard stuffed goose wing" for another day, I gave the gulyas a break and settled on the "knuckle of wild boar".

The chef must have understood "knuckle of wild T-Rex" (as if there was ever anything OTHER than wild T-Rex. Ever heard of a domesticated T-REX? I digress...) because the sheer size of this hunk of meat was something out of the Jurassic age. Remember the gi-normous ribs spilling over Fred's plate at the drive-in on the Flintstones? Mmmm-hmmmmm, that's what we're talking about here. I mean this thing was almost the size of my head.

I should have taken the hint when my beer was delivered to the table in a stein bearing the engraving "Lancelot"...or when I asked for a fork and the waitress replied THEY HAVE NONE!!!

I would have been happy to sit there observing my mound of grub and read my book until they started, ummm...spinning tunes. Call it a mashup of Enya, queen harpie Loreena McKinnott and Jethro Tull doing a kyrie version of Stairway to Heaven. That was simply the proverbial straw.

Costing an arm and a leg...well, at least an arm

With a single day to take in the sights, I got busy. First on the agenda was the Great Synagogue, 2nd largest in the world seating 3000 people. Next came the Hungarian parliament building and its impressive gothic revival domes, spires and staircases standing guard over Pest on the edge of the Danube. Made a pitstop on Castle Hill and the Gelert Citadel before checking out the fascinating Széchenyi Chain Bridge.

When the bridge was built in the mid-19th C, it marked one of the great wonders of the world and had an enormous impact on the country's financial well being. Its ornaments are made of cast iron and its construction, radiating calm dignity and balance, raised it among the most beautiful industrial monuments in Europe. It became a symbol of advancement, national awakening, and the union of Buda, Pest and Óbuda (Old Buda). Most importantly, it is just WICKED funky!

One of my last stops was to pop into St. Stephen's Basilica, a truly magnificent cathedral. Though there is something about it...Not long after “Good King Stephen” died, healing miracles were said to have transpired at the site of his tomb. Thus he was canonized in 1083 and as was done in the day, his corpse was exhumed from its crypt. They say his right arm was as fresh as the day he was buried so it was promptly lopped off to be mummified (read "pickled") and venerated. Somewhere along the way through the Turkish invasions, the hand was severed from the arm and they went their separate ways but like loyal Lassie, the hand found its way home. On St. Stephen’s day, the hand is taken from its home in the basilica and is paraded around the city. The "Holy Right" represents a sense of national pride for as Hungarians themselves, the hand has travelled a long and difficult road. Eeeeeeeek, freakazoid.

Sadly, I had time neither for the House of Terror or for spas. The former was where WWII activists of all stripes were taken for interrogation and torture. The walls were apparently double thickness to mute the screams. How gruesome.

As for the spas, Budapest lies on a geological fault which produces scalding jets in some 120 thermal springs. As a result, the city is a major spa centre. Some baths date from Turkish times, some are Art-Nouveau wonders and others are like bathing inside a cathedral. Next visit.

I'm speaking Hungarian! - July 10

Woooohoooooooooo, am getting the hang of this.

- Sia (pronouced "see ya"): informal hi
- Csókonom (pronounced "sock a gnome")
- Fagyfalt (pronounced "faggy fault") - ice cream
- Vizlat (pronounced "vee-slut" as in "I slut, you slut, vee all slut"!!) - see you later

I think I'm onto something here...