Day Nine: With Wheels, We Fly!
July 2, 2008
Today was our full day in Budapest!! And, my first time trying to set the agenda!! Like I mentioned in the last post, my idea was for us to wake up, go the market (to get some deliciousness), go to the Dohány Street Synagogue and Jewish Museum (where we’d take a guided tour), then head over and rent some bikes, go to the baths (via bike), and afterwards, just bike randomly around the area to get a feel for the Budapest vibe. And I’m here to tell you that that’s pretty much exactly what we did! We didn’t get lost (thanks to the fact that we walked pretty much all of Pest the night before) and we had a jolly good time! For some reason the day seemed to extend on forever – not in a bad this-day-will-never-end way, but instead, the day seemed to drawl on like one of those lazy summer days filled with low-key low-stress goodness- a day that demands little of you and, in so doing, permits you to soak up all it has to offer.
Or, to be more in touch with the Hungarian-ness of it all, it was sort of a ‘goulash and warm bread’ day – yummy, satisfying, and down-to-earth.
But I guess I should just tell you about it instead of going on and on about what it was like…
[Oh, but first I want to make an interesting side comment that comes from Leslie and my extensive people watching: People from different countries really look different. At this point Leslie and I have been in three countries: Italy, Croatia, and Hungary – and the people from each are very distinctive. So let the stereotyping begin!
In Italy the men tended to have dark features, smaller frames, and very extroverted carefree and expressive personalities. As for Italian women, gee wiz are they fancy things! When we were in Rome for instance, we saw these Italian women decked out in super tight fancy clothes with the most insane high heels ever. And they’re walking on these cobblestone paths! Do you realize that I would die (!) if I attempted that. I friggin roll my ankle wearing flats and platforms… I can’t even imagine dressing like that with my hair all done-up and lots of makeup on! Especially in the hot humid weather hell that is Italy. You can for’getta ‘bout it!
In Croatia, which is right next to Italy (which at least might suggest that they’d be similar), you see a shift on lots of levels. The men in Croatia don’t yell out at you when you’re walking down the street but, when in an appropriate context, they’re super chatty and friendly. So for instance, our waiter – I can definitely tell that this guy would not be into cat-calling (thank the gods) but he was all about talking with us for as long as possible. He even wanted us to come back the next day for more! So I’d say, from my limited pool of waiter dude, Marin, and Frane (well, and people watching) that they have darker hair color, lighter complexions (even occasionally having blue eyes), are very tall, smaller framed, and (on a personality note) tend to be outgoing and quick-witted when you sit down with them. As for the woman, they also have smaller frames, tend to be very tall, and generally each have a sense of individual style. I didn’t really talk with any women, so I can’t say much more than that.
Hungry has been the most different of the three. For the first time we saw a lot of people with some serious meat on their bones. It’s not just that they were overweight and whatnot (though there were plenty) it’s just that they have much bigger broader frames. And, as Leslie pointed out, their legs are much more muscular. Height wise, they seem to hit both extremes – either they’re these short stout little things or they’re super tall Viking gods and goddesses. So we saw a lot of these sorts of Hungarians. We also saw plenty of average and seriously anorexic looking youths, but comparatively, Hungary had the largest people. Must be all that yummy hearty goulash!
So it’s just interesting to notice changes not only in environmental vibe but in the people, too!]
But back to our day…
So first we went to the market which, in contrast to Zagreb’s outdoor affair, is housed in this giant building with three floors of stuff going on. The ground floor (which in Europe they consider level 0) had my favorite stuff: fruits, veggies, pastry stuff, etc. the basement floor had most of the meats and all the pickled items (they’re really into that here it seems… and I’m not complaining. I love when you go to the fair or whatnot and buy those ridiculously huge pickles. So tasty!). The top floor was filled with both the pre-made “fast food”-esque stalls and all the handiwork (from Hungarian amber to dolls to clothes to lace etc.) Leslie and I decided to spent a bit longer than we anticipated in the market because it was so fun to look through every last stall! In the end we bought some breakfast stuff and headed on our merry way.
Next up was the Synagogue and Jewish Museum – which I was so very very much looking forward to. Why, you ask? Am I Jewish? Well… in not so many words, “no” … not in this life anywaays. But in all seriousness, I’ve been particularly interested in the Holocaust since a very young age (I remember reading “Night” on the way up to a camping trip at around the age of 10… it totally did not help the camping-joy experience). It’s interesting, I know someone whose very interested in the Holocaust from the German point of view (as in, he’s interested in understanding how people in Germany voted for Hitler) but I’m pretty much exclusively interested in understanding it from the view of those who were preyed upon. So going and spending time in part of what was once the Budapest ghetto really meant something to me. It was the first time I’d been somewhere “in real life” that was a part of this period of history.
So, given my excitement, it may come as no surprise that I got Leslie to go on a guided tour with me. We had two great tour guides and the entire thing was totally fascinating. If you’re interested in seeing a bit of the pieces and parts that we saw, you’re in luck (!) since I photographed some of the interesting tidbits and wrote up little explanations for you! So check out the web album.
So I really highly recommend you check this place out – the guided tour doesn’t take very long at all (around 90-100 minutes) and you get a real taste for Jewish culture along with some background about the Hungarian Jew population.
After finishing up we had a snack and then made our way to the bike shop, The Yellow Zebra. I highly recommend this place if you’re looking to rent your standard hybrid-cruiser like bike. Doing so is relatively painless and the location is great (right behind the Opera off the main drag). So we rented our wheels and then we were off! I actually took a video of Leslie biking and talking… and it’s pretty funny watching her try and manage that. So enjoy!
First up: the baths! Thermals baths are a tradition in Hungary- a tradition fixed in Hungarian culture starting around the 17th century when the Turks occupied the space. As I’ve mentioned, Budapest is actually formed out of two separate cities (Buda and Pest) that are now connected across the Danube river via bridges. There are actually fault lines running up the Danube area and this has made it a great space for springs of mineral-rich waters to sprout up. And, the Turks and Hungarians think these super-rich waters have healing properties – so they created these baths all over the area.
So Leslie and I decided it was high time we get in on this healing-water action. Biking over there was a breeze, though figuring out how to pay (and only pay for the right things) was a bit of a struggle. But (!) eventually it all worked out and we made our way to the baths. [As a side note: In the pictures you may recognize Leslie’s sports bra as my own – as mentioned, Leslie forgot her bathing suit top in Venice and, since the baths were only renting one-pieces, Leslie preferred to take the clothes off my back (literally)! 
Now, I’ve been told that the baths are pretty much exclusively used by old people… but that’s not true at all! There are lots and lots of super old people in there but there were also plenty of younger people. Either way, Leslie and I had fun going for pool to pool (each one is a different temperature with, I think, a slightly different mineral composition). We also spent a whopping two minutes in the dry sauna room before I decided I’d pass out and die if I stayed much longer. But getting out of the sauna and jumping in this freezing pool was pretty fun! We took a video at the baths, so be sure and check it out!
After we finished up we spent there rest of the day biking around – across the big chain bridge, up to some palace thing (which provided a most gorgeous view over the cities), a bit up in Buda, and then back to the bike rental place. I highly recommend biking for anyone going to Budapest – though it is best to have someone with some bike experience and handling skills there – the roads and bike lanes are a bit non-intuitive once you leave the main areas. Hungarians seem to go between riding in a bike lane to riding up on the sidewalk and back with neither reason nor rhyme! But, we made it and Leslie was totally digging it! Yay!
After all that we finished our day at the Hummus Bar – a small delectably delicious restaurant! We ended up getting falafel-hummus pitas and a big thing of hummus… oh, and baklava. (We were starving having not really stopped for food all day). The people who run the place are super friendly. László, the guy you see, was super fun and quick-witted. Actually it was Leslie who said, “He’s so sharp in English… just think what he must be like when he’s actually speaking Hungarian!” So, yes, I highly recommend you check out this place on your next trip to Budapest – it’s cheap, delicious, and the people there are great.
After that we walked back to the hostel and pretty much called it a night – Leslie totally knocked out and I, go figure, spent time writing blog posts and captions for photos.
Budapest was fantastic. It’s hard to explain what makes the vibe so great, but there’s something! It’s true the language barrier is a bit of a problem from time to time – but I think the younger generation speaks English a lot more than their parents do.
So tomorrow we’re finishing up in Budapest and then making our way to Vienna!
Sziasztok!
And to see all pictures from today, go here
Comments
2 Responses to “Day Nine: With Wheels, We Fly!”
Got something to say?
TLDR, again…. but cool pictures!
Best post so far, but I think your camera is now broken from filming in the rain. Wish I could have been there for the biking!