Simple things are beautiful

Like the music on the street, or in this case, under the street in Budapest.

One day I hope to learn to play a string instrument. I have been haunted by them my entire life.

Bratislava, Slovakia

Last goodbye to Budapest; the view from my hotel room balcony.

Surprise!! Slovakia and Hungary look like... NORTH DAKOTA! They even really only had trees in shelterbelt lines. Very funny.

Driving into Bratislava.

Old town square. All the pics that follow I took while wandering around town. I drove from home on Friday to Budapest, via Vienna, and on Monday when I returned, I came back through Bratislava, Slovakia, Brno, Czech and hit a little traffic passing Prague. It sounds like I made it up, but no.

The nicest pink building I've ever seen.

People need glasses everywhere.

This is one of the city towers. Do you see the the cannon ball? Remnant from Napoleon invasion days.

Here's Napoleon, a sculpture from the 1990's.

Random.

Ditto.

Lastly, you can see McD's is still everywhere. When will we learn? Mystery meat is sketchy!

Take on Bratislava:

It was good for a few hours stop- it's small- I don't think you'd need much more than that. Unless you were crazy museum person (Shanta). Slovakia was the second European country to get to use the Euro (in 2009) behind Slovenia. Maybe it had something to do with the similar name? The average yearly salary here is around $8000 US. I'd like to come back to the countryside sometime.

Budapest II

Castle Hill - was just a staircase up from my bed and breakfast.

Cute guys.

To the left were views of Pest and the Danube.

Orange and Aqua, my favorite colors. I was looking at an orange purse in Pest, and the guy said, "You must be a happy person if you like the orange." Yes, I thought.

Look, they even had a vegan restaurant. How evolved! Veges are everywhere. Ha.

The Parliament. Nicer than our White House I think. Also circa 1986.

Chain Bridge. Again, windy as hell. But lovely.

Neat old lights.

Dethawing in a coffeeshop akin to Starbucks but called Coffee Heaven. Look at that family having a great time together. Feeling the love on Valentines day...

Tiles from the Synagogue, which is the second largest in the world next to NYC.

More synagogue and the tree of life memorial.

A pretty alley.

Not sure what this is but there is Litzt sitting on the side of the building.

One of my fav attractions was the OLD metro line of 1896. Amazing.

Castle in the park.

The Szenchenyi Baths. Where you go in hot and cold pools, saunas, etc.

I love the beautiful naked ladies.

Inside the lobby before I went tubbing.

The End.

Almost.

Summary and recap:

-Budapest is very manageable on foot, though can be supplemented with a little public transport.

-Best attractions in my mind: Old Metroline (yellow), Great Market, Palace of Arts.

-People are very nice and friendly and seem to dress more wildly as they age. Yay.

-It's still a poor country, though hard to realise that, the average wage is only around $6000 US per year.

-It's not cheap by any stretch. My B&B was $75 a night in off season (single person rates) at best 2 stars. Musuem entrys were about $15 each. 10 subway tickets, $12, Coffee $4. Still worth a visit. Two to three days is plenty. I'm not sure what I would have done with an extra day, the inside of the Parliament I guess.

Only place truly worth mentioning...

And I accidentally went there, I didn't even know the true name of the place, but it was alternative art and video, just off Hero's Square in Budapest. It is the Palace of Art. I just looked it up. It was listed as something you could miss. It is the best thing I saw in Budapest. Inside was a gorgeous building, followed by installations which were beautiful, connecting, and thought-provoking.

To follow is are photos from an exhibit (a film) entilted something like, "trying look good in front of a camera." From the 1960's. The exhibit I saw today was mostly archives.

Best horoscopes ever! Plus Budapest!

I want these to be true: (By now, you know that I believe in the wisdom of horoscopes, at least when I like them...)

February 12, 2010: Most of the planet doesn't deal well with change. Fortunately, you just love it. You're a living example of how great the ebb and flow of the universe can be. Keep those facts in mind today when you're trying to deal with others who aren't quite so open to last-minute modifications in their carefully planned schedules. They may not be kindred spirits, but they're fellow humans. Convince them to loosen up.

February 13, 2010: Ready to have 'em laughing in the aisles again and to rejuvenate your reputation as a party animal? Well, if you're not, someone else will be only too happy to do it for you -- someone who's seen you in action, entertaining the entire room with just one ridiculous facial expression. Oh, stop acting like it's an inconvenience. You know you want to come out and play.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I think life is looking up. I'm supposed to be a party animal again. One of my not-so-secret talents is surely making faces. I'd like to be a mime but I talk too much for my own health. I'm probably experiencing early hearing loss from the self droning on. Who could handle this endless chatter? Not me. Now if I can just figure out how to shut off the voices in my head.

I've been making new friends again, and that's important. Chosing certain people, not just anyone. Sometimes I try to convince myself that I am a person who likes to stay home and be quiet. And I do. But I love people and mental gymnastics. Laughing til I spit out my drink or drool- now that's a successful day.

Happy Valentine's day weekend!

I took ME to Budapest and ME loved it.

ME was so well-behaved.

ME had a great time. So far.

Walking into town from my B&B. This side of the river is Buda.


Crossing the Liberty Bridge. You can see the Chain Bridge in the distance.

More liberty...

It was so dang cold, my eyes were pouring out tears from the wind.

These are not actors! They are real Hungarians. In full head-to-toe dead animals!

Great Market Hall from above- food and trinkets. Built around 1896. It's funny places like this in the States would be loud, but here it's peaceful, just a quiet din of Hungarian conversation and the occasional English or other.

A Langos, which the owner of my B&B told me to try with salt. It's really just deep fried bread, but not bad.

These cows are everywhere! Walking in Pest... down Vaci utca, which is a pedestrian boulevard.

More walking in Pest. It used to be two cities, you know: Buda and Pest. How funny.

Heating up at Gerbeaud's. The pastry shop/cafe has been thriving since WW1 or before.

The Museum of Fine Arts where I stood in line for an hour to get in, braving frostbite. Ok really I was reading my book with my mittens on. Death was not near. The museum contained an impressive collection of European art, though not much Hungarian. I think I still mostly have a thing for the French in the art department.

Walking away from Hero's Square, which was built also in 1896 to celebrate the city's 1000 birthday. Yes, ONE THOUSAND YEARS in 1896. Damn, America feels young.

Here is the actual Hero's Square Millennium Monument.

Last thing I passed on the way home: the opera house, where normally you can take in a cheap opera but this weekend is the opera ball. Guess I will have to come back.

Tomorrow is Castle Hill, the synagogue and the baths.