Peder and I left our pousada in Trancoso and started out for our day’s 30 km walk at around 11am. The plan was to follow the coast all the way to Arraial d’Ajuda, a neighboring […]
“They are an intriguing people. From the moment they wake, they devote themselves to the perfection of whatever they pursue. I have never seen such discipline.” -The Last Samurai. Seeing that fantastic archery demonstration the […]
How many of you have heard the name “Transdniestr?” Not too many, I’m guessing. Transdniester – also known as Pridnestrovie in Russian – is a small rogue nation occupying a narrow strip of land along […]
The following is not actually a single narrative of one continuous evening, but a composite of many. It’s written as a representative summary of my average night out in Kyoto. Nothing is exaggerated. It’s Saturday […]
I’m here. In Tokyo. Finally. During my idle time on the flight over I kept on thinking, “what am I going to write to everyone once I finally get to Japan?” Most of you already […]
Somewhere around six months ago, I was sitting in my apartment talking on the phone with my mom. From just outside my window I could hear Buddhist monks chanting at Ninnaji, an enormous wooden temple […]
The next morning was once again raining, but since my schedule was starting to get tight I decided (after a few hours of work) that if I’d have any hope of visiting Slovenia and Croatia on the way to meeting Peder in Belgrade I’d just have to suck it up and do some sightseeing in the rain.
First stop: a long bus ride through the residential outskirts of the city, bound for Memento Park.
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Two generations ago, my paternal family was Hungarian. Although both grandparents were technically born in small Czechoslovakian villages just North of the border, culturally and linguistically they belonged with their neighbors to the South.
Somewhere around age 16, my grandfather’s father (from whom I got my middle name – Alexander) walked from what is now Slovakia to within 20 miles of Budapest in hopes of finding work. He walked the whole way along the railroad tracks with his shoes hanging around his neck; they were his only pair. When he stopped at a railway station to ask what distance remained on his journey the stationmaster took pity and gave him a ticket to ride the train the rest of the way. Eventually, he found work as a waiter in a large hotel – though I never learned which.
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So, after spending nearly 3 whole days couped up indoors the rain finally seems to be subsiding – and even a little blue has peaked through. The gale-force winds are still strong enough to’ve nearly knocked me off my feet on several occasions, but hey – at least I can walk outside and remain dry.
…mostly.
A local friend told me yesterday via Facebook that in all his years living here, he’s never seen weather this bad in May.
How ever so lucky of me! 
But given even a brief opportunity to catch a glimpse of the city under a blue sky, I had to take it. So somewhere around 5pm on Monday afternoon I emerged from my cave and walked across the bridge and into central Pest.
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I really hate the rain.
My first two days in Budapest the weather was fabulous – like Summer in California – but ever since then it’s been absolutely miserable. My first night out was a blast, after which I’ve scarcely met anyone. I have to say – for as promising as my arrival in this city looked, the experience has thus far turned out to be far less than I’d hoped.
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Just a quick little note: it was pointed out to me recently that one of my WordPress plugins, WP-FB-Autoconnect, has been mentioned as the very first plugin on the BuddyPress download site (here). Continue reading »
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