Slackage

Hello all,

Yes, indeed I am slacking big time on the blog. I just finished taking the GRE and now I'm tackling grad school applications. Between that and my full-time job, you can understand why there's been nothing new for months. I'm going to try to get some photos up in January. I've still got to post photos from Serbia, Bosnia, Slovenia, Croatia & Montenegro.

Check back with me in mid-January and I'll hopefully have some new photos up.

Scott

I lied

Another delay. I'll try again this week. Sorry.

So Close....

New pics will be up within one week! Guaranteed.

Still in it.

I swear that I have not forgotten about this blog. I REALLY am going to post the photos and write the stories from this summer's travels. Please don't give up on me yet!! Check back on October 1st. Hopefully I'll have something by then.

Scott

This Blog is Not Dead

I'm just busy. One thing that you don't learn in the Peace Corps is how to juggle. That is unless your NGO happens to be the circus. Highly unlikely. Anyway, I've been working a full time job for a week now. It's highly overrated, but it certainly plugs a hole in that sieve known as my bank account. Let's just say that the Peace Corps "readjustment allowance" doesn't allow one to readjust for too long, especially when one's been plopped in the middle of Streeterville. Chicagoans, you know what I'm talking about. I also have to cook and clean now. Ica, God bless her soul, took care of that for me for awhile.

Another time eater is getting reacquainted with my lady and visiting with my long-lost friends (and their children). Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about this aspect of my "New American Experience" (Maybe I should start a new blog with that as the title? Oh, wait, I don't have the time.), but I got used to having plenty of alone time (in retrospect, maybe too much). Sitting at the kitchen table writing this post, I realize that this is my first alone time in about 2 weeks! Sarah is out getting wined and dined by her future employer. She's getting really good at that.

Anyway, the point of this blog is to transmit a message to you, loyal reader: Don't give up on me just yet. I've got loads of photos from 5 countries to post on this blog and you don't want to miss them. Please bear with me. Belgrade will be our first stop, so again, stay tuned...

A New Set of Eyes

I've been back in America for two weeks now. Reverse culture shock is something else. I went from a nice house on a dirt road with a big courtyard and animals and cows walking by my bedroom window to a tiny studio one block off Lake Shore Drive and two blocks east of the Hancock Building and Michigan Ave. The first week was tough, but I adapt a little bit more each day. I'm seeing them in a different way now. Some examples:

Panhandlers. I used to feel sorry for them. I don't so much anymore, with the exception of disabled people (mentally or physically). In America, anyone that truly wants to work and earn an honest wage can do so. This is not so in other places. I've seen it with my own eyes, having traveled and lived in such places. I don't simply blame society anymore, as these people should be responsible for themselves. Actually, I blame the people who give them money, thus perpetuating the problem by enabling them to panhandle.

I know that this may be perceived as being a "conservative" opinion, but so be it. I guess that I expect more from my fellow Americans since completing my Peace Corps experience. If holding people accountable for their personal actions is a "conservative" disposition, well then you can just call me Barry Goldwater.

Patience. Americans have none. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Maybe we should heed the works of the great Axl Rose, "All we need is just a little patience (inhale) Patience...Ooh, oh, yeah". Last week, just walking the streets stressed me out to the point of longing for Codlea. I didn't think that it would happen so quickly! I made the mistake of slowing my approach to a crosswalk upon the appearance of the red flashing hand signal. I just figured I'd wait for the next green walking man. Oh no. I forgot that in Chicago we must speed up at such a moment. Time is of the essence. Everybody's in a hurry, but to go where and do what? Maybe nobody has enough time because there are too many choices? Too many things and activities to consume? I don't know. I guess I just feel like we don't truly learn, feel, and experience things if we don't stop to take the time to think and reflect on them. Why not stop and smell the roses instead of constantly thinking about what we "must" do next? It seems that America doesn't have time for this. This scares me a bit. Sometimes I worry about my country and where it is going.

Patience part 2. I was in Eddie Bauer the other day, buying a couple of pairs of pants, and this friendly, attractive young cashier became very stressed out by the fact that I had to wait for her to change the receipt paper roll in the cash register. I could feel the tension emanating from her. She apologized to me profusely, twice. I wasn't put off by having to wait. Sometimes the paper roll runs out. What are you gonna do but wait for it to be changed? I put her at ease by explaining that it wasn't a problem and I wasn't in a hurry. I told her that I knew that changing the paper roll can be difficult, as I had to do it when I worked retail once upon a time (Foot Locker). She smiled and let out a sigh of relief. I don't believe, however, that I did anything extraordinary. I just had patience, was friendly, and struck up a small conversation. It wasn't so hard. We exchanged smiles and said our goodbyes. I felt a bit sorry for her. Where does all of this pressure come from I wonder? It's all so complicated.

Beautiful Budapest, part 4 - City Park

The best part of my visit to Budapest was the time I spent in City Park. There's a lot to see and do there, so let's take a look...

Heroes Square, populated by Hungary's kings. Front and center is Arpad, father of the Magyars.

Mattias Corvinus, Hungary's greatest king. Born in Transylvania, he is known as Matei Corvin to Romanians.

Here's a closer look at Mr. Arpad and the boys. Nice pillar as well, no?

One of the many art museums in Budapest, featuring an exhibit on the art world's most beloved female subject.

Outside Szechenyi Baths. I spent a few hours there, some in the outdoor thermal baths and some in the indoor medicinal baths and saunas. It's a fantastic place, the largest medicinal thermal bath complex in Europe. They even give you money back if you leave earlier than your alloted time!

The famous yellow facade of Szechenyi Baths.

Hungarian birds have it good.

I can never resist an opportunity to photograph a Trabant.

The Budapest Zoo, famous for its Art Nouveau buildings, including this one, the front gate.

Hungarian giraffes give free kisses.

The dome of the Elephant House, another fine example of Art Nouveau.

Inside, looking up into the dome.

Inside the Elephant House again. The entire building, including these windows, is in Art Nouveau style.

Well, that's it for the Budapest series. I hope that you enjoyed the photos. In fact, I'd like to hear from you! Post a comment and let me know what your favorite photo(s) is. I'd like to see this for all of the posts in the future. Stay tuned for Belgrade, Sarajevo & Mostar. You won't want to miss them...

Goodbye Romania

I'd like to take a pause from the travel blog posts to say that I'm leaving today. It's a strange feeling, almost anti-climatic in a way. I wonder how I'll feel once I get to the airport? However, I'm more concerned about how Ica will feel once I get to the airport. What to do? It's time to go, but I'll be back.

So, I'd like to dedicate this post to all of my Romanian friends. Va doresc numai bine, succes, bafta, si toate cele bune. Aveti o tara asa de frumosa si bogata. Sunt convins ca viitorul vostru va fi bine! A fost o mare placere pentru mine sa fi prietenul vostru. Sunt sigur ca o sa intalnim din nou in viitorul. Va pup.

Scott

Beautiful Budapest, part 3 - Pest

What can I say about Pest that I haven't already said? It's the other half of Budapest, but certainly doesn't play second fiddle to its older brother Buda. Pest is where the action is - restaurants, nightlife, culture, business, etc. Let's get to the photos...

I thought this was funny. Those stickers were on random ads and posters all over the city.

Palinka. In Romania it comes in used plastic beer or soda bottles. The Hungarians know how to step it up a notch, a big notch.

Some apartment buildings across the street from The Great Market Hall.

Outside the opera house. A Maserati and a Fiat. Two Italian cars, two entirely different looks.

St. Stephen's Basilica

The House of Terror museum. The building used to be the local headquarters for the dreaded AVO, the Hungarian secret police.

The Budapest Metro line #1, the oldest subway line in Europe.

Metro line #3. Enjoy local news on giant screens while you wait for your train, assuming that you can read Magyar.

Inside the Great Market Hall.

Chachkys for the whole family, Great Market Hall.

Paprika, garlic, jarred fruit, preserves, honey, etc. All good stuff at the Great Market Hall.

Busker on the Danube with his petrified friend.

These yellow trams are everywhere and, I don't know why, but I think they're really cool. That's Castle Hill in the background.

Hungarian boys learn to ride statues at an early age.

Dance to the music.

This is Petofi, Hungary's revolutionary poet.

The Geological Institute, a fantastic example of Art Nouveau architecture, of which I'm a big fan.

"Native Americans" on tour in Hungary. Keteli Train Station.

A Citroen 2CV. I love these cars, especially in yellow with plaid interior.

Parliament's dome.

Here's the tram again, with Castle Hill in the background.

Beautiful Budapest, part 2 - Statue Park

During the years 1989 and 1990, the people of Central and Eastern Europe liberated themselves (to one degree or another) from Communism. During this process, while most countries gladly destroyed and disposed of their socialist-realist public art and their over-sized dear leaders, the Hungarians decided to do something quite novel with these symbols of oppression. They built a (sort of) theme park for them. Statue Park, located a few kilometers outside of the city, is quite a trip. Lenin, Marx, Engels, Bela Kun, and even Stalin's boots have found a home in suburban Budapest.

My favorite part of the park has to be the gift shop. Some highlights: Trabant t-shirts, CDs of "Communism's Greatest Hits (vols. 1&2)", candles of Stalin in bust form, Lenin socks, and many other souvenirs from a (thank god) bygone era. For me, the biggest irony was that, considering the merchandise, there were signs on the window of the kiosk displaying the fact that they accept all major credit cards! Ah, Communism reduced to a kitchy capitalist venture. You gotta love it. However, all is not schmaltz over there. The exhibition is a learning tool, a way to remember the past so as not to be doomed to repeat it. Better that they were removed from the city proper though. Let's take a walk through the park, shall we?

The front gate. That's Lenin on the left and Marx and Engles on the right.

Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. One of history's biggest criminals.

Karl Marx and Freidrich Engles. Two Germans who should have been Russians.

Stalin's boots. In 1956, the people of Budapest revolted against the Russians, sawed Papa Iosif off at the legs, and subsequently used him as a "W.C.".

The entrance gate, view from the inside. On the left is a Soviet soldier that once stood on Gellert Hill, overlooking Budapest.

Here he is, our glorious comrade.

The Hungarian worker makes friends with the Soviet soldier. "Thank you for coming to my country and liberating me from the capitalist pigs and imperialist bourgeoisie criminals. No, please, steal all of my belongings and have your way with my wife. No problem. After all, we're comrades, right?"

R.I.P. Vlady.

Bela Kun, first leader of the Hungarian communists, showing his proletariat army the way to...?

An army of blank faces.

Communism was once close to having the world in its grip.

A monument dedicated to leftists who fought in the Spanish Civil War. Again, the faceless soldier, typical socialist symbology.

It's hard to give scale here, but this guy is HUGE!

Socialist-Realism at its finest. The chiseled faces of the workers.

I wonder why the communists chose the star to go along with the hammer and sickle?

Here you get a better idea of the size of the big guy on the left.

I could have dropped a lot of cash here. I settled for a few postcards and a Stalin bust candle, which I will ceremoniously burn down upon my return to the land of the free and home of the brave.

The sun sets on Statue Park. Goodbye Lenin.