Quest Not In Jest

Budapest was not a place I had dreamed of seeing; nonetheless, I'm thrilled that I went. The trip is unfolding like a great book. I want this to last forever, can't put it down and am curious about the ending. Once you relinquish the illusion of control, travel is such a joy.

My friend Karen's tour group was not due to arrive until my second day in Budapest so I had a chance to wander the entire first day. The city is divided into two sections by the river Danube: Buda (the historic side) and Pest (the lively side). The floods have hit Budapest as well as Prague and Germany. The Danube levels rose to their highest levels ever and people watched the water rise daily. The beautiful bridges that connect Buda and Pest have been unaffected by the floods and commanded greater attention. I crossed the main one, Chain Bridge, to go to some museums and a Folk Arts Festival. The city celebrated St. Stephen's Day, a national holiday, on August 20 and BP was bustling with activity. My ATM card is working in certain countries so I withdrew 25,000 Hungarian forints ($100) for the next few days. (I've never taken out 25,000 of anything before.) I spent more time at the festival because the locals were there in force and I wanted a genuine Hungarian night. There were several shows at the Buda Castle: kids in full costumes performing traditional dances, men's and women's choirs, etc. The joy of all the performers was evident, especially one folk group. I watched their entire set because they looked at each other as if they couldn't believe they were creating something so beautiful.

The next day, I had no energy so I talked with some people at the hostel. A Canadian, who seemed alright, asked if I wanted to go to a park for a few hours before I went to find Karen. Unfortunately, he wasn't alright. Dennis went on for hours about how many Hungarian forints were in a Canadian dollar, where he might go next, his pessimistic outlook on travel, etc. His social skills were lacking greatly, but I listened to be polite. However, all I could think was the scene in the movie 'Airplane' when the passengers were so bored by the main character's life story. They alleviated their suffering by any means possible and I wished desperately for the time to pass.

Luckily, the time did pass and I returned to Karen's lobby to intercept her. I had left a note in reception the day before (she didn't receive it). Karen walked through the lobby and I yelled her name. I've never heard someone scream so loudly! She had given up on me since I didn't go to Prague and was not expecting to see me until next year. So I have another incredible memory from the trip.

We spent a few hours together wandering before her tour group met for dinner. Karen and 25 others were finishing a tour of various Jewish sites in Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary. She and her roommate let me stay with them that night. So I slept on the floor of a four-star hotel in Budapest and collected some great hotel loot the next day.

Karen and I enjoyed the beautiful weather the next day, eating goulash for lunch at a nearby cafe and shopping for little presents in the square. I kept having these realizations that I was in Budapest with Karen and I couldn't believe it was true.