Thirsty in Hungary (Hungary)

A stuffy and delayed overnight train from Ukraine and we arrive in Hungary. Yeah, its had a better run economically, and it’s got all sorts of ties to central and Western Europe, but to me that just makes it a little less intriguing. In most parts of Budapest I felt like I could have been in any big city of the western world…even Sydney. After the last few countries it felt too…easy.

 

In Budapest (pronounced Budapesht) I ate the goulash, went cycling around the town and took a dip in the public hot baths.

 

After being spit roasted by the Nazi’s and Soviets, the country is a little bitter about the last hundred years. And rightly so, I guess, there’s an interesting museum dedicated to it, ominously called ‘The Museum of Terror.’ But does that warrant a local fella going off at me for wearing a shirt that I bought in China with a large red star on the front? Maybe. Soviets probably killed his parents, and here I was just thinking the star is a cool shape (that poor shirt is buried deep in my pack now).

My roommate Phouc (hilariously pronounced Fok) was heading to Vienna, so it was a sad goodbye. We had gotten along really well and have made plans to meet up again at some point before my odyssey ends. Seeing him off reminded me of all the people I’ve met on this trip. I’m only a few months in but I feel like I’ve had a lifetimes worth of experience just from the people I’ve met and become friends with. The girls in Taiwan were so good to me but now that feels like ten years ago and I might not ever see them again. It’s sad, really, that you have these great, short, intense bursts of relationships and then without fail the itinerary calls and I’m going South, while they’re going East. Bye. (Photo of Phouc and our Russian bride, I mean guide, Jyenya.)

 

Away from the capital we visited a wine region town called Eger. It was a pleasant spot with a really old townscape, but the highlight was going down into the cellars where the wines were being stored, sitting around big tables and trying the wine. These were gnarly, mould on the walls, squeeze through the narrow doorway, hundreds of years old cellars. And the lady who was running the show looked like she was hundreds of years old too. But that didn’t mean

 she couldn’t pour a drink…right into my mouth.

 

Honestly, I had less than a week in Hungary which is a total disservice to the country and to me. But I don’t think I’ll be coming back in a hurry; I know where I belong – I like my countries broken and backwards.

Bulgaria and Romania here we come!