Budapest- the city of craziness!!! (part 1)

view from the Buda side

this hat is all u need on a hot summer's day

cute girls on the street

One of the big cathedrals in Budapest

if you don't know what exactly you want in Budapest, that might get you lost big time.

For me, I spent 4 hours searching for my hostel because I messed up the address. At first I took the right bus but the wrong direction, then i took the same one back but past the right stop, funny thing is that the hostel never told u what stop to get off at but only the 8th stop to get off so u never know which one is right. so after all that time wasted on public transport, the description led me to one of the main streets and I couldn't find the number wanted because I thought the big street ended at the intersection but actually it ended in the middle of a straight road. it was really weird. but even after I found out about that the door was not the right one because the hostel was in an alley but the description sort of implied that it's on the same main street because it said just walk down to door number 8.

Anyhow, I got really tired and frustrated after four hours and almost tried to sleep on the street or just find another one. but finally i found it and i was relieved. so i didn't do much that night.

the second and third day I simply went sightseeing and talked with some cute girls on the street helping out tourists or trying sell us tickets for the city tour. it was fun to talk with some real locals, some high schoolers and some college goers. I was going to party with them at night but too bad I was already leaving for Prague when they were going there on the weekend.
But I really enjoyed the views in Budapest especially on the hill on the Buda side. I finally bought a ticket from the girls to go on a city bus tour and it was totally worth it because I also got a free ride on a boat on the Donau,or Danube.

And something real funny onboard happened on the bus.
So three Swedish get onboard and see a jacket on the seat so take it to the guide telling her that someone forgot it there. But as it turns out it was from an American family with a Caucasian husband, Asian (most likely Chinese or Taiwanese) wife, and a kid. They put the jacket there to reserve the seat. So when they get on the bus, the wife complains to the husband that someone has already taken the seat so the husband starts whining about it. The Swedes explain how they saw it and took it to the guide and it makes sense to me. But the Americans do not ask for the seats back but sit down. But the husband, who is now sitting right next to one Swede, starts saying bullshit like "Nowadays tourists are just obnoxious and blah blah blah, it was obvious that people save seats with a jacket..." So the Swede sitting next to the husband can't take it anymore and tells him what she did was right and argues on. And the American just doesn't wanna let go so keeps on arguing as well. So another Swede turns around and talks with the Swede sitting next to the American, IN SWEDISH. I can understand a little and I assure you they are not saying anything obscene about the Americans. So now the American man gets really pissed off because he can't understand them. So he goes, "Don't think that if u speak ur language I won't know that you are mocking me, I know another foreign language too, but I'm too nice to use it against you! If my daughter is not present I promise you I'd cuss" At the moment I am thinking that he might be referring to Chinese or Taiwanese ,which I can understand perfectly, because of his wife. And finally the Swede tells him to shut up, he goes, I am this close to smacking you (with the hand doing a measuring gesture indicating how close.) Then the Swede goes (btw, all the Swedes were female),"shut your fucking filthy mouth!" Then the American guy snaps and almost jumps up from the chair to smack her.

I found it extremely funny because if they had swore all in their own language I would understand them all!!! and maybe just tell them what the others were saying against them. hehe

Krakow to Vienna

On the train there I was in the same cabin as an old Polish man. So at first I thought he wouldn’t have been able to speak English but then he spoke. So it turned out that his family was forced out of Poland in WWII. Thankfully his mother spoke perfect German which brought his family prosperity. Later on, he moved to Florida to have business there. Now he has moved back to Krakow. Usually all the Poles try to move out of the country as soon as possible, so I was curious why he wanted to move back. So he explained the convenience of living in a city such as Krakow. Indeed, it’s got the convenience and great atmosphere everywhere in town. So what brought him to Vienna? He sold something on ebay and according to him that there was no way to mail it via the Polish post. I wasn’t so sure if it was that crappy or just the goods is too valuable. I was guessing both because he wouldn’t have paid the train ticket just for some crap payment. But we chatted for a while until I looked sleepy. We talked about Polish, American politics and present situation in the EU. He disliked the European Union because now inflation is taking place at every corner in Poland because of the Union.
Vienna
Actually my main purpose of visiting Vienna at this time of year was because of the European Cup Final. But the atmosphere wasn’t as exciting as I expected. For one, I stayed in this hostel that was a real ripoff. 22 Euros per night not to mention, the common areas were hot as hell, two computers available for hundreds of people. There were mostly school kids there and no other travelers were in a mood for mingling because the dorm beds were really segregated and no one wanted to hang out at the communal areas. And one last disadvantage was the distance from the city is about the length of the longest subway line on Earth.
Vienna was definitely not ready for such an event because most signs were still only in German and at public viewings there’s only announcements in German. All the hosts only spoke German to the crowd so I, along with the Spaniards, felt really left out.
Regardless, you still feel the atmosphere of Vienna- the capital of a used-to-be great empire and music. There are just loads of street performers and concerts at night. And those salesmen who try to get you to go to one of the “authentic” but overpriced classical concerts featuring only the well-known cheesy Mozart/Strauss compositions. I ran into one and talked to him for five minutes or so because I was actually interested until I saw the price. His attitude immediately changed after I said I was going to “consult my friends” or else he wouldn’t let me go. After I said that he just took back the brochure he had already given me and asked “Are you then interested in Elton John’s concert tonight?” (apparently he was in town that day). But I said no thanks, then he gave me the look of “just go fuck off.”
I basically had no contact with anyone in Vienna whatsoever except when the Final was happening and I was at the public viewing in front of Radhaus (city hall) and this drunk German started speaking to me about everyone being too tall and he was too short so couldn’t see anything. And he also suggested that they should put some elevated benches on the ave so the people in the back could be at a higher position. Funny thing, he carried this all in German but with his intonation and body language I understood perfectly. Although I was for Spain, this drunk guy forced me to jump and sing ole’s for Deutschland.
Finally, the German squad disappointed thousands of fans on the streets. The streets all a sudden came back to quietness when the outnumbered Spanish fans went on chanting and getting ready for a bigger party later on. Those chants echoed in my head. T’was definitely one of the best feelings I have ever had after so many years of disappointment in my beloved teams. But as I turned around and left, I realized it might have been one of the loneliest nights of my life because this great feeling was only kept inside in me without being shared with anyone I knew.

view of Bratislava

Bratislava
The next day I headed to the nearby Bratislava, capital of Slovakia. On the way there I was overhearing some cocky Americans talking shit so the mood was half-ruined although it was funny when they mentioned the movie Eurotrip with the guys going to Bratislava, which was a shitwhole in the movie. And it was described as a place where if you tip the waiter 10 American cents he would quit his job because that’s enough for starting his own hotel. Although the costs there are still low compared to Western Europe, you still need two dollars to buy a Coke or Sprite, so not that cheap either. Later on I got to chat with a lady on the train so understood that Slovakia is going through a phase that all the prices are going up to meet the euro standards so they could adopt the euro. But she also said it was going to be really bad once they adopt the euro because then no one would be able to afford such high costs of living.
Now let’s come back to the city itself. It turned out to be not too much to see besides the castle and the bridge. The town center isn’t bad either although it still got really little to see. But I had some funny experience with the locals because I was once on the street with a map although I had already found my way. But this very “warm-hearted“ guy who worked in the city hall came out to help me with his broken English, oh wait, just right before him, this drunkard also tried to do the same but I said I was fine. Then he pulled an old woman over trying to figure out my way. finally I got rid of them then that city hall guy came out. So after that I wanted to say thank you in Slovakian so I asked how. Then he brought me into the city hall office to ask, I was really confused at the time because I thought he just wanted to borrow a pen to jot it down for me. But it turned out that he totally misunderstood me and wanted some English help from the staff. He thought I wanted to get to somewhere else. Although I tried at least 3 more times rephrasing my sentence slowly and with body language, he still told me to go to the tourist office to ask. Eventually, I just told myself to get out of his sight as soon as possible because he was wasting my time!

Krakow

old town Krakow

Auswitzc concentration camp

it's entirely sculpted out of salt

Lithuanian American, me, Annabelle

Annabelle and the very tall girl Marleen

Nothing much happened on the way from Warsaw to Krakow. I was reading my Soccer World most of the time and dozing off until this big kid sitting one seat from me asked if he could borrow the mag. So he was with his mother and they both spoke pretty primitive English but still got by talking to me. Although the mother was a bit better with the vocabulary whenever the kid had trouble coming up with the right word. So me and the kid talked about how Poland got eliminated in the European Championship and went on to my journey. Most of the travelers I have come across on the train all ask the same sort of questions so I already had a formula in mind on how to reply.
Then as we arrived at Krakow since I didn’t know the place, I just asked the son and mom to take me to my hostel (not really yet my hostel since I didn’t book anything although it turned out to be one of the best hostels I have ever stayed in.)
It was called Mama’s hostel and had this great atmosphere where everyone chats with everyone. So it all started out with me arriving in my dorm wanting to get out and see the town. But then I was overhearing these two girls talking in Dutch so I asked if they were from the Netherlands. They were quite surprised that I got it right on the first try so asked me how I did it. Well so I explained that I could make out that it was Dutch and one of the girls was freaking tall. Then that girl told me she was actually 189cm (6’2”-6”3”) which was also unusual for a Dutch girl. Many times when she was in public space, people chatted about her height and usually confirmed with her right away by simply asking. And when she went out sometimes, people tried to use her height to find some person in the crowd they described to her because she could see further.
Now another dorm mate came in and she was Scottish. I chatted with her for a while and realized that she went to Central Washington University in Ellensburg, pretty close to Seattle.
Then this German girl came in without saying anything and just eavesdropped. So I greeted her but she still seemed kind of shy or reluctant to talk to us.
Next morning the Dutch girls got up extra early to go in the mountains to hike. But later we went out together and ran into 2 other guys also from the hostel. Both Americans but 2nd generation immigrants as they described themselves. One from Lithuania the other from Uruguay. But that night ended rather early. Maybe because of the rain or something, or I think I was pretty dead after some dancing. Funny thing though, I tried to get in the crowd and danced but got a bit dull after a while so I came back to the girls. Then Annabell (the small half dutch half polish girl) told me as soon as I stepped on the dance floor all the Polish guys surrounded me to block me out of their ladies. Then I remember what Gabriel had told me that Polish girls have the tendency to run away with foreign guys. But it didn’t strike until Annabell mentioned it. But also I always got weird looks from the guys at the club cuz I think I was with the two, if not the best looking, nice looking dutch girls inside.
Anyhow, the next morning I got up quite early but had to wait for the girls to get ready to go the Salt Mine, which was really an amazing site. I thas got several chapels underground entirely sculpted out of salt and about the size of a city. Although it wasn’t as pretty as I thought cuz the salt looked pretty dirty with the grayish color. It is not purified to make the white color. We toured underground for quite a walk but Marleen was always excited about everything. On the contrary, Annabell seemed a bit worn out and tired of the tour guide, although the tour guide had a horrible voice that reminded me of the Chinese reporter in the Family Guy. Her English was quite good but not her intonation. Whenever she made a joke I couldn’t sense her tone so I wasn’t able to laugh. Her attitude wasn’t very nice either when we were waiting to get in the museum. Thankfully we changed guides and this one always wore a smile and was nice and all.
We went out that night too but I was really unmotivated since we ran into those two Americans again and that Uruguayan was trying so hard with Annabell who already had a boyfriend although she probably never told him. Anyway, it just pissed me off that a simple party was turned into a trying-to-hit-on-her. And it was a shame that he wanted attention all the time and the group atmosphere just got blown away. Although I was keeping a nice conversation going with the tall girl.
As we came back from the club there sat the Spanish girl who always smiled at me although we didn’t know each other’s name and such. We seemed to click somehow. Meanwhile, Annabell wanted to go out to watch the sunrise with us but I was too busy chatting with the Spaniard so I said No thank you. After the chat we only exchanged email addresses just for the heck of it although I didn’t think I would see her again.
One other fun person I ran into was a British guy who was doing his research at the hostel. So he studied sociology and was writing his thesis or some sort focused on the British people who choose to get hella wasted and party in Krakow. So he went into bars, clubs, pubs to interview people on why they chose Krakow out of all other places, and by what means they got drunk. And the most funny thing is that he had to do the same as all those people to “get in there” so he could experience it himself. Apparently, he was ladies’ man somehow with what he was doing.
After all these funny events happened, there was one thing left for me to do and it was a very important historical event and site. It was the concentration camp Auswitcz, which was about an hour drive away from Krakow. So I paid it a visit but ended up being very disgusted with whatever I saw there. I was too overwhelmed by all the artifacts and museums which gave you the sensation you would never feel before. There was one room full of glasses from the Jews who were put in the camp and I thought it was hair from all the corpses in the first place. It was because of the quantity of the glass frames that makes you feel so. I hadn’t felt so sick for a long time. I guess you really require a strong mind to visit such a site on your own.

Warsaw with Gabriel

old town Warsaw

what a collection of his with help from his parents

Gabriel at the cashier of a restaurant

So finally I meet up with my friend Gabriel whom I know from my Swedish course. He really makes a good tour guide cuz he knows a lot about the history of his country although mostly the negative part. It sounds like he just wants to get the fuck out of this shithole since there's nothing really good about it except that the girls are hot.

Well, indeed the girls are really something I would like to mention. I would have to say maybe their features are though comparable to the Swedes but just behind by a bit. But for sure, their jugs are the biggest on average I have seen in my life. It's kinda insane to me that everyone is just so firm and big.

Ok enough with the pervertedness, or normal man talk. Gabriel introduces me to his girl friend and another friend. They all seem to be a bit disappointed with their country but not as bad as Gabriel. So basically what G has been telling me about Poland is that you have to careful with anyone around you because you don't know when they are going to screw u up. like he told me before that don't ever mess with the chefs at a restaurant because they might just add some saliva into the making of your food. Also, sounds to me that all the politicians are crooks, and all the ladies are just going after foreigners. He has also told me that all his foreign friends have had a polish girlfriend at a point in their lives.

But anyway, back to Warsaw. G takes me around in the old town and elsewhere in the city. The old town was actually not that old since it was totally brought to the ground in WWII. But they recontructed the old town with the rubble so the material was actually from the old times.

But G has to take one final exam so goes off and later comes back with his girl friend and a guy friend. The guy friend is hilarious because he doesn't hide when he checks out chicks. One time I was in the way and he just pushes me away so he can see the cabouse.

So one thing that's worth mentioning is the suburbs of Warsaw, which are mainly built up with there concrete slabs, which only have three or four kinds of different shapes. I wonder how they managed to make all these building out of only this many combinations.

Finally, I come to G's house and meet his parents. They are very friendly people, and his grandma made a cake because she heard that some guest was coming. The dog though, is not very cooperative because he's gone through hardship, say getting a stick freakin' penetrated through his throat by the neighbors.