I just got home from a day of walking around Pest. Its about 5 30 pm here, but it is Saturday, so everything is closed. I haven't started to work yet, and I don't really know anyone here, or my way around just yet, so I think I am in for the night. Ana is going to see Lord of the Dance tonight (apparently it is Michel Flatly's last tour), sounds interesting.

Today I had to get used to being a lone traveler, especially since I had no one to tell me when I started to 'wonder', nor did have a second (or third) brain to think for me when I didn't feel like working directions. As a result of this, a 90 minute walk through central pest ended up taking me 4 hours. Rick Steves, your directions were not sound! (it's hard to gauge what a 'short block vs. a long block', and I have no idea how big a yard it!) I went astray about half way through the tour, at a ter.

Ter is the Hungarian word for 'square', and well, they are not exactly squares (the one I got lost in was actually an oval). They are all over the city, and well for me, they are incredibly confusing. (JMN warned me of the confusing nature of them, but I guess warnings are never really understood until you experience the problem). During the Cold War many of the streets in downtown Pest were reconfigured to allow for motor ways to be built through all the major street (or so I am told in Rick Steves Book). Because huge motor ways seem to go right through major streets , you have to go underground and 'choose the right stair case' that corresponds to one of the 3-7 streets that all converse at the ter (see the posted photo...this is one of the ter's that caused problems for me :)). Now this wouldn't be very difficult if the stair cases were labeled with the streets that they are on. In truth, only 50% of the time this the case. On top of this, most squares are so large (literally one side will be the length of a typical city block, in the photo i was standing in the middle of the Ter, it ends where the two 'sister' building are seen and it is about size behind me...notice the motor way and barrier in between the road!) that there are shops and buildings with addresses that just say the name of the square. I literally walked a two block radius lost for an hour (this wasn't the Ter that I got really lost in!). During that time two older Hungarian men came up to me and asked me if i needed anything. I thought that was nice, and told them I was looking for Karolyi Utca (which was supposed to be attached to K. Mihaly Utca which is connected to the ter) They didn't know exactly which street/exit to go down (they did offer the general direction, which for me was very useful!). Later on in the day I saw them sitting in a cafe and we exchanged smiles! Eventually i found the street and was on my way to see the University, the Serbian Orthodox Church and this beautiful park just perfect for a picnic (which is on my to do list!). In the park there was one lone pink Tulip (spring is earlier here). Look carefully, you can see it (if you click on the photo you can see it better)! The other photo is me beside the Serbian Orthodox church. It was beautifully bright and yellow, and really jumped out at you on the street! (I am getting used to lone traveler photo ops).

I also strolled by the 'local government buildings' and the town hall (the buildings were pink (the former) and pale green (the later)).


I did notice on my walk that the higher floors of the buildings in the city are beautiful. Behind all the smog and grime, the details in the architecture is wonderful! Apparently during the cold war many of the store fronts were 'renovated' so they would all look the same (as per the communist organization, see the picture of the shoot covered building and plain store front?). This means that walking down the streets of the city you won't see anything special unless you look up.


The walking tour actually started at the Vorosmarty Ter, where there was a big statute of Vorosmarty. Vorosmarty was a famous Hungarian writer, who apparently made 'lower class Magyar dialects' considered 'worthy', and wrote a famous poem/song that rivals the Hungarian National Anthem (according to Rick Steves). Beside the statue, there was the oldest metro stop on the whole European continent. Built in 1896, It looked like everyone stop, but I took a picture anyway. (You can see all my pictures once I figure out where I want to post them).

Then the travel guide started to talk about finding a little statue that apparently have no actual significance other than the fact that it is cute to look at. I started to look for the statue, in the place where it was supposed to be at, and well I just couldn't find it. Then memories of searching Kensington Gardens in London for the Peter Pan statue, and Walking around downtown Brussels looking for the Mannekin Piss came flooding back. I told myself 'you will not spend 3 hours looking for a statue...again...". So I put on my thinking cap! (okay, I looked at the photo in the book and saw that there was the buda skyline in it (this told me the direction the statue was facing). Then I reread the guidebook and it said that it was small-ish and hard to miss. Looking at the skyline in the photo I saw that you could just see the remnants of the Kiralyi Palota (the Royal Palace) and so I walked near that area....and voila! I found it! (the book was right, it WAS small and hidden). I was a little kid wearing a jester had and just sitting on the tram railing. I took a picture and posted it. I would have done a "hold camera and attempt to smile pose" that I was doing all day, BUT, there were two people in the middle of a heart felt snog right beside it....and well I felt a bit weird looking at the statue with them right beside it, and even taking a picture. (you can see the girls arm in the photo). I sadly could not get a picture from the front of the statue (Deja Vu, remember our loving picture of peter pans' butt in London?), but you can sort of see why this would be harder to find (it really blends in to the scenery).

The tour of central pest also took me to the first Macdonalds 'behind the iron curtain'. Apparently people would wait in line for hours to have a hamburger from the golden arches! Not really worthy of a photo, but it did sell different things like crepes and specialty ice cream.


The tour was ended at the Grand Market Hall (or in Hungarian Nagyvasarcsarnok). . Because the Market closes at 2pm, I decided to visit there first and I roamed around the stalls, deciding if I had enough courage to try and order something. (I will post another 'post' on the Grand Market Hall next!). So after a 4 hour walking tour that was supposed to take 90 minutes, I decided just to stroll home (I do have a metro pass, but I couldn't figure out which tram to take..I really need to get a better map).

When I was walking down one of the streets I noticed two things that are worth repeating here on this blog. 1) a building under construction. (I will explain). 2) Gremlin Holes. (I'll elaborate on that one too).

1) the wierd thing about the building construction site is that, while I think it was in the process of being torn down, there was one single room that had all the furniture still set up in it. (THere wasn't a window, but there was furniture!, wierd eh?). I stopped and looked at it for a while, and looked to see if there were any other rooms like that. There wasn't. DO you think they forgot to clean that one out before they torn the front of the building off?

2) Gremlin Holes. Bridget, Meg'N'Ed, and Teresa all live together in a super neat apartment with a room that they have called the 'Gremlin Room' (why, because it only has one window, that I think is metal or steel, that opens up to a large square 'hole' that is the height of the whole building. I think the proper word is 'shaft'). Anyway, beside the construction building, there was another building, with an EXPOSED gremlin hole! I saw it and instantly thought of you guys, so I took a picture and posted it! it was a HUNGARIAN GREMLIN HOLE! The construction site revealed it!

I am now going to make something for dinner......I guess I will try and make a dent in the half kilo of Kalbasca that I bought yesterday!....





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