Adventure in Budapest

My trip to Budapest began on a train to Brno, the second largest city in the Czech Republic. The train trip was uneventful but full of country landscapes, old buildings and Communist era residences. Often, the Czech countryside demonstrated its amazing spring beauty as I witnessed a patchwork of crops, flowers and scores of rapeseed fields. Rapeseed fields at this time of year are bright yellow and checkerboard the rolling hills outside of Prague. My friends, Peter and Chris, graciously drove from Poland to pick me up in Brno and, together, we drove through Slovenia to Hungary and its capital city, magnificent Budapest.
While I was in college getting my Bachelor’s degree I took several geography courses and did quite well. I didn’t do too well on this trip though. Peter was driving and we came around a large curve and on top of a small mountain area stood a huge eagle. Peter explained that that eagle was a symbol of Budapest and we were quite close. Driving another kilometer we crossed a substantial river. It was impressive and quite beautiful. We drove a little further and I mentioned that I was impressed by the river and Peter said, “Yes, John. That is the Danube." I was quite surprised and felt a little stupid for failing this most relevent geography exam. These feelings were overwhelmed by the thought that I was this close to the Danube, a river I so often read about. The Danube is a beautiful, gently flowing river that separates Buda from Pest (pronounced Pesht), two cities that make up Budapest. It was another emotional moment for me as, once again, I realized where I was after all these years.
We crossed this magnificent river and drove into the center of town with the help of Peter’s new GPS instrument he installed in his car. This little addition was helpful but had an annoying voice as it guided us to our pension near the city center of Pest. We found our pension to be quite nice, easily sleeping four people so three was very comfortable. Everything was new and the building was recently constructed and very accommodating.
Budapest, I am told, is organized somewhat like Paris. Unlike Prague with its town center and Old Town, Budapest is quite spread out and required a lot of walking. Although tiring, walking in this city allows one to see very historical sites from a very close distance. It also allows for great people watching and the chance to talk with them as language permits. An excellent example of this was walking up the Andrassy ut, the avenue maybe some remember as the street used by the Soviet military to present their intimidating weaponry to the citizens of Budapest and, through television, to the rest of the world. The entire street is lined with villas built in neo-Renaissance and neo-Baroque architecture. The homes and villas were quite amazing only to be exceeded by Heroes’ Square at the end of Andrassy ut. Heroes’ Square is quite moving and is the home of Hungary’s unknown soldier (See Picture #5). It is also a place of many beautiful statues, a theater and an art museum currently presenting a Van Gogh exhibit. Leaving Heroes’ Square, we walked back on Andrassy ut and then walked down towards the Danube. We made our way through exquisite, quite large homes with gardens that would rival those of any city. Our goal was the Parliament building (Picture #3). This building is the center of government in Hungary and houses the ministers and Prime Minister. This is a huge building some 300 meters in length. Gothic, lace-like pinnacles overlook 88 statues of past kings and princes. It is a much respected and admired landmark by citizens and visitors next to the Danube.
By then we were a bit tired and decided to stop at a nearby pub. We stumbled upon just a wonderful retro pub with all sorts of cinema and concert posters, advertisements for old Hungarian movies and great signs of old and new beers available in Budapest. Picture #4 is Chris enjoying a beer break in this great pub.
Once we were refreshed, we went up to the castle (Picture #1) where we experienced a good old political rally under the watchful eye of the great eagle (Picture #2). We watched the rally for several minutes and enjoyed seeing people experience a free political process. All participants were quite enthusiastic. The castle is quite large and very business-like. It has nothing of the charm of the castle in Prague but stands across the river from the parliament as a symbol of Hungary’s important position in the ever-growing global culture.
Budapest was a discovery I barely touched on in my two and a half days of sightseeing, walking and connecting with the city. This trip was only a first step in experiencing this beautiful, historic city on the Danube. I will most definitely return. The Hungrian people are vibrant and full of life punctuated with a great history and a love of freedom and western culture. As one might expect, western business, fast food, soda, and banks dot both cities with their bright signs and perfunctory places of business. The people generally seem to welcome it although many don’t understand why this form of western culture needs to be a part of their city. For me the blend of history with the new and westernized Budapest is an inescapable but unfortunate alliance. So much of Hungarian history is lost by putting a McDonald’s in a 1200 year old building or observing a beautiful building in the town center with spectacular architecture only to be recently graced by a gigantic and oppressive Coca Cola sign. The freedom these people enjoy is so satisfying. Unfortunately some of the symbols of this freedom, and of western culture rarely serve to enhance the beauty and historical depth of this city.
Budapest was more than I ever expected and changed my philosophy about visiting European cities. It is not just enough to see the buildings. One must experience the city and connect with the people. A city is the people. All the other attractions are just symbols of the history and culture of the people. So I will return to do much more connecting and working hard to continue my conversation with these great people.

The People are the Adventure

Once again I have the opportunity to write my blog as I travel by train to Dresden. Unfortunately it is not a trip to see a beautiful city but is the result of a bureaucratic oddity in which I must go to a different country (Germany) to pick up my work visa for the Czech Republic. I was tempted to pick it up in Paris and take advantage of the silly international rules.
Sitting in this quite comfortable car I cannot help be fascinated by the Czech-German landscape. It is a panorama of winter driven blacks, whites and grays with an occasional brightly painted home or business. I see this Central European affinity for extremely bright yellows, oranges, reds and greens as an attempt to escape the generally dreary countryside during the winter months. The area is also marked by very old and mostly dilapidated buildings that contain, I’m sure, unique and remarkable stories that would make novelists, historians and great storytellers quite envious.
I welcome these two or three hour trips on the train because it provides me with an opportunity to quietly reflect on my life and, especially, my current adventure in Prague. While I have written about the beauty, history and culture of Prague and the Czech Republic, my adventure has been most enriched by the wonderful people I have met. It started with my fellow students in Intesol where I received my TEFL certificate to teach in Europe. This enrichment continued as I met teaching colleagues, expatriates in my building and many others during various activities, events and recreation.
So this is the first of two blogs introducing you to just some of the people that have made a big difference in my life here in Prague.
Picture one is a shot of Peter and Chris Kay from England. They are a wonderful couple who decided they had had enough of the humdrum, nine to five work life. They consolidated their funds and set out to travel and see the world on a motorcycle. They covered much of Europe and have been to Australia on three separate occasions. One time while “down under” they also toured New Zealand and produced some of the most beautiful landscape pictures I have ever seen.
Peter and Chris greatly contributed to the pleasure of going to school in Prague as we spent many evenings exchanging stories, comparing countries and arguing over which form of English was the best. I still contend that the English don’t know how to spell. Peter is quite good at imitating any English accent and often had us in a state of sidesplitting laughter. They are now teaching English in Poland and looking forward to once again getting on the road. We have since maintained our friendship and I look forward to a long weekend with them in Budapest at the end of this month.
Another great friend I have made here is Sam, the fourth member of our TEFL class from Wales. He is in his early twenties and is in a transitional part of his life. He is currently job-hunting in Wales and looks forward to possibly returning to Prague soon. Last November he joined my son Sean and I as we celebrated Thanksgiving at a restaurant near the center of Prague. Picture two shows Sam and his girlfriend Petra. Petra was instrumental in connecting me with one of the language schools that I work for. Many thanks Petra!
Sam added so much to my Intesol experience and greatly contributed to the humor, merriment and interest stimulated by the certification experience. He often talked of his life in Wales and I look forward to visiting there soon.
The third picture introduces you to my friend Hiro from Japan. Hiro and I met over Skype, a free computer-to-computer telephone service. It was great to talk to someone in Japan and I was really surprised to hear that he was going on a tour of Europe and would be in Prague soon. While he was here we met for lunch. The picture shows he and I in front of the restaurant in which we ate. Hiro is a retired teacher living in Hiroshima. He taught English in Japan for over 35 years. Needless to say we had much to discuss. In fact, the discussion continues over Skype to this day. He has invited me to see Japan and possibly teach English there. I look forward to the opportunity of visiting that exciting part of the world.
Not only is it wonderful to meet such fine people but also the number of opportunities they bring to the conversation seems infinite and quite stimulating.
In this blog I have only introduced you to a few of my friends I have met on this adventure. There is also Pavel, Shannon, Ganeet, Linda, Pavla, Jim, and others who I will introduce you to in a future blog.
When introducing some of the fine people I have met on this adventure, I want to make sure I include the students I am teaching. They have been a very uplifting and educational part of my time here. They are young, motivated and quite enthusiastic about having the opportunity to be a part of the free world. I sometimes think they value it more than some Americans I know or read about.
This blog has been fun to write because the people I have met are so important to me. This is a great adventure because of the people I have met. It would be much less of an adventure without them. You are all welcome to visit me in Prague. I welcome all of you from the new world. Ahoj (See you).

Prague Dad Visits Son in Sweden

Last weekend I got a chance to visit my son, Sean, in Sweden. He lives about 100 kilometers south of Stockholm in Linkoping where he is establishing a resident life program at the university. I flew into Sweden through Hamberg and got a chance to ride the train to Linkoping. It was a smooth, modern train and an enjoyable ride. Sean said this was going to be a great 40 hours and it was just that. What a great time.(See pic #1 of Sean and I in front of the Domkyrkan church). Since I didn't arrive in Linkoping until 21:00 we went directly to dinner. As it turns out, my first meal in Sweden was Greek - go figure. The restaurant was Afrodite and it was wonderful. Sean had a pepper steak and I had, of course, the garlic steak. The garlic on the steak compared well to the four or five inches of snow outside. It was a perfect steak "garlic capped" in keeping with the prevailing weather. The wine was a Greek Cabernet and was some of the best I had ever tasted. It was a great and much needed meal.
Sean and I stayed in the flat of the owner of Sean's company. It was warm with a comfortable bed and great view of snow-covered Linkoping. It was most welcome since we hiked from the restaurant in 20 degree weather with wind. I slept well and it was a good thing because Saturday was filled with activity.
Saturday began with a quick and facinating tour of the town of Linkoping,(See pic #2 of Sean and I in the town.) Old Town Linkoping and Sean's beautiful university (See Pic #3 of Sean standing near the entrance) . It was an amazing and rapid tour of this quaint but bustling town. About noon I had this terrible need for coffee so we stopped for Fika, a traditional eating and conversation time that many townsfolk enjoy and tourists can't resist. The coffee was excellent in quantity and quality and the sweet roll was very tasty.
About 14:00 we joined three of Sean's friends, Cecilia, Vaclav and Hampus and went to an ice hockey game (See Pic#4 of us outside the arena) featuring the local pro team the Linkopink Hockey Club who are hotly contesting for a spot in the Swedish league playoffs. The stadium was rocking but we had to wait until the third period for any scoring. When the first goal was scored by Linkoping all the reasons I enjoy ice hockey were recalled. The tension and buildup to the first goal was amazing and when that first goal was scored, the crowd erupted in a frenzy of yelling, waving hats and hugging friends. It was a great moment followed by three more goals with similar crowd response. It was a fun game except for the hot dog. I have seen a hot dog and, friends, this was no hot dog. It would barely qualify as a hors d'oeuvre. It was just about a two bite meal. The concept of hot dog is still alive and well in the U.S. I assure you.
After the hockey game we went to our last stop of the day, an English pub, The Bishop's Arms. It was surprisingly crowded and we had to wait to get in. It seems other hockey fans had the same idea. Once we got in we met some friends there and had a great evening of conversation. It was a pleasure to meet Sean's friend Mattis who teaches bioscience at the University. He is from Germany and has some interesting perspectives since teaching at Yale for three years. Also joining us was Katarina, Sean's Swedish language teacher who was also quite nice and, evidently quite patient. The restaurant remained crowded and our table was long so we were joined by three other men from Sweden, Slovania, and New York. Much was discussed and many ideas and perpectives were shared. It was a shock when I found out that four-tenths of a liter of beer cost $10.00. I believe 42.00 was the cost of four beers. That seems quite high but, I guess, the average Swedish income can support that price as beer was flowing freely at the pub.
Sunday was no less hurried as Sean and I attended his Church near the University. The church is quite beautiful and is nestled in some woods near a huge hospital. (see Pic #5 of winter scene near church) The theme for this Sunday was caring for and support of immigrants and church outreach programs. I got a chance to meet some very nice people two of whom are from Iraq. I look forward to seeing and meeting with all of them when I revisit Sweden this summer.
The last stop of the day for me in Linkoping was the train station. I boarded the train, ran through four cars and finally found my seat. I am writing this blog on the train. One more stop and I am at Aranda Airport in Stockholm ready for my return trip to Prague and my 8:00am English Class on Monday. So Goodbye Linkoping and Tock (thanks) so much to you Sean for your great hospitality. I am very grateful. See you this summer for sure. Ahoj (see you).