The Road to Budapest - Day 16

5/04/09
I slept in a little, enjoyed the hotel included breakfast again and then went for a short walk to the Jewish Synagogue and the National Museum. It is Sunday today, so the shops are closed and streets are quieter – it is a peaceful day. I met up with Sean and we went for a walk across the other side of the river and up the hill to The Citadell. A large statue of a lady holding a feather stands at the top of the hill and can be seen from far away, so it felt good to have trekked up the hill to where she stands. We stopped for a while in the shade – it is about 25degrees here, a big change from the weather from the previous two weeks. After the hill climb, we strolled back down the hill and then along the river and over the Chain Bridge. We wanted to go inside the Parliament building, but when we got there it was roped off and security guards were standing outside – it made me wonder if the white supremacists may have made a bit of a scene yesterday.
The Spring Markets had just opened, so we strolled through the market and Sean tried some of the local food. They had the most fragrant and decorative items at the market. They had something that was dried oranges, chilli’s, bay leaves and cinnamon sticks – they smelt fantastic. We then parted ways and I headed back to the hotel. That night Obama was on the news – they were showing his speech in Prague – I was pleased to think that ‘I have been there ... I have actually stood where he is now’. It was a good feeling.
After the sun set, I decided to go for a walk along the river – the river looks so wonderful at night time.
I fly back to the UK tomorrow afternoon. I will just go for a short walk in the morning and then catch the shuttle service from the hotel to the Airport. I won’t get in to the UK until quite late, about 8pm, and then I have to work the next day – I dare say I will be a bit tired at work. At least it is a short week – Easter is this weekend. Richard and Lucy fly out to Australia on Wednesday, so I will only get to see Richard for a few days before he leaves.
This trip has been great. The group was only small but it was a friendly one. We all got along and had a lot of fun together. I got to see some wonderful and glamorous cities and the cutest, most heartfelt towns and villages. The weather was ever changing – Vienna was cold and windy; Cesky Krumlov was a land of fantasy and change; Prague was mild and had spots of rain; Teplice was full of snowy fun; Auschwitz was overcast and moody; Krakow was fine and mild; the Tatra Mountains were covered in deep snow with the sun shining brightly; and Budapest was an expression of Spring. Eastern Europe was a definite contrast to what I have been used to in my life – smoking is still allowed in all areas, and it isn’t seen as a bad thing. The beer is cheaper than water and they are lovers of meat (especially sausages) and cabbage.
The changing of currency made things a little difficult too; although once you worked out the conversion some of the places were extremely cheap. The languages were so hard to try and get a hold of; at times I just didn’t bother! I know that sounds bad and it really against what I believe, but it was so hard. And even though I may have been in Slovakia, the people in that particular areaspoke mainly Polish or German – it was so confusing! The German / Austrian was the easy one, it was the others I found confusing. Here is an example of the word ‘thankyou’: Dziekuje (Polish); Dekuji (Czech); and Koszonom (Hungarian)! Here is ‘hello’: Czesc (Polish); Dobry Den (Czech); and Kivanok (Hungarian).
My only qualm is that Gail had the stinkiest feet I have ever smelt (even the guys agreed) and I had to share a room with her for the entire time.