1st Day in Budapest

I promised to write more yesterday about my journey and arrival. Here goes:

I'm sitting at a kávéház on Bartok Béla út, down the street from the apartment that I'm staying at. It's blistering hot outside today. I walked around some this morning in the neighborhood - the other times I've been here, usually I've stayed over in Pest, so I haven't really gotten to see this area (Buda side of the river). But I couldn't walk too far - too hot. The sun felt almost like what I remember from Taiwan - so hot you run for the shade as soon as you can. Whoo. So I retreated back to the apartment, and ate some lunch and then took a nap.

Last night I had dinner with two of the folks who live in the apartment - Gergő and Csicsi. Gergő plays in a reggae band and is off to a festival in Slovakia this evening. Csicsi works at a store not too far from the apartment (a "Magazin," she said). They made a wonderful pasta and pesto dish, which we topped off with some excellent watermelon. Like so many folks I've met here, they were eager to chat about Hungarian grammar and linguistics, about which they both knew alot. Csicsi especially, since she has a Masters degree in teaching Hungarian. I met very briefly Istvan's friend Marci, who is my "official" host in the apartment. Except that Marci went off for an extended camping trip last night. I might see him again later in August. I hope so - Istvan has told me so much about him, I'd like to get to hang out with him more. I'm also eager to get in touch with some of the other folks I know here - Bogi, Gyuri, Ági, etc.

As for my trip and adventures in Zurich yesterday: I took a train from the airport into the city (only 10 minutes!!! - compared to the 90 minutes it takes to get from JFK into Manhattan). I walked for five minutes, following a route suggested by a tourist guide. I was at a scenic spot in the old downtown, when I overhead a woman explaining to a group of touristy-looking young people about the history of a church she was pointing to across the river. During a lull in her explanation, I asked her if she was from here and if she could repeat to me what she had been saying. It turns out she was from Zurich, and was showing a group of friends around her hometown, who were in town for a wedding. I ended up joining their group walking around Zurich, getting on a boat ferry, going out into the lake, and then having lunch with them until I had to get back on a train to the airport. It was a totally fun and utterly serendipitous little adventure. I met some wonderful people and had some interesting conversations - they all worked in the International Community sector - for the UN, the EU Commission on Human Rights, etc. A great way to start the trip - the gods are shining upon this journey at the start - way cool!