A Beautiful Day in Budapest 6/3/06
I’m not quite sure where to begin this entry, but I suppose that I should tell you a bit about last night. We all went out to a bar together (the first time the entire group was together). I didn’t really feel like going out, and honestly I was a bit annoyed by the enthusiasm that this group has for alcohol. Most of the group is under 21, so they love going to the bar, and just buying alcohol in general because they can’t in the U.S. Maybe I’m just a nerd and getting trashed every night has never appealed to me all that much, but I’d rather be able to get up at a decent hour so that I can do and see a lot during the day.
So for all of those reasons, I didn’t want to go, but because it is the first week, I made myself go. It actually ended up being a lot of fun. There was a group of British men having a stag party at the table next to us, and they were very entertaining. After we left that bar (the stag party was so loud that the manager of the bar called the police to have them removed), we went to a small pub. The atmosphere was a lot like the Peanut Barrel in East Lansing, and they had terrible live music. Maggie and I made friend with some Brits who taught us how to say ‘Thank you’ in Magyar and told us about the Terror Haza, which is a museum dedicated to Hungarian Fascism and Hungarian Communism. We didn’t get home until 4 a.m., which brings me to this morning…
Jared, Maggie, and Megan at the pub.
Some of the group with our new friend Jeff, who wanted to join our 'study trip' in order to avoid being arrested by the Hungarian police.
I woke up at 9:30 feeling alright, but not 100%. I was informed (rather rudely) that we were leaving at 10:00 to go sightseeing. The ringleader could not be persuaded to push our departure back, so I opted to stay behind and meet up with the group at 6:00 for dinner. So I spent a very enjoyable morning sending and receiving emails, showering, and planning my own sightseeing. I decided to go to the Central Market, St. Istvan (Stephan)’s Basilica, the Hungarian Parliament Building, and the Terror Haza. It was great to be on my own in the city. I got to go at my own pace, and chose what I wanted to see and what I didn’t. I have pictures from everything except for the Terror Haza, which was very informative and moving. It was very artistically done, as well. I only wish that more of it had been translated. I feel like I missed a lot because I don’t read Magyar.
Some pictures from the Central Market.
The outside of St. Istvan's Baslica.
A view of Pest from the tower of St. Istvan's.
The Hungarian Parliament Building (third largest Parliament Building in the world)
The outside of the Terror Haza
Tonight we went out to dinner with Folke, our professor. I had a wonderful eggplant dish, and I shared a bottle of wine with Folke and Ravi. Folke talked to me about Romania for ages, because he knows about my independent study and my interest in Romania, and I talked to Maggie, Mike, and Ravi about our favorite novels. It was a very enjoyable night, and thankfully no one wanted to go out tonight!
So for all of those reasons, I didn’t want to go, but because it is the first week, I made myself go. It actually ended up being a lot of fun. There was a group of British men having a stag party at the table next to us, and they were very entertaining. After we left that bar (the stag party was so loud that the manager of the bar called the police to have them removed), we went to a small pub. The atmosphere was a lot like the Peanut Barrel in East Lansing, and they had terrible live music. Maggie and I made friend with some Brits who taught us how to say ‘Thank you’ in Magyar and told us about the Terror Haza, which is a museum dedicated to Hungarian Fascism and Hungarian Communism. We didn’t get home until 4 a.m., which brings me to this morning…
Jared, Maggie, and Megan at the pub.
Some of the group with our new friend Jeff, who wanted to join our 'study trip' in order to avoid being arrested by the Hungarian police.
I woke up at 9:30 feeling alright, but not 100%. I was informed (rather rudely) that we were leaving at 10:00 to go sightseeing. The ringleader could not be persuaded to push our departure back, so I opted to stay behind and meet up with the group at 6:00 for dinner. So I spent a very enjoyable morning sending and receiving emails, showering, and planning my own sightseeing. I decided to go to the Central Market, St. Istvan (Stephan)’s Basilica, the Hungarian Parliament Building, and the Terror Haza. It was great to be on my own in the city. I got to go at my own pace, and chose what I wanted to see and what I didn’t. I have pictures from everything except for the Terror Haza, which was very informative and moving. It was very artistically done, as well. I only wish that more of it had been translated. I feel like I missed a lot because I don’t read Magyar.
Some pictures from the Central Market.
The outside of St. Istvan's Baslica.
A view of Pest from the tower of St. Istvan's.
The Hungarian Parliament Building (third largest Parliament Building in the world)
The outside of the Terror Haza
Tonight we went out to dinner with Folke, our professor. I had a wonderful eggplant dish, and I shared a bottle of wine with Folke and Ravi. Folke talked to me about Romania for ages, because he knows about my independent study and my interest in Romania, and I talked to Maggie, Mike, and Ravi about our favorite novels. It was a very enjoyable night, and thankfully no one wanted to go out tonight!
posted by Erin Kay at 8:58 AM
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