- USA
- Ireland
- France
- Belgium
- Back in France
- May 30, 2005Mexican Princesses
- May 31, 2005Versaille
- June 1, 2005Last Day in Paris
- June 2, 2005Coast of Marseille
- May 3, 2005Callanques of Marseille
- June 4, 2005Leaving Marseille
- June 5, 2005Busted Ankle
- June 6, 2005Healing in St. Raphael
- June 7, 2005Bongos on the Beach
- June 8, 2005Goodbye, St. Raphael - Hello Cannes
- June 9, 2005Antibes Daytrip
- June 10, 2005Chilling in Cannes
- June 11, 2005To Nice with the Finns
- Monaco
- Switzerland
- Germany
- Austria
- Hungary
- Poland Fun
- June 29, 2005Zakopane
- June 30, 2005Hiking in the Tatry Mountains
- July 1, 2005Trail of Wooden Architecture
- July 2, 2005Krakow Jazz Festival
- July 3, 2005Kazimierz
- July 4, 2005Goral Burger
- July 5, 2005Ciupagi
- July 6, 2005Czestochowa
- July 7, 2005Trainhopping
- July 8, 2005Happy Birthday Mom!!!
- July 9, 2005Happy Birthday Jack
- July 10, 2005Banana Riding
- July 11, 2005First Russian Embassy Visit
- Poland Family
- July 12, 2005Family, at Last
- July 13, 2005Mom's Schoolfriends
- July 14, 2005Muddy Ponds
- July 15, 2005Partying in Poznan
- July 16, 2005A Relaxing Day
- July 17, 2005Sheeshah Bar
- July 18, 2005Five Souvereign Lands
- July 19, 2005The Good News
- July 20, 2005Another Family Function
- July 21, 2005Just Chilling
- July 22, 2005The Best Bike Ever
- July 23, 2005Looking for a Home by the Baltic Sea
- July 24, 2005Copernicus and the Boyscouts
- July 25, 2005Visas are Set to Go
- July 26, 2005Luxury
- July 27, 2005A Day at Work
- Russia
- July 28, 2005Back in St. P Looking for 1UP
- July 29, 2005Peter's Pimpin' Palace and the Neverending Nights
- July 30, 2005Big Bad Moscow
- July 31, 2005Beating Birches
- August 1, 2005Off to Siberia
- August 2, 2005Drinking with the Guards
- August 3, 2005Big, Rolling Trans-Siberian Party
- August 4, 2005Pack up, Only Six Hours Left
- August 5, 2005Irkutsk
- August 6, 2005Swimming in Lake Baikal
- August 7, 2005Drenched
- August 8, 2005Partying with Uzbeks
- August 9, 2005I Love You Omul, I Heart Baikal
- August 10, 2005Pushed out of Russia
- Mongolia
- China
- August 26, 2005Chasing Buses
- August 27, 2005Looking for the Opera
- August 28, 2005Sleeping on a Wall
- August 29, 2005Trying to Find the Opera Once Again
- August 30, 2005Forbidden City and Searching for the Opera
- August 31, 2005The Opera Sucks
- September 1, 2005Hutongs and Strange Food
- September 2, 2005The Peking Ducks Incident
- September 3, 2005Beijing Shopping
- September 4, 2005The Dirt Market and Tiger Penis Vodka
- September 5, 2005Temples, Temples, and More Temples
- September 6, 2005The Amazing Summer Palace
- September 7, 2005Goodbye Asia
- Back in the USA
World Trip
Turkish Mineral Steam Baths
Time to explore the city. I took off alone not wanting to have to deal with other people's plans and meandered over to the Buda side of the Danube. I clamed the stairs to the castle district and went into a gallery. The entrance to the permanent exhibit was free so I took a few hours to walk around admiring the paintings and sculptures of Hungarian artists over the last few hundred years.
I walked around the castle district some more, and slowly grew a fondness for this city. Out of Budapest, Prague, and Vienna, Prague is my favorite, with Budapest second and Vienna in third.
I went into a big church in the center of the castle district and was blown away by the interior. I don't even know how to describe the style, but it was quite unique. I took some time to take in this magnificent church and went to the museum to admire the Sacred Crown of Hungary seated in a tiny room in the church.
After some more walking, it was time for some rest and relaxation, and in my mind there was no better place to find it than in one of the Turkish style mineral hot spring bathhouses that are found in this city. I decided to go to the Gelert Steam Baths housed in the grand Gelert Hotel.
It is difficult to describe this place. The atrium was very grand with Romanesque white marble statues. The steam baths are unisex and very Turkish looking. The water is warm, with a mineral aroma, and very relaxing. I spent an hour and a half jumping between the different temperature mineral baths, the ridiculous steam room, and the cold bath. Afterward, I splurged and got a full body traction massage that was a mix between a deep tissue massage and a visit to the chiropractor.
In the evening I met up with Monika, who is the girl I met in Ireland from Budapest. She had a good friend Marie visiting her from Rome. The three of us took a ride on the little underground to the heroes' square. Lionel Ritchie was playing a free concert, and us, not necessary being fans of Lionel Ritchie, decided it was a good idea to expand our musical horizons. The little underground is the oldest part of the metro system in Budapest and dates to somewhere around 1900. The train cars are tiny and yellow. The stations are all lined with white porcelain tiles, immaculately clean and very friendly looking. Every time the train stops they play a little jingle that is very un-metro sounding. It is a very unique little metro.
When we got there, the concert was way over and the cleaning crews were putting the city back together after the massive crowd had its way with it. We walked around the heroes' square and Monika impressed us with her intricate knowledge of Hungarian history. We walked around five little replica castles that were built around the same time as the little underground and the heroes' square as the tribute to the caesar. We rented a rowboat and paddled around the little pond by the castles.
Back in the heroes' square we met two Danish guys, Jasper and Martin. They were also impressed with Monika's historical acumen. They were drinking beers they got from the Hungarian kids doing the same. We stayed there for a bit chatting, then took off with two other Hungarian kids, and the remainder of their beer they had no more interest in, trying to find some club.
We found this club, which was already closing and headed off to another one on the Danube called Budda Beach. We got there around 3am and it was kind of quiet. What made it interesting is this large boisterous woman in a leopard dress. She had monstrous red lips, and layers upon layers of makeup. At first we were not too sure that she was even a woman, but from the general looks of it the consensus was that a drag queen would have better sense. She was dancing around, trying to get all the men to dance with her. She was having lots of fun. For shits and giggles, Martin and I decided to go dancing as well. Monika joined us too.
We stayed at this club for a bit dancing and drinking and eventually it closed so we moved to the other side of the river to club Rio. The girls were tired so after a long and heartfelt goodbye, the three of us continued on.
We did not stay at Rio too long and headed back in the morning light. The two Danes were going to a lake to camp later on that day and then off to Bratislava, Slovakia. They invited me along and I was very tempted. They seem very cool to travel with, but I do have to make my way up to Poland soon.
