How have I been since I last updated? Well, I had a splendid birthday party, complete with Danish flags and many, many sweets. I think it’s safe to say my sweets stomach was overfull. The very next day, Mom arrived. One bag went missing (and arrived only later that day – Denmark is efficient!), so she did not come out for such a long time we began to think something had happened. But after that bump in the road, everything was fine and dandy, and it’s been so great having Mom around!
On the 27th, we had one last hoorah, entitled by us the “crying party”. While no crying was actually involved (by the time the goodbyes came around, I was too tired, which was probably a good thing), it was definitely an upsetting experience when it was all said and done. I’ve had the most amazing time and met the most amazing people. And while I’m still in Europe for another month and a half, and while the friendships are not ending, it’s already setting in that my life is no longer in Copenhagen. I won’t be seeing these people every day, I won’t be struggling in the supermarket wondering why in the world they don’t have something, I won’t be saying the word “chokolaaaaaade” in that exaggerated tone. Not that I’m not excited to go back – I most definitely am, but if I could turn back time, and have another six months, I would do it in a heartbeat. There’s a little hole in my heart where my life in Copenhagen was. Soon, I’ll adjust back and the hole will be bandaged, but it will always be there, and, of course, that’s how I would have it. But it’s on to the next adventures in life, with more friends than before, and more homes to crash in (let’s just say I already have the next few vacations already planned out…).
Early in the morning on the 29th, Mom and I headed to Oslo, Norway. Maybe it was because I was running on two hours of sleep, but I’ve heard it from other people as well – Oslo just isn’t that impressive. It’s a nice enough city, I suppose, but I’ve been spoiled by some of Europe’s most beautiful cities. I recommend Oslo only if you’re already going to Norway, and if you have plenty of money. However, it does have some absolutely gorgeous Viking ships. Other thoughts: Most Norwegians have less of an accent than Danes – far less. The weather is less bipolar than Copenhagen, but it did still pour for a morning, then, after we had changed into warmer clothes, get almost too hot, then go back to spitting again. Their public transportation system, or what I have experienced of it, is rather not as nice, as public transportation goes (but here I am, being spoiled once again, when I should be grateful that there even IS a public transportation system). They are obsessed with trolls, or their tourist shops are, anyway. As my experiences with Scandinavian countries go, Norway is more different from Denmark compared to Sweden, which is like Denmark-but-not. Oslo only seems more expensive to me in the fact that we are actually eating out, and so I’m aware of prices, whereas in Copenhagen, I tended to stay away from restaurants. I have not stepped in a supermarket to see how prices compare there, but so far, many things are actually comparable to Copenhagen.
I would like to return to other parts of Norway, especially as these are my kinsmen!
From now on, if I update this blog, it’s going to be picture-less and not day-by-day (I hear a sigh of relief – no more long-windedness and thousands of photos!). It’ll make it easier for me to keep up with this blog while traversing the northern countries. Next stop: Helsinki!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Hungary - Part 3
Day 168 – June 17
Andrea, her sister Diana, who has a short holiday from work, and I walked to Margaret island, a nearby green island/park in the Danube. Because of the water level of the Danube, most of the island was closed off as a precaution, but it looked like a very nice park.
Andrea went off to work and Diana took me to a little overlook of Budapest, some Roman ruins, and then our final destination, the town of Szentendre, a little ways outside of Budapest. It’s a very cute town, a little tourist-trappy with all the stores doubling as tourist shops, but it was fun. There I tried lagros, a Hungarian food like Indian Fry Bread, only savory rather than sweet – you can get it with garlic, sour cream, cheese…
We found a cat.
It’s amazing how tired the sun can make you. You’d think it would give you energy, but after a day out in it, you just want to crash.
Day 169 – June 18
Friday night we took the train into Szombathey, Andrea’s hometown, so on Saturday we explored it. It was a nice town – smaller, but not too small, and with a lake. It reminded me a tiny bit of Prescott, at least when we got to the lake and I saw the paddle boats and I remembered the times we would rent paddle boats at Lynx Lake (though Lynx Lake is much bigger, and Prescott is bigger as well…).
A tourist, just like me!
In the afternoon, Andrea’s dad, who’s a journalist, asked if he could interview me. Andrea acted as translator/interpreter for us. His questions were interesting and jumped from subjects to who I would define as a “real American” to how I feel about American movies to what I like about archaeology. We also talked about how much I knew about Central Europe and Hungary in general, and whether or not I knew anything about it before meeting Andrea (no, except for the elementary school joke “How can you be Hungary surrounded by Greece and Turkey?” which, growing older, I learned was geographically incorrect…). It’s a little sad how little we know about Central Europe, but I can say that I now know, if not a lot about the region, far more than I knew coming in.
Andrea’s dad’s girlfriend came in the evening. I really liked her. She was really warm and inviting and open. She had also made food for us and left it in the fridge, which was so nice (and it was good). It was fun, just listening to everyone chat and listening to the sound of Hungarian…and sometimes Andrea would translate things, or her dad’s girlfriend would ask me things. It’s amazing how much you can communicate even when you don’t speak the same language. Granted, it helps having Andrea around, but even without it – facial expressions, hand gestures, everything – there is so much you communicate that you don’t even realize. Maybe the basics, but the most important things.
Day 170 – June 19
Saturday we went to Sopron, an absolutely beautiful town. Its character was just perfect. Cute buildings and streets, awesome cobblestone alleys, archways…I think it’s my favorite place I’ve been to in Hungary.
We found another cat.
It rained off and on, but nothing too heavy, and it didn’t stop us from having ice cream. At one ice cream place, they had a picture of an ice cream sundae, which had me craving one. We asked inside, but they said they didn’t actually have any so we’d have to go across the street. False advertisement! The place across the street may have been owned by the same people, but I still declare false advertisement. However, the other place was an adorable little café/ice creamery with lots of fancy ice creams. At the outside window, we read the menu and saw something labeled “Pizza ice cream”. Both of us made a face, but when we went inside and saw the menu, we actually decided to get one – it was not, as we first guessed, ice cream tasting like pizza, but lots and lots and lots of fruit. Hurrah!
Day 171 – June 20
Sunday morning we did a bit more walking around Budapest and saw the most important place of all – the Elizabeth Bridge. :-)
In the afternoon, we went to see Toy Story 3. I’m mentioning this in my blog not because it is in any way cultural, but because it was so amazing. Pixar, of course, is always amazing, but this movie really was awesome. It made me cry. It was a little like Up in the way that it seemed to be a more adult Pixar film – some of the stuff was actually really scary. Anyway, point being, the movie was awesome (and the short film, as always, too!).
This guy was awesome.
In the evening we went to Caledonia, a Scottish pub, since Andrea and I share a love for the Scottish. It was a fun night with Andrea, her sister, and her mom, and we played games and ate chips and listened to everyone else screaming for whichever team had currently scored a goal at the World Cup.
Andrea, her sister Diana, who has a short holiday from work, and I walked to Margaret island, a nearby green island/park in the Danube. Because of the water level of the Danube, most of the island was closed off as a precaution, but it looked like a very nice park.
Andrea went off to work and Diana took me to a little overlook of Budapest, some Roman ruins, and then our final destination, the town of Szentendre, a little ways outside of Budapest. It’s a very cute town, a little tourist-trappy with all the stores doubling as tourist shops, but it was fun. There I tried lagros, a Hungarian food like Indian Fry Bread, only savory rather than sweet – you can get it with garlic, sour cream, cheese…
We found a cat.It’s amazing how tired the sun can make you. You’d think it would give you energy, but after a day out in it, you just want to crash.
Day 169 – June 18
Friday night we took the train into Szombathey, Andrea’s hometown, so on Saturday we explored it. It was a nice town – smaller, but not too small, and with a lake. It reminded me a tiny bit of Prescott, at least when we got to the lake and I saw the paddle boats and I remembered the times we would rent paddle boats at Lynx Lake (though Lynx Lake is much bigger, and Prescott is bigger as well…).
A tourist, just like me!In the afternoon, Andrea’s dad, who’s a journalist, asked if he could interview me. Andrea acted as translator/interpreter for us. His questions were interesting and jumped from subjects to who I would define as a “real American” to how I feel about American movies to what I like about archaeology. We also talked about how much I knew about Central Europe and Hungary in general, and whether or not I knew anything about it before meeting Andrea (no, except for the elementary school joke “How can you be Hungary surrounded by Greece and Turkey?” which, growing older, I learned was geographically incorrect…). It’s a little sad how little we know about Central Europe, but I can say that I now know, if not a lot about the region, far more than I knew coming in.
Andrea’s dad’s girlfriend came in the evening. I really liked her. She was really warm and inviting and open. She had also made food for us and left it in the fridge, which was so nice (and it was good). It was fun, just listening to everyone chat and listening to the sound of Hungarian…and sometimes Andrea would translate things, or her dad’s girlfriend would ask me things. It’s amazing how much you can communicate even when you don’t speak the same language. Granted, it helps having Andrea around, but even without it – facial expressions, hand gestures, everything – there is so much you communicate that you don’t even realize. Maybe the basics, but the most important things.
Day 170 – June 19
Saturday we went to Sopron, an absolutely beautiful town. Its character was just perfect. Cute buildings and streets, awesome cobblestone alleys, archways…I think it’s my favorite place I’ve been to in Hungary.
We found another cat.It rained off and on, but nothing too heavy, and it didn’t stop us from having ice cream. At one ice cream place, they had a picture of an ice cream sundae, which had me craving one. We asked inside, but they said they didn’t actually have any so we’d have to go across the street. False advertisement! The place across the street may have been owned by the same people, but I still declare false advertisement. However, the other place was an adorable little café/ice creamery with lots of fancy ice creams. At the outside window, we read the menu and saw something labeled “Pizza ice cream”. Both of us made a face, but when we went inside and saw the menu, we actually decided to get one – it was not, as we first guessed, ice cream tasting like pizza, but lots and lots and lots of fruit. Hurrah!
Day 171 – June 20
Sunday morning we did a bit more walking around Budapest and saw the most important place of all – the Elizabeth Bridge. :-)
In the afternoon, we went to see Toy Story 3. I’m mentioning this in my blog not because it is in any way cultural, but because it was so amazing. Pixar, of course, is always amazing, but this movie really was awesome. It made me cry. It was a little like Up in the way that it seemed to be a more adult Pixar film – some of the stuff was actually really scary. Anyway, point being, the movie was awesome (and the short film, as always, too!).
This guy was awesome.In the evening we went to Caledonia, a Scottish pub, since Andrea and I share a love for the Scottish. It was a fun night with Andrea, her sister, and her mom, and we played games and ate chips and listened to everyone else screaming for whichever team had currently scored a goal at the World Cup.
Hungary - Part 2
On Sunday, we stumbled upon the "beta testing" of Hungary's first ever Starbucks:
Day 165 – June 14
Monday we took the train to Esztergom. It was a nice, new train, and the ride was really good. It rained a bit on the way, and I love trains in the rain.
When we got out of the train station, we discovered another “train” outside. It only cost $1 for it to take us up to the church, so we decided to go for it. It reminded me of Disneyland – taking the trolley things from the parking lot to the park – and that is a good feeling.
Esztergom was where the kings were crowned, so the church was pretty important…and impressive. We took a look at their treasury, and they had several things that were “the most precious in Hungary” and a few that were the most precious in Europe, or even in the world. Especially this amazingly detailed chalice that took two years to make, and even the Vatican doesn’t have anything like it. We got an impromptu tour by one of the curator/guards – he would tell us about various items, then let us wander a bit, then come back and tell us about another item, and eventually it turned into a tour from item to item, although he went rather fast, and Andrea had to translate for me.
We then climbed up the 300-something stairs to get to the dome, where we could see all of Esztergom, and some of Slovakia on the other side of the Danube. How cool – it’s more fun to see another country’s border than another state’s border (though the Four Corners does still entertain me…).
Hey, look, it's Slovakia!
We spent the afternoon walking around the town. We stopped to get ice cream, and I got a flavor of fruit that we do not know. Andrea couldn’t remember the name of the fruit in English, and I couldn’t even determine it from the taste. Intriguing.
Day 166 – June 15
Andrea and I went to the zoo today. Andrea couldn’t stay long because she had work, but we saw the flying foxes for her (she loves bats) and we saw baby prairie dogs. A lot of the animals had babies – so adorable! When Andrea left, I hung out with some butterflies for a while. Despite my colorful outfit, none of them mistook me for a flower, and none of them tried to hitch-hike out of their building, unlike in the Boston Museum of Science. Other highlights were wolves, of course (sleeping…again – they don’t know what to do with this heat, either!), accidentally stumbling upon a sea lion show, and Dippin Dots-style ice cream (huzzah!). An interesting moment was when I got to the snake house to discover they had just fed the pythons, and watching a snake slowly digesting a rabbit whole. I felt like I was IN the Discovery Channel.
Babies!
It thought it was a prairie dog, too...
Colors!
Is this really the English name?
I was walking along near the end and witnessed an adventurous attempted-escape by a turtle. Right as I walked by a bush, he came running out of his hiding place as fast as his little body would take him, straight for freedom. Unfortunately, he wasn’t fast enough, and some pre-teens found him and started scaring the poor guy to death, picking him up and disorienting him and changing his directions. Finally a zookeeper came to his rescue…but the poor guy didn’t get his freedom.
Day 167 – June 16
A very nice rainfall in the morning. We were going to go to a park, but, alas, this year me and parks always equal rain. We did however go to drop off Andrea’s last assignment at her university, and I got jealous of all the old buildings.
Andrea then took me to the university library. When we asked for a guest pass, the woman asked Andrea where in the U.S. I was from, and when she said I studied at Boston, the woman smiled and gave me two thumbs up. She then told Andrea that she really liked Boston, especially the old city, because it was so European. I smiled and nodded – me, too! The idea of leaving Europe isn’t as hard when I think of where I’m going back to. I do so love Boston.
Being in a library really made me miss libraries. It’s been so long since I’ve just gone in and picked books off shelves. Too busy in Boston, plus I have a lot of my own books that I haven’t read yet. Still, I’m looking forward to when I’ll be able to browse library shelves and leave with about 10 books under my arms.
With Andrea at work again, when her mom came home she taught me more Hungarian. She called me a “dream student”. I guess it helps that in the last six months I’ve had the beginnings of three other languages taught to me, so I’m getting a hang of it. Andrea’s mom really wants me to know the two different conjugation types of present tense – she thinks it’s the essence of understanding Hungarian and how to speak it – so today I learned the first type. Then she brought out an English-Hungarian dictionary and chose words for me to look up and then pronounce, and then conjugate. It was kind of fun…in the weird way that somehow gets me into learning too many languages (but never actually getting fluent in any of them – which, I have resolved, is changing, and I will know at least French fluently, if not others as well).
In the evening, we met Andrea’s friend Miki at the Grand Opening of Hungary’s first Starbucks. I felt so special. The line went around the corner of the Starbucks, and took maybe twenty minutes. Shamefully, they don’t yet have the Java Chip Frappuccino…ah well. Starbucks is the one American chain that I approve of spreading. What can I say? I’d rather get fat from sugary coffee and a nice atmosphere than hamburgers and dirty buildings. Plus, I’d already introduced Andrea and hooked her two years ago in Edinburgh, and then she’d hooked her friend Miki when they went to Berlin.
The line for Starbucks - reminds me a little of 4th of July in Seward, only I was on the other side then.
Day 165 – June 14
Monday we took the train to Esztergom. It was a nice, new train, and the ride was really good. It rained a bit on the way, and I love trains in the rain.
When we got out of the train station, we discovered another “train” outside. It only cost $1 for it to take us up to the church, so we decided to go for it. It reminded me of Disneyland – taking the trolley things from the parking lot to the park – and that is a good feeling.
Esztergom was where the kings were crowned, so the church was pretty important…and impressive. We took a look at their treasury, and they had several things that were “the most precious in Hungary” and a few that were the most precious in Europe, or even in the world. Especially this amazingly detailed chalice that took two years to make, and even the Vatican doesn’t have anything like it. We got an impromptu tour by one of the curator/guards – he would tell us about various items, then let us wander a bit, then come back and tell us about another item, and eventually it turned into a tour from item to item, although he went rather fast, and Andrea had to translate for me.
We then climbed up the 300-something stairs to get to the dome, where we could see all of Esztergom, and some of Slovakia on the other side of the Danube. How cool – it’s more fun to see another country’s border than another state’s border (though the Four Corners does still entertain me…).
Hey, look, it's Slovakia!We spent the afternoon walking around the town. We stopped to get ice cream, and I got a flavor of fruit that we do not know. Andrea couldn’t remember the name of the fruit in English, and I couldn’t even determine it from the taste. Intriguing.
Day 166 – June 15
Andrea and I went to the zoo today. Andrea couldn’t stay long because she had work, but we saw the flying foxes for her (she loves bats) and we saw baby prairie dogs. A lot of the animals had babies – so adorable! When Andrea left, I hung out with some butterflies for a while. Despite my colorful outfit, none of them mistook me for a flower, and none of them tried to hitch-hike out of their building, unlike in the Boston Museum of Science. Other highlights were wolves, of course (sleeping…again – they don’t know what to do with this heat, either!), accidentally stumbling upon a sea lion show, and Dippin Dots-style ice cream (huzzah!). An interesting moment was when I got to the snake house to discover they had just fed the pythons, and watching a snake slowly digesting a rabbit whole. I felt like I was IN the Discovery Channel.
Babies!It thought it was a prairie dog, too...Colors!Is this really the English name?I was walking along near the end and witnessed an adventurous attempted-escape by a turtle. Right as I walked by a bush, he came running out of his hiding place as fast as his little body would take him, straight for freedom. Unfortunately, he wasn’t fast enough, and some pre-teens found him and started scaring the poor guy to death, picking him up and disorienting him and changing his directions. Finally a zookeeper came to his rescue…but the poor guy didn’t get his freedom.
Day 167 – June 16
A very nice rainfall in the morning. We were going to go to a park, but, alas, this year me and parks always equal rain. We did however go to drop off Andrea’s last assignment at her university, and I got jealous of all the old buildings.
Andrea then took me to the university library. When we asked for a guest pass, the woman asked Andrea where in the U.S. I was from, and when she said I studied at Boston, the woman smiled and gave me two thumbs up. She then told Andrea that she really liked Boston, especially the old city, because it was so European. I smiled and nodded – me, too! The idea of leaving Europe isn’t as hard when I think of where I’m going back to. I do so love Boston.
Being in a library really made me miss libraries. It’s been so long since I’ve just gone in and picked books off shelves. Too busy in Boston, plus I have a lot of my own books that I haven’t read yet. Still, I’m looking forward to when I’ll be able to browse library shelves and leave with about 10 books under my arms.
With Andrea at work again, when her mom came home she taught me more Hungarian. She called me a “dream student”. I guess it helps that in the last six months I’ve had the beginnings of three other languages taught to me, so I’m getting a hang of it. Andrea’s mom really wants me to know the two different conjugation types of present tense – she thinks it’s the essence of understanding Hungarian and how to speak it – so today I learned the first type. Then she brought out an English-Hungarian dictionary and chose words for me to look up and then pronounce, and then conjugate. It was kind of fun…in the weird way that somehow gets me into learning too many languages (but never actually getting fluent in any of them – which, I have resolved, is changing, and I will know at least French fluently, if not others as well).
In the evening, we met Andrea’s friend Miki at the Grand Opening of Hungary’s first Starbucks. I felt so special. The line went around the corner of the Starbucks, and took maybe twenty minutes. Shamefully, they don’t yet have the Java Chip Frappuccino…ah well. Starbucks is the one American chain that I approve of spreading. What can I say? I’d rather get fat from sugary coffee and a nice atmosphere than hamburgers and dirty buildings. Plus, I’d already introduced Andrea and hooked her two years ago in Edinburgh, and then she’d hooked her friend Miki when they went to Berlin.
The line for Starbucks - reminds me a little of 4th of July in Seward, only I was on the other side then.
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