Budapest - Day #4 (sorry this one got long)

By Jeff - June 28, 2009

Okay, here we are at the end of Sunday (about 8:30 Hungarian time as I start this note) – and I realized that we have only Monday and half of Tuesday and then I am done! Where did the time go? (ask my wife, who hasn’t gotten a shower due to a screaming child. I’m sure the time has passed much more slowly for her. Truth be told – since she hasn’t gotten a shower, I am glad that I am here – PEEEE-YOOOO!)

Okay, so a run down of today. I hate to start on a sour note, but then it’s all out of the way and everything else is nice and rosy. So – the aggravation of the day is:

Why the heck won’t my VISA card work here in Budapest? I phoned them 2-3 weeks ago to notify them and they said, “we have it in the system – have a good trip.” Well, it’s hard to have a good trip when you can’t PAY for anything!! (btw – Lisa, wire me some cash – baby!). Fortunately, I have another card – but I’m not really supposed to use it – but desperate times call for such measures, now – don’t they. I believe that we should have it straightened out soon.

Okay – onto other things. A few notes that I forgot to mention yesterday.

Last night Ferenc and Zoltan (Zoley, for short) took me out to a corner pub. Fortunately it was just across the street so Ferenc didn’t need to stagger too far to get home (rumor has it, he likes his alcohol). Actually, he was a good boy and stayed in control. I, still in search of that elusive Pepsi can, had to drink coke again (after I get home and hug the family, I have go and hug the Pepsi guy).

Anyway – for supper last night – in this AUTHENTIC Hungarian pub, that played James Brown and the Rolling Stones – I had goulash! The 2 guys warned me that it would be too spicy. I think they were secretly let down that my head didn’t actually explode. It was GREAT – but nothing like Minnesota goulash. First of all, there are no macaroni noodles nor tomato sauce or hamburger in Hungarian goulash. It is more of a beef and vegetable soup (oh yeah, don’t even try to tell me that I am the only one who didn’t know that!).

Also – something I thought was funny – yesterday morning, during set up – I came rushing out of the meeting room and made an immediate right turn to go down the hallway. I nearly killed this poor guy who was coming around the corner at an equally high rate of speed. We both stopped abruptly (he had good reflexes too) and I immediately said, “oh, excuse me”. At the same time I realized that this person looked vaguely familiar – very shortly thereafter, I realized that it was ME! There is a giant mirror just outside the conference room doors. It has fooled me a number of times over the past 2 days. I thought it was funny how quickly you react to something without actually taking in the whole picture (okay, now I’m rambling – but I did laugh).

Okay – on to today’s events.

It was a good day. A few technical difficulties, but everything worked out fine in the end.

I am amused to say that even though I am nearly 5,000 miles from home, it is just like being at home. Apparently, A-V guys from all over the world get aggravated when presenters grab, and adjust, a perfectly good microphone – not because it’s not picking them up, but because they just have to fidget. Apparently presenters from everywhere in the world also have to grab a microphone, just because they don’t know what else to do with their hands!

I went to the Chain Bridge festival again and had another meal from the same street vender. Different food this time, but equally as good. The festival was much more fun since I had time to hang out and watch people. There were a few bands. One band was made up of 2 men and 4 women – that sang to pre-recorded soundtracks. They must be pretty popular because they had the girls screaming and waving their hands. It was pretty funny – as they sang an Abba song. It was Waterloo, but all in Hungarian, except for the “Waterloo” part. Everything else was in Hungarian & everyone on the streets was singing along. (what was I saying about just like being at home?)

They say that Paris is the city of love, but I can tell you that there is no shortage of emotion on the streets of Budapest (if you know what I mean).

Anyway – I have been quite long winded, so will close (if you even made it this far).

Have a great day and enjoy life. Talk to you all again.

Jeff