The greatest delight of this city is the fact that I get to share it with my beautiful mother. For the first time in over 30 years, she flew across the big pond to hang out with me for the holidays (Christmas, New Years, and my birthday--and no, I will not accept your trying to pass off one "big" gift to cover both xmas and my bday...you hear that Grandma? I MISS YOU!). My sightseeing, museum hopping, people watching, shopping, and general life pace have slowed down a bit with my mom in tow, but in a positive and relaxing way. I feel like I'm back at home, where you can do nothing all day except get out of bed and eat what's put in front of you, and your parents consider you a success. I think my mom applauded me for "being awake" today; I haven't received that kind of unmerited positive feedback since I played "Chicken #3" in my kindergarden school play and managed not to throw up on my costume.
Despite our relaxed pace, we have done and seen quite a bit in Budapest. We are living in a lovely old apartment on the Buda side of the Danube River, very close to the medieval castle district. This side of the river is definitely quieter and, well, less interesting than the opposite, Pest side, but the city's great public transportation system has allowed us to get almost anywhere with incredible ease. Budapest relies on metros, trams, trollies, and buses to haul all the little old ladies and gentlemen (there seem to be a lot of them) around town on their errands (what are they doing all the time? joy rides?). The unique thing about the metro is that it is reeaalllyyy far underground. You have to take the longest escalator of your life to get up from or down to the metro. And the escalators move really quickly in order to cover all that ground. My mom still jumps onto it like it's a thrill ride and holds on for dear life (see photo). As for the tram/trolley system, one old car is completely covered in Christmas lights every year, and I was so excited when I finally spotted it lit up the other night (see photo). Lastly, the buses. Buses are always the most potentially useful form of inner-city transportation, but also the most consistently impossible to navigate as a foreigner. I spent one morning trying to navigate the bus network to get to the Indian embassy, and I only managed to arrive at my destination thanks to the generous help of the (again, elderly) Hungarians who watched me hopping on and off numerous buses, squinting at various maps, and looking generally flabbergasted.
As suggested by her nerves and excitability in simply riding the metro escalators, my mom has proven to be quite easily entertained by the simplest things in a foreign place....and it's pretty funny to watch. She takes forever to leave the apartment every day (granted, so do I); this is due to her unfamiliarity with dressing for cold weather, as well as her need to put all of her valuables (aka. her passport and....???) in her money belt and affix it around her waist, underneath her many layers, just in case, I don't know, one of the many fur-coated Hungarian women decides to trip her as she jumps onto to the metro escalator, steal all of her belongings, and hobble away through the snow with a cane and/or walker. Scary, I know. One day she forgot to put on her money belt and...you guessed it...an old Hungarian lady attacked her. Okay, I'll stop making fun of her because she has been such a great companion these past weeks--cooking homey meals, taking care of me while I'm sick, picking up Chinese take-out for me, bringing me necessities from home and lugging lots of my stuff back with her, etc, etc. THANKS MOM!
On Christmas morning, we went to see The Nutcracker in the Budapest Opera House, which is one of the city's famous attractions, with its beautiful interior and ornate decorations (see photos). There were tons of adorable Hungarian children dressed up in fancy outfits for the performance, reminding me of my first (and last, until now) trip to The Nutcracker in San Francisco: all of the girls in my elementary school class were told to wear dresses, but I either refused or didn't own one, so I wore a crushed velvet black pant-suit, which I will never forget
(unfortunately, no photo for reference).
We also spent a couple of days exploring the medieval castle district, with beautiful views of the Danube River, the Parliament, and the entire Pest side of the city. I also got to hold a golden eagle (the California mascot!), which resembles the falcon that watches over Buda in traditional folklore. Oh, and my face in the picture is supposed to be a funny.
While in the castle district, we explored the underground labyrinth, which is advertised as a medieval tourist attraction, but is really more of a wannabe-Disneyland-like attraction for twelve-year-olds; hence, I greatly enjoyed it. We spent the next week exploring the Pest side of the city, which required a quarter-mile walk through a congested tunnel every morning and evening because we couldn't figure out how to buy metro passes for a while. After coughing our way through that tunnel for a number of days, I noticed the sign below (see photo). With some added motivation, we have learned to navigate the metro and have since seen much more of Pest....
As per our duty as (Asian) tourists, we visited St. Stephen's Basilica, the city's largest church and home to the preserved hand of Saint Stephen (which is on display and seriously grossed me out). We also enjoyed many a day and night at Budapest's Christmas market, one of the few
traditional markets left in Europe, which only sells original handicrafts made by local artisans. Sorry, I didn't buy anyone souvenirs, but I did enjoy delicious mulled wine, fried dough with sour cream and cheese (a Hungarian speciality and an invitation to a massive coronary), and roasted chestnuts (they're gross), though I chickened out and didn't try to rooster testicles. Hungary is also known for its streudels (they're so-so), paprika spices, Christmas sweet rolls (which, like many local pastries, are filled with poppy seeds--Hungarians could never pass drug tests),
delicious sponge cake, thinly-rolled dough baked over an open fire, stuffed cabbage, wiener schnitzels, I could go on. There are tons of great markets where you can taste all of the above. The only trouble is not understanding the Hungarian language, Magyar, when the merchants tell you the total price of your purchases.
Luckily, an elderly woman helped us out, translating all of our requests and the corresponding prices as we shopped at one market. She then asked, "Are you from China or Japan?" I wanted to tell her that we were from Korea, Vietnam or the Philippines...or even California! We told her we are Japanese-Americans, but that we love Chinese food. She made a gross face and said that she can't imagine eating her little dog...but she does love spring rolls! Who doesn't?! (I wanted to ask her how many dogs it took to make her massive fur coat, but I refrained--she was very kind and helpful).
In project news, I got to visit the original Rubik Studio, where the cube was first created. The studio is still in operation, with a twenty person staff; they assemble each cube by hand, including every last sticker application. These cubes are sold only in Hungary, and I bought one at the Christmas market! I've become/always have been a huge nerd, I know. I filmed two interviews at the studio, one with a man who has been working at the studio since its inception in the 70's. I'm hoping to interview a few more people before I leave Budapest, including Erno Rubik's daughter and the infamous Hungarian cuber who was banned from official cubing tournaments for three years due to supposedly cheating in blindfolded competitions (he is still serving his "sentence"; we'll see if he's willing to meet/be interrogated by me).
All in all, I think my favorite part of our time in Budapest has been walking around aimlessly and getting lost amidst the city's beautiful architecture, especially the many art nouveau buildings and facades. It was only by getting lost far from the city center that we discovered the university neighborhood where all of the young Hungarians have been hiding from us (did I mention how many old men and women there are in central Budapest? I swear they had some crazy parents-of-baby-boomers generation here). For the past few days, I have been sickly and bedridden, sadly unable to mingle with all the Hungarian elders. I have passed the days watching movies online (if you haven't yet, watch "I am Sam" and "North Country"); working on my future travel plans (which are currently very up-in-the-air, as I am landing in Bangkok on Jan. 8, and there is a potentially violent political rally scheduled for Jan. 11th....I'll letcha know how that goes); and obsessively following a stranger's blog (no joke...I stumbled upon this college guy's blog one day and have completely stalked him online, following all potential leads...I'm either in love or a total creeper....or both? Did I mention that his blog is shared with a girl, probably his girlfriend...she better sleep with her eyes open...or maybe call the police).
I'll write again soon about my experiences in France (mainly Paris) from November/December. I'm determined to finish writing about my time in Europe before I leave for Asia; otherwise, I fear I'll forget everything. I'll try to post again tomorrow. I have a feeling it'll be a big day. I might even shower.
Sachi out.
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