Hungary Trip (Cont'd)
I had just been editing the same entry adding as I went, but for the first time ever, Livejournal told me it couldn't update because the post was too long... So here's the continuation!...
DAY EIGHT -Tuesday
The next day, Nick and I slept in and missed breakfast at the hotel. We decided to go to the Museum of Fine Arts. We saw a lot of pretty interesting pieces but unfortunately nothing incredibly notable. We took our time there, took a break to get some water in their cafe, and continued working through the collections. I did really enjoy myself, but I was hoping there were more pieces from really substantial artists. One thing that I did think was really interesting were a few paintings of Mary with baby Jesus, but Jesus was depicted in a way I had never seen before...like any other normal baby he was reaching...arms outstretched at the shiny gold pieces the wise men were offering him. Nick was in touch with another one of his friends, Sattler Szabolc. Szabolc is a firefighter in Budapest now, and went to school with Nick also. We went with him to a cool pizza place, that was apparently one of the places where Mark Zuckerberg visited when he was in Budapest a few weeks prior (info Peti gave us). Nick was happy because they had a few local Hungarian microbrew beers that he could try. After he got finished with work, Peti joined us at the bar.
Szabolc ended up being a really nice, really funny guy. He was explaining that he would actually love to move to the U.S.. Apparently he has done a little bit of leg work trying to find work in the U.S. already but it is tough because in order to get a job you need a visa--and often in many cases in order to get a visa you need a job. An awful catch 22. It makes me so angry when people try to argue that the illegal immigrants from Mexico should be dealt with so lightly, when it makes it difficult for people like him--who have desirable skilled trades, who want to enter our country honestly aren't able to--or at least are given such a hard time...but then when people do it illegally, we treat it so lightly. It makes it HARDER for those who want to do it the right way...for the people that actually respect our laws and us as a nation!
We had a great time joking around- all of us. Szabolc was explaining that it seems that Americans view firefighters differently than Hungarians do. That to the U.S., firefighters are heroes and that to Hungarians they are just other guys doing their jobs. I agreed with him about them being heroes in the U.S. and also mentioned that in the U.S. they have a certain sex appeal. From this contribution, we also discovered that his fire station also had made a calendar and he was Mr. July ;-).
After we were finished at the first pub, we went to another really small bar because it was significantly cheaper. We hung out upstairs there for awhile (which was kind of nice, because we were the only ones upstairs) and Szabolc told us stories about his fire-fighting buddies, he and Nick reminisced about old memories- including the motorbike accident that Szabolc and Nick got in to. Apparently Nick was just in for the ride, but Szabolc hit a patch of gravel and they both were thrown from the bike. They were near Nick's house so Peggy came out and administered first aid to Szabolc's knee. He showed us where he still had the scar. He and I also bonded over having previously loved Blink 182. When we were done for the night, both Peti and Szabolc walked us back to the hotel.
It sort of took me by surprise how much I liked Peti and how quickly. He's such a great guy--it meant the world to me all the planning he had done for us for the trip to make it special...all of the time he was taking off work to spend with us...driving us down to Kaposvár and being so inclusive of me. Not to mention taking care of me that first night. The greatest part about meeting him (and many of Nick's other friends) is that I know they would get along so well with our friends in the U.S.-- apparently Nick had similar taste in the company he kept even then. It just felt almost as if I had already known him forever, and we were really old friends. He made me feel like I was just as much a friend to him as Nick was--not just Nick's wife. I've always been a very affectionate person physically as well as verbally, so we would walk around in Budapest and I would sometimes reach out to hold Peti's hand or wrap my arm around his waist and walk with him. He would let me hold his hand, or put his arm around my shoulders when I put my arm around his waist, and sometimes offer me an extra shirt at night when it was cooler--even when I told him I didn't need one. Such a gentleman. I just instantly felt comfortable with him like I do with the guys in the fraternity at KA in Purdue, or Danyl Britts back home in Virginia. He almost instantly won my admiration and trust...and I was trying to take in and appreciate every moment we could spend with him because I knew I was going to really miss him when we left.
DAY NINE -Wednesday
Peti had off work but we had been staying up late and he had been working on top of that so I knew he had to be tired. We encouraged him to let himself sleep in a little bit. We ended up meeting him at the top of the hill near the castle. Nick and I went into Matthias' church first-which was really pretty interesting. Although it was very ornately decorated, it wasn't obnoxiously loud. Many of the designs in the church refer back to the Hungarian crest, crown, and other political symbols. Once again mixing the politics and religion. One of the coolest things about seeing this church was that it was under restoration and we were actually able to watch people taking something apart and slowly touching up the gold leafing.
We met Peti outside afterward at one of the convenience stores so we could get something to drink. Then we walked over to the castle. It now serves as their National Museum of Art in one wing and their National History Museum in the other. The guys left it up to me to decide which we should see. Despite my love of art (and desire to see some of the Monets they advertised as having there) I felt like if I was in Hungary and I could only see one, the history museum would probably be the better choice. Unfortunately the architecture of the castle wasn't particularly wonderful on the inside. But the museum was really good. I was a little worried that Peti was bored, though. He seemed to just sort of glance at the signs and moved along the corridors so quickly. It makes sense, though, because it was re-capping Hungarian history that I am sure he has had drilled into his head over and over again in school for his entire life. But he took dozens of pictures for us and several of us including a really sweet moment where Nick stood behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, and I put my hands over his while we read one of the many signs. In one of the rooms there was a large puzzle for children to put together that Peti quickly started working on while Nick and I continued reading. I was a little self-conscious about the amount of time I was spending reading and looking at different things since I didn't want the boys to be bored, but I also didn't want to rush through it. Nick really found all of the German propaganda posters interesting, so Peti made sure to take pictures of all of them especially. But he took a lot of pictures of other displays too. After we were finished there, we decided to go to St. István's Basilica.
Getting into the Basilica was free. Or it was supposed to be anyway (and it was for us--but some others probably got scammed). Some guy tried to stop us when we were walking in, but after he realized Peti and Nick spoke Hungarian he told us to go on ahead. He was probably taking advantage of other people and saying they had to pay an admission price. The Basilica was gorgeous. It wasn't quite as ornately designed as Matthias' church--at least with the paintings and things like that...but the dome itself was magnificent. There were once again many political symbols and references in this church--although, as Nick pointed out, it made a little bit more sense here since St. István was a King of Hungary, as well as a saint. We went through one of the corridor's to see St. István's right hand, (the one I had mentioned before that they had found with his remains mummified although it had not been treated to be preserved and was displayed in the church in a glass case). But it was far enough away that you couldn't really make out all the gorey details. Peti found a place where you could drop a coin to light the display case from the inside to see better and took some pictures for us. I was surprised at how rude some of the people were in the room...I would expect people to try to be quiet in a church in the first place, but on top of that, when we entered that room there were signs reminding people to be quiet. What's more, near István's hand were signs saying that no flash photography was allowed---but we noticed several people disregarding that completely.
Going up to the top of the Basilica for the panoramic view DID cost money, and Peti insisted on paying for Nick and me, since we had insisted on paying his admission to the museum. We kept trying to do little things for him here and there, but he always made sure to repay us. Nick had paid for us all at the bar that first night in Kaposvár, and he asked how much he owed--I told him not to worry about it. It was the least we could do especially after the way he took care of me. He told me it was nothing, and that he would pay for our dinner one night. Which is what he did our first night in Budapest. So the same for the museum and the basilica. I felt guilty because I know he was spending way more money than he probably typically does because he was entertaining us...eating out more, paying for touristy things like that...and although things are significantly cheaper there for us, they are not for him. He wouldn't necessarily be doing these things if we weren't there, so I didn't want him to have to be too tight with his money after we were gone.
The view at the top of the Basilica was wonderful. The dozens of stairs we had to climb to get there? Not so much. There was at least an elevator that we were able to take part of the way. It was cool, though, seeing how there was actually an inner dome and then an outer dome. St. istván's had their dome collapse THREE times, so perhaps this was changed to prevent it from collapsing again. Peti took lots of pictures for us--including one of me and Nick that is probably my favorite of us from the entire trip, and I took a few pictures of them...since I don't think we actually had any with just the two of them together at that point.
After that, we walked around so that Peti could show Nick a store he thought Nick would like. He was right, and Nick bought two or three shirts there. We also went into a sweet shop to have some Hungarian baked goods. Peti got some kind of chocolate and marzipan cake, I got a chocolate cake, and Nick got some kind of vanilla custard cake. I liked everyone else's better than mine (mine was a little dry) so Peti let me have some of his. We ended up splitting up for a little bit, because Peti needed to meet with Saci for dinner. He told her he would have dinner before we met her to go on the boat on the Danube.
So he had a bit of a "fling" I guess with Saci (Just a kiss, but they also spent a lot of time together) while he and his girlfriend, Dia, were sort of on a break (Dia's idea...not his). Ever since then, although he really likes Saci, he's tried to distance himself a bit because Dia is more important. But Saci works for a company that does boat tours, so he asked her if he could have some tickets. She ended up getting four tickets so she would accompany us, and after that had been texting him and sent him a topless pic. It put him in a really awkward position obviously and I told him a couple of times we could always cancel and choose a different boat company, but he said she had already reserved the tickets and that it would be fine.
So he had dinner with her, and Nick and I had dinner at some burger place he had recommended. (We had so much authentic Hungarian food, we decided it would be okay to branch out a little). It was really good, but we had also ordered milkshakes but they were weird. They were thin and weren't very cold. A little disappointing but no big deal. We met them at the pier. She was pretty--and seemed pretty nice, although we didn't talk much. While she seemed a little flirty, I was glad to see that she wasn't laying it on too thick. I didn't want it to be too uncomfortable for him. She told us that we could have as many drinks as we wanted while we were on board because we were VIP, but I think neither Nick or I wanted to take advantage so we each only had one. We left late enough that we could see all of the buildings lit up on either side of the Danube. Parliament was especially pretty at night. They had audio headsets that you could listen to, but instead we just asked Peti and Saci what the buildings we didn't recognize were. It was also a perfect night for a boat ride because it had cooled down from earlier in the day and there was a bit of a breeze. After the boat turned around, we got another look at Parliament and it sounds so cheesy but it was sort of magical looking. There were moths or birds or something flying above it that reflected the bright lights cast on it, so it just looked like it was sort of glittering. Gorgeous.
After the boat ride, Anikó and Tamás were meeting us to go out again, so we started walking toward our meeting point. Saci walked there with us, but then said goodbye once we arrived. On the way, Nick stopped for some fagyi (icecream) and we both got cones. I asked Peti if he wanted any of mine and he did, so I shared. After spending the time on the boat with Saci, we could tell Peti was in a sort of weird mood, so I told him that we wanted to hear more about Dia. I hoped changing the subject to his girlfriend would be good since he had told me how important she was to him. He told us about how they met...they've been together for about 2 years and met in school. But apparently he's in a bit of a hard place with her right now, and he's having trouble trying to figure out what to do. Especially since she is living in Lake Balaton to work for the summer now he is feeling extra strain on their relationship. He says he loves her and that he can tell her everything (and I believe that) but he also says sometimes he feels like there is something missing. He hopes that now that she has graduated from college too, maybe they will see more eye to eye, but he wants to do a lot with his life. He's a go-getter, and likes to take initiative. He had been telling us about this new mobile application he is going to be working on with some others (he had set a meeting to plan for that the next evening), and other things he wants for his life...but he felt like she didn't have the same kind of aspirations. Like they were maybe just in different stages of their lives.
After Anikó and Tamás arrived we went to another (smaller) ruin pub/ wreck bar to hang out. While we were walking, though, Nick was talking with Tamás and Anikó and I got to talk with Peti a little more about his problem with Dia. I told him that I think sometimes people can really truly love eachother and be good people, but for some reason just not be right for eachother. I explained about how Allison had dated Bobby for awhile and how much I liked him...how good he was for her, and how I was so surprised when she broke up with him. But she told me that as much as she loved him, she just felt in her heart they weren't supposed to be together- there was just something missing. I felt like he was getting a little sad, though, thinking about it...so I was kind of grateful when Anikó dropped back a bit to talk with us so we moved on from the conversation.
When we got to the bar, Tamás actually came out of his shell quite a bit. I guess he got more comfortable with using English and we talked quite a lot. We talked about such random subjects. Somehow we got started on gun laws...Anikó also asked us to teach her some American slang words that she could use on her tours, but it was hard for us to think of any good examples on the spot...somehow ghetto names came up and even some of the awful TV that is on in the states like Maury and Toddlers in Tiaras. We were there quite awhile, and I had a couple of hard ciders again. We left when Peti said he was hungry and that he knew of a really great place to get lángos. We had to walk quite a while to get to the place, but once we did it was so totally worth it! While we waited for the boys to order, Anikó stood off to the side and talked a bit. She told me that she thought Nick and I were really cute together, and I asked her if she was seeing anyone. She said she had just gotten out of a two-year long relationship and how difficult it was getting out of it--but it was her decision, and she felt like it was a bad relationship for her. She said her mother told her afterward that she knew Anikó and her boyfriend would never last. She told me that she really enjoyed getting to spend the time with Nick, Peti, and I. She said she hadn't seen Peti for years either and it was really nice catching up with him. She told me that she had her first kiss with Peti.
Nick got us a lángos. that had sour cream, chicken, and cheese on it. But Peti shared a bit of his with me too and it was REALLY good...he just had the sour cream and the cheese...YUMMY. After we all finished eating our langos, Anikó and Tamás had to go, so we said goodbye to them, and Peti walked us home. He messaged me on facebook when he got back home and said he walked home so he could think and it was good. So I was glad he had that time to think on his own. I imagine it was about him and Dia because of the conversation we had earlier. I felt a little sorry for bringing it up and making him talk about it in the first place, but it seemed like he wanted to talk about it with someone too.
DAY TEN - Thursday
We woke up the next morning somewhat late also, and decided to meet Peti at this bakery around the corner from the hotel that always smelled amazing. We got there first, but Peti showed up almost as soon as we entered the store. We all got our pastries and ate, and afterward we left to walk around a bit. We didn't really have any plans for the day, and Nick and Peti kept asking me what I wanted to do. Honestly, I had tried not to make too many plans because I really wanted to do whatever they might want to do. I wanted to go and see and do the things that Peti enjoyed in the city, or the things that Nick remembered from his time there...so I was honestly unprepared to suggest places to go.
Nick had wanted to get a Hungarian team Adidas pullover or hoodie so we walked to an Adidas store, but they didn't really have exactly what he was looking for. Nick had mentioned also buying some Hungarian playing cards. Apparently they have their own special kind of playing cards and specific games using them. Peti suggested we look inside one of the bookstores, and sure enough--they had them. It was such an odd bookstore because they actually sold wine and palinka and things like that at the entrance. Between places, Peti also showed us another sweet shop (aptly called "Sugar") which we ended up stopping back in later, and had us go with him into a few buildings where he really liked the architecture. He mentioned in one of those places about how he liked the wood on the floors. If he hadn't mentioned it, I would have thought they were stones cut into blocks like the streets in the castle district, but he was right--they were actually cubes of wood so old it had become petrified: pretty cool. We tried another store that sold Adidas things, but we were still unsuccessful. I mentioned that I wouldn't mind going inside the Opera house. During our tour with Anikó earlier in the week, she had mentioned how ornately designed it was inside, so I thought it could be really pretty. We were able to go inside, and it WAS very pretty, but tours to see the main part of the building weren't for several hours, and I didn't really think it was worth sticking around. We saw what we could from there, and then left. I noticed while we were leaving that the ground in front was also made up of the same petrified wood blocks like the ones Peti had mentioned to me before.
We eventually decided to go to Margaret Island; It was named after the daughter of Béla IV of Hungary who lived in the Dominican convent on the island. While we were there, we rented a bicycle type cart that had two sets of wheels and pedals and a sort of bench that stretched between them. The boys both pedaled and I got to sit in the middle. At first Nick was steering, but then when he and Peti switched, Peti liked to steer like a wild man...he would turn the wheel quickly so the thing would swing around suddenly. It was a lot of fun, but I would squeal every time we turned sharply or went over a big bump because it felt like the whole thing could easily tip over. I noticed that after a bit, I had wrapped my arms around both Peti and Nick and was squeezing them tightly as if I was helping hold them in. The island was really beautiful. Gorgeous trees that I would have loved to climb or read a book under. We sort of ended up racing or scaring some little girls that were in a bicycle thing like ours. At one point, Nick got out of the main bench and sat in an area that was probably meant for a child while Peti and I pedaled. We tried to pedal a little more quickly and really give Nick a good ride ;-).
I think it was then that we decided to go back to Sugar. Nick wanted some ice cream but Peti and I both got other sweets. Mine was sort of a mousse type thing that was made to look like the Moulin Rouge (and therefor was called that). It was soooo good. It was raspberry with chocolate. Peti got cake I think. We sat there and talked for a bit. I asked Peti more about his parents and his brother. I told him a little bit more about my brother, also. I wish we had been able to meet his parents on this trip. Well-I had been able to meet them and Nock had been able to see them.
After that, we couldn't think of much else to do, but Nick and I were a little tired from walking around all week so we asked if Peti would go with us back to the hotel and we could try to learn some Hungarian card games! Peti taught us the only game he knew which was sort of like the Hungarian version of Black Jack. It was really difficult for me to remember which cards had which value, but to make it even harder, I've never been so good at reading roman numerals--and that's how all the cards were, so I wasn't doing so well! We ended up watching a bunch of silly videos there. We showed him Justin Timberlake's SNL skit with Andy Sandberg "Dick in a Box" and the day before when we were about to get on the boat, Peti mentioned how much he loves boats and it made me think of Lonely Island's video "I'm on a boat". He thought it was hilarious too, and said Saci would love it so he would send it to her later. We watched some others. Nick really got on a Lonely Island kick and showed him "Mother Lover" and "Creep" too although I don't like them nearly as much as some of the others.
After a little bit, Peti left because he had set a meeting with some people to develop a mobile application (I think I mentioned it before) where it would take a map of Budapest and sort of assign different colors to the different types of establishments (restaurants, bars, tourist attractions, etc) and would also integrate with social media sites. It sounded really interesting, and he was getting together with them to continue planning the application.
Nick and I went to one of the main walking streets to have dinner. We found a cute, very unassuming looking restaurant that served some really good food. Nick just had to have the Hortobágyi Palacsinta again, which we shared. I had some kind of amazing cheese pasta, and Nick had another gypsy roast, I think! While we were there, he noticed a small store across the street that specialized in microbrew beer and Pálinka. After we ate, we went to the store, and Nick got a few different kinds of beer to bring back to the hotel and try, as well as a .5 liter bottle of good Pálinka to bring back with us to the states.
Nick was extra sweet that night. He told me how much he liked it when I wore the dress that I was wearing, and I could tell by the way he kissed me that he was extra sentimental. He didn't verbalize it as much as I did, but I know it meant just as much to him as it did to me for him to be able to show me this special part of his past. I think this trip has made us closer because I have a better understanding of what his experience was like there, and the people he had to leave behind, but also the people that helped turn him into the person he is now. And the country, for that matter. I love that I am still surprised by him, even after knowing him for 9 years, I love learning new things about him...other pieces of him. It was cool seeing how quickly he fell right back into speaking Hungarian. Even little funny bits like how I noticed everyone there seems to say yes or no multiple times....Almost everyone seems to say it twice as a minimum. But many times three. And when Nick speaks in English, he usually just says it once, but when he would pick up the phone to talk to Peti or Kristóf or whomever, I would notice him saying Igen Igen Igen! (yes yes yes). I teased him about it, and I told Peti and any of Nick's other friends about it--they all denied it at first, but then I would catch them doing it and they would laugh with me about it. They also kind of do that for "good" as well, which is jó.
I decided that I wanted to learn Hungarian, when I got home, though. I have actually been looking at Hungarian language software these last couple of days trying to find a good one. I'm a little intimidated, because I feel like the pronunciation part will be very hard, but I know Peti and Nick will help me. In fact, Peti said I didn't need language software because he could be my Hungarian language software (lol), but I don't want to take advantage of either of them. And I get frustrated sometimes when I can't learn things quickly so I don't want them to be the only ones teaching me and for me to get frustrated at them instead of myself if I can't learn something well. But it will be good having them to practice with.
Anyway, after dinner, we decided to have a quiet night in. We played a few games of Ticket to Ride on my iPad and Nick enjoyed some of his beers. We went to bed a little early, because Kristóf was planning on coming up from Kaposvár the next morning to do Nick's tattoo, and Nick and I were going to try to see the Parliament building first so we could take a tour and see the royal crown. Although Kristóf was pretty good at English from what I could tell, he was somewhat shy when speaking it, and tended to speak mainly in Hungarian, so I thought I may be bored waiting around for Nick to have his tattoo for several hours because I they would probably slip into speaking mainly Hungarian, so we decided to ask Peti if he could take me some other places for part of the day.
We teased that it would be our first date, and since he kept asking me what I wanted to do earlier in the week, I decided to do a bit of research and see if there was anything else that really interested me. One of the things I decided I wanted to do was visit the zoo. I messaged him about it and he said he loved the zoo so that was perfect! I also thought that one of the buses went to the top of Gellért hill, and since I was so excited about the pretty views from the top and so disappointed I lost all of the pictures I took on my camera, I asked if we might be able to visit the top again so we could re-take some of the pictures. Lastly, I found something about a pretty looking lake and I said it would be nice to relax there if we had the time. Peti said that there was one that he liked even better closer to where he lived and he would try to take me there instead.
DAY ELEVEN- Friday
Nick and I set the alarm for 8:30 I think so we could wake up in time to have breakfast, get ready, and be over at the parliament in time for the tour at 10:30. By the time we got there, though, they were only selling tickets for 10:50 or something, though, but that was fine. Nick had been in touch with Kristóf and he was on the train to Budapest, which would probably arrive around the same time we finished our tour, but he still had to pick up a key from his cousin and get his things set up in the apartment (that was where they were going to do the tattoo) so we decided that when we finished the tour we would go back to the hotel and figure out when and where I should meet up with Peti.
When we got back to the hotel, I saw that Peti was on facebook, so we arranged for him to meet us at the hotel. When he arrived, we decided that we would get some lunch together before he and I went to the zoo and Nick met with Kristóf. We found a small place on a corner that made really good gyros and ate there. After, we all went on the metro together--Nick just had to get off at his stop first, and then Peti and I continued on to ours.
When we approached the gate at the zoo, I asked Peti to help me speak with the person to get my tickets. I started to get out the cash I had asked Nick to give me, and I fully intended to pay for my own ticket (actually I wanted to pay for both of ours, but I knew he may not let me) but I thought I would need help communicating. But Peti insisted on getting my ticket as well as his. Luckily their zoo admission is not NEARLY as expensive as what they try and charge for the zoo admission in Houston. He handed me the map and told me I was in charge. It was written completely in Hungarian, but they did have pictures on the map so I could figure out where I was going. I decided we would just start counter clock-wise and try to see everything we could.
When Nick and I had been out on our own before we had passed by a billboard that said they were having a "baby boom" at the zoo and they definitely weren't lying! We saw baby giraffes, baby lions, and baby kangaroos. I'm sure there were a few other babies, I just can't think of them off the top of my head right now. Peti took a couple dozen more photos for me. Near the monkey habitat, they had a sort of "caveman" exhibit as well that you could enter with fake little caveman sculptures. One was crouching toward the edge of a rock to the left when we entered, and it startled Peti, which in turn, startled me. I gave him a hard time about it for pretty much the rest of the day.
I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure this was my first time seeing kangaroos. They were far smaller than I imagined they were, it's possible they were all babies/adolescents but I didn't really see any that looked as large as I thought the adults would be. There were a few areas where they had fish and other marinelife. I asked Peti if he had ever touched a stingray before, and that I had...of course, as soon as I said that, we noticed an area where touching them was allowed and he asked me if I wanted to, but I was nervous. When I had done it before, someone told you what to do so that they just sort of came up and sucked on your fingers and moved along, but I was afraid I would do something wrong and it would sting me so I didn't.
I loved the small habitat with the butterflies. Peti said he didn't like butterflies, but once we were in the habitat he didn't seem to mind. There were several that I don't think really live in the U.S..
We got to the part of the zoo where you can enter and pet all the goats. These goats were hilarious. Every time someone entered the pen with a bag of pellet food they got really loud and rushed at them, almost knocking most people over while trying to get to the food. I approached one standing on a bench that tried to eat my watch while I pet it. I also had to watch and make sure it didn't try to nibble on my dress when I turned away. What cute little goats, though. :)
There was a building dedicated to animals from North America as we were nearing the end of the zoo. I asked Peti if he wanted to go in or not, and he said he wanted to do whatever I wanted to do. But I also didn't want to take too long at the zoo, and figured that I had probably already seen the animals they had in there dozens of times so we could skip it if he wanted. Which he then started teasing me for because I said something like "I've already seen all that before" so after we went in one of the other smaller habitats, and I realized we were almost back to the front of the zoo anyway, I figured we should go in after all.
We saw some alligators while we were in there, and I told him about the alligators near buffalo bend. There was another area where there were sloths. One was sleeping really close by upside down on a tree branch and Peti reached out to touch it. I was afraid he would startle it, but instead of jumping it just laid as still as can be....as lazy as a sloth. lol.
When we got back near the front we also saw a manitee which was really cool. They had it so that you could see it above water, and also walk below and see it from a viewing tank.
When we were leaving the zoo, Peti asked if I wanted to call Nick and see how he was doing, so he dialed his number and handed me the phone.
To my surprise, Nick told me that they had only begun tattooing about 45 minutes before my call, because Kristóf had accidentally forgotten the sketch at home...so not only did he have to re-sketch it, but Nick had him adjust it a couple of times.
Since they had just gotten started and we thought they would take at least 4 hours, we decided to do some other things, including going back to the top of Gellért for the pictures.
Before we did that, though, Peti said he wanted to show me something. We walked past a pretty lake and the sun was shining brightly but out of nowhere big cold rain drops started to fall. It made me think of the song "Have you ever seen the rain?" by Creedance Coldwater Revival. I thought it was pretty cool, and I think Peti did too because he mentioned we might be able to see a rainbow, but the water was really chilly and it was making him cold.
He ended up taking me to see the outside of the Museum of Agriculture and it's surrounding buildings including a church where a bride and groom were being photographed. There was also the statue of Anonymous that I think I had seen somewhere online (probably on welovebudapest.hu ...one of the websites Peti had sent me to look at before we came). It was really cool, but we were a bit distracted because there was a man near it with a violin that wouldn't leave us alone. I wanted to ignore him and walk away but I also wanted to see the statue, so we couldn't just leave. He started by asking what language we spoke. Peti talked with him a moment and I think said he spoke Hungarian but I didn't. So the man asked me in English if I had a camera...but his accent was a little strange so I didn't understand him and he had to repeat himself several times. I told him I didn't, but eventually he realized that Peti had a camera on his phone so he rambled on about being able to take a funny picture with him. He also mentioned something about playing music for us on his violin, and Peti dropped a few coins into his music case, but he still wasn't finished with us. As we approached the statue he tried to explain the statue to me.
Peti took a picture of this, and after, I noticed the man turn around and start talking to Peti in Hungarian. But he was making gestures that made it quite obvious he was saying something about my ass so it was pretty awkward. (Later Peti said the man told him that he shouldn't take pictures of my ass, because he was taking that picture from behind me. lol). The man ended up handing me his violin which I held really awkwardly because I wasn't expecting him to do it. He also handed me his bow and told me to hold it like I was playing it. When I followed his directions he plugged his ears so Peti could take a photo and it would look like I was playing really horrible music. He also said he could take a picture of me in Anonymous' lap, but I said I wanted Peti in the picture so he took one of the two of us together. I made Peti get in the statue's lap, though, because it looked like it would be awkward getting up there, and since I didn't know what the man had said to him earlier, I didn't want the creepy man having another opportunity to look at my ass.
After we got down from the statue, he also told Peti that he should sing me some kind of Hungarian folk song, and at one point asked us if we knew how to waltz and told us to dance. We kept trying to politely get away--especially when he would call out to others passing by asking them what language they spoke...but every time they walked away he would shout after them angrily. If they spoke back at all, we would try to leave but he almost always caught us and said "wait! wait!" and came up with some other reason for us to stay.
Finally when he targeted a group of girls, we pretty much had to run off to make our escape.
From there we caught the metro going toward the river, since Peti knew we would at least have to go that far. But when we went about as far as the metro went, he wasn't sure which bus or tram we would need to take to get to the top of Gellért. No one else seemed to know either...the closest we were able to do was get one of the buses that went partway up and walk the rest of the way.
I hadn't really thought about that, so I was just wearing a dress that hit above the knee and some sandals--not exactly prepared for going back up that hill. But I really did want those pictures again, and Peti seemed willing to go with me so we just did it. It was kind of neat though because we went up from the opposite side Nick and I had before. The bus passed by a statue of Gellért on the side of the hill, and after we got off the bus, we walked through a park--I think Peti said it was called Philosopher's park? Because it was so quiet people could come there and think. He also said he had practiced martial arts there. (I forget which discipline he said he studied). There were some really unique statues up there. There was a circle of sculptures of notable religious leaders (Akhenaten, Ghandi, Jesus, etc.). There was also one that I thought was really cool...a sculpture of both Buda and Pest divided by the river...but it had a large king emerging from one side and a queen emerging from the other---symbolizing, I assume the joining of the cities of Buda and Pest to become Budapest.
After that statue, there were several stairs that we climbed to get to the top of the hill. We arrived at the top, both a little short of breath. Peti took several pictures of the view below for me. I also asked him to explain the sign to me near the cannons and artillery. The hill had been used by the Soviets to bomb the city below, and the sign described the range of each of the weapons displayed there. Because of its history, the liberty statue was put on this hill. Peti took a picture of the liberty statue for me, and then we looked over the Pest side for awhile and talked.
I told him that one of my favorite things about him is how animated his face is. he just made a silly face and said something like "oh really? I'm animated?". He smiles all the time. I asked him to show me where he lived, and he did. I asked about his roommates too, and we talked about some other things. Before going back down the hill he asked if there were any more pictures I wanted, and I said that I wanted him to ask someone to take some pictures of us with the view behind us so we did. Peti joked that he could take a picture of just me and photo shop Nick into it.
I asked if we should go down the hill the same way we had just come up, or if we could go down the way Nick and I had come before. He said it didn't really matter, so I said I wanted to go down the way Nick and I had come. When we reached the foot of the hill, I asked if he could take a couple of pictures of the cavern church for me and also one of the freedom bridge.
He had called and talked to Nick at some point who said they were still working on the tattoo, so Peti told me he wanted to show me something. We walked along the river for quite a while. We talked about college and the system they have where they earn credits based on performance in secondary school that in return, they can use for college. I asked him to tell me more about him and Nick when they were younger. He told me about how they would rollerblade and skate board together. He explained that one time, Mike helped him order a skateboard because Peti could get a good one far cheaper than they were available there that way. When we arrived, the maze he wanted to take me to had just closed. :-( There was this cool spiral-type ramp structure next to it, though, that we were able to walk up...it allowed you to see the maze from above and also to look out on the river.
Peti asked me what my favorite part of the trip had been. I told him that it was truly hard to decide. I think I finally told him that it really was just getting to meet everyone that Nick was friends with. It was hard to come up with a favorite experience or even a favorite place. I told him about how Nick and I first met...about Titus, and meeting Nick at first at dinner with Titus, and how I didn't even really like him then because he asked the Santa Claus in the restaurant to come over to me.
After we came down from the spiral tower, we started to cross the bridge back to the Buda side of the river. I didn't ask where we were going...I just followed him. It wasn't long after we crossed the bridge, that we entered a big park past a gate. Peti said he was taking me there because it was usually very beautiful and very peaceful, but there was some kind of festival going on there. Despite that, near the water it was still pretty quiet. My feet were getting very sore and so were my legs so it was good to sit down for a bit. Peti's must have hurt too because he took off his shoes while we sat.
After we rested for a bit and took in the scenery, I suggested we could get some lemonade before we head back. We had passed by someone selling it on our way to the lake. He offered to buy it for me, but I insisted on buying my own and asked if he wanted one too. At first he said no, but he did let me get him one too. We drank them as we walked back down the river this time on the side of Buda. While we walked we ended up talking more about him and Dia and the difficult situation with Saci. I wish that I could give him advice on what to do, but I feel like only he can really decide. I just tried to listen and tell him what I know from experience in my relationships.
We crossed back over the Danube and took the metro until we were closer to the apartment where Kristóf was doing Nick's tattoo. I think Nick was a little disappointed that we didn't arrive sooner while he was being tattooed. I don't think either of us meant to take as long as we did, but we got carried away. I know I was having a good time, and I assume Peti was too, so I think the time just sort of flew right by. It would have been nice for me to be there for Nick though while he was having it done. I did really appreciate the time Peti spent with me that day, though, because I'm sure he would have loved to spend it not just with me but with Nick also.
I was relieved to see that it had turned out really well. Not that I doubted Kristóf's abilities. I just wasn't really sure what to expect. Kristóf cleaned the tattoo again and wrapped it with cellophane and we decide on a place nearby that Peti recommended for dinner.
The restaurant was good, but when I went up to get the my food I was really confused because everything was written in Hungarian. Obviously I could tell what some things we, but others weren't so self-explanatory.
When Nick and Peti were up getting their food, though, I took the moment to really thank Kristóf for doing Nick's tattoo. I told him how much I know it means to Nick not only that he has the tattoo, but that Kristóf was the one to do it. He said that it meant just as much to him. :-) Nick actually told me later that Kristóf was a little disappointed that Peti and I hadn't returned from our "date" sooner to see him finish the tattoo. I was sorry to have disappointed him.
I told Nick that he should pay for dinner for us all. For Peti, to at the very least pay him back for my zoo admission and a couple of drinks he bought me throughout the day, and for Kristóf as a thank you for coming all the way out to Budapest to do his tattoo.
After that, we went back to the hotel so Nick and I could pack. Our flight was for 6:00 in the morning, so we had arranged for a taxi to pick us up around 3:30 am and planned not to go to sleep. We returned to the room, and I changed. Then we packed as quickly as we could. While Kristóf and Peti watched TV.
I had asked if we might be able to get some drinks and sit by the edge of the Danube again like we had our first night in Budapest. Peti had suggested we could sit on the middle of the liberty bridge, but when we got there other people had the same idea already, and I wasn't sure I would be able to climb up where we would need to sit because I'm so short. So instead, we crossed the bridge, and went down the steps on the riverbank a bit and sat there. We had taken a bottle of wine Nick and I had bought in Badacsony and I asked the guys to help me drink it.
We sat there together for awhile talking and joking. I wish I could remember everything we talked about. I was trying so hard to remember every last detail...I just kept looking at my watch and thinking that we would be leaving soon, but at the same time I could hardly believe that we really would be.
I'm sort of glad that I had enough wine to make me a little bit buzzed. I think it helped keep me from focusing on the fact we were leaving, and kept me from getting too sad. Nick had decided that he just had to have ice cream so we left the side of the Danube to search for any place that was still open selling it. We walked quite awhile, but we did finally find his ice cream. We walked a bit longer, but eventually Kristóf had to go. We hugged our goodbyes...one thing I think I have forgotten to mention is that apparently it is customary for men to kiss women once on each cheek when saying goodbye. I'm so not used to it...I'm just used to hugs really, and kisses on one cheek sometimes...so whenever Kristóf would say goodbye to me, I would forget about the second kiss and just pull him in tightly for a hug. It would always catch him off guard so he would just kind of chuckle a little bit. This last one was even more awkward than usual somehow because I tried to go along with the cheek kiss thing but I guess I moved my head weirdly so he almost kissed me on the mouth. Lol. Oops!
After he left, Peti walked with us back to the hotel. It was quite a long walk, and even though my legs and my feet really hurt, I wanted it to last longer because the sooner we got back to the hotel the sooner we would have to leave. Peti and I laid down on the bed, and Nick sat in the chair at the desk and we just chatted for awhile. Peti went back through some of the pictures we had taken that day on his phone and I looked at them with him. At about 3:10 or so, Nick said we should probably go downstairs to get checked out from the hotel. We went downstairs and Peti and I sat in the chairs in the lobby while Nick checked out. I thought we would have fifteen or more minutes until the taxi arrived but before I knew it, a man had entered and Nick or Peti said that the taxi was there.
My heart dropped. I just felt like we were being robbed of the last fifteen minutes we were supposed to have to say goodbye. I had wanted to tell Peti how much the time I got to spend getting to know him meant to me, and how much I care about him, but I was afraid that if I did I would start to cry. I think we all felt the same way about the taxi arriving as early as it did, because the expressions on Peti and Nick's faces seemed to match the way I felt.
Peti helped us get our bags outside and loaded into the taxi. He and Nick hugged and exchanged a few last words in Hungarian, and then Peti and I hugged. I told him I loved him and I think I heard him say that he loved me too. We gave each other kisses on the cheek, and I squeezed him a little tighter before I finally had to let him go so I could get in the cab.
DAY ELEVEN - Saturday
Nick and I sat in the dark cab holding hands...after a few minutes, I looked over to Nick and I saw a few tears running down the side of his cheek. Seeing him so emotional made me even more so, and before I knew it quiet tears were sliding down my cheeks as well.
I was so tired that I was able to sleep during the entire flight to Frankfurt. The flight from there to Houston, however was less successful. I was able to sleep a good deal in the beginning, but the flight was very bumpy and it kept waking me up.
Our trip really was amazing. I'm not really sure what I expected but it was far more than I could have. I am so beyond grateful for the strong friendships Nick had with the people there. It was really incredible for me to be able to travel to such a far away country and to feel like I already had friends. It was great to be able to see the places that people who lived there actually enjoyed instead of just the typical things tourists would do. I loved getting to see Nicks old school, his old church, and his old home. It was incredible to me seeing the lengths his friends went to for us....dropping everything to spend time with us and show us around, doing us countless favors, and acting as if it was nothing. The thing that meant the most to me, though, and probably also to Nick was how quickly they accepted me and made me feel welcome. So the best part of the trip really and truly was the people.
That part, though, was also what made it the hardest to leave. It wouldn't be so difficult to say goodbye if I knew when or even if I would see some of them again. Peti sent me the photos shortly after we came back, and I haven't been able to stop myself from going back through them every day since we returned.
Nick and I had talked about possibly visiting Paris for New Year's 2014/2015. He mentioned it to a few people, especially Peti, and suggested that maybe we could meet there. I hope that we really can arrange something like that. I can't stand the thought of him losing touch with Peti or any of these other friends again.
You think you know, but you have no idea.