I Survived the Trinity

I have been busy the past few days. I suppose I just had so many things to do, like looking for a new roommate, cleaning the apartment, running experiments in the lab, and so on.

Anyway, I suppose it is time for a rather boring geeky post. Yesterday, I met with my adviser, after not seeing him for the past month. He gave me back my QP, with very small revisions.

Now there's good news. He told me to revise it, and then pass it on to the second and third readers. He doesn't need to see it after revising it. That means that I survived the Trinity of revisions. I suppose it is usual for students to have three drafts approved by their advisers before it goes to the next person. So yeah, my third draft came back, and now, after revising it, it will go to two other professors at the same time. Then I will collect their feedback, revise it one more time, and hopefully that would be it. I would then file it to the department office, and my QP requirement would be fulfilled. I would then be officially a Ph.D. candidate. And when I finish the remaining coursework that I have this year, I would be an ABD.

On other topics, it's been a week that I have been working here in the lab. I have seen people participate in our experiments, and sometimes I cannot help but think that these people do not think. Or at least use their brain. For crying out loud, why do people just assume that they know what they're supposed to do, instead of reading the instructions carefully and thoroughly? That's why the computer doesn't function, because they are doing something wrong! If the computer tells you to hit the Spacebar, then hitting anything else aside from the Spacebar will do nothing!

Anyway, I guess I won't be running experiments until classes start again, since the subject pool would be away. The summer classes end tomorrow, so tomorrow would be the last day people can sign up for experiments. After that, then we would have to wait until Fall 2008 begins, which is in about three weeks.

My adviser is on sabbatical for the fall. That would give me six months of thinking time, because I have to think about my dissertation as well. And there is this requirement that students have to do their dissertation proposal defense by the end of their fourth year, so that means I have to defend my dissertation proposal by May 2009. I already have ideas, and even my adviser thinks that my current research program involving my qualifying paper has the potential to be extended into a dissertation research, so that is good. Some people know that another institute seems to be interested in me; however, as of now, I am not hearing from them, so I am going on my everyday activities as if that is not in the equation. After all, it is better to expect the worst, but hope for the best.

So there. I am showing the apartment to a few people these coming days. Hopefully I find a roommate that isn't like my previous one. Speaking of the apartment, I only have to clean the bathroom; the other parts are already spic-and-span. I already bought a new shower liner, since the old one seems like something Doctor House would disapprove of.

(Middle Falls, from my Letchworth Park Series)

Count Your Children

So I saw this bit of news recently, about an Israeli family who forgot their toddler in the airport on the way to Paris.

Sounds like Home Alone, right?

Yes, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish couple with their five children were late for their flight. The funny thing is that they remembered to bring their duty-free purchases and their eighteen bags, but they forgot their three-year-old daughter.

Although I do know that traveling can be stressful, it still is not a good reason to rearrange our priorities in life. Especially if you have five children, count them before boarding the plane. Don't you have their passports in your hand? And yes, it is the responsibility of the ground staff to match each boarding pass he tears off to each passenger, but it is the ultimate responsibility of the parents to watch over their children. And the surprising thing is, the parents only had five children, while field trip supervisors usually handle groups larger than this and they do not lose a passenger.

That's why I wasn't surprised to know that Israeli authorities would look into the matter and see whether there was parental negligence involved.

I suppose this is another reason not to have a large family: they would be easier to manage if the numbers remain small. Oh, I better stop here, I don't want to get started on population theory.

(Canopy, from my Letchworth Park Series)

True Love, Unrequited Love, and The Relativity of Truth and Reality

This post was inspired by a recent conversation I had with my sister. It had something to do with her resembling Reese Witherspoon's character in Sweet Home Alabama. That however, doesn't mean that she was married before that is being engaged at the moment, no.

So, I suppose I could posit this philosophical question: is unrequited love an instance of true love? Is true love limited to instances of mutual affection, where there is an exchange of emotions between two people? Or, is the truth or falsity of love measured solely within any given person?

Some people believe that unilateral "true" love is not true love at all, but is a totally different thing, that is, obsession. The person interprets what he wants to interpret from the signs that he sees from the object of desire. The fact that he sees the person every morning may be enough to fuel lust and the desire of the person. The person may think of this as an instance of him having true love for the object person, but otherwise, from the other person's point of view, this is not love at all.

Now psychologists would say that this is an abnormality. Psychologists say that the stalker would interpret everything they see in the object the way they want. But isn't that the same in reciprocal love as well? A husband sees his wife smiling or doing some gesture, won't he interpret it the way he wants to, and not how the wife intended it to be? The only difference between this case and the case of the stalker is that there is no harm to oneself or to others if it is reciprocal. Therefore psychologists label the stalker as abnormal.

But then, what is the gauge for normality? Isn't what is normal just based on what the society thinks is acceptable and what is not? Is there such a thing as universality of normalcy? I would lean towards saying that there isn't. Of course, there are things that are universally wrong, such as murder. But there are things that are normal for some, but abnormal for others. So saying that unrequited love is abnormal may not hold after all.

If one believes that truth is in the eye of the beholder, then as far as the stalker is concerned, he experienced true love. It may not be true for the other person, but it is true for him. Just because there are social norms doesn't mean that one can discount the realities of others. One may make a survey of 100 people and ask whether the stalker has true love or is merely experiencing an extreme form of infatuation, and yes, the majority may say that it is just an extreme form of infatuation. However, again, that is because of the social majority. But from the outlier's point of view, it is by and large real. If the stalker thinks that his feelings are true, then in his reality, it is true.

Some may say that unrequited love may lead to murder, and therefore, is not really true love, because true love should not lead to murder. Murder is universally wrong, but just because unrequited love may lead to murder doesn't mean that unrequited love is also universally wrong. If someone kills another person because the killer thinks he loved the person so much, the person will be charged with murder, not with unrequited love.

I suppose this is an example where the collective reality of society clashes with the individual reality of a given person. For a given person, it may be real that he is experiencing real love with regard to another being. However, for the society as a whole, this behavior exhibited by a certain member of the society is detrimental to the whole society, and therefore branded as abnormal. After all, societies do things to preserve themselves. What is detrimental is branded as abnormal. Therefore, outliers are shunned, and their behaviors deemed abnormal.

(Wood Path, from my Letchworth Park Series)

The Irony of Living with a Pig

I have to warn my readers that this post is a rant post. If you are comfortable with it, then continue on, otherwise, there’s always Google as a website where you can glean further information that would potentially interest you.

So, the reason why I was silent these past few days was because I was working my butt off cleaning my apartment. As you all know, I was living with a roommate, who happened to be a pig. No, scratch that, or else I might be sued for libel. My roommate, or rather, former roommate, had pig-like habits. Well, let me explain.

This morning, I spent my whole waking hours scrubbing the tile floors of the house. The house had carpeted parts, hardwood parts, and tiled parts. The carpeted and hardwood floors were not a problem, but the tiled floors were rather dirty. It needed scrubbing. So, I filled a pail of water and mixed disinfectant with it, and took some clothes, ripped them apart, and made rags out of them. I then used my hands, my fingers, my knees, and my feet in order to scrub the tiled floors of the house. And guess what I found? Mud. The water turned into mud.

Now, why would this be of extreme concern? Well, if not for my roommate spilling things like sauce, cooking oil, and other liquid items, then the dirt would not be too heavy. If only he would have the effort to mop them up as soon as they occurred. But no, he let it dry. And if I would not open my mouth and complain about it, he wouldn’t do it I am sure. Why do I know that? Well because one day, he spilled his rice, and I still saw the spilled rice two days after. He only cleaned it when I told him that he spilled his rice. If that was his attitude towards spilled rice, I am pretty sure it would be the same for other things that are spillable.

What else did I find? Upon examing the nooks and crannies of the floors, I found dried-up cheery seeds. Now this has a story behind it. My former roommate loved eating cherries. We also had a garbage can in the kitchen. What he usually would do is eat cherries, and spit the seeds into the garbage can. Now, guess what? Sometimes, it wouldn’t go inside, due to bad aim. Obviously, it would just fall along the sides of the can, but he wouldn’t bother putting the seeds into the can by picking them up! So now they are all dried up in the kitchen, and I had to take care of it.

He said he cleaned his room before he left, and yes, he did clean it, but it still isn’t clean. Notice the different use of the same word here, one is a verb, another is an adjective. You can clean something without achieving the end result of the thing being clean. He also left some more clothes. So what I did was I cut up his clothes and used them as rags to clean the house.

That was today. I still have to vacuum his room, since I highly doubt the effectiveness of this work. I also have to clean the refrigerator, since after turning over the things in his side of the fridge, I found some dried up liquid underneath the planks. He left some food as well, and I never hesitated to throw them away, due to the fact that some of these have exceeded their expiration dates, and some are just plain unhealthy.

I have to recount his episode with the vacuum cleaner. It was still early in the semester last year, when I told him that we should take turns vacuuming the apartment. I told him that the vacuum cleaner was hidden in the closet, and it was intuitive in how to use it; just plug it, and turn the switch on. Now, I have this upright vacuum cleaner, where there is this button that one should depress and so the upright portion will bend over, so one can vacuum the floor comfortably. However, when you store it, the upright portion will bend 90 degrees with the mouth, and so you can store it in the closet. Obviously, that position isn’t the position one vacuums in, but my roommate wasn’t aware of that. He told me later, upon using the vacuum, that the vacuum is very hard to use, because of the bad posture in which users must assume when using it. I then told him of the lever, and he was so surprised in seeing it. I asked him whether he had an inquisitive brain, and if so, if he is using it. I then told him that I suppose that maxim is true, the one about not being able to teach old dog new tricks. He replied by saying that it is indeed true, in fact, he was still a puppy and yet he couldn’t learn new tricks anymore.

I suppose I never had good luck with regard to roommates. I thought that I had the worst roommate when I got the Japanese guy three years ago in my first flat. I was wrong. This was worse.

The sad thing is, I as a roommate am uncomfortable reminding him constantly of his duties. I don’t want to hear myself over and over again saying, “Hey, vacuum the apartment. Hey, throw out the garbage.” I am not his parents. I don’t have the authority to nag. He should know these things by now. But apparently, that is not the case.

The same thing with personal items. We shared some things together, things like the ones we both use in the kitchen, such as cooking oil and sugar. If I see it being depleted, I would buy one, and the next time it would be him. However, there are things that I do not see as communal, but he does. Things such as my toothpaste, my shaver, my comb. We both have different toothpastes, but whenever his is depleted, he uses mine. I suppose it would be ok if it were just a single incident, and the next day I see a new tube, but that is not the case. He acts like a sloth when it comes to grocery shopping. He thinks it is a tedious endeavor. So, I notice that the cap of my toothpaste is open, when in the morning I left it closed. I noticed that there are strands of hair that is longer than mine in my comb. In the end, I moved all my things to my room, and only bring them to the toilet when I would be using it.

So there, this is my roommate rant. I suppose I am now glad that he moved out, and I will be finding a new one. Hopefully the new one is better than the previous one. In either case, I suppose I only have a year left in Buffalo, and hopefully, I will be moving somewhere else after this year, and by then I would seriously think of living solo.

(Colorful Trees, from my Letchworth Park Series)

Emotional Ambivalence

I hate this feeling that I am experiencing at the moment, that is, of emotional ambivalence. It feels like I don't really know what I feel, I feel like I should be happy and at the same time, I feel like it's the other way around. I suppose I missed the routine that much, that when I got back here and found out that there isn't a routine yet, I get disappointed.

Or maybe it was travel fatigue. The fact that I was on the road for the past month maybe took a toll on me.

Maybe I should start with a recollection of my trip. So yesterday, at around 5:30 AM Central European Summer Time, I woke up, took a shower, and an hour and a half later, found myself sitting inside a cab being transported to the airport. I suppose no matter how much experience one has in traveling, traveling still is a stressful endeavor.

The first stressor was in the airport check-in itself, when my second checked bag was a kilogram overweight, and the first checked bag, which was actually a few kilograms underweight, was already sent to the conveyor belts so I couldn't transfer a few items from the second bag to the first bag. I ended up putting some things into my bookbag which I was carrying in the flight. My flight to Paris was ok, I got a good seat in Business Class (well, the plane had a business class section, but they were only operating First Class and Economy, so I had the same service as the rest of the passengers behind me, but I had a slightly bigger seat), and the plane departed and arrived on time.

When I got to Paris, I thought I would not have to get out of security since I was only in transit, but no, that was not the case. I had to get out of Terminal 2B of Charles de Gaulle International Airport and walk over to Terminal 2A. I found the airport very poor in signage. If a traveler did not know what terminal his airline departed from, he would be in deep trouble. Good thing I did preliminary research and so I knew which Terminal American Airlines was operating out of. And due to the fact that my first leg was operated by Malev Hungarian Airlines, I had to get a new boarding pass, even though I was already checked all the way up to Buffalo. So American Airlines took my old boarding passes issued by Malev and gave me a new one.

The bad thing was that I had to queue up along with all the passengers originating from Paris. And the line was long. I suppose there would be this equation: Fly to the United States = Long Lines wherever you are. There were so many people checking in, and I spent a good thirty minutes just waiting for my boarding pass to be taken and issued a new one. There was extra security too: they asked whether I was the only one who packed my luggage, they asked whether my laptop was recently repaired, they asked whether which countries I visited during this trip, and so on.

Then I cleared Paris security and had my passport stamped, thus exiting the Schengen zone. Charles de Gaulle Airport was very hot, I suppose the French had either very poor air-conditioning systems or their bodies are simply wired differently. I was sweating all morning.

Finally, I was in the duty-free lounge, and I had the intention of buying a new fragrance for myself. There were plenty of choices in Paris, but I already bought one in Budapest. That turned out to be a good thing, because the duty-free area in Paris was packed; it seemed that everyone wanted to buy a bottle of cologne that day.

I finally boarded my second plane, and I ended up sitting in an aisle this time. My intent in doing so was to get off fast, and line up on the Immigration line faster. But that proved to be futile. Anyway, while in the plane, I ended up sitting next to a Lebanese guy who was a permanent resident in the United States. Apparently, it was his first time to travel alone (he was pretty young, and when I took a glance at his papers, he turned out to be two years younger than me). He asked me plenty of questions about immigration procedures, where to claim the luggage, where to drop them off again, and so on. He was a little worried that he may not make his connection in Chicago. I told him that he is a resident, and the lines for citizens and residents are faster than those for visitors.

So we got to Chicago, and it turned out that our plane parked at the very end of the terminal. So we had this long walk from the gate to the immigration area, and we had to wait two hours just to have our passports stamped and our fingers scanned. It was so ridiculous. There were so many booths, but there weren't any people manning the area. Why design a huge airport with that capacity when you won't put people to process them? I suppose the United States still is a very famous destination, since a lot of people are still willing to put up with the procedure, including myself. Oh, but that is for another topic.

Anyway, I cleared immigration, and when I went to the luggage carousel, I already found my bags on the floor, since the staff took them off the belt already and another flight was using the belt by then. That was how long it took me to enter the country. Good thing the customs agent didn't single me out for secondary screening; he just let me through.

So, I exited the area, and dropped off my luggage to have them re-checked finally, to Buffalo. I then took the shuttle that took me to Terminal 3, where the domestic American Airlines flights leave. Good thing I knew about the lay-out of that terminal; I've flown out of Terminal 3 quite a few times before. So, instead of queuing up at the security line that was right in front of the shuttle stop, I went all the way to the end of the terminal building. I already had my boarding pass, so that was not a problem. I already put my passport in my bag, since I had a state ID which also acts as an identification for flying. So, like I said earlier, instead of queuing at the very first security checkpoint that people see, I went all the way to the end of the terminal, and cleared security. I was the only one there in the security checkpoint, and I took all the time I needed. I therefore avoided the long line waiting for me had I taken the first checkpoint.

So, I was in, and I found my gate. Then I found out that my flight was delayed for thirty minutes. By this time, I was already so sleepy, but I was fighting the urge to go to sleep. By the time I was in the air, I was dozing, but I still felt that I had the urge to sleep when I got home.

However, when I got home, I was sweating, and so I figured I might as well unpack. I was sweating, the house was so hot, and there was no air. When I got tired, I took a cold shower and went to bed, but surprisingly, I couldn't sleep, and when I finally got to sleep, it might have been around 3:00 AM Eastern Daylight Savings Time.

I woke up earlier today all sweating, my sheets were soaked. I don't know why. I checked whether I had a fever, but that was negative. I finished unpacking my things, and since there was no food in the house, I took a shower, got dressed, and went to school. There I ate breakfast.

Now back to the ambivalence thing. It was weird; I am back here, however, it seems that there are times that I am not looking forward to the upcoming semester. However, there are also times that I am. I hate this see-sawing thing that is occurring in my head. I did some errands, like paying my Fall semester bill and my August rent, and when I went to this one building in campus, I sensed a certain smell, which somehow took me back to the very first time I set foot in this campus, three years ago. That was the same smell I remembered smelling back then. A smell of paint and air-conditioning.

I just don't know; I have already set up the times in which I will be working in the lab for next week, so that is already done, and I am actually looking forward to running subjects. However, at the same time, I realize that I am entering my fourth year as a student here this August, and that means that a new page is going to be turned in my book pretty soon.

I hate changes, people know that. That's why I develop coping mechanisms for it with regard to relationships and all that jazz. And perhaps the fact that a change is in the horizon, regardless of how far that horizon might be, is a bit disconcerting at times, even though I may be looking forward to that change. Just like traveling: I like to travel, but at times, it can be stressing.

(Fall Foliage, from my Letchworth Park Series)

Time to Say Goodbye Version 2.0

Two weeks ago, I alloted some time to say goodbye to Wonderful Copenhagen. This time around, I will be saying goodbye to Beautiful Budapest.

I've been here for almost two weeks. And I have to say that I was impressed with the things that I have seen. The idea that every country is different and has unique features never cease to be true; there are things here in Hungary that I have never seen outside. Every place I visit has its national flavor, and Hungary has one as well.

I've taken almost 2 gigabytes worth of photos during my whole trip in Europe. Of course, I will be featuring them one by one here in my blog. I suppose I should blog regularly, at least once a day, so that I don't have a large backlog of photos. Right now, I am still uploading photos I took last October 2007, with this post being the start of my Letchworth Park Series.

I have to admit that I am getting a little bit of travel fatigue. I am after all, an INTJ, and the fact that I do not have a routine at the moment sort of kills me. I do like to travel, but I have been living in a suitcase for almost a month now, and it is a little bit too long for me. I miss the regularity of my work, my research, my routine of heading to the office and lab at precisely the same time every workday, among others.

Well, tomorrow, I will be flying back to the United States. I suppose I have work waiting for me when I get back; I already have some email correspondence hinting at that; letters to write, bills to pay, and a lab to run. I have mentioned before that I prefer having something to do than having nothing to do. I live for the thrill that I am beating a deadline; I hate a flatline, since my brain would simply stop functioning if I have nothing to do.

Anyway, I didn't realize that 2008 would be a very fruitful year for my travels. I have visited 5 new countries, bringing my country count to 17. Who knows what 2009 would bring?

So, I suppose I will see you all again on the other side of the Atlantic. I have a flight to catch in a few hours from now.

(Letchworth Park Overview, from my Letchworth Park Series)

Gel Soles are Awesome

I suppose that Budapest is a city made for walking. The fact that the size is just right, and the sights are strategically placed next to each other in different neighborhoods emphasize this point. So, for the past two days in which I went out sight-seeing, I just walked and walked. I was wearing my hiking shoes; I travel light, and only brought formal dress shoes in addition to the hiking shoes that I had. Of course I wouldn't use my black shoes for sight-seeing, so I used my hiking shoes that I purchased for my Peru adventure two months ago. Good thing I had gel soles which enabled me to go on and on.

Last Friday, we started by taking the streetcar and underground to the Szechenyi Baths. That was our starting point. We took photos of the famous thermal baths, and then moved on to Heroes Square, which was filled with statues of ancient heroes of the Hungarian people.

This is a small castle in the park nearby, which now houses the Hungarian Agricultural Museum. Due to the fact that I had no interest in seeing ancient farming techniques, I decided not to visit the interior.



This is Jak Chapel, a small church in front of the castle.



Nearby is the Anonymous Statue, a statue of a chronicler who had no name. The shiny pen is touched by plenty of writers and writer-wannabes here in Budapest, seeking inspiration.



Then, we strolled along Andrassy Avenue, which was full of mansions, some of them acting as embassies of other countries. And when we got hungry, we took the underground until we reached a shopping street, and found a restaurant that was serving Hungarian fare.

Now this made me realize that Hungarians serve food in huge quantities. Perhaps this is the reason why I find more obese people here than in other European countries. Some people theorize that it is because parents feed their young copious amounts of liver pate while they are still babies, but I presume that the people are used to eating huge portions, and this is the reason for the obesity of many people here. It is reflected in the portions in the restaurants I suppose, like having a big bowl (or rather, pot) of soup, having plenty of side dishes accompanying two lamb shanks, among others.

After eating, we went to Margaret Island. This is a strip of land in between Buda and Pest right on the Danube. The whole island is like a park, and there are two swimming pools inside, and a number of recreational facilities. We strolled the whole island, from south to north, and that took us about three hours. It was a rather strenuous walk.

Yesterday, at night, we strolled next to the Danube, and took photos of the Chain Bridge, and other architectural marvels of the city. Budapest is prettier at night, when the darkness hides the gritty aspect of the city, and highlights the beautiful parts instead.

For example, what do you think of the Chain Bridge, as shown in this photo?



Now earlier today, we strolled on the Castle Hill district. We started on the Fisherman’s Bastion and took photos of the panoramic view below the castle. Then we proceeded to the palace, but opted out of entering it, which now houses the Hungarian National Gallery. I suppose the place is just too big, and so after reaching the end of the castle, we decided to call it a day.

I still have two full days remaining here in Budapest. I am planning to visit some more sites, and do an excursion on the last day, before I fly back to cross the Atlantic and be busy again in academia.

Pork Knuckles and Walking Over to Slovakia

Yesterday, me and my folks took the long-distance bus to Esztergom, Hungary. This is a town on the edge of the country, on the Danube Bend. This town is famous for the location of the Esztergom Basilica, which is the location of the archbishop of Hungary, the direct representative of the Holy See in the country.

The bus ride was about an hour long, and we had to go the bus station in Arpad Hid to take it. Once there, we bought tickets in the bus station, and my Hungarian phrasebook was put into use, when I requested three return tickets for Esztergom.

Once there, we walked a little bit in order to reach the citadel and the church. It was a short walk from the bus station, and we saw the towering structure immediately. Of course I took plenty of photos.

This is a shot of the exterior of the church.



The interior of the church was very much impressive, and so was the crypt. I have the say the church looked rather different from all the other churches I have visited so far; it looked like a UFO that landed on a hill.

This is a shot of the dome inside.



This on the other hand is a shot of the crypt.



After visiting the church, we were already hungry and so we went to this guidebook-recommended restaurant, whose specialty was pork knuckles. We each ordered something different, and it was really indeed recommendable. I noticed that Hungarian restaurants differ from other European restaurants in the sense that the servings are larger than usual. Aside from pork and lamb knuckles, I also ordered butcher's soup, which had some rather exotic cuts of meat in it.

After that, we decided to cross the Maria Valeria Bridge and cross over into Slovakia. The bridge links Hungary with Slovakia over the Danube River. It was rather fun crossing a national border by foot; I only did that once before when I entered the Vatican City from Italy. I don't know, because I come from an island nation, international border crossings for me somehow need to consist of air travel, so even the train ride to Vienna that I took last week was rather bizarre.

I took the following picture on top of the bridge, when we crossed over to Slovakia. This was Country No. 17 for me.



We spent an hour in Sturovo, Slovakia. However, unlike Esztergom, this wasn't a tourist town. There weren't things to see and do, so we headed back to Hungary after strolling the main square. I suppose the best thing I saw was the Holocaust Memorial in Sturovo, tucked in a quiet part of the square.



Anyway, that was yesterday, and it tired us out, after the long day. When I got back home, my feet were very glad that they got out of my shoes.

Rain in Budapest

It was raining all day yesterday. It wasn't good for a tourist, like me. So, what I did instead was I went and visited the indoor attractions of this city. At least, that was the plan.

However, it didn't turn out to be a long day still, since the rain is rather depressing, and the dark clouds weren't just camera friendly. I did visit the Museum of Fine Art in Andrassy Avenue, but after spending more than three hours in there, I headed back home. I figured I would just take a rest and conserve my energy instead, hoping that the next day would be a better one, so that I could go to some towns out of Budapest.

I did take plenty of pictures in the Museum, however, I do not intend to exhibit it here except when I finally get to posting them as an appendage to my blog entries. Well, I do like taking pictures, but I do not find the pictures I took exceptional enough to give a preview. I suppose after one sees plenty of paintings, things start to look the same.

On a separate note, I made some changes in blogging policies here. I am now moderating my comments. That means that every comment will pass through me, regardless of whether it is anonymous or not. I am not concerned about spamming, but what I am concerned about is the fact that some people have not-so-good intentions and post annoying comments anonymously. I have to remind my readers that this is a subjective means of publishing; I do not have to be politically correct here. If you don't like what you read, then don't read it. Go somewhere else. And if you want to criticize me, go ahead, but show your face. Don't do it cowardly by posting anonymously. Therefore, to add a deterrent, I am moderating the comments to this blog.

Oh, and if you're just posting to stir some trouble, at least learn to spell!

There, there goes my rant. Now it is over, I'll leave you for a while and head to Esztergom and shoot some pictures.

(The Overlook in Geneva, from my Watkins Glen Series)

Frolicking in Budapest

Yesterday, I finally got out and saw parts of the city. And so far, so good.

I have mixed feelings about this city. For one, there is this very beautiful and amazingly romantic part of the city that one can see, especially if one strolls along the Danube and face the hilly Western side of the city. The Castle Hill is simply imposing, and the scenery is rather majestic.

There is also this side of the city where I feel as if I am time-warped and sent back at least 20 years. The buildings are all grey and I feel that I want a water hose to take off the dirt and soot. Not that I am saying that Budapest is dirty, but I suppose the infrastructure hasn't been maintained as well as other cities, like Vienna for example.

I had the opportunity to visit a Budapest flat yesterday. I saw that there were still bullet holes in the walls while walking the streets in Pest.

I feel stupid here in Budapest. I feel stupid in the sense that my knowledge of Germanic and Latinate root words are useless here. Of course, Hungarian is in a totally different language family, so they do not share the same cognates as German and French. However, unlike Danish (which I was also frustrated due to the invisible letters), everything is pronounced in Hungarian. There are obviously exceptions but at least they are predictable and there is a rule for it.

So, yesterday, I visited the Castle Hill. This is a huge imposing block situated on a hill in Buda. This is not the "castle" in the brick-and-moat sense of the word, rather, this is similar to Prague Castle, which is a collection of buildings within a fortified structure. The compound is so big I wasn't able to reach the other end of it.

This is how the streets look like.



I also visited the Budapest Labyrinth. This is a rather interesting site underneath the castle, so I went in and explored the labyrinth, giving way to my caving tendencies.

The following picture gives an impression of the place, although it was unusually bright, and the labyrinth was darker than what I have here.



There even was this fountain of wine, which I thought, smelled awful. It looked more like blood flowing from the tap.



That already took me the whole mid-morning and afternoon. And due to the fact that I had some other appointment in the evening, I called it an early day.

Back in Budapest

So, I am back in Budapest. I suppose I have nine days ahead of me where I won't be traveling big time. Then I head back to the United States.

I just got back from Vienna this afternoon. I wasn't there mainly for tourism, but for something else, so I didn't get to see plenty of sights. However, I have seen some acquaintances and friends that I haven't seen for the last three years (when I last visited Vienna) so that was fun too.

I suppose the main thing that was enjoyable while I was in town was the fact that I got to experience authentic Filipino hospitality. Food is a communal thing for typical Filipinos. Obviously not for me, but being shown this type of hospitality was a rather enjoyable experience.

Earlier today, I went to the Zentralfriedhof, and visited the graves of famous composers such as Beethoven, Mozart, Brahms, the Strauss brothers, and Schoenberg. Of course I took pictures.

Anyway, I suppose the best thing I like about Vienna is the fact that it is very livable. I like that city, and if I were to have the choice as to where to live in Europe, I would have Vienna in the top of my list. It doesn't dwarf me, unlike New York City. And it has the culture, the nice international restaurants, the order, everything I like. Obviously there are bad parts of the city as well, but every city has that.

Anyway, not a lot has happened recently, so I won't make this entry long. I don't think blogging about me feasting on proschiutto is an interesting topic. So I will leave it here, and let you go for the moment.

Tomorrow, I finally get to see the city of Budapest. I will bring my camera and shoot away.

(Seneca Lake, from my Watkins Glen Series)

Country No. 16

The Philippines, United States, Japan, Guam, Qatar, Austria, Greece, Italy, Vatican City, Taiwan, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Denmark, and now Hungary. 16 countries visited as of yesterday. 84 to go!

Yep, I landed yesterday in Budapest Ferihegy International Airport. I basically spent the whole afternoon flying all over Europe, first catching a flight from Copenhagen to Brussels, and from Brussels to Budapest. Due to the fact that I flew a Belgian airline, I was again impressed at the fact that the announcements were done in at least three languages, English, French, and Dutch.

Anyway, the first impression I had about Budapest is that it is large. The trip from the airport to my parents' house was rather long even though we took a taxi. And first there was the flat and not-so-beautiful Pest, and then we crossed a bridge and entered the hilly Buda. Unlike Copenhagen, where everything is compact and walkable, I do think that I need to make use of public transportation here.

Oh well, not a lot of things to blog about for today. I have to say my travels don't end yet. Me and my parents are heading to the train station later today and will be catching a train to Vienna. I've been to Vienna before 3 years ago, and I am kind of excited to see it again, even for just the weekend. The bad thing is that since it is by train, I won't be earning miles, but the good thing is that I won't have to turn off my équipements électroniques.

(Water Meets Gravity, from my Watkins Glen Series)

Time to Say Goodbye

So it's time to say goodbye to wonderful Copenhagen. I spent my last day today walking, walking all over the city. But surprisingly enough, I didn't take a lot of photos today.

So first, I walked over to the northern part of the city to visit the Assistens Kirkegaard, or the city cemetery. I went to see the graves of famous Danish people, like Hans Christian Andersen, and Niels Bohr. I like this cemetery due to the fact that the graves were wide and spaced from each other, not like the one in Prague where I visited two years ago.

After the cemetery, I went to the National Museum of Denmark. This took me a while to finish. It was free admission, and the visit was highly educational, but not photogenic. Well, there are plenty of bones, tusks, prehistoric men in Denmark, bog-excavated skeletons, and other artifacts. But these aren't really good in photos, don't you think?

But, two hours later, I have learned all that I can learn about the history of Denmark, and then I moved ahead. I had lunch in the train station, and then I tried to buy a ticket for the airport trip that I will be taking tomorrow, but apparently, unlike other routes, they don't sell tickets to the airport from the central station ahead of time, you must buy them when you are already traveling. So I will just buy them tomorrow when I check out of the hotel I am staying.

After lunch, I went ahead and took a walking tour of the parts of the city that I haven't seen yet. So I went ahead and took a stroll at the Latin Quarter, which is a huge section of the city that is pedestrianized, and converted into shopping areas. This is the only part of the city where I felt that there were so many people. The rest of the city wasn't like that; I didn't feel like everyone was there, unlike in the Latin Quarter.

I also visited the Royal Library, which is this huge imposing building next to the waterfront. It is nicknamed the "Black Diamond" due to its black shape. It is another example of Danish functionalism. I liked the building, very modern.

Anyway, I bought a couple of souvenirs for the family, since tomorrow I fly to Budapest to see them. So there, I am ending my visit here in Copenhagen. I suppose this is one of my favorite cities that I have visited, some place where I can see myself living here and actually liking it. Hmmm, let me see if the University of Copenhagen has an opening.

So, I will be sleeping my last night away in my hotel, and tomorrow morning I will check out and head to the airport in Kastrup. I have a flight at noon to Brussels, and from Brussels I change to a flight to Budapest. Ah, the joys and pains of travel. I suppose it is tiring, but I still like it. Travel is exciting, the concept of being in an airport and flying to anywhere in the world is simply mind-boggling.

(Crossing the Glen, from my Watkins Glen Series)

Hunting for Mermaids and Herring Buffets

First things first. I changed my time settings to Central European Summer Time while I am here. That meant that the time posts for my previous entries are messed up, shifted six hours ahead. But that also meant that when I finish writing a post, it would be published immediately, and not six hours later. I was just annoyed with it and couldn't deal with it anymore. Ok, on to the real entry for the day.

I find it rather bizarre to not be reading a book. The last time I was reading something was on my way here, I was reading a Stephen King novel. And when I finished it, I simply left it on my hotel in Helsingør. Anyway, I got myself a new book today, but I will explain about that later.

Today was my second day in Copenhagen. They say that Copenhagen is an expensive city, but there are ways to circumvent that. Case in point: yesterday I visited the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek for free, since it was a Sunday. And today, I made an itinerary that didn't involve an entrance fee at all.

So, I woke up, had breakfast in the hotel, and headed out around 9:30 AM. I woke up earlier than that but most of the attractions of the city open up at 10:00 AM, so there was no point in going out earlier.

Anyway, today, I headed northeast from my hotel, with the Little Mermaid statue as my destination. First, I reached Statsholmen, which is the seat of government of Denmark. The main feature of this is Christiansborg Slot, which houses the Parliament.



This is the building. It has some ruins underneath it, which I wanted to visit today, but I arrived about fifteen minutes before it opened, so I got distracted and went somewhere else. I continued walking northeast instead. So I bumped into the stock exchange building, the Børsen, which is seen below.



After that, I found myself inside Holmens Kirke, which is the church where Queen Margrethe II took her marriage vows. It was a beautiful church, full of intricate carvings inside. Take a look at this detail of the side pulpit.



After that, I walked further and found myself crossing the canal at Nyhavn, the district where you can find colorful houses lined next to each other. I will be here later on for lunch, but in the meantime, I went further and walked next to the waterfront, until I found the statue. Here she is.



Then, I went back southwest, and entered the Marmorkirken, which is a huge marble church imposing against the Amalienborg Palace. After taking pictures inside the church, I went back to the palace courtyard to watch the changing of the guards. Here is one of the shots I took.



I wonder how heavy that head-thingy is.

Afterwards, I went back to Nyhavn, and found this Lonely Planet-recommended restaurant, which offered a herring buffet. There were ten different dishes featuring herring, and I tried each one of them. Some were sweet, some were salty, some were just right. I downed them with dark Carlsberg beer. Of course, after all, I am in Denmark, why wouldn't I try Danish beer?

After lunch, I slowed down, and went to the Botanisk Have, which is another green area in the city. The thing I notice with Copenhagen is that there are plenty of greenery around. And people like spending time in them.

After taking some photos, I found a Danish bookstore with English books. Since I wasn't reading anything, I bought a book entitled The Search for the Dice Man by Luke Rhinehart. It looks exciting, so I will let you know how that would turn out. After all, I have a four-hour connection in Brussels this Wednesday, and I need company.