Working Remotely in Hungary: Vác

While I spent the majority of my time working while I was remotely working in Hungary, there were two days which I was able to use to explore areas in the country I haven't been to yet. In the second opportunity, I went to Vác, a town north of Budapest, right by the Danube.

Working Remotely in Hungary: Székesfehérvár

Back in February, I tried working remotely for the first time. This means going to a different country and working over the WiFi. Given the pandemic, this has become popular in the last couple of years, and my company actually had an official policy about how it is to be done. So to try it, I headed to Budapest for a week, to coincide with my mother-in-law's birthday. I had a hotel for a week, but during the weekends I explored places where I haven't been before. One of these places is Székesfehérvár.

Blank-faced and Depressed Hungarians

I've been to Hungary several times, in fact, I've been to Hungary too much to even remember how many times exactly I have been without looking at my flight records. Anyway, every time I go, there is something I notice which I cannot help but wonder why. This has something to do with the people's demeanor, and somehow it intensifies proportionally to how far away you are from the city centre of Budapest. People look depressed.

Exploring Zoltán u. 18, Budapest

Last Christmas, I was back in Budapest, visiting family. Budapest is a city that I have visited several times, but to be honest, I haven't properly explored it, since most of the time I am there to hang out with family. Anyway, during this last visit, we decided to join a private guided tour of an abandoned building, which was located in Zoltán u. 18, near Szabadság tér.

The Great Synagogue and Jewish Museum in Budapest

Last December, I was in Budapest, less than a week after I got back from New York City. We were spending Christmas weekend with my in-laws. I took a day off, and so I was able to fly in the morning, which gave me the whole day to explore the city on my own. I have been to Budapest many times already, so it is not like I am trying to cram plenty of things during my visits. This time, I just checked out the Great Synagogue.

Hungarian State Opera House

For some reason, when I spent two weeks in Budapest back in 2008, I didn't do much sight-seeing. I remember seeing things, but I also remember having just stayed in my parents' flat for a bit. Anyway, this is one of the things I didn't see back then. So when I had the chance to spend some more time back in July, I went ahead and visited this building, the Hungarian State Opera House. I paid a visit to this architectural wonder, by doing a guided tour, before I went to the airport to fly back to Berlin.

Liszt Ferenc Memorial Museum and Research Centre

Last summer, I was in Budapest for a short while in order to attend a wedding. I had an extra day, and therefore I opted to take that as an opportunity to do some sight-seeing in the city. I have been to Budapest before years ago, but there were still plenty of sights around the city that I haven't visited. This time, I opted to visit the Liszt Ferenc Memorial Museum and Research Centre, which is a reconstruction of Franz Liszt's last Budapest flat on the first floor of the old Academy of Music.

Dabbling with the Hungarian Language

I've been to Hungary three times now. For the most part, I have been staying in Budapest. And every time I visit the city, I learn something about the Hungarian language.

The Hungarian Wedding

Back in July, we were invited to attend a wedding in Budapest. So we booked our tickets and spent a weekend there. It would be my third time to visit Hungary, and the second time in 2015. The last time I was in Budapest was back in January, in the middle of winter, and this time it was in the middle of summer.

Meandering in Hungary: How to Kill a Pig (Disznóvágás) in Debrecen

As my last leg in my three-week trip, I spent a few days in Hungary to spend time with my partner's parents. So I flew from Bangkok to Budapest on New Year's Day earlier this year. While I was there, I also met up with another friend of mine, László, who I originally met through Couchsurfing. He visited Berlin in 2013 and I hosted him in my apartment, and we kept in touch from that point onward. So in turn, he invited me to visit him in Debrecen, for the weekend, so I took the train from Budapest and headed east. While I was there, I participated in a disznóvágás, or a pig-killing ceremony. The disznóvágás was being held in his friend's farm, and it is basically a big project for an extended family. Hence, it is definitely a very Hungarian experience.

Meandering in Myanmar (with Stops in Malaysia, Thailand, and Hungary)

So, it's been a while since I have taken a long trip (by long, I mean a trip more than a weekend, lasting between two to three weeks, as we both know that as much as I would love to travel over an extended period of time, I also love the routine I have, plus the familiarity of my own personal surroundings). The last one I had was Boston and New York City, but that was just 9 days of visiting friends and family. Before that, I cavorted with the companion in Italy, San Marino, and the United Kingdom, and I also meandered in Malta. While these trips were utterly enjoyable on their own, I was searching and longing for a particular type of trip, one that involved a significant amount of culture shock, as well as a dose of adventure. And the last time I had one such trip was when I cavorted in the Caucasus. So I figured it was about time.

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)

Europe Third Time Around

I suppose if I were to pick a place where I would want to live and settle down, perhaps I would pick a city in Europe. The aura is just different. Weighing all of the things that one considers when deciding these things, I suppose European cities win over other cities around the world.

I first set foot in the European continent in spring of 2005. It was basically my graduation present, traveling in Austria, Greece, and Italy, visiting sites of those three countries. I have to say I loved every bit of it. The cheese, the gelato, the trams, the old buildings. The few things that I didn’t love were few and far between, such as the dog turds you find in Vienna, and the sometimes very presumptuous citizens of these cities. However, the other stuff easily trump those complaints.

My second visit to Europe was during the spring and summer of 2006. I spent two and a half months in Prague, after living for a year in Buffalo. I basically toured the whole city, and I visited other places around the Czech capital as well, such as Terezin, Beroun, Kutna Hora, and other places. I also had fun here. I liked the Czech beer, and I liked the easy-going attitude of the Czechs. I couldn’t really think of any not so desirable memory in this one.

So here I am, about to embark in my third visit to the continent, again, flying from the Atlantic. My bags are packed and ready to go, I am standing here, outside your door. Oops, I suppose that isn’t my line. That was from some song back in the days, back even before I was born. Scratch that. But yes, my bags are packed, and I am just waiting for my friend to pick me up and give me a ride to the airport. I have a flight to Chicago, and after that, to London, and after that, to Copenhagen. I will be in Denmark for two weeks, and after that, I will proceed to Hungary.

I have to admit, I am excited. This will be my first visit to Scandinavia, and this will also be my first visit to Hungary as well. I must say I am excited to be surrounded by people speaking Hungarian. Although I have this impression that Danish is much harder, even though it is a relative of German (which I somewhat know) and English (which I speak fluently). The reason is because Danish words are not pronounced as they are spelled, unlike Hungarian. Admittedly, there are digraphs and even trigraphs in Hungarian, but those are pronounced in just one way, and exceptions are few and far between, as far as I know. However, Danish, of my, I hear sounds that are not spelled, and I see letters that are not pronounced. The good thing is that the Danish population have a rather good command of English. But, I’ll try and see how I fare.

So there, I will let you go for a while now, as I have a flight to catch.



(Lost in the Glen, from my Watkins Glen Series)