Really quick Eurotrip update so far.

This is basically a running blog from things I write down right before I go to bed at night. Obviously there needs some touching up (confirmation of place names I can't remember, etc.) but here's a general idea.



Thursday, 3/18 - Woke up around 7:00 and headed to Little Rock with mom and Caiden shortly thereafter. After a quick stop at granny and grandpa's, we were on our way. We detoured on 365 through Mayflower and Maumelle due to interstate traffic, but even so we were able to make it to the airport by 9:15..........On the flight from LIT to CLT, I said next to a grandma from Stuttgart who was taking her daughter and granddaughters to Rome, Paris, and London.........Florida/BYU, Robert Morris/Villanova, Murray State/Vanderbilt.........On the flight from CLT to MUN, I sat in seat 43A next to Mrs. Chiolino. I watched an awesome Indian movie called "Tum Mile," and I'm actually typing this somewhere over the Atlantic. *edit at MUN*

Friday, 3/19 - I slept for maybe two hours on the plane. I also watched an hour of "The Invention of Lying." I am currently in the Munich airport waiting to start the day. We leave for Budapest at 11 (it is currently 9:30)..........Arrived at Budapest, didn't go through customs (we're definitely not in the U.S. anymore), met by Paula our tour guide....suffer through an awful drive to the hotel (clueless bus driver, first example).........walk to Millenium Monument/Heroes Square; in our 15 minutes of free time there, I walk by Vajdahunyad Castle and Szechenyi Baths; then the group walks down Andrassy; Hailey, Jake, Zach, and I stop at Burger King; walk through part of Vaci Utca; I split from the group to walk by Inner City Parish Church; load bus to go to dinner; clueless bus driver strikes again, it takes us an hour to get to dinner (we passed the same museum THREE TIMES)..........dinner at Veranda or something like that. I sat with Katherine, Hailey, Jake, and Zach. Good mushroom soup.........come back to hotel.........I set out for Margaret Island alone at night. Improvise with a security guard by stomping and pointing to my feet to show him that I only want to talk around the park (free) rather than park a car (pay). Then the views over the Danube as seen from Margaret Bridge.........On the way back, I met two attractive Hungarian girls on STREET? who asked me for money. I said "I can't speak Hungarian" in Hungarian, and then they started talking in English. Finally, while walking up Vaci Ut, a guy tried to ask me a question but I didn't understand. A few feet later he came back and said, "have time?" We tried to do a little conversation up Vaci Ut (though we didn't get very far). He helped point me in the right direction when the road split, and I gave my appreciation by saying, "Kussi!" which I learned earlier means thanks. Then I stopped at a random hole-in-the-wall bar and tried some Arany Ászok (so good!). I apparently butchered "one Arany, please" because some Hungarian guys behind me laughed. They were mostly nice, though. And the lady who ran the bar was awesome. I don't think she spoke any English, but she let me in as she was locking up and served me with a smile. I got home a few minutes later, watched a few minutes of the NCAA tournament on MMOD, and fell asleep soon thereafter.

Saturday, 3/20 - Drove around Budapest, with our guide G____. We went to the Heroes Square for a minute, then drove around by the Vajdahunyad Castle, the zoo, and the Szechnyi Baths before one more time to Heroes Square. I was afraid the day was going to suck at this point, but he later turned out to be quite a good tour guide. We drove down Andrassy, eventually to the Great Synagogue. Then it was a drive-by the incredibly fantastic Parliament (freaking huge) before crossing the bridge and going to the Citadella for a stunning panoramic view of Budapest. We got out for a little while then and took some pictures there. Then we drove down to Castle Hill, where we stopped at a minute at the Royal Palace, walking about the president's white house (NAME?) and eventually going to the Matias Church. It was pretty cool. Loved the multiocolour roofs. Then, we drove out to the Elizabeth Bridge for some free time from 12ish-4:30.........My free time: walked up Vaci Utca and had lunch (gholoush, kolbasz, Dreher) at a little cafe; browsed the central market hall, amused by all the meat and paprika stores; walked across Liberty Bridge to the Cave Church and Gallert (?) Spa, went to the Hungarian National Museum (amazing photography exhibit), walk/tram mixture to the majestic St. Stephen's Basilica, walked through Vaci Utca (saw guys playing soccer by NAME? Ter)........we rode bus out to a boat, took a Danube Cruise (I mostly hung out with the four Dardanelle kids), ate dinner (vegetable soup/gholash/rice/dessert) on a different boat (I sat with Mrs. Tipton and Mrs. Burroughs though I talked to the kids behind me a lot).........bus back to hotel.........walked with Katherine, Mrs. Burroughs, Mrs. Tipton, Hailey, Jake, and Zach down Vaci Ut to West End shopping centre with a goal of finding "the most beautiful McDonalds in the world," as described by our guide, Paula. We browsed through West End for a bit before eventually finding the McDonalds next to the train station. It was a pretty nice one. I had a nagy shake and Jake had some ice cream. Afterwards, we attempted to catch a Metro ride, but that fell through when I couldn't understand the operator guy because a) he knew no English, and b) I couldn't understand him through the microphone. So, we walked back, regrettably.

Sunday, 3/21 - About to leave to drive through Slovakia all day en route to Krakow. w00t.