BUDAPEST
BUDA - PEST -> ZURICH - MT. RIGI
Hungary
In high school, I played varsity basketball as the shooting guard. I had a three-point play and made a buzzer-shot three-pointer at semi-finals, even though we lost. We went all over Europe for sports tournaments. One gal had moved to Zurich from Budapest, so she knew the school and teachers when we went there. We all went out as a team and partied. I remember double blue-kamikaze shots. We lost that game. Our coach got mad. Oh well.
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In order to graduate, we had to volunteer for 100 hours of volunteer or community service. The only way that could've been mathematically possible for me was by choosing the Budapest for a Habitat for Humanity trip option for our annual field trips abroad. I wanted to go to Iceland for science but priorities. Basically all of the girls from basketball from my grade a few from the grade below also chose that option, because they thought that was a good idea. How else were we going to honestly accomplish those finished hours?
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Later, at The Onion, we had a merger. I was one of the first to go over there with my other designer friend from the NYC office and our project manager, since she was kind of the odd one out. It's always like that. Just basic office politics. We were all nice to each other. If I hadn't called her in the morning for a wake-up call, she would've missed her returning flight home. She stayed out later than us, with the men from the office.
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Michelle and I left earlier and went back to the hotel, since we were both tired. We also had boyfriends. I then went to Zurich as a connecting stop to see my old home, a friend, the family I babysat, and a teacher for nostalgia. I had a dream about it. The train that goes to Mt. Rigi. I literally did that, and literally lived my dream.
High School
Varsity Girls Basketball
When we travel, we go in Mercedes vans. We go together and stay at a "houser's" home i.e. a student of the hosting school. You get matched with your houser with one or more of your teammates. They usually do a pretty good job of compatibility since they know who's friends with who. I was usally pretty lucky and would get paired well. We stayed with a single mom and her child there and went out and explored the city and did team activities like taking the boat cruise dinner tour and checking out the nightlife. We were teens.
Tourism
The Basics & The Exceptional
The boat cruise tour experience was fun, because we got to see both sides of the city. One half is called Buda and the other half is called Pest. Together, they are Budapest. They are discretely different meaning that there was a historical schism that split them ideologically. I just remember the low and long boat and being inside the glass windows while they served the courses, and we all sat and listened on our best behavior.
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On the work trip, our co-worker Ed took us on a walking tour of the historical landmarks. We went on the bus and a train, and luckily, he knew where he was going. It's an incredible sight to see and site to behold. It's a massive castle with many other architectural components and structures with long walls for protection.
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There are a ton of stairs, so make sure you wear walking shoes. We saw traditional masked folklore figures and figurines as well. That was quite shocking in a way, but my co=worker really liked it. There's a boat bar by the river where our other co-worker Dima met us for drinks before going to some other bars and places. We had no idea what to expect, so we just go with the flow.\
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When we went for Habitat for Humanity. Oh my goodness. What a shift in scenery. Fortunately, we had chaperones. We stayed in a very industrial-like complex. We had gulasch, except for the vegetarians, including myself. I was a vegetarian in high school. We dug holes.
Corporate
Onion Inc. - Gawker Media - Univision
GMG - FMG - FLAMA
Who would've known the Vietnamese food in Budapest would be so darn good? And so cheap! We also were taken to a cool whiskey bar that looked like the parlour of an old museum with over 300 types of scotch and whiskey to choose from. The bars are very vibey. It's cool there, because people just drink on the street and walk around and sit wherever they want.
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We stayed at a hotel right by the ferris wheel where there are a bunch of people and kids walking around with food booths and other amusement activities on offer. They also took us to an underground bar/club called Vitula. That meanst cunt in Finnish, apparently. So, we went to the scuzzy, dirty basement and danced the night away for about 10 minutes. Michelle and I were done with that pretty quickly. I think that's when we went back early or she may have left even before me.
I try to stick together with at least one person, so I make it back to the hotel in one piece. Safety first!
HUNGARIAN ADVENTURES
When I left my job, I was informed that they had found a new designer named Laura. Then, during my yoga teacher training, a Hungarian girl named Laura was in our class. She said that she lived in Venice, FL. That's weird.
FOOD & CULTURE
The culture here is like second world. There are some stores and some roads and some infrastructure, but there's a large underworld population with spies, sex work, metal bands, alcohol, drugs, cyber-stuff, trafficking, and that stuff. The food reflects that level of globalism. It's a good amount of comfort food in simple presentation which is delicious and charming in its own right.
LANDMARKS
The beauty of the city is rustic and very free. You can get away with a lot there, because you can feel it in the air. When you walk around and have been to other European cities, you notice things. When we were there, it was the week of the big annual music festival on an island. Cashmere was there. No one wanted to go except for me, so we didn't go. I went to Starbucks. I'm consistent.
SOCIALIZING
The locals are pretty friendly and accommodating. They will walk up to you and strike up a conversation. It's a laidback environment with people that like to go out, enjoy the nightlife, and are open to conversation. We went to an upscale vintage thrift store there, and I got a long sweater that looks like Goyard. It was my splurge purchase on that trip, and I still have it.
HIGHLIGHTS & HISTORY
THE BRIDGE
There is a really large bridge that pedestrians consistently flow through. Large lion statues guard the entrance and exit points. We walked across that took pictures and all that stuff. You can walk up the mountainous hill with foliage and forestry. We also took pictures there. It is a long walk and feels like a European city moment.
ACCOMMODATIONS
The hotel had a fancy lobby and lounge area in the foyer where they served us champagne while we waited for our rooms to be ready. I usually do experience jet-lag. I don't feel ok for at least 72 hours. It takes my body some time to readjust to different timezones after the stress of travel and logistics.
THE CASTLE
We took a train and busses to the Castle. That is a large, historic, and beautiful landmark as a tourist that doesn't know anything about anything there, like anyone that goes to Disney World. We walked all around the establishment. There were towers and walkways on the wall. We also saw folklore figures with masks, hay, and face paint that are tall and small and look like monsters like Where The Wild Things Are.
THE TRANSPORT
When you fly into the Budapest airport, you go through all of the typical protocol of baggage and security and taxi lines. I do not remember that airport at all really, to be honest, which is weird. I don't know why I don't have any clear memories of that airport. I know the Zurich airport. They lost my bag, and then I had to go back to the flughafen after a few hours at Paradeplatz. I stayed at the Marriott.
HIGHLIGHTS & HISTORY
Raise Your IQ
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