I spent four days in beautiful Budapest this past weekend, and despite being sick the whole time, I loved the city, which means it’s a great place, if I still liked it despite feeling like I was about to die the entire time. Like all places, it had its quirks, which I am only too happy to set forth here, not wanting to limit my snide remarks to one country. Let the record henceforth show that I am an equal opportunity mocker. Great city, though.
At one point, I tried to go to a pharmacy to get something for my throat, and the first place I went carried plenty of shampoo and candy, as well as some herbal remedies, but no medicine. I wanted to take a picture of a mysterious product called “American Aloe Vera Juice” that was made in China and labelled in Chinese, but the manager didn’t seem too keen on having pictures taken in his shop. When I finally did find a pharmacy that stocked medicine and started speaking to a pharmacist who spoke English, she nodded when I told her that my throat hurt, and nodded again when I asked if they had anything for a sore throat. Then she stood there. Finally, I asked her if I could perhaps buy something that they had for sore throats, and it was only then that she went to go find it (they keep all medication, even OTC, behind the counter, even cough drops). I’m not sure why she waited until then, and if she just thought I had gone in to make conversation.
Budapest has a population of about 2 million people, and an extensive public transportation to get them from point A to point B. When you go underground to take the subway (or when you are coming back out of the station), the escalators are the fastest escalators I have ever seen. To my litigious eye, it seemed like a tort waiting to happen, these staircases moving on fast-forward. Having successfully made it downstairs without being caught and shredded by the escalator, you validate your ticket and head for the platform to catch a train. A timer posted by the tracks tells you how long it has been since the last train left, rather than how much time remains until the next train comes. How useful, knowing how close you were to catching the previous train!
While travelling, I try to avoid the big tourist restaurants, both for budget concerns and for the experience. My friend and I headed out for lunch, and managed to find a cheap hole-in-the-wall with a long line of Hungarians waiting to be served. Not being able to read any Hungarian, we turned to someone in line with us for help. She told us to order one of the varieties of meat (most of which were breaded and fried), and one of the varieties of vegetables (most of which were finely diced or pureed, and served swimming in sauce). She then explained that most dishes had traditional pairings (sort of the way you would think fish and chips, or meat and potatoes). For instance, if you get pureed spinach, you should always get it with a hard-boiled egg. If you order chicken, you should get the carrots, and so on. I ordered the breaded, fried pork with a side of peas and carrots. The pork was quite good, but the “side” of peas and carrots was about three large portions of what looked like baby food, and was heavily sugared, rather than salted. I watched several Hungarians attacking their egg-and-spinach, and I believe my friend and I were the only ones who did not finish our Super-sized, sweetened vegetable puree. Cut us some slack, though, we tried.
America is world-renowned for, shall we say, the generous size of its citizens. I would like to propose that Hungary take its rightful place next to the U.S., as there were very large numbers of very large people roaming the streets of Budapest. Unfortunately, they were not only wandering the streets, but also the Turkish baths, where clothing is optional. I sat and tried not to stare as elephantine women sweated in the saunas, soaked in the heated pools, panted in the steam room, and lumbered and jiggled their way between rooms. I sat and definitely stared as one many-folded woman meticulously kneaded some oily, gooey substance into every crack and crevice on her beyond-voluptuous body. It is an image that will haunt me for life, and which will be forever linked in my head to Budapest.
Pictures coming soon, and next weekend I'll be in Paris, so the weekly update will be on Tuesday.
At one point, I tried to go to a pharmacy to get something for my throat, and the first place I went carried plenty of shampoo and candy, as well as some herbal remedies, but no medicine. I wanted to take a picture of a mysterious product called “American Aloe Vera Juice” that was made in China and labelled in Chinese, but the manager didn’t seem too keen on having pictures taken in his shop. When I finally did find a pharmacy that stocked medicine and started speaking to a pharmacist who spoke English, she nodded when I told her that my throat hurt, and nodded again when I asked if they had anything for a sore throat. Then she stood there. Finally, I asked her if I could perhaps buy something that they had for sore throats, and it was only then that she went to go find it (they keep all medication, even OTC, behind the counter, even cough drops). I’m not sure why she waited until then, and if she just thought I had gone in to make conversation.
Budapest has a population of about 2 million people, and an extensive public transportation to get them from point A to point B. When you go underground to take the subway (or when you are coming back out of the station), the escalators are the fastest escalators I have ever seen. To my litigious eye, it seemed like a tort waiting to happen, these staircases moving on fast-forward. Having successfully made it downstairs without being caught and shredded by the escalator, you validate your ticket and head for the platform to catch a train. A timer posted by the tracks tells you how long it has been since the last train left, rather than how much time remains until the next train comes. How useful, knowing how close you were to catching the previous train!
While travelling, I try to avoid the big tourist restaurants, both for budget concerns and for the experience. My friend and I headed out for lunch, and managed to find a cheap hole-in-the-wall with a long line of Hungarians waiting to be served. Not being able to read any Hungarian, we turned to someone in line with us for help. She told us to order one of the varieties of meat (most of which were breaded and fried), and one of the varieties of vegetables (most of which were finely diced or pureed, and served swimming in sauce). She then explained that most dishes had traditional pairings (sort of the way you would think fish and chips, or meat and potatoes). For instance, if you get pureed spinach, you should always get it with a hard-boiled egg. If you order chicken, you should get the carrots, and so on. I ordered the breaded, fried pork with a side of peas and carrots. The pork was quite good, but the “side” of peas and carrots was about three large portions of what looked like baby food, and was heavily sugared, rather than salted. I watched several Hungarians attacking their egg-and-spinach, and I believe my friend and I were the only ones who did not finish our Super-sized, sweetened vegetable puree. Cut us some slack, though, we tried.
America is world-renowned for, shall we say, the generous size of its citizens. I would like to propose that Hungary take its rightful place next to the U.S., as there were very large numbers of very large people roaming the streets of Budapest. Unfortunately, they were not only wandering the streets, but also the Turkish baths, where clothing is optional. I sat and tried not to stare as elephantine women sweated in the saunas, soaked in the heated pools, panted in the steam room, and lumbered and jiggled their way between rooms. I sat and definitely stared as one many-folded woman meticulously kneaded some oily, gooey substance into every crack and crevice on her beyond-voluptuous body. It is an image that will haunt me for life, and which will be forever linked in my head to Budapest.
Pictures coming soon, and next weekend I'll be in Paris, so the weekly update will be on Tuesday.
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