Day 41

Somewhere in Hungary to Budapest Hungary

The ride to Budapest was short and pretty boring. Just flat farmland on fairly heavily trafficked roads.

In Budapest I got another hotel apartment with the coveted washing machine. Unlike the unit in Kiev though this one had no designated entrance or reception. I walked around the block half a dozen times trying to find the place before asking for assistance from a helpful bank teller who called the contact number and then someone met me on the street to let me in.

I did the usual walk about and take pictures routine and the high point was listening to a performance by a string septet at St. Michael’s Church. It was a classical music greatest hits starting with Pacabel’s Canon and ending not to surprisingly with a rousing rendition of Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody. It was sublime.

Having got the sublime out of the way it was time to move on to the ridiculous. I’ll tell you what’s ridiculous. The roll up the sidewalks in Budapest at midnight. I thought this was supposed to be the party capitol of eastern Europe. Pfffft unimpressed.