Beautiful Budapest: You win the prize this year

The world has apparently been conspiring to keep Budapest a secret from me all these years.  Who knew it was so beautiful? Who knew it was so great that it would beat even India (my true love) for my favorite place this year.

Stunning buildings along the river.. artfully lit up at night.

A quick fun fact:   Budapest is actually two cities: Buda on the left of the river and Pest on the right.  Together, the map reads "Budapest."  Where we were staying - on the Buda side - the roads cobbled and there are cafes on every corner.

Catching up on the competition: This leg will involve us traveling from Budapest to Gyor to Vienna to Bruno to Prague to Olomauc to Krakow … on our own … completing scavenges along the way … and all by Friday morning.  This part of the trip is a real test of navigation, puzzle solving and sheer stamina.

Going into the Europe leg, Rainey and I are in first place and “The Retired Traveling Chicks” (the powerhouse team of Kim and Maria – second timers to the trip) are in second place. Ugs and Emily worked their butt off in Dubai and WON the Dubai leg.  That puts them just 5 points away from second place.  If they can beat Kim and Maria in Europe they could bring home the silver medal. They are on the hunt....

Segways: First scavenge of the day for us in Budapest was to rent Segways for a tour of the Buda side (by the castle). It was the first time on Segways for several of the group and there was only limited instruction.  Plus the roads are cobblestones and very uneven.  But we were all optimistic – and everything was going great – when Bettina hit a bump and her Segway started spinning and twirling and literally hurdled her off… complete with screaming.  None of us knew how to hop off a Segway so we could only watch her tumble.  Nothing more serious that bumps and scratches but it was both scary … and hysterical !!!

Labyrinth:  We had to explore the labyrinth below the town square.  The fable goes that Dracula was trapped in this very labyrinth for 3 years by some king. The tunnels were creepy and dank and consistently ended up in dead ends.  If you really got stuck down there without any light, it would be downright petrifying.  Plus, unexpectedly, opera blared from the walls at different times: an odd and almost sinister atmospheric touch.

We figured out the metro system and the tram system and the bus system and scurried around the whole town.

Silver Tree:  Under the rules, we can only do five scavenges together – with other teams - each day (not including traveling and eating).  So by midday in Budapest, we had to split up and go our separate ways as we wanted to do a Danube river cruise together later that evening.  Right as we split, it started to pour with rain.  Rainey and I trekked on to get extra points while Bettina and Johnathan and Jordan took refuge in a coffee shop.  First stop – in the rain – Europe’s largest synagogue.  It has a giant silver tree in the middle courtyard (that’s right, a tree made entirely of silver – branches, leaves everything).  Every leaf is engraved with either a saying from the Torah or the name of a prominent Hungarian Jew killed in the Holocaust.

Hourglass: World’s tallest hourglass … just another statue in a line of cool statues in the park… but this one was worth points so we had to find it and photograph it. It takes a year for the sand to fall - grain by grain - to the bottom. And then the whole statue turns upside down and starts again.

Dinner Cruise: Early evening scavenge was a dinner cruise down the Danube.  Great opportunity for some sunset shots of the city.  And Budapest is one heck of a city.  One of the most beautiful in the world. Definitely a keeper.

Sunset from the top deck of the boat .... beautiful

Heroes Square:  Favorite scavenge of the day:  we had to visit Heroes square. We did not get there until late evening so everything was lit up. WOW. But isn't is disconcerting that some of the prettiest squares in every city around the world are dedicated to men who died in a war that no-one remembers? Awful statement about man's repetitive ability to harm each other. 

Every statue in Heroes square is unusual… with antler bridals for the horses and unique warrior helmets for the soldiers. 

Ark of the Covenant:  On the way from Budapest to Vienna we had to stop in the town of Gyor and find the “Ark of the Covenant.”  I’m pretty sure this isn’t the real one, but that’s the claim.  Big problem with this scavenge were the logistics. We had to get off the train, find left luggage lockers to store our suitcases (as we are traveling like pack mules this leg, hauling everything we have with us around), walk across town to the statue, find it, photograph it and then hustle back to the station before the next train came through so we could get back on our route to Vienna.

And yet we still found time to dance to the music of a Gyor street performer (for points, of course).

Vienna:  Vienna was a struggle.  We got in later than we wanted. We were TOTALLY sick of going up and down stairs in train stations with our luggage (this part is when you start cursing every extra pair of socks you “threw” into your suitcase at the last moment).  We had a hard time finding a hotel - for less than 90 Euros - that had 4 rooms available. (A bonus scavenge for this leg was to spend Tuesday night in a cheap hotel and we could not afford to drop those points).  Finally we got a hostel…tiny, no AC, lots and lots of teenagers and gap year kids hanging out in the lobby but clean and each room had its own bathroom. What a relief to dump the bags.  We immediately rented bikes and headed to the museum to see Gustav Klimt’s “The Kiss”…. Amazing.  No photos allowed in the museum so I’m using a photo from the poster outside. It's so fantastic in real life ... bigger than you would think and the colors of the flowers and the golds are vibrant.

In the evening, we went to a summer concert in the Music Hall. I expected to hate.  I expected to count down the minutes until it was over. I expected to sit there and concentrate on the fact that I was getting points, to overcome my boredom. But instead – I loved it. The symphony played basically the greatest hits of the composers, opera singers sang solos and duets from some of the great operas and there was even two ballet numbers.  And all in a posh concert hall in the middle of the Vienna state park. Great evening.

This is a tough leg with lots of walking (while you haul your luggage with you) and jump on and off of trains.  It just plain wears you out.....
We are now on to Prague…. Stay tuned.

Jordan trying on post-communist gear