Yesterday and today I spent walking around in the city. Yesterday with the Man-Cub, and today, as he was back in class, solo. Yesterday was foggy and colder, today was rain, rain, and occasionally a bit more rain. It worked well as the backdrop for visiting some potentially depressing places: Gellert Hill, Margit-sziget (Margaret Island) and the Hungarian National Cemetery. The island is rather large (over a mile long!), and was at various times a leper colony, the site of 12th century religious buildings, and fierce battles in World War II.
Walking the city streets with an alternating overcast or raining sky, I felt the oppression of the Hungarian people. These folks have been trodden upon by so many cultures so many times. Genghis, the Romans, the Turks, the Nazis, the Soviets... Sheesh. They couldn’t buy a vowel, nor catch a break. It was especially poignant to me when the man-cub pointed out chips and pocks in the stonework of the buildings and told me they were the result of bullets. Afterward, I saw them in many places. Horrifying.
Due to the weather, I didn’t see anyone else while I was in the cemetery, and while on the island, people were really sparse as well. Maybe the time alone contributed to my feelings of melancholy. I fought it off yesterday with some beer and BBQ with the man-cub and his roommate. Good beer, good food, good kids. Today, after traipsing about for 10 miles in the rain, I splurged and got an hour long massage. It was $21 well worth spending. I feel a little better about the world now, but I may be getting too old for these. Feels a bit weird getting a massage from someone that young.
Tonight will be goulash and a few beers. My ABB has an espresso machine I’ve figured out, and there is coffee available. It’ll be a good morning with the pastries I bought for tomorrow.
Anyway, here are what anyone comes here for: the photos.
Walking the city streets with an alternating overcast or raining sky, I felt the oppression of the Hungarian people. These folks have been trodden upon by so many cultures so many times. Genghis, the Romans, the Turks, the Nazis, the Soviets... Sheesh. They couldn’t buy a vowel, nor catch a break. It was especially poignant to me when the man-cub pointed out chips and pocks in the stonework of the buildings and told me they were the result of bullets. Afterward, I saw them in many places. Horrifying.
Due to the weather, I didn’t see anyone else while I was in the cemetery, and while on the island, people were really sparse as well. Maybe the time alone contributed to my feelings of melancholy. I fought it off yesterday with some beer and BBQ with the man-cub and his roommate. Good beer, good food, good kids. Today, after traipsing about for 10 miles in the rain, I splurged and got an hour long massage. It was $21 well worth spending. I feel a little better about the world now, but I may be getting too old for these. Feels a bit weird getting a massage from someone that young.
Tonight will be goulash and a few beers. My ABB has an espresso machine I’ve figured out, and there is coffee available. It’ll be a good morning with the pastries I bought for tomorrow.
Anyway, here are what anyone comes here for: the photos.
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