Home on the Range

OK, I think it is time that I get this blog going. Ive put if off for long enough.

After a very annoying last minute postponing of the hike that I was supposed to do in Israel, I got online and bought the cheapest airling ticket I could find. So where did this adventure take me?

Hungary! A country that I would have never considered taking a vacation to, and certainly not on my list of places to visit before I die. But, as all adventures go, the experience was magical.

Upon arrival in Hungary, I overhaerd a conversation about public baths, and having missed that experience in Morocco two years earlier, decided that this time, it is a must. Little did I know that the thermal baths and lakes would become the core of my trip.

My trip was only a week long, but I got to go to almost all of the places I wanted to get to (cuz I had such a serious itinerary planned, you know...) I spent the bulk of my time in Budapest, a glorious city seemed together over time based on both sides of the Danube River. Being the walking fanatic that I am, I spent my first day getting totally and utterly lost in the area of 1 sq. kilometer. Then my second day, I made my destination a 16th century Turkish bath, and went sight seeing along the way. First I went to the Jewish Quarter, the picture below, at the great Synagogue, is the holocaust memorial of the almost 500,000 Jews that were deported and murdered by the Nazis. Also, it is uber important for me to mention that this was the site where my great hero, Theodore Herzl was born. I was so proud.

Then I walked across the river to Pest (my hostel being in Buda), enjoyed a nice walk up to Castle Hill, which was basically a really old school castle and town, and four hours later hit the Baths.

Wow! Being the hyper person that I am, I normally dont have patience to sit for more than a few minutes, but two hours later, I finally managed to pull myself out of the water, and convinced my completely relaxed body to walk the long way back to Buda and my hostel.

Having been rejuvinated for my first time in two years, I decided that H2O is the way to go, and the next morning took a train down to Lake Balaton (the Hungarian's Vacation) relaxed at the lake that evening and went to a thermal lake in Heviz the next morning. For those of you who have never experienced the healing power of thermal lakes...It simply cannot be underestimated. My always there knee pain hasnt come back since I was in that lake almost three weeks ago, my completely overworked and knotted body all of a sudden, was perfectly fine. Only today, three weeks later, am I beginning to feel some of the pain returning to my back (I am going to make it a monthly habit to go up to the thermal springs in Tiberias to take care of that). Unbeleivable, the healing power of water.

From Balaton, I went up to Eger, where I was supposed to drink Bulls Blood Wine, their specialty. But I never got around to it. Instead, my two days were spent with exploring the city (about 6 hours) and locking myself into my dorm room to fathom the spiritual breakthroughs that I began to experience.

Upon return to Budapest, I explored the Buda side of the city. Below is a picture of the House of Terror, where citizens were taken and tortured for activity against the Communist government...the pictures on the wall are people who were killed by the regime. At Independence square, I met the producer of Pimp My Ride (he said Xibit is a nice guy) and his brother, an economist...me and my foot in mouth told him that Im not interested in economy, I just dont get it... then gushed about the producers work. But for the record, they were both way cool and though we only hung out for a short time, it was really fun for me to meet English speakers my age. I then finished my last day with another thermal bath, which was way too crowded for my standards.

So, here are my lessons learned:

1. I am way to old to be backpacking and staying in hostels (Ames, remember the woman at Balmer's? Thats what I felt like).

2. I have turned more and more into my mother, and I like it (sorry for all my impatience with the way you spoke to people while travelling and always wanting to do things bright and early and running around).

3. It is possible to survive without even the slightest knowledge of a language in a country where even instruction labels for making food are only in Eastern European Languages (let alone the people). Believe it or not, I somehow managed to get along on my 10 words of German and a lot of smiles and thank you's.

4. There is no better way to find "you" then to be completely outside your element. Granted I already knew this, but I have to reiterate for myself.

5. Sanity is in the eye of the beholder. If anybody knew the things that I have been thinking, I would be immediately sent off to the looney bin. Thanks for believing me, Idan.

I know theres one more, but I dont remember it right now.

By my return home to my incredibly sexy and much, much lighter haired and darker skinned husband, I was completely rejuvinated and ready to go...