This ‘n That

Kaposvár Sat morn Jan 29 09.00 Sunny 2°C/35°F

2° at 9am(!). I'm surprised; pleased, but surprised. I'm just getting used to that being a negative number. I'm still cold. I don't know if it's being out in the country, the humidity, or wind, but I 'feel' the chill 'in my bones,' as my sweet Mammaw used to say. More so than in Budapest. There is snow in the forecast: maybe tomorrow night, maybe Monday. I'm also pleased this morning by the Forint rising against the dollar; it had been falling, which I believe is good for my family, if not for the economy here, but I keep more of my American greenbacks if I get 330 forint than to get 300 for my dollar, as you can imagine.

Keeping me 'warm' is thinking about the future and the future of travel. A friend from NOLA, Lyle, called earlier this week, letting me know that he was 'over it,' and that he was about to pull the trigger on a flight to Paris in the middle of June; he wanted to know if I wanted to meet up in Vienna. Of course, I'd meet him most anywhere, but we had both been to Vienna, so I mentioned hiking in the Alps, which interested Lyle very much. Did you know that there are over 1,000 huts in the Austrian Alps, alone? No, neither did I. And then there are the Swiss Alps, the Julian Alps and the Italian Dolomites, all with their own 'hut system.' A bed, a shower, a meal, all at 'reasonable' prices, and these lodges are spread out so you get a good days hike in between. (Don't forget your cash & sleep-sac, 'cause they be no 'maid service' at 10,000 feet, old sport!)

My thought is for Lyle to take the overnight sleeper from Paris to Graz, where my nephew has his apartment; he will be in Budapest in June, prepping for the Hungarian National Volleyball Team's campaign over the summer. I'm waiting to hear back from him whether we could use his apartment as a base to the Austrian Alps. It says on the website of the Mountaineering Club that there is public transit from Graz to the villages where we would ascend. Plus, Graz is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, mainly because it was not nearly as torn up in WWII, as it was not a munitions site, ergo, many buildings downtown are hundreds of years old. There are vineyards, caves, thermal spas, as well; oh, yeah, the kicker: birthplace of Ah-nold Schwaaaatz-negger! Perfect!

And if that doesn't work, Lyle can join me in Ljubljana, where after a day there, we could make our way up to Lake Bled and stay with Sabine. There are trails above her little town that rise into the Julian Alps. I hope this is 'whetting your appetite,' Jim, for a little adventure; we won't be in this mess forever, ya know!