Happy Birthday to Me (Me, not you!)

Budapest Monday Feb 27 Overcast skies Hi: 5°C/41°F Lo: -1°C/30°F

Thank you to everyone who wished me a "Happy Birthday," yesterday, and a 'shame on you,' to all who forgot 😅. This morning, I am in Budapest; I have a flight out to Istanbul at 15:30/3:30p.m., this afternoon. For the next two weeks I'll be spending time with Lyle & Anna Breaux, from Uptown N'Awlins, in the Beyoglu section of Istanbul, on the European side of the Bosporus. Last October, I spent a week in Istanbul with Mary & Dave. At the time, we had visited all the major sites, and I thought we had seen Istanbul; on my last day in town, I had a couple of hours before catching my train to Bulgaria, so I took one of the harbor tour boats around the Strait that lasted a little over an hour, and boy, was I mistaken: we had seen only a small part of that city. It is huge and we had yet to step foot on the Asian side. So I mean to rectify that on this trip.

The news says that the U.S. is dealing with record cold & snow in the Northern reaches, while the South baked in 80° temperatures(!). In February!?! That doesn't sound right, and it does not bode well for the summer. This was shaping up to be a mild winter in Europe, until the middle of January, when the temps started acting more like winter and it got cold! It will barely reach the 40's today here in Budapest, after a string of mild Spring days in the middle of last week. We were excited, thinking Winter was receding, until it didn't. Istanbul should be in the high 50's, low 60's during our stay the next 12 days. Perfect.

More later.

Happy Mardi Gras, ya’ll!

Vienna Mon Feb 20 Hi: 4°C/40°F Lo: 14°C/57°F Beautiful Early Spring Day

This morning, I am on a very nice Austrian train slicing thru the lovely verdant countryside…it's so much better than the trains in Hungary, I must say…this, after a German overnight sleeper, shared with a young American student from Tampa Bay; Trey is studying at a Christian Brothers school in a very small Austrian town (which I now forget the name)…he did not board the train until 2am, waking me; he was in Dortmund for a Bundesliga soccer match (for those who aren't aware, this is one of the top leagues in Europe, and Trey was pleased with himself for even being able to get a ticket; he said it was a bucket-list item he could check off)…Trey is an older student, in his 30's, studying to become a priest; we had quite a lot to talk about.

I am on my way back to Kaposvár, a change of plans, after spending the weekend in Cologne with Robin & Fanni…my original idea was to leave Cologne and head for Zurich, for a day or two, then board the famous Swiss Glacier Express from Zermatt to Chur, which I have been looking forward to since I arrived in Europe…unfortunately, I am feeling a bit sore and my throat has been bothering me; also a nasal drip that has exacerbated my throat…Robin suggested I skip Switzerland for the time being, as it is very cold there and it is possible I might be coming down with the flu or a cold…it would be best to go home & relax, stay warm, wash my clothes and prepare for the trip to Istanbul on the weekend…sound advice, which I am taking. 

While in Cologne, Robin took me around to see their version of 'Mardi Gras,' called simply Carnival…Cologne is known for the largest celebration in the EU…it reminded me of New Orleans, but dare I say that the young'uns dress up more here than we do now…and we found a small orchestra playing N'Awlins Mardi Gras music…mostly Jazz, but instrumental covers of classics from Professor Longhair & Big Al Carson…I asked if any of the guys in the band were from New Orleans, which pleased them, but no, they just love the sound…don't we all. 

It was great to see Robing & Fanni; unfortunately, Robin is in the middle of his tax season, and being an accountant, he had clients at his home office throughout the day, today, and I made a hasty retreat, so I wouldn't be in his hair…plus, I am looking forward to making up a 'mess' of chicken soup.

More later…

From Last Week…

Budapest Wed Feb 15 2023 Cold Hi: 8°C/45°F Lo: -2°C/28°F Spring Springs?

[I meant to post this last week, and forgot! Go figure…]

I'm back in Budapest! I do love this city; it has come back from the pandemic in a big way; there are crowds wherever I go, even tho' it's February(!)…for accommodations, I'm staying at a small hostel on the square called, Oktogon, which is somewhat like Times Square in New York City, but not so much…in one of the bunk-bed rooms, 5 young women from Poland arrived yesterday, and Felipe, the Chilean desk clerk was answering their questions about their safety here in the heart of BP (how the locals say, Budapest)…they need not worry: this is the safest city I have ever lived in…in another room, 3 American women are sharing space; I'm very interested in asking them why they are here in the middle of winter…unfortunately, I haven't seen them since we 'checked-in' at the same time and it wasn't the right moment…there is a couple with 2 teens from Poland, and a single mother with 2 pre-teen boys and an older teen girl from Scotland…I can't understand half what they are saying, but they are very sweet… I needed to see the Dentist Zsofia, as there was an inflammation in one of the molars…it turns out NOT to be a cavity, thank the Lord, but that doesn't mean it didn't sting when she started scraping away the dental plague to get a better look at why there was bleeding and tenderness around the tooth…she wants me to return next month for a deep cleaning(!) 😨