Budapest (updated with more photos)

(Updated with more photos, mostly at the end)

Random things I won't forget about Budapest:

The parliament building, as seen from the Buda side (top photo). (I stayed in Pest, which is the newer, hipper, flatter, easier to navigate side.)

Budapest was settled in 896 by the Hungarian Magyars, and both St. Stephen's Basilica and the Parliament building reach 96 meters tall in honor of that date. No other buildings are permitted to surpass that height. The first stanza of the national anthem is 96 seconds long, and you're also not allowed to live longer than 96 years. (I'm told that last bit is a joke...)

I've read that the Gothic revival-style building has 40 million bricks, 40 kg of gold, and half a million precious stones. It was built by more than 1,000 people. It has more than 20 km of staircase and 691 rooms, the largest building in the country. The red star placed on top of the main dome of parliament during Soviet rule was taken down in 1989.

Parliament

St. Stephen's Basilica

The Shoes on the Danube Bank memorial honors Jews who were shot during World War II. They were ordered to take off their shoes before being shot at the edge of the water and plummeting into the river, which carried them away.

I'm told that 70-80% of the city was destroyed by the end of the Second World War. Aron, the main guide for a walking communism tour I attended explained the many "ruin bars" in the city--derelict buildings that have been repurposed, quite distinctively, as pubs. (I can't begin to write about how informative and fascinating the tour was. Religious holidays were not allowed, for instance: Santa Claus became Father Winter, etc.)

If you have any ailment, the thermal pools are recommended. The water comes out at a natural 78 degrees celsius. I went to the Szechenyi pools, after I discovered that there are cool pools as well! From stomach to heart issues, the water is recommended on a regular basis. If you're having trouble with fertility, the thermal pools are your answer. Proof is in the hippos. Some years ago the Budapest zoo's hippos were not procreating as hoped. So the thermal water was brought on scene. Sure enough, the babies started arriving, and so many arrived, in fact, that baby hippos become an export of Budapest. Judit ("YOU-dit", the Hungarian version of Judith), my walking tour guide, said that if we see hippos in other European countries, they likely came from Budapest.

Speaking of water, aside from paying a high price to get cool for a small time, I learned not to pay for water. There are numerous sources around the city--some more basic sticking up out of the ground, and some beautiful sculptured fountains in the squares.

Turns out I rode the first metro line in continental Europe (the yellow line) my first day in the city, and didn't even know it. 

Budapest is home of the Rubik's cube, as well as the ballpoint pen, the carbonator (putting fizz into drinks) and safety matches. 

It is also well known for paprika. One of my regrets is not having a chance to try mushroom paprikash, recommended by my guide. Goulash is traditional in Hungary, and the mushroom paprikash is a vegetarian version. I did try the red-and-white polka dot packaged sweet treat she recommended, called Turo Rudi, which is dark-chocolate covered cottage cheese. When Judit saw the unconvinced faces in the tour, she said that it tastes like chocolate covered cheesecake. She suggested we enjoy Hungary's cuisine while visiting: "Just go home and eat lots of salad and you'll be fine." 

If you have a broken heart, or you want to learn how to speak Hungarian in a night, the elixir is palinka, the country's traditional (and highly potent) drink.

To say hello, you say "szia," pronounced "SEE-ya." And goodbye? Judit says: "Hallo." The word I'm most proud of learning (and admittedly one of only a few I've come away with) is egeszsegedre, which means "cheers." There are 44 letters in the Hungarian alphabet, and I'm told that because of the way the language works (instead of using separate words for concepts like prepositions and pronouns, those elements are affixed onto words), they can fit what would be a whole sentence in English into one word. Judit offered an example: "Hey, you can't take all the cabbage from that." Oh, and if you're watching a movie with aliens or the devil, and they speak a foreign language, there's a good chance they're speaking Hungarian. 

The website Omniglot lists useful phrases in a variety of world languages. One useful phrase, in addition to "hello," "thank you" and "where's the restroom?" is "A legparnas hajom tele van angolnakkal," which translates to "My hovercraft is full of eels." Omniglot writes: "This phrase is used in a sketch about a badly translated English-Hungarian phrasebook from the British TV comedy show, Monty Python's Flying Circus. It's possibly the most useful phrase there is." Because of that, it's translated into numerous languages. (While on languages I must note that I cannot right now remember how to include accents on words... the alien-hovercraft deal should have four of its own...)

Fisherman's Bastion was quite cool... I was told all of the buildings in that area are about 800 years old. Also watched the crossing of the guard at the "White House."

Hungarian wine (another thing I missed) is supposedly quite good, and quite cheap. I'm told they're very good at winemaking and quite terrible at marketing.

Because I'm fascinated by cemeteries in different countries... (including a shot of the controversial section for Soviet soldiers, in the same cemetery):

Hungary has had quite a history, and the last 500 years have been rough, with one occupation after another. The Turks, the Austrians, the Germans, the Soviets--some would come in under the guise of "liberating" and then "forget to leave," says Judit. Independent Hungary, only 25 years old, is not yet a democracy, said Aron. It is a post-communist country, and he said that the leadership did not even change hands. In fact, he argues that the nation is less democratic now than it was in 1990. (Someone keeps painting "Victator" onto a building in town, spinning the name of the prime minister: Victor.)

Bribing is still the way to get the things you want: the school you want for your child, or your surgery in two weeks instead of seven months. This latter one was a personal example from Aron; When his physician told him this sports surgery would take place in seven months, Aron handed him an envelope with 20,000 forents (roughly 60 euros) and not long after he received a call that the surgery had been moved up. It's necessary, Aron says, because doctors are paid so little in Hungary that they are leaving in large numbers--the brain drain.

But it's MUCH different than before the curtain was lifted in 1989. Aron said that in high school his history teachers could no longer look students in the eye, and many questions that were asked were answered with "don't ask that question." Soon history teachers were quitting and taking on other work.

There is an agreement between Hungary and Russia to keep the memorial honoring Soviet soldiers killed during WWII, which can be viewed from the windows of the American Embassy, and which a statue of Ronald Reagan (the cutest of the presidents, our guide Ursula said) keeps his eye on.

One of Ursula's friends got to vacation to Vienna when she was young. The family bought bananas, an "exotic fruit." (I probably don't need to explain the lack of availability of most things, particularly exotic fruit--Ursula called Vienna a "different galaxy.") When the family went to cross back into Hungary, the bananas were not permitted, for surely they would be sold on the black market. So the family sat and ate banana after banana. Ursula says that was the first and last time her friend has eaten bananas.

The popular car during the communist era was the Trabant. An old one was parked up near the former palace, and Judit said that it is referred to as the "paper jaguar" because it is constructed from flimsy materials: "cardboard and plastic and glue." You couldn't just go buy it and pick it up the same day. You had to pay ahead of time and wait. Judit's grandparents waited 6 years. She said the joke at the time was, "If you want your child to have a car, buy it for him when he's born."

"Szimpla," the most popular ruin bar, with a Trabant

There was also a phrase that made light of the mass exodus that occurred after the first and second World Wars: "The last one out needs to turn out the lights." Fortunately, you wouldn't guess it now. 

More (very random) photos...

the courtyard for my apartment, in the Jewish quarter

water for everyone

Tree of Life at the synagogue

friends for an evening

Uakari - Floating on the Amazon

Midday Tuesday (7/29/14)

I'm sitting on the porch of our lodge at Uakari, named after a rare monkey found only in this area. Uakari is the only spot that tourists can stay in all of Mamiraua (mom-EER-a-WAH), which was established in 1996 as the first sustainable development reserve in Brazil. Uakari sits on the curve of a U-bend on the Mamiraua Channel just before the junction of the Solimões and the Japura Rivers, tributaries to the Amazon.

We are in the middle of the world's largest floodplain, an area the size of England. Between the dry season and flood season the water level varies by 12 meters, and we are currently at high water. In fact, the lodge, five huts, and walkways between them are all floating. We are floating at the canopy level, and the only way to get around is by boat.

There are a dozen of us staying here, and we have breakfast at 6:30, then a morning activity (this morning we visited a local community), lunch and rest to avoid the heat until 3 or 3:30, and then we head out again, today by canoe into the canopy. Most nights there is a boat ride or talk with researchers after dinner.

Right now I can hear the disconcerting howl of the red howler monkey. I don't know how to describe it except that it sounds like an enormous, ominous monster (the croak of a giant frog?) straight out of Lord of the Rings. It seems far in the distance, there's an echo quality to it. One person thought it was the howling of a ferocious wind, but he realized the air was still when he walked outside his hut. When the howler monkeys quiet down, there are so many layers of bird and insect noises.

To get to Mamiraua you fly to Manaus, the big city of 2 million on the Amazon, then take a one-hour flight to Tefe, which has two flights in and out most days, and then take a speed boat another hour-and-a-half upriver. The lodge is designed for minimum impact, using solar power for lighting and water heating, rainwater collection, and a sewage filtration system. We're in the depths of the Amazon, and yet inside the lodge midday are half a dozen cell phones and cameras charging off the solar electricity, and here I am with wifi--I skyped with my dad today to show him around. :)

We're at the red star. 

There is no light pollution, and there has been no moonlight, so inside the hut it is pitch black, and outside stars produce the only light. In addition to the various creature sounds at night, the sound of the strong current weaves underneath the hut. Last night I was in a deep sleep in the dark night when a "tempest" came down upon us. I woke with a terrible panic with the storm. I gasped and clawed around under my mosquito net trying to bring myself back to reality, but between the current below and the deluge everywhere else, it was hard to find a center to escape to. The flashes of lightning just made me feel like a small ship in a giant storm. But my hut was still secure come sunrise, and apparently I was not alone in my dead-of-night reaction to the storm. We all now feel a bit seasoned and maybe ready for the next dead-of-night tempest.

A gray dolphin is now surfacing out in front of us on the porch. One of my companions has been teasing that I should easily be able to swim to the canopy across from the lodge. We're not allowed to swim mostly because of piranhas and caimans, but Dieter claims that fleeing a crocodile will improve my swim times. I think I might not only swim faster but possibly even manage human flight should I face a caiman at eye level.

A few neighbors to the back

Last night was the smallest sliver of a new moon. I didn't know this, but I'm told a new moon is good for a wish.

Salvador: Poodles, gods, and wishes

Salvador is a coastal city in the state of Bahia (ba-EE-a), Brazil's Afro-centered area.  The area was settled by Portugal, prospering more quickly than the colonies in North America, and it reaped its early wealth through sugar cane. As their plantations grew, the Portuguese planters jumped into the slave trade; almost five million African slaves were taken to Brazil by the mid-19th century. Today, 80% of Salvador's two million residents are of Afro-Brazilian descent, and this is reflected in the food, music, religion, and faces of Salvador. More than a million people head to the streets of Salvador for Carnaval each year.In Salvador I felt quite privileged. Mariana's father-in-law, Fabricio Sr., picked me up from the airport (we drove through a beautiful, dense tunnel of bamboo that arched from both sides and connected at a soft point like the walls of a small cathedral), and I had my own room and bathroom in his two-story penthouse that had a spiral staircase, a rooftop pool, and a view of the ocean. Among the best parts: there are no screens on the windows, and no bugs. Fabricio headed out after dropping me at his home, and my interest in walking to the beach drew an interesting response from Iris (EE-deesh), his housekeeper and cook, and Carol, Iris's 18-year-old daughter. They were concerned that it was threatening rain, and they didn't seem to be persuaded by my rain jacket or my lack of concern about getting wet. What was more perplexing to me was their worry that I really couldn't find my way to the beach, and if I did, that I would be lucky if I found my way back. (Below is a photo of the view from the penthouse, to give you a sense of what I was taking on.) I finally convinced them that I could do it. (Which I did, but became hyper-focused on my location, thinking maybe it was somehow harder than it looked!) Night was setting in, the clouds were low and ominous, and the waves were rough--starting to break probably 500 meters off-shore. The beach was empty save for a few stalwart fishermen, the tropical water was warm, and it was beautiful.
My first full day in Salvador Fabricio put his driver, Luis, at my disposal, and we mostly walked through the more historic part of Salvador, including Pelourinho, a plaza where I got to see capoeira - the Brazilian mix of martial art and dance - and Mercato Modelo, a giant market of Brazilian souvenirs. I was sad to miss hearing the famous drumming group, Olodum, whose public practices are on Sunday afternoons.Pelourinho - named for the whipping post that used to reside here during times of slaveryCapoeiraAll sorts of things are available at the Mercato ModeloThe next day I took a day without my camera and embarked on a three-mile roundtrip visit to a swimming beach. I didn't end up going in very far at all, the waves were still quite rough and the beach steep.In Fabricio's home I was able to try much of the local cuisine, made by Iris. One night we sat in the glassed-in rooftop room as we poked away at a variety of dishes typical of Salvador, foods that the people of Afro-Brazilian descent created from what they could harvest - mashed-up beans, coconuts, and yellow oil (a thick, strongly flavored palm oil) - and leftovers from the higher socioeconomic classes. Fabricio also made me a delicious capirinha, Brazil's national cocktail made from lime, sugar or honey, and cachaça (sugar cane hard liquor, Brazil's most commonly distilled alcohol). 
In Fabricio's home I also was treated to frequent attention from his delightful poodles: Doly, 16, in red; Doly's daughter July (pronounced "Julie" with a soft j), 12, in blue; and the sprite Toby, 4. 
A quick browse of Trip Advisor's top 20 cultural attractions in Salvador yields 11 churches and four forts. Luis, Carol, and Iris took me to Salvador's most famous church, the Church of Nosso Senhor do Bonfim, which is reputed to grant miracles. The gates are covered in colorful fitas, ribbons that people tie onto the bars for good luck. (A fita also grants luck if you tie it to your wrist with three knots.) The church includes a Room of Miracles that houses valuable objects that people have given in thanks for their granted miracles, and an odd assortment of hands, arms, and legs (made of wood, plastic, and even gold) hang with a bit of macabre from the ceiling. Bonfim is important to the Candomblé religion, the roots of which are in Salvador, but it is practiced throughout Brazil. Slaves brought from West Africa believed in a number of gods and goddesses (Orixás) who hold natural forces such as fire, storm, ocean, and wind and who have their own rituals, colors, habits, and days of the week that they are worshipped. Candomblé was prohibited in Catholic Brazil, and slaves were forced to convert to Catholicism (though of course they weren't allowed inside churches). Slaves began to recognize characteristics of their Orixás in some of the Catholic saints. They began to translate each of their gods into a similar saint, and in this way they were able to continue their native worship under the guise of Catholicism. In the process, however, the religion morphed and became uniquely Brazilian. Oxalá, the Orixá creator and supreme ruler, became the Senhor do Bonfim, which is honored by the church mentioned above.Me tying my own wishMy last night in Salvador I watched the last 15 minutes of a boys' handball game - interesting sport, not quite what I expected. Sort of a cross between basketball (you carry and bounce and throw the ball) and soccer (there's a soccer-like net and guard) - it includes interesting leaps and winding arms. We then headed out for Chinese food, and as one might expect, it was different from American Chinese. I was served a large eggroll-looking item filled with cheese! I've also been treated to bits of dubbed and subtitled television. Ironically I couldn't understand the ending of a Keanu Reeves movie featuring American football because it was dubbed, but this morning we were all able to laugh at Two-and-a-Half Men and Big Bang Theory together because they had Portuguese subtitles. Save tomorrow morning in Manaus, I can say I have survived the muggers, police, and traffic of Brazil, and now I'm off to what might be the country's safer bet: the Amazon. Watch me emerge unscathed and get bit by a rabid squirrel in Manaus.