Every now and then, and only now and then mind you,  the first morning light of a new day brings with it the promise of being a very special day.  A day that is unlike most of the others days of ones life, those that are filled with the normality's of one's normal routine.  When I awoke on this particular day though, I had yet to realize that this would be just one of those special days.

The 12th century room was ever so still in the very early morning light as my alarm clock went off just as it was scheduled to, at 5:00 am.  (view panorama) It was quite early considering I had only crawled into my bed only a few hours before, but today I was "going home".  Going home in the sense though that I was not returning to that of my postal address of Santa Rosa California, but rather to a land from which, in part at least, I was derived.  Hungary!  It would be my third visit to Hungary and I found myself being very excited as this would be my longest visit, lasting a scheduled five nights in the very heart of Budapest.  It wasn't difficult to gather my things, as I had packed the previous night and all was ready to go with the exception of my toiletries of course.  Breakfast would have to wait until perhaps I was able to find something along the road, or at the Vienna Airport where I would return my rental car of three weeks. 

The heavy gates of the Castel Berg Bernstein opened easily for me, as Erasmus had shown me the previous night how do so.  Alexander told me I should just leave the gate open after leaving.  Before leaving though, I had one small task to do though.  The young girl who was hired help at the castle wanted her photographs and I had spent some time before leaving my room preparing a CD for her that not only had the photographs of her, but of all the pictures I had taken during my two day visit to Berg Bernstein, some of them spectacular shots that I'm sure she'd treasure.  I went around the guest house to the door of the small apartment where she resided on the castel grounds and left it for her on the doorstep, with a small note of well wishes.  Once on the road, it was then that I realized that it was going to be one of those days.  The morning air was perfect, as was the scenery.  At times it seemed as if the rolling hillsides and picturesque little villages were mine, and all mine, as the rest of the world was still asleep.  Every now and then though, another car would pass by reminding me that this was not the case.  Even though, I still knew the day would be special.  As the drive on the country roads continued to take me toward the highway to Vienna, I found myself thinking of my mother back in Cleveland Ohio.  How wonderful it was that she told me the first thing she does in the morning is to log into my web site to read my journal.  I hadn't updated it recently so I thought she might be a bit worried about me.  Or perhaps not.  Regardless, if I found an internet terminal at the Vienna Airport, I'd put in a journal entry that would be intended for only her, and it would simply say "I love you mom..." 

I reached the Autostrade after nearly half an hour of country roads and much to my delight, the traffic was minimal.  I was cruising at speeds averaging nearly 180 km/hr.  I had been told that to get to the airport from Bernstein would take me 1 1/2 hours.  From the reading of my car clock, it seemed to be an accurate estimate, if just a little bit shorter.  I kept mentally praying that I'd not hit any traffic in or near Vienna.  As I got closer to the airport though, traffic increased quite a bit, but kept moving none the less.  I had been told at a rest stop service station by a truck driver to just follow the signs to Budapest and the airport could be found off that highway.  So, as the signs increased, I saw so many different signs for places like Vienna, Budapest, Praha, and Salzburg.  As I got nearer though, the signs for Budapest seemed to disappear.  Shit I thought to myself, I couldn't of missed the exit, or could I have?  Not a good thing as to try to navigate the streets of Vienna is a bitch, as I had learned from previous trips.  Should I get off the highway?  I decided to do just that, in an industrious looking part of Vienna just outside the city center.  At the first traffic light, I honked my horn to get the attention of a young couple on an old beat up car.  The driver rolled down the window as he kept an on eye on the red light overhead.  "Budapest?", I called out over the noise of the morning traffic.  "You need to turn around" was his reply, and get back on the highway.  Right away I knew I had missed the exit.  I thanked them and flipped a U'ie on the road and got right back on the same highway, but in the opposite direction.  This time I would not miss the exit I thought.  I quickly saw a sing for the airport and Budapest overhead.  I gripped the steering wheel with both hands, very tightly, and kept telling myself that I needed to be ever so cautious as the last thing I wanted to do was to get in a wreck as I returned the rental car I had picked up in Geneve three weeks earlier.  Within 15 minutes I found myself pulling into the Vienna Airport, and thus the car rental return area.  A young man was there from Avis and as I unpacked my luggage from the car, he inspected the car.  God I hoped he wouldn't charge me for anything.  I began to tell him of my website and my travels, all the while thinking he'd "overlook" any damage, such as the impression made on the driver side visor from my sunglass clip that had been there for three weeks.  When had taken it off, I noticed a discernable imprint for which they could of easily charged me for.  It wasn't the visor that caught his eye though, but some small scratches on the front bumper.  C'mon I told him, those we're obviously caused by the small rocks on the highway and were "normal" wear and tear.  He said alright and that all was fine.  Thank God I thought.  As I left, he told me how lucky I was to be traveling as I was.  I smiled and told him yes, I am , but it is not anything that you yourself couldn't do as well.  Anything the human mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve I told him, recalling the quote for Napoleon Hill's book "Think and grow rich".  As I walked toward the terminal, I looked back at him going on about his job and thought to myself, "Yes Tom, you are a lucky man.  A very lucky man at that!"

As one might expect, the Vienna airport was a busy place.  People from all around the world making connections.  The last time I was here I thought as I entered the terminal, I was picking up my friend, perhaps my dearest friend, Mike from California.  Together we we're going to begin a journey whose memory would last me a lifetime, and then some perhaps.  I recalled how as I waited for him to get off the plane, another plane had arrived and off it came a woman I knew from Santa Rosa California.  What a small world I had thought as neither of us could believe how we could just "bump" into one another.  Anyway, back to the current trip.  I had to figure the best way to get to Budapest.  The schedule I had showed a train departing from Vienna at the main station in about an hour or so.  I talked to a taxi person and even loaded my bags in the taxi when I was told we'd never make the connection.  So, out of the taxi came my bags as I knew I had enough time to take the underground tram to the station and not pay the nearly 15 euros.  I'm a frugal guy ya know.  Little did I realize I'd be paying a taxi 170 euros later that day in Budapest. (?) 

I found my way to the station with little problem and before I knew it, I was on a Hungarian train pulling out of Vienna Austria for Budapest Austria.  (as I type this I'm on a German train heading from Vienna more than one week later by the way...)  The train had a fair amount of passengers, at least the 1st class smoking car I was in did.  Unfortunately, the  train lacked a power source for my laptop so the time I could use for typing my journal was limited to however long the batter would last.  The scenery was that of fields of various types of agriculture with an occasional field of rolled hay for the animals in the winter.  Somewhat to my surprise, I didn't have the tears upon my cheeks that I had had three years ago when I first arrived in Hungary.  Some time before we arrived in Budapest, the customs officers came down the aisle checking passports and asking questions.  I asked for a picture but was told no, which to be honest is what I expected.  Most other country's custom officers would oblige, but not here.  Perhaps a lingering attitude from the cold war days.  As we got closer to Budapest, some guys appeared who were obviously selling something.  But what?  Tourist information of course, hotels, tours, etc.  One young man approached me and I told him I was well taken care of as for arrangements.  I told him I already had my hotels reserved and a beautiful Hungarian girl named Kriszta would be awaiting my arrival.  Lucky man he said.  (where have you heard that before ;-) )  I had seen him use a cell phone earlier so I asked if he would PLEAAAAASE call Kriszta and let her know of my arrival.  He told me he would be happy to do it, but first must work and he'd come back.  Sure I thought to myself.  He went on his way and then I was approached by a young guy who told me he was a school teacher from Philadelphia and wanted to talk to me about Budapest.  We shared some stories of our travels and I could sense he had the "deer in the headlights" look I had three years ago on my first trip to Budapest.  I assured him he would be fine and not to worry about a thing.  He seemed to appreciate my assurances and then went back to his seat.  Within only kilometers of Budapest, the tourist salesman returned to help me with the phone call.   I gave him Kriszta's cell number and he placed the call.  I asked him to tell her I'd be arriving at 12:20 and what station we'd be at.  He talked to her for a minute or two and then handed me the phone. (by the way, if you want to contact the tourist guy, his name is Alex and you can email him by clicking here)  On the other end, I heard Kriszta's wonderful voice, with the accent I would come to love all during our visit together.  She'd be at work until 1 and then would come to meet me at the station's. restaurant.  Fantastic I thought, having accomplished the first and most important task upon my arrival in Hungary.  I hung up the phone thinking how fortunate I was to have made such a friend/contact as her.  How did we meet you ask?  I had been on a trip last year and in a London cathedral, I was taking some pictures.  Sitting in a pew, were two beautiful girls.  "Can we take pictures in here?" came their question in an ever hushed manner with very broken English.  From that question developed a friendship as spent some time taking pictures together in London and then they met me in Budapest for a "one-day" tour later that trip. 

Upon arrival at the station in Budapest, the place was jumping.  Jumping in that people were everywhere, going this way and that.  I was immediately inundated by guys asking if I needed a taxi and various people coming up to me with signs saying they'd offer me a room at a various cheap price.  Apparently, many people make money by renting rooms out to tourist and the stand in the stations and hold signs saying as much.  Holding tightly to my wallet and bags, I found my way to the restaurant where I'd meet Kriszta.  At hadn't eaten since the Vienna airports McDonalds that morning and I was hungry.  I thought though that Kriszta would be hungry as well and I should wait for her.  So, instead I ordered some goulash soup, a coke, and some bread.  I had made the mistake of changing money at a station cash changing business thinking the sign "No Commission" meant good deal, but instead it meant "rip-off" I would find.  For the exchange rate was 239 Forint for one Euro, and they had given me a rate of 195.  No wonder there was no "commission".  Sucker, I would later think of myself, but I had only changed 15 Euros so it was not that bad.  So anyway, there I sat, just waiting with such anticipation for Kriszta to appear out of the crowd.  I wanted to have my camera ready so I could take a nice picture of her as she approached me, hopefully with open arms I thought.  She would be so easy to recognize, as she is very tall and strikingly beautiful.  So beautiful in fact, the she could easily be one of those models one sees on a fashion runway. 

When she appeared out of crowd, she had the nicest smile on her face.  I asked her to stop so I could take a picture.  She obliged, as she would always seem to do so for a picture, and held her hands slightly out from her waist as if to say, c'mon, take your picture already.  When finished, we hugged and kissed (one on each cheek as is customary) and quickly began to chat.  She wanted lunch and so while we ate, we chatted about my travels as well as my (our) plans for my visit.  I told her of my desire to go to see Livia on Saturday and she was fine with that.  After lunch, we went to  the street to get a taxi.  I felt comfortable doing so with her help, as I had heard in Budapest, one doesn't just get any taxi as occasionally, they will take you to the cleaners on the way to your destination.  She told the driver we wanted to go to the Holiday Inn Budaörs.  We negotiated a price of some 4,000 Forint or as I would later learn to calculate right quickly, about 12 Euros/dollars.  As we traveled from Budapest to Budaörs, Kriszta told me of her plans to go to a village north of Budapest called Eger where we would stay overnight and then go to a National Park in the morning with very extensive caves with the icicle hanging type of rocks from the ceilings.  Then we'd go to some type of bath later in that day before coming back to Budapest the next night.  Overnight with Kriszta I thought to myself, you've got to be kidding.  Yes indeed, I was a lucky man were my thoughts as we arrived at the hotel.  Sounds good I told her.  Little did I realize that this village was nearly two to three hours away and we'd get there by bus of all things.  It was easy to settle into the hotel, as it was my third visit to this hotel and we were seemingly on a first name basis.  I told them of my plans to simply place my belongings in the room and my friend and I would be going to Eger that night.  (by the way folks, if you do go to Budapest, I can not recommend the Holiday Inn Budaörs highly enough.  It is spotless, close to Budapest with free shuttles, outstanding breakfast and restaurant, and very across the street from a large shopping mall.  It is a great place!)  From out of the offices, I spotted Angela, the marketing manager, enter the lobby.  We saw each other and exchanged some pleasantries.  She is so sweet.  I told her of my plans and asked if we could meet Friday morning as I was going to Eger tonight and not coming back until late Thursday.  Of course was her reply and we said farewell.  Once in the room, I had to hurry as Kriszta told me as she sat there "raiding" the rooms mini-bar.  We'd have to go back to her "flat" and get her bag that was by the door she said, and it would only take her a minute.  (folks, a minute in "womanish" is equivalent to about 20 I have learned, and Kriszta would turn out to be no different) 

Once packed with only the necessities, we went down to the lobby to request a cab.  (another tip, I'd suggest you let your hotel ALWAYS arrange for a cab for you, as many of them have "arrangements" with the hotels and the last thing they want to do is to end up at the stations asking tourist - Taxi? Taxi? Taxi?)  Our cab arrived and soon we were at the flat of Kriszta.  "My mother" she said as a woman came out of the multi-storied 20 year some old building of apartments.  I knew right away this was a photo opt.  Kriszta then went up to get her bag and even though I had communicated to Kriszta to attempt to negotiate for a good price for the cab to Eger, I decided to attempt to do so in her absence.  The cabbie spoke good enough English to understand what I was asking, and after looking at his map, he said $250 euros.  You have to be kidding I thought, knowing all the while this price would be negotiable.  We tossed figures back and forth until we landed at a price of $175.  Fine I thought, but he had to include the cost from the hotel to Kriszta's flat, and find me a place to get a good cigar before we left Budapest.  (I should tell you that at this point I am very disappointed in myself in that what had become a pleasurable habit has become an addiction.  Cigars are what I of course write off.  I know that when I get back to the states in three weeks this habit will STOP with the assistance of the patch and will-power.  If you smoke, quit.  If you don't, don't start!)  Kriszta came out 20 minutes later as expected and was delighted to find we would travel by cab to Eger.  It was getting late in the day now, nearly six o'clock and we still hadn't left Budapest.  We must of spent nearly half an hour just going through traffic to get to a shopping center where'd get a cigar and refreshments for our drive.  I gave Kriszta some money and told her to get sodas for us, to include the cabbie.  While she went off to get the before mentioned, I purchased my cigars.  In the display case, there appeared to be boxes of either four or five cigars and sales tags that read 6400 Forint.  I of course assumed the price to be for the box, not individually.  When the sale was one, it was nearly 29,000 forint.  For some reason, I failed to calculate and realize either I was getting ripped of or buying very expensive cigars for nearly 20 to 25 euro apiece.  It wasn't until we were in the cab that I realized this and I was very disappointed to say the least.  $175 for the cab, over a hundred for cigars, a hotel room that night, dinner.  This was shaping up to be quite a pricey night in what is supposed to be a cheap country.  Oh well I thought, I am in HUNGARY and with a beautiful tour guide, what the hell was the attitude I decided to assume and not let my spirit get down. 

When we arrived in Eger, the cabbie found the hotel Kriszta had made the reservations at and let us just say that it definitely would not make my "I Suggest" page.  Oh, I failed to mention that the cabbie turned out to be the same one I had had on my first trip to Budapest three years ago and he remembered me as I had recognized him during our drive.  Also, I had taken with me for the drive a cassette attached to a wire.  When inserted into the car stereo, the other end is plugged into my digital walkman.  The cabbie, as did Kriszta, just loved Van Morrison.  I'd end up making them both copies of the music before I'd leave Budapest.  You should of seen the three of us driving up the highway of Hungary, singing along.  So, back to the hotel.  It turned out to cost about 35 Euro and for one night, who cared if it was not what I was accustomed to as it would only be one night.  After putting our things in the room, it was nearly 7:30 and the remaining daylight was limited.  "Hurry" Kriszta said, as she was anxious to show me Eger.  So, quickly we found ourselves on the streets of this small Hungarian town.   Sorry, your browser doesn't support Java(tm). We walked from street to street, all the while Kriszta trying her best to tell me of its history.  Overlooking the city, one could see the Castle which is a monument if you will to the memory of the 2000 Hungarian who bravely fought nearly 100,000 invading Turks many years ago.  She went on to tell me that Eger is well liked by everyone as has beautifully preserved Baroque architecture and is the perfect walking city.  Another nice thing about the city is it is surrounded my various wineries.  So, we walked and talked, talked and walked.  As I would come to learn and appreciate, Kriszta was ever so patient as I would stop to take various pictures.  She would only hurry me if necessary and when she would do so, it was for good cause I would discover.  We finished our sightseeing of Eger at the Cathedral which was simply beautiful.  It was getting near 9:30 by now so I didn't spend too much time shooting inside.  I did see a wonderful statue of a crucified Jesus seemingly consoling a monk who was hugging Jesus for comfort.  All the while, Kriszta sat in the rear pews waiting for me to finish.  When I finished, we went back to the hotel for a few minutes and as I recall, I showered quickly and off we went to find a place to eat.  Most of the restaurants had closed or stopped serving by now, but we did find one right on the square with a beautiful view of the square.  After dinner, we walked a bit longer all the while having the most enjoyable conversations about life in general I suppose.  I kept telling her that I thought she was probably a "wild" woman and the nice girl whose company I was keeping was just a guise.  She really seemed to like my observation and she in return would keep calling me a "big man".  She would say this because she had told me back in the Budapest hotel when we were packing for the short trip to Eger I should bring long pants as it would be very cool in the caves.  I told her I didn't need long pants as I was a "big man".  And so it stuck for the rest of the visit, I was the "big man" and she was the "wild woman".  I wish I could somehow share with you her accent as she would say "wild", as it was just so wonderful.  With the end of our evening, we went back to the hotel and though we had planned to sit outside and smoke a cigar together, as I had bought her a small one, and drink some wine, we were both very tired.  We got back to the room and I must be honest with you in telling you I wondered just what if anything might happen that night in the room.  The beds in the room were twin beds and though they were positioned adjacent to one another, she definitely had her bed and I had mine.  She asked me if she could listen to Van Morrison on my walkman and as the headphone had two separate earpieces, we were able to lay side by side and listen to the music together.  After awhile, I decided that I would go out for a cigar after all, and told her as much.  So, as she went to sleep with the sounds of Van Morrison playing in her ears, I found my way back to the square.  As I walked, every now and then a car would come screaming down the road, and I mean that literally.  I was amazed at how fast they drove and can only wonder how many people get killed by these crazy drivers.  (this was only at night though, with empty streets)  I must of spent an hour sitting in the square under a beautiful statue of whose huge figures were they themselves dwarfed by the cathedral only feet from the platform on which I laid.  Couples and young kids seemed to be scattered around the square and as I sat there, I felt a twinge of loneliness I must say.  I returned to the darkened, and very warm hotel room and fell asleep, next to Kriszta whom herself was already in deep sleep.  I think the last thought to run through my mind as I fell asleep was how lucky of a man I was...

The next morning arrived and with it the promise of yet another exciting day in the life of "Tom Hall" I thought.  We had requested a wake up call at seven o'clock as I seem to recall.  It wasn't long after the call came that Kriszta crawled out of bed, much to my delight.  As I had mentioned earlier, she is a beautiful girl and I found myself wondering just exactly what she had worn to bed the night before, as it was dark when she ever so tactfully crawled beneath the sheets and she had stayed on her side of the bed all night, and me on mine.  God she was beautiful as she stood up to go to the shower, wearing her shirt and only her underwear.   A lucky man would be the one who saw such a sight each morning before beginning his day.  Anyway, enough of that as I'm sure she'll be reading this at some point and time or another.  (Kriszta, you're beautiful!)  Much to our dismay, the hotel lacked soap so we had to simply use the shower to refresh ourselves.  After we both had showered, separately unfortunately I thought, we found our was down to a rather nice breakfast I must say.  We had about an hour and a half to walk part of the town and visit the castle before we had to catch our bus on the other side of town near the cathedral.  We spent some time in the square and then went up to the castle to overlook the city below.  The view as quite nice and I was able to shoot a nice panorama by which I will be able to remember this town by.  (view panorama) We then hurried along to the bus depot where mostly locals, but some tourist awaited their bus to arrive or depart.  I had kept telling Kriszta I wanted to buy some water for our trip, which she told me would be two hours.  The morning was very muggy and I'm sure it would turn out to be a scorcher.  Near the station was large supermarket of sorts so I told Kriszta I'd hurry to buy some water.  I only had ten minutes so when I got in the store and saw a line, I was somewhat challenged.  I found some water and simple bypassed the line showing the clerk my imaginary watch on my wrist and motioning I had a bus to catch.  I was going to leave her with more than enough for the water, but she held up the line for me, or should I say I held up the line for me.  Selfish?  Perhaps but I had to have some water.  When I got back to the bus, we had five minutes and when I opened the bottle just a bit, I could hear the fizz and knew I had gotten water with gas.  Dammit I thought!  I hated "water with gas" as they call it all over Europe.  I'll be right back I told a frustrated Kriszta as I ran like a bat out of hell to exchange.  I went right to the back of the store, came back up and showed the girl I was exchanging.  Out the door I ran and made it back to the bus with a minute to spare.  Once on board, finding a seat was yet another thing.  It was quite crowded.  It seemed obvious we would not be seating together, but hopefully near each other anyway.  We found two seats, one in front of the other near the back of the bus.  Unfortunately, this also was not one of those nice tour buses you'd see on the road taking all the grannies and gramps around town.  The was your typical run of the mill city bus and it was hot and crowed.  At one point I got up, as per Kriszta's suggestion and opened the "escape" hatch on the ceiling.  Immediately, this old man began yelling a me in Hungarian.  I would of closed it, but an old lady began yelling to me to keep it open.  The old lady won of course, as it was so damn hot in the bus, I can't imagine why the old guy wanted the vent closed.  As the three hour trip progressed, Kriszta fell asleep for most of it, and I tried to do the same but it was just to uncomfortable.  As I watched the near or at poverty level villages roll by in the windows, I could only but feel sorry for the people I saw.  I've always thought of the world as a huge dart board if you will, and when your soul comes into the world, its as if throwing a dart and seeing where it sticks.  I was pretty damn fortunate as my dart landed in a little spot called Cleveland Ohio.  As the bus trip progressed, every now and then out of the corner of my eye, sitting next to Kriszta in the seat behind me, was a blonde haired girl wearing athletic garb and looking rather nice I must say.  She was reading a gossip magazine of some sort or another.  Little did I know that this girl would have a huge impact on my trip, and perhaps future trips as well. 

The bus arrived at the park after an arduous trek through the hills and forest of northern Hungary.  As we were walking from the bus to the location where you enter the caves for a tour, I found myself as usual falling behind Kriszta.  (which I never minded of course) As I walked, I came upon the girl who had been sitting next to Kriszta.  Naturally I tried to engage her in conversation, but to my disappointment, she spoke very little English.  After several attempts, I got Kriszta to talk to her.  It turned out she was on holiday herself from her village in southern Hungary, visiting family up north or something.  She had taken the one day excursion to the caves so naturally I told Kriszta to invite her to join us, to which she gladly accepted.  It turned out we had an hour and a half wait for the next tour so we went over playground and conquered the slide platform for 45 minutes or so, just talking about this and that, that and this...  Kriszta tried to smoke her cigar that I had bought for her and I must admit she gave it a good spirited attempt, but didn't like it in the end.  After a quick lunch at a nearby tourist spot, into the caves we went.
(view panorama)   As Kriszta had told me, they were cool but nothing I couldn't handle.  As our one hour tour progressed, I found myself spending more time with the other girl than with Kriszta.  Her name is Katia, or something like that.  I guess the English translation would be Kathy.  After the tour on in the caves, it was time to get back on the bus for the three some hour back to Eger, then Kriszta and I had a two hour bus ride back to Budapest!  I was not going to complain though, as I had told Kriszta in my emails that I wanted to see the "real" Hungary, and that is what we were doing, seeing  jus that.  The ride back to Eger was much better as we had met a new friend in Katia and she once again sat with us on the ride back.  What made this part of the day so much fun was that with my digital walkman, I have the ability to record.  So, I decided to record our conversation, to which they were both in agreement.  To give the conversation some real merit, I decided to recall from memory some questions from a book I own back home called "The Book of Questions". These are questions written by a shrink and intended to let people get to know each other better.  For example, would you kill a beautiful butterfly by pulling off it's wings for a one month all expense paid holiday; would you get off a bus and walk one city block naked down a busy street if $10,000 would be given to your favorite charity; would you pull the trigger on a revolver pointed to your head with only one bullet in the ten chambers knowing you had a 90% chance of living and acquiring $1,000,000 dollars.  You should hear Kriszta's answer to the walking naked down the street question, quite funny I must admit.  Anyway, as the trip neared its end, at least for Katia, as Kriszta and I still had to go to Budapest, we just continued chatting.  We told Katia of my plans to go to Seged (may not be correct spelling) in southern Hungary and she immediately told Kriszta to tell me to come and see her in Kecskemet, a town not too far from Seged.  If you'd of seen the look in her eyes, you would of agreed to travel to the moon.  For some reason it meant a lot to her for me to come and visit Kecskemet and herself.  I asked Kriszta if it was a nice place and she said it was beautiful.  My mind quickly began calculating my schedule.  I'd have to consider a day less in Vienna, which is not necessarily a favorite city of mine anyway, and arrive one day later.  What the hell I thought.  So, we exchanged contact information and said I'd call her on Sunday, or at least Kriszta would as Katia didn't speak English.  Didn't speak English?  Was I nuts?  How was I going to spend a day and evening with her if that were the case.  As I joked with Kriszta, I told her we'd speak the universal language of "love".  Kriszta was more excited about my visit with Katia than I was I think, as she told me I'd have to call her with all the details.  Details?  I was going sight seeing I thought, but Kriszta was playing matchmaker I think.  It not long after making these arrangements that our bus arrived at Eger and it was time to say goodbye to Katia.  She looked so happy as she got off the bus, I only hoped I would in fact make it down to see her.  But perhaps I would not I thought to myself as we hit the road again.  Did I say it was hot! 

The rest of the day went pretty well also.  We got back to Budapest and went out for a great dinner in a nice restaurant and then went to see her (our) friend Ancsa at a tea house.  We visited with her for a bit and then Kriszta and I said goodnight with plans to meet around noon the next day for some sightseeing in Budapest.  I got back to the Holiday Inn and after catching up on emails and calling my client in San Francisco to present the finished dental web site to him (which he loved, which meant I got paid...) I found my way to the roof of the hotel and sat and had cigar and scotch while listening to Van Morrison.  Then I simply went to bed...another day in the books I thought.

The next morning arrived and to be quite honest, I was tired.  The travels from the previous days were catching up to me but I was compelled to get up none the less as I wanted to prepare for my meeting/visit with Angela, the hotel's marketing manager.  Without even taking a shower, I went downstairs to take a few panoramas of both the inside of the hotel as well as the outside.  A tour bus was busy loading up for it's days travels and made a panorama of the outside not feasible at the moment, so I decided to do the lobby instead.  When I was finished with that, the bus had moved on so I did the outside panorama and then finished with one of the breakfast room of the hotel.  I must say that I have had breakfast served to me in so many ways during my travels, but the breakfast at this Holiday Inn is one that always seems to impress me the most.  It has such wide selection of items and is so well organized.  When finished with my work, I sat down and enjoyed a breakfast with a nice cappuccino before going back to my room to make a CD for Angela. 

When I met with Angela, she was looking as beautiful as ever.  I had first met her three years ago when I had happened to wander into the Holiday Inn Budaörs.  It was my first visit to Budapest then and I decided it best to find a hotel on the city's outskirts rather than drive into it instead.  At the time, Angela was working under another woman, named Anna Burger who was no longer with the hotel.  As I walked into Angela's office, it was apparent that Angela had "moved up" as they would say.  She had a nice desk with all the computer apparatus one might expect to see in such an office.  First thing I told her I wanted to do was to give her a gift of a Van Morrison CD.  We put it in the boom box and listened to it while I showed her some of the panoramas I was giving to her.  She loved both the panoramas as well as the music of Van Morrison.  We chatted for awhile after that and I shared some of the pictures from my trip with her.  I recall somehow the topic of when I was going to get married and settled down came up.  I jokingly told her when I meet a girl just like yourself.  I say jokingly only because I have met girls like herself, who were both beautiful and intelligent but in my heart I knew I was just not ready to be "tied" down and anyone who might be interested in me surely would not want to sit around for months on end while I travel the world.  We finished our business and I left her with a firm handshake knowing that perhaps we'd meet again one day.  I had invited her to spend some time with me in Budapest over the weekend, but she told me she was going to Eger for the weekend.

I caught the hotel shuttle into Budapest where it dropped me off on some street in the "Pest" side of the city.  I had requested that the hotel call "my" cabbie to meet me at the shuttle drop-off point.  I'd say after some slight concern, standing  on the busy street with my luggage, the taxi showed up.  It was good to see him and I filled him in on the day in Eger I had spent with Kriszta where he had dropped us off.  I let his imagination tell most of the story, as it would probably be more interesting than what had really happened with her.  He then drove me to a the accommodation for what was supposed to be my next three nights in Budapest called Hotel Fortuna, but as I told them when I arrived I had changed my schedule so as to visit southern Hungary.  When we arrived at the hotel, I must be honest in saying I was a tad bit skeptical about its location.  It didn't look like the greatest of neighborhoods, but as I would discover, it was actually a rather convenient location.  The taxi waited for me as I scoped out the hotel and when I asked to see where my room would be, I realized that for a night, it would be just fine.  I must admit that I was somewhat challenged as I had been accustomed to the finest of suites in the finest of hotels.  I went back down to get my bags and told him it would be fine.  Once settled into my room, I then called Kriszta whom I was to meet about noon for some sightseeing in Budapest.  She was glad to hear from me and we decided that since our day would begin with a walk on what is I believe called St. Margit Island, I'd take the underground from the nearby subway station near my hotel and meet her ten stops away from there.  I had become quite familiar with Budapest's underground by now so I was quite comfortable with the arrangement.  Basically, there are three lines in the Pest side of the city, all inter-connected.  You can buy a twenty-four pass quite cheaply, or better yet a three day tourist pass good for all subway, trams, and buses.  I bought the latter.  When I first visited Budapest, the subway concerned me as I thought it would be a haven for thieves and pickpockets.  But as I had learned, it was as safe as any subway I had traveled.  Used by the populous of Budapest, for all anyone knows, you are just an average Joe enroute to your destination. 

Once I got there, I had to wait for Kriszta as she was running late.  It gave me the opportunity though to meet a girl who was an American from PA. now living in Budapest as a teacher.  She told me that she loved Hungary and would not even consider moving back to the states.  Hmmmm I thought.  But as she told me, you must work under the table and it is not always guaranteed that you will get paid for your efforts.  She told me she was as we spoke tracking down a guy who owed her a pittance of money.  She also told me she had to leave the country every three months and then reenter to keep her "visitor" status in the country.  Then she told me how sad it is that so many of her students tell her that if they can't make it to the United States, they will commit suicide.  Kriszta showed up and we left the underground and began our visit to the Island.  Having Kriszta was invaluable to me as she had lived there all her life and we jumped from buses to trams, all effortlessly.  Once on the island, we spend at least an hour strolling from one scenic spot to another.  It was a warm sunny day and I'd say most of the people on the island set in the Danube between Buda and Pest were locals enjoying the day.  Some were lovers on benches, people walking their dogs, children at play, and others just laying in the sun.  I was delighted to see a couple of guys playing catch with a baseball and gloves.  This reminded Kriszta of my promise of taking her to a baseball game in the states if she come and visits me there.  She then confirmed with me that I'd buy her a "cap", we'd sit in the sun and drink beer and have a hot dog.  When I explained to her what a homerun was, she asked what she should yell when one is hit.  Unsure what to say, I told her everyone just basically screams whatever they want.  She said it sounded like fun.  The rest of our walk on the Island was filled with taking photos of scenery as well as each other.  When I told her how nice it was that she would patiently poise for photos, she told me it was only because she was in a photography class and they would do it all the time as class exercises.  As I also recall, we spent much of our time talking about relationships.  At one point, she seemed to be quite frustrated with me as I found myself lecturing her about safe sex and the practicality of it.  As many people her age, she didn't want to hear about it.  I realized I was perhaps sounding more like a father than a friend and curtailed any further advice that might be construed as such. 

We left the Island and then headed for the inner city of Pest where we just strolled the streets, continuing our wonderful conversation of such delightful topics.  What a special friend I had found in Kriszta I continued to find myself thinking.  She was a very genuine person who was very content and sure of herself.  We stopped at an Italian restaurant and ordered separate pasta dishes which we then shared with one another.  It was getting late in the day by now and there was but one more stop I wanted to make, that of Heroes Square.  One of the more popular tourist attractions in in Pest, the square is surrounded my parks, museums, and baths.  As we walked the various parts of this area, I could tell Kriszta was getting tired and this must be somewhat boring for her.  At one point, I set up for a panorama only to find her sitting chair near the water waiting for me.  I felt somewhat guilty asking her to take me to so many places.  As we spent time together, I realized more and more that it was only the kindness in her heart that compelled her to do so, as well as the love for her country and city of Budapest.  I think that for her it is important that the world know how wonderful both of them are.  As I took the panorama she waited so patiently waited for me to complete, I decided I would get her a gift for spending so much time with me.  But what?  Perhaps it would come to me later, what type of gift that is.  We finished our sightseeing trip and headed back to the station where we would part until dinner that night.  I had arranged months ago to have a complimentary dinner at one of Budapest's nicer restaurants called Karpatia and I had invited her to join me, knowing that she probably didn't go to such places too often and the owner of the restaurant wouldn't mind if I brought someone, especially someone as nice as Kriszta.  We said goodbye with the understanding we'd meet again that night about 8:30. 

As I boarded the subway, it dawned on me what to get her as a gift.  A camera bag!  Perfect idea as Kriszta often would tell me of her aspirations to be a photographer.  But where would I find one I wondered.  Tonight would be the last night to see her before leaving Budapest the next day. (or so I thought)  On the subway, or tube as many call it, I saw a guy with his girlfriend.  For probably the 10,000 time on my trip, I said "Excuse me, do you speak English? "  And for about the same amount of times, the answer was "A little."  I tried to tell him of a special girl I knew who lived in Budapest and I wanted to buy a camera bag, pointing to the one on my shoulder.  He shrugged as he girlfriend watched, and said he didn't know.  I was so saddened as I knew Kriszta would appreciate such a gift.  I got off at a transfer point and as I waited for the next train to arrive, the guy and his girlfriend appeared again.  She seemed to be his motivation to tell me to take the tram two stops and I'd find a shopping center, Budapest's largest.  There he said I'd be sure to find one.  I was elated.  When I got to the center, it was quite impressive and as western as any you'd want to find.  I quickly found what I wanted, had it wrapped and was back on the tube to the hotel in no time.  I spent some time working on images I taken during the day in the lobby of the hotel when the manager whom I hadn't met the day before introduced herself.  A wonderful girl named Eniko, she was so pleased to see my photos and told me she loved the panorama I had done earlier of her hotel's lobby.  I had given it to a staff member who had given it to her.  We chatted for awhile and I could sense she took a lot of pride in her hotel and it was important to her that I got what I needed while I was there.  She had told her staff all my needs were to be taken well care off.  Which they were by the way.  Once done with the days work, I then showered and got ready for my "date" with Kriszta.  How lucky I was to have traveled from across the globe and to have such a lovely date arranged at such a nice restaurant.  I called Kriszta and we agreed to meet at the tube stop located right at the restaurant. 

As I left the hotel to meet Kriszta at the restaurant, I decided that not only would I take my camera and its equipment, but I'd take my laptop as well.  I decided to do so for a couple of reasons.  One of the reasons was that I had contacted the Restaurant Karpatia from their web site on the internet long before I had left for my travels and inquired if they'd exchange a meal for being listed on my site's "I Suggest" page, and having not contacted them since I got their acceptance,  I thought it would help in showing them both my web site and the email I had gotten from the restaurants marketing director.  Also, I wanted to be able to share the photos I had taken during my three days in Hungary with Kriszta while we had dinner.  As I walked to the station with my nearly $5,000 dollars worth of equipment around my shoulders, I could only think back to a few years ago when I had requested from a hotel in Austria that I leave my laptop there while I ventured into Hungary, thinking that it would be safer there.  Now, here I was by myself about to take the "tube" without a concern in the world about my security and safety.  Budapest is as safe as any large city in America I thought as I boarded the train which would take me only a few stops down the track.  Sitting on the train, I realized that my unfounded "fears" of this wonderful place had been eased so  much by Kriszta herself.  Until last year when I visited Hungary, I had been "afraid" of this wonderful country, if only because of lingering fears instilled in me having grown up in the height of the cold war.  When I met Kriszta (and Ancsa) in London last year and they invited me to Budapest for a personal tour, and it was then that I discovered that not only was there nothing to fear in Hungary, but it was perhaps one of Europe's greatest destinations.  Anyway, I arrived at the station and went straight to the Restaurant Karpatia as Kriszta and I had decided to meet at the same.  As I entered the restaurant, I realized it was as beautiful as represented on its web site.  I asked for a table for two and gave the waiter the gift I had brought for Kriszta and asked him to bring it out on my cue, after she had arrived.  The place was very busy as I was given a table on the patio, amidst all the other diners.  The table I was given was not in such a great location, so when I eyed another one in a much better spot, I took the liberty to move myself over there.  Not long after doing the same Kriszta arrived and I must tell you she looked beautiful!  Sorry, your browser doesn't support Java(tm). I think all the eyes in the room must of been on her as she entered the room, as well they should have been.  I had wondered how she'd dress for such a nice restaurant, and was quite pleased to see she was wearing a flower patterned skirt with a white sleeveless shirt.  I then saw a man walk by who must of been the manager.  I told him who I was and of the "arrangement" I had made some months ago.  Unaware of any such arrangement, he told me he'd look into it and get back to me.  Before I even had to open my laptop, he came back to tell me he had made a call and confirmed my representation, and he would make sure I enjoyed my dinner that evening.  And so the dinner went on, with great conversation and food to match.  I can't recall what Kriszta ordered, but I had veal goulash.  At one point, a gypsy fiddler came over and serenaded Kriszta we ate.  At the same time, the waiter appeared with Kriszta's gift, and you should of seen the look on her face.  I told her it was for her and she just couldn't believe it.  I told her how much I appreciated what she had done for me during my visit, and I wanted to give her something to show the same.  When she opened it, she was elated to find the camera bag inside.  The rest of the dinner went really well, and as it turned out, we ended up closing down the place as the waiters patiently waited for us.  When all was done, not a penny was paid except for a handsome tip of some three or four thousand Forints left on the table for our waiter.  It was nearly eleven thirty now and rather than saying goodnight, we found our way down to the Danube where we would finish our night sitting on a dock with the reflections of the Castle on the other side glistening in the water.  The night was perfect I thought.  Kriszta has brought with her her collection of pictures she had taken for her photography class, most of which were in black and white.  We sat there looking at them in the dim light of the street lamps above our heads.   I found myself being very impressed at her sense of composition.  She said she enjoyed taking pictures of people more than anything else.  We then used what little battery I had in my laptop to look at the slideshow I had of my visit with Amanda in Scotland and listening to David Gray as I smoked my cigar.  I wanted the night to go on forever as I knew its conclusion would also mean the end of my visit with Kriszta as I'd be going to southern Hungary the next morning to see Livia and her family, and then to Katia's village, but it was near one now and I knew it would be best to say goodnight.  It would of been easy for me to simply take a cab and let Kriszta take a bus to her nearby flat, but I realized that would be anything but gentlemanly for me do so.  So, when the cab arrived, we negotiated a price to take her home first, and then take me back to my hotel.  We got to Kriszta's flat in no time at all, and as she got out of the cab, I did as well so as to give her a proper farewell.  We said some pleasantries and then for the first time, I opened my arms to give her a big hug goodbye.  As I held her for a moment, I realized just how thin she was and I quickly modified the strength of my embrace as to not accidentally crush her.  We then kissed each other on each other's cheeks, and off she went.  It was sad for me going back to the hotel that night, as I knew that I'd miss my Hungarian friend - very much! 

When the next morning arrived, the first thing I did was to get all my bags packed for the days journey.  Long about 10 or so, I called the cell phone number Livia had given me when I met her back in Austria at the Castel Berg Bernstein.  I was to call her to confirm our meeting on Saturday night.  Much to my disappointment, when I called her, she told me she had to cancel as her aunt had died and would need to travel, thus canceling our visit.  I heard a young girl, perhaps her younger sister, laughing in the background and could only wonder if she was making up an excuse so as not to have to visit.  But why I thought?  Oh well, I wasn't going to let it dampen my spirits. I'd simply stay in Budapest as I had intended to do in the first place.  I immediately asked the hotel if I could stay and they happily agreed as they said it would be no problem.  Great I thought, but what to do now?  It was Saturday morning and I was in Budapest.  Why not play tourist I thought!  I checked my email and was so pleased to find an email from Kriszta telling me how much she enjoyed our visit, and it touched me.  I called her to tell her I'd be staying in Budapest after all, and I'd love to see her again.  She was really pleased to hear of my news, but saddened by Livia canceling as she knew I had been looking forward to it.  She told me that she had planned to go to her dad's home outside of Budapest for the day and wouldn't return until Sunday.  She said she'd love to meet me on Sunday though, and we'd go to a nearby village for the day.  With those plans cemented,  I then proceeded to spend the better part of Saturday just walking the various parts of the Pest side of Budapest.  I did all the typical venues, such as Hero's Square, the nearby park, and then St. Stephens Cathedral.  As the afternoon  approached neared its end, I found a small beauty shop to get a trim as I'd be arriving in the Vienna Palace in a couple of days and thought it would be appropriate to look nice.  The salon was slow and the Romanian girl cutting my hair took her sweet time and when finished with my cut, gave me a nice shampoo to boot.  I was too tired by then to walk over to the hills of Buda overlooking Pest so I headed back to the hotel.  I then spent an hour or so working on my day's panoramas and photos in the lobby of Hotel Fortuna.  The manager Eniko came in, and after some discussion, she agreed to pay for a cab to take me around Budapest both that night and in the morning to take pictures on the condition that she gets copies of the images for their web site.  No problem I thought.  So, after having perhaps one of the worst meals of my life at a nearby Asian restaurant.  I say bad because not only was the food crappy, but the restaurant was filed with Asian who had a plethora of small children running rampant around the restaurant as if it were playground.  Literally climbing on the walls and screaming.  It was a nightmare.  When I paid my bill at the front desk, I looked at the woman and after pointing my finger around the restaurant, I mimicked spitting on the ground and then pointed my thumb in a downward position.  A Hungarian waiter who spoke English asked me what was wrong.  I pointed to some small kids climbing a nearly wall ornament and his reply was "Children sir", as if that explained it.  I then pointed at the adults nearby and and said "Parent, Sir!".  I mimicked spitting again and walked out.  Although I'd recommend Hotel Fortuna for budget minded travelers, I'd never ever recommended the nearby restaurant I thought as I walked back to the hotel.  The rest of the night went alright, as the cabbie showed up and I must of spent two hours with him driving the streets of Budapest taking pictures, and then when we finished at nearly 12, I showered while he waited and then he dropped me at a nearby outdoor club with an understanding he'd meet me at the same drop-off point at 2 in the morning to take me back to the hotel.  And so, without much else to say, that is how my fourth day in Hungary ended.  I must of gotten to bed at nearly three with a scheduled wake up call for 8 as another cabbie was scheduled to show up at 8:30 to take me around just as the one that night had done.  All in all, it had been a good day, but I was beginning to feel the - self-imposed - rigors of the road I thought as I fell asleep...

With the next mornings arrival, I once again found myself in the seat of a taxi being taken around the city of Budapest.  Unlike the previous nights journey though, today I was fortunate to have my "friend" as the taxi driver.  My friend being the same guy who had taken me around the same route three years earlier and was regularly hired out by the Holiday Inn in nearby Budaörs.  I had stipulated that he be my driver as I was comfortable with him and he spoke English very well.  We started our tour with a stop at a famous bath Gellért Gyógyfürdö where I was supposed to have been given access as arranged by the Hotel Fortuna's manager the previous night.  When we entered the lobby, the person at the entrance would allow me nothing of the kind.  We tried to tell her that arrangements had been made, but she would not budge.  So, off we went to the Gellért Hill overlooking the Danube.  As I took the photographs, the driver carried my gear and would help me as needed.  All the while, he would continue to give me valuable history lessons about the history of the country.  Two words I so often remember him saying were "Catastrophe" or "Super", over and over again.  When we finished on the hill, we then drove to the castle grounds and at times he really pushed me to take pictures at spots I otherwise would of bypassed.  I was tired of taking pictures to be quite honest, and I had intended to have this day as a "day off".  Near about 11, I said enough and asked he take me back to the hotel.  He obliged and once back there, I told him I may need him to pick me up in the morning if I decided to head south and visit Katia.  My mind kept oscillating back and forth about the idea.  In a sense, I had felt "burned" by Livia, and thus for one reason or another, felt no obligation to visit Katia.  The reason my mind kept wavering though, was the recollection of how excited Katia was that I would come to see her, as well as just the adventure itself of venturing into the heart of Hungary.  I decided I'd have Kriszta call Katia that evening and "feel" her out to see if she was still as excited about my visit. 

Once back in the hotel, I readied myself for another day with Kriszta.  I called her and it was decided I'd meet her at the Apra Station near her flat.  When I arrived at the tube station near the hotel, even though it was Sunday there was a considerable amount of people walking about, and unlike other European countries, some of the stores were open, including a small bookstand.  On impulse, I thought maybe they might have my all time favorite book - "The Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett.  First introduced to me by a mentor from MIT, it is a wonderful story set in the middle ages.  It covers three or four generations during the building of a Cathedral in England.  A fascinating read!  Something just told me that Kriszta probably reads in her spare time and she might enjoy it.  After spelling the name "Follett" on some paper for the non-English speaking merchant, he reached down and pulled out a hardcover copy of a Follett book.  It was in Hungarian of course and he not speaking English, I couldn't ask the titles translation in English.  Understanding as much, he flipped through the first few pages and stopped pointing his finger to the title written in English - "The Pillars of the Earth"!  It was quite cheap, probably six or seven American dollars, so I bought it and packed it in my already overloaded camera bag.   

 I got to our meeting point in the tube shortly thereafter and off we went to the nearby tourist village of Szentendre.  Getting there was a chore though, as we first had to take a tram to a train station only to find the station was closed requiring a bus ride to another station.  Once there, we got on a train for a rather short ride to Szentendre.  I had told Kriszta when we first hooked up that day that I had a "small" gift for her, but she'd have to wait for it.  She didn't like that one bit as the curiously would kill her she said.  When I finally did give it her, she was surprised at first that it was a book, and as I saw her intently reading the back cover's description, I thought it looked like she found it interesting.  She asked me if she minded if she began to read it while we journeyed, and I of course said no as I could then listen to the gypsy music on my walkman that had been given to me as a gift from the Restaurant Karpatia.  As I watched her go from page to page, I waited til had seen her turn several pages before asking her if she liked it.  Her reply was that she loved it and she continued to read on, all the while making a pursing of her mouth that was ever so interesting.  I had noticed earlier in our visit that she would always play with her hair when she was idly sitting on the train, bus or tram.  Now, as she read, it wasn't her hair that she'd play with, but every thirty seconds to a minute, she'd draw her lips to one side of her face and hold them there for several seconds only to return them to their normal position.  I commented on this observation and she of course thought I was funny for noticing such a habit.  Perhaps I was, but she intrigued me. 

We got to Szentendre by about 2 in the afternoon and I was quite delighted to see how lovely it was.  The houses were what were considered authentic old time Hungarian countryside homes.  The town was a haven for artists and writers and is a favorite day trip location for tourist visiting Hungary.  We found our way through the streets to the shore of the Danube.  Along the Danube was a main thoroughfare with shops and restaurants.  People were boating on the river and laying along its shores.  Across the water was an Island where Kriszta told me her family owned a cabin, or vacation home if you will.  She told me she'd come there with her friends regularly and just hang out.  We found ourselves a restaurant and ordered a Swiss dish of all things.  As we ate, our conversation turned to dreams and aspirations both of us had.  Like myself, Kriszta loved both travel and photography.  I told her if she would like to travel with me for part of my travels next summer, she could do so.  I'd take care of the hotels and most of the meals, she'd only need to find her way to where ever I might be when we'd hook up.  I told her for helping me, I'd give her a percentage of what I might make on my travels, such as 15 or 20 percent.  That might sound generous, but having someone to help me set up a room, switch equipment would be most helpful I thought.  And she didn't seem to have pressing commitments that would not allow her to travel.  I think she knew from some of the pictures I had shown her of the places I go to, it would be a good opportunity for her.  We'll just have to see if she follows up on the chance.  I also told her that in my journal, I'd suggest if anyone is coming to Budapest and would like to hire her as a tour guide,  I would put them in touch with her.  They could pay you 50 to 100 Euro a day perhaps, which she seemed most enthusiastic about.  (so, if you want to hire Kriszta for a visit to Hungary, email me and I'll arrange it)  After lunch, we wandered about Szentendre for awhile, taking panoramas and pictures.  We had a blast!  When all done, it was back on a crowded bus of Hungarian locals and then the train, and then the tram.  We said farewell near five with the understanding we'd meet in a few hours for dinner and to complete me giving her the pictures on a CD.  I had told her if she wanted to sell the panoramas to the village of Szentendre who had a web site, she could do so, but only for 50 euros apiece.  She had told me they'd of offered her less because she was Hungarian.  I told her I'd email them and sell them for 50 euros with the understanding that she'd deliver them and pick up the cash.  She loved the idea. (View Panorama)  

We hooked up as planned later on, and before dinner we had tea at the tea house we had visited some nights ago.  Interestingly enough, they drink their tea from bowls as one might drink soup, putting the bowl to ones mouth and sipping carefully.  At a couple of times, she translated some phrases for me into Hungarian such as "May I have a pen please", and I would go up to the counter to the delight of the staff and try my best to repeat it.  It worked, as I got a pen (with a smile) on my first attempt.  Kriszta was impressed.  We made a custom Cd for her with her selecting which pictures, and when finished, we had a nice dinner in a nearby restaurant.  Earlier, she had called Katia and had told me she was Katia was so excited to see me the next day.  It was settled, I'd go to the town of Kecskemet on the morning train.  I'd leave at 9 and be there by 10:30.  Kriszta told Katia as much and Katia told Kriszta to tell me she'd be at the station waiting.  With that settled, we finished our evening with yet a second farewell embrace and goodbye at a nearby bus stop where she'd catch a bus taking her to one side of Pest, and me to the other side by taxi.  The second farewell was as sad as the first for me...

The next morning arrived and the hotel had some breakfast for me.  I called "my" taxi and then took my luggage downstairs to wait for him.  As I recall, it was nearly 8 but people were all about and a large construction project was underway on the street in front of the hotel.  The gruffy looking  workers were slow to start their long day in the hot August Hungarian sun, as they joked with one another as they fired up the equipment.  The cabbie was running late, and it worried me.  I didn't want to miss my train, as to do so meant a later train, and thus a shorter visit in Kecskemet.  He arrived and on the way to the train station I laid out my plan to him.  I'd leave my two big bags at the station where he dropped me off, then he'd pick me up at exactly 8:15 the next day to take me to yet another station where I'd catch a train to Vienna.  It had to be perfect I thought, so there'd be no snags.  When we got to the busy station, we again confirmed "our" plans and he went inside to help me make sure I got the right track to Kecskemet and to find the lockers.  We only had a few minutes as I recall, so when we had trouble locating the lockers, he suggested he keep my bags in his taxi.  I thought of it for a moment, and figured what the hell as I'd have my computer and camera with me.  If it had been the beginning of my trip or if I didn't "know" him, I'd of said no way.  I agreed and back out of the station we went to his cab, placing my luggage in the back.  Brave I thought as I boarded the train on track number 3. 

It was an old train, the kind you'd see in an old movie.  I found the first class car and nestled into a seat for the 1 1/2 hour ride.  the car was fairly empty, with the exception of a young couple behind me, and one guy to my left, one in front of me.  The countryside rolled by, scenic at times, and at other times anything but.  I had read that this part of Hungary was it's most affluent as it had good crops and wine.  It wasn't long before we had but one more stop to go and we'd arrive in Kecskemet.  I must admit I was a tad bit nervous, as I was about to meet and spend a day with a gal in a strange town who spoke little more English that "Hello" or "Ok".  Would she be waiting for me?  Would our visit be awkward?  I was about to find out as the train neared the station.  Many more people had boarded the train as we had traveled from Budapest, and mixed with the people waiting to board, the platform upon arrival was quite busy.  I was in a car near the end, so as I approached the main area of the station, I was scanning the crowd looking for Katia.  I saw her well before see saw me.  I could tell she was scanning the ongoing and off coming passengers for my face with anticipation.  She was wearing all white which really complemented her dark summer tan and golden blonde hair.  When she spotted me, a large smile came upon her face and she waved her hand to say hello.  It was really nice to see her again and to know I had arrived safely in Kecskemet.  We did our best to say hello to each other, as our language barrier presented a challenge right away.  As we walked out of the station, I began to attempt to tell her we should go to a bookstore and get a translation dictionary.  I symbolized a book by flipping imaginary pages and then pointed to her and I and using my fingers, simulated counting money.  Then I said "English-Hungarian".  She had beat me to it.  With a big smile, and looking ever so proud of herself, she reached into her red canvas bag she had brought with her and pulled out not one dictionary, but two.  One said Anglo-Hungarian and the other said Hungarian-Anglo.  How sweet I thought of her to buy these for our visit.  We proceeded to walk from the station, all the while with my wonderment of how the town would look.  Would it be a dumpy little town which would hold little interest for me, or would it be yet another magical find such as perhaps say, Basel in Switzerland was.  We walked through a park where some old folks where sitting with there dogs and also a some drunks laid sleeping off the previous nights binge.  It was a hot and humid morning as I recall.  All the while, as we walked we both were frantically scanning the pages of the dictionary we held in our hands.  I told her we first should find a hotel for me so I could get that out of the way and proceed with our visit.  I looked up the word for "best" and "hotel" and she totally understood.  I figured even the best hotel in town would be within my budget.  I also told her I might want a cappuccino and there was no need for translation for that as she totally understood.  As we approached the heart of the town, I could see it was a very nice place indeed.  We passed a McDonalds, a sure sign of prosperity I thought.  Every time I would say "Hotel" she would motion for me to wait, and repeat the words "Cafe Mocha".  Ok I thought, Cafe Mocha were we would obviously get a cappuccino I had requested.  We walked past the square toward what appeared to be a main street.  The buildings were magnificent, with a nicely decorated town hall, a Cathedral, and several churches.  This was nice I thought.  We found our way to the Cafe Mocha cafe and once inside, I could tell she knew the place and its staff well.  We found a nice place to sit and I immediately booted up the laptop to share the photos I had taken with Kriszta earlier in the week.  (all the while, still flipping pages in the dictionaries mind you)  We must of sat there for a half an hour looking at images and I could tell she was impressed with the images as well as the panoramas.  The pictures of Kriszta I think really interested her, as I told her I would take pictures of her and put them on a CD for her.  When finished with the pictures, she got up and asked me to wait for two minutes.  I had thought she needed to use the restroom but instead, went into the kitchen.  Soon after, she reappeared behind the counter and began a conversation with what appeared to be a manager.  As they went on and on in Hungarian,  drew the conclusion that this must be where she worked.  I had thought she worked in a cafeteria, but I was apparently wrong.  On the bus earlier in the week, she had told us she'd take the day off of work to spend time with me.  Well, this must be her work I thought.  She returned, looking ever so pleased and told me that now we go to a hotel.  We walked only a block, back to the square and went into a rather nice hotel overlooking the square.  Apparently what she had been conversing with her boss about was not work related, but where I should stay and what she should show me.  I checked in easily enough, and once in my room I saw it was very nice indeed.  Not a 12th century suite mind you, but it would more than suffice.  Once I had organized for our day of sightseeing, she pulled out some photos of her family she was so anxious to show me.  Some of them were of her brothers wedding and of her in a gown.  She must of been in the wedding party I thought.  Her hair had been made up and she looked gorgeous!  She was so happy to show me the photos for one reason or another, and I was glad to see them as they gave me an insight as to exactly who I'd be spending the day with. 

Sorry, your browser doesn't support Java(tm). Once finished in the room, we ventured out into the city of Kecskemet.  Our first stop was the tower of the church near the hotel, which would give us a panoramic shot of the city.  It was a clear day and you could see for miles.  Interestingly enough, I heard fighter jets going overhead and pointing to them, I asked her if they were American?  Yes was her reply.  I was reminded of the world I had left back home, of terrorism and war in the middle east.  It had seemed so distant to me during my travels, but I realized these planes were probably not on training missions, but using the base in southern Hungary for missions in the U.S. war on terrorism.  God bless America I thought to myself.  We must of spent nearly an hour up there, and after taking a panorama of the town (View Panorama) I spent some time taking some pictures of her with Kecskemet as a backdrop.    She was so willing to poise for me, and would stand however I wanted her to.  Now I am not a professional photographer by any stretch of the imagination, but put a pretty woman in front of me and I'll sure do my best.  We left the tower and proceeded to spend the rest of the day walking the town.  As we'd enter a church or other public building, Katia would insist I wait as she'd approach who ever was in charge and begin talking with them.  I figured out she was "selling" me and what I was doing to ensure I got access to anything I wanted.  Perfect I thought, as so very few people spoke English.  From street to street we went, building to building.  I alternated between pictures of her and pictures of the scenery.  I would treasure this day I thought as the afternoon progressed.  At one point, while resting in a park we called Kriszta on Katia's cell phone.  Katia was so happy to do so as Kriszta could translate for us.  I told Kriszta to tell Katia that I wish I had a forint for every "One moment..." Katia had told me during the day as she looked for words in the dictionary.  I also told her to make sure that that evening we go to eat in the cities best restaurant.  I normally don't splurge like that, but I knew the meals would be cheap in Hungary - and delicious. 

We finished the afternoon in an internet cafe with me showing Katia my web site and telling her how in a week or so, she'd be able to go to my journal and see her pictures.  I knew she'd be unable to read what I had written, but perhaps someone could translate or she could use the text in an upcoming English class she told me she'd be taking.  We then went back to hotel as it was past five now, and I still wanted to process the pictures and make a CD for her.  I was intent on having a nice dinner with her and I knew if we kept walking, it would be so late that the night would be stolen from us.  So, once in the hotel, I loaded up the pictures and went to work with her looking over my shoulder in amazement at how my finger seemed to glide across the laptop's mouse pad as a champion skater would cross an ice rink, with speed and precision.  One picture after another of her was opened up on my monitor.  She had a blemish on her forehead, and once she realized I could magically make it disappear, well all the images had to be "edited".  To further impress her perhaps, I took some of the pictures and applied special effects to them such a charcoal and pencil, or watercolor.  She loved them.  It took well over an hour to do this, and I was quite tired, if not exhausted.  But, I was not going to leave this town and this wonderful girl without having given her these images that she'd probably treasure forever.  I set up a slideshow for her to watch all the images while I showered and ironed for dinner.  She just sat there, staring at the laptop with such a smile on her face.  She really was special I thought as I ironed my clothes for dinner.  I could only think how once again I was ever so fortunate during my travels to have met such a special person. 

Having showered, we then went to the lobby and one of the staff members suggested a very nice Hungarian Restaurant we would like.  We found the restaurant quite easily and proceeded to enjoy a fantastic dinner.  Unlike Kriszta, Katia enjoyed drinking wine quite a bit.  There were no gypsies playing music that night, but the atmosphere on the patio was perfect.  I can't recall what she ordered, but I once again ordered Bambi.  (venison silly)  We also had a bottle of local Hungarian red wine which I allowed her to order.  Once dinner was finished, it was very late and we returned to the hotel so as I could burn her CD which would take the better part of an hour.  I figured we'd sit on the balcony overlooking the square while the CD was made and I'd have my cigar and she a glass of wine.  I started the CD, but it was too late we figured.  She had insisted on telling me she'd be at the hotel at 6 in the morning to walk me to the station and say goodbye.  I told her it wasn't necessary but she'd hear nothing of the kind.  With that understanding, I suggested she get home to get some rest.  Now I must tell you, and perhaps you'd be thinking that having a beautiful girl in my room after a great day and wonderful dinner, my thoughts would be on a little playing around.  Ok, a lot of playing around.  And in part, they were, for I am a normal guy and any guy would have such thoughts.  But, as I had ascertained during our time together that day, Katia was a girl of values and more than likely a church-going Catholic who would not think of such a thing.  I respected that and simply ruled the thought of such pleasure from my mind.  She had spent a wonderful day with me and I didn't want to leave it on a sour note I thought.  So, after calling my Dad back home and letting her say hello to him in Hungarian, I walked her down to the lobby and hired a cab to take her home.  I finished making her CD while I smoked a crappy cigar and then went to bed.  It was past midnight now and I had a 5 o'clock wake up call and a 7 o'clock train to Budapest. 

By the time I got to the lobby downstairs for my check out, it was nearly six.  I hardly expected to see Katia this morning, for I thought although her intents were good to be there at that early hour, she'd hardly show up.  As I was asking the front desk guy to call her on her cell, into the lobby she came, with a huge smile on her face. We at breakfast quickly and then began our fifteen minute walk to the station.  I must admit I was sad knowing I'd be saying goodbye to her, even though I hardly knew her.  Perhaps it was because she liked me so much and it would make her sad.  She kept telling me she'd write to me in the States and I told her I'd write back.  Not having a computer, she'd have to resort to snail-mail.  We got to the station with some time to spare, and there on the platform,  I took yet some more pictures of her and some of us together.  Then, right on schedule, the train arrived.  Together we found the first class car and once boarded, I sat there looking out the window to her repeatedly waving goodbye to me.  How sweet she was I thought to myself as the train pulled away from the station.  I'd see her again were my thoughts as she faded out of sight and my thoughts began to think about if the cabbie would be waiting for me in Budapest with my luggage that I had entrusted him with  the day before.  We'd see I thought...