Busted flat in Budapest
They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions – here in Budapest with no clothes, no make-up, no notebook, none of what I prepped, I’m having to improvise. When I walk up to potential sources I have to act like I’m not wearing the same tee shirt I flew 20 hours in, wearing no make up and that my hair hasn’t been styled with a drugstore brush. I tried buying new clothes – but the shops (even those with brand names I’m familiar with back home) carry a garish line of gold lame and sparkles and it seems even a plain tee shirt is nowhere to be found.
Last night, after the conference, when everyone had rushed to bars to watch Germany and France play, I walked the stretch of the Danube to Raday – a street lined with cafes and restaurants that spill into each other – there are many little pockets like this around Budapest – a city a friend says is one part Paris and one part Zagreb.
I know now why the waltz is called Blue Danube – the water is uncharacteristically blue for a river. The dusky pink clouds that were settling in back of the Royal Castle as I walked along the riverside were a romantic backdrop for the Chain Bridge – a bridge that easily would have been at home crossing the Seine in the heart of Paris.
Last night, I ate goulash – yum – I would have expected a heavy fare with cream and the like but instead the bowl was filled with a light broth and tender pieces of meat with barely cooked potatoes – a sourness to the broth made it exceptional. Yum yum.
And the Hungarian beer – served ice cold with a creamy head – has been delightful.
So yes, I’m here – not in my best case scenario – but there is enough external goodness to make up for the fact that I look like a river rat (and perhaps smell like one even though I have been washing my clothes in the bathtub). Again, you have to be prepared to be flexible even when you are missing all of your accoutrements.
One piece of my luggage has shown up in Zagreb – I’ll reclaim it Saturday – and have hopes the other will show up before I get there. Intact, of course, unlike me at the moment.