The calm after the storm

So things have calmed down around here. For the most part the violent riots have subsided, although there are still a lot of peacful protesters.

As for me, I have been hanging out in Budapest and focusing on school and work that needs to be done for the video game I am working on. I will post a link on this blog to a site where you can download the game once the game is released. Other than that I have not been up to much. The most recent thing I did was go to a bath house in a park called Hero's Square last weekend. It was definitely one of the most relaxing weekends I have had in a while. I soaked in various thermal spas, saunas, cold tubs, and even got a 30 minute massage. It was my first one ever. I still feel amazing! I wish I could post pics but for obvious reasons (scantely clad people) cameras were not allowed.

This coming weekend I am planning to go to a little country call Cyprus. All of the pictures I have seen are gorgeous, and I will post pics for all to drool over once I get back.

Laters

P.S. My contact info has been updated. So if you need an address to reach me at it is posted in the previous post called "Contact Info." Just look on the side nav bar and find the link to it.

Civil Unrest

Well if you have been watching CNN or the BBC then I am sure you have heard about the riots and protests in Budapest. I'm going to try and fill you in on as much as I know, but do not take my word as the gospel because I have heard several different versions from the locals. Plus, I'm sure that what has been leaked to the public and political preferences have skewed some opinions.

A few months ago the Prime Minister of Hungary was recorded during a private meeting with some of his cabinet members. On this recording, Ferenc Gyurcsany said something to the effects that the political system is really screwed up, has knowingly lied to the people about several things, and these lies are the reason that the current political party made it to office. Also, on the recording the Prime Minister revealed that the Hungarian economy is in a horrible state and many reforms will have to be created to get Hungary out of a really deep hole. Among these proposed reforms are higher taxes, revocation of universal health coverage, and the end of state paid college education for the population. This recording was leaked and people got pissed.

It's pretty bad economically here. Hungary has the worst defecite in all of Europe and really high taxes. A Hungarian professor told me that there is an old joke here, "Swedish like taxes with Bulgarian wages." If that doesn't sum up how hard it is going to be here for the working class then I don't know what will.

As for the protests, it's kind of obvious why they are occuring. A lot of people want the Prime Minister to resign for lying and srewing up, but he actually refuses too. So, some people are questioning how they can have a democracy if the leader refuses to give up his seat of power. For the most part, the protests are largely peaceful. However, there have been some more violent protestors who believe force is necessary and those are the rioters that many people have seen on numerous media channels. The protestors are split because the peaceful protestors feel that the violent ones are giving them a bad name and a reason for the authorities to put down the protests with force, and the more aggresive protestors feel that the other protestors are not taking enough action. Do not think that everyone is in upheaval though. Some people still support Gyurcsany though because they feel he may have a way to solve the problems later on, because of his honesty after the recording were leaked, and for other reasons. Needless to say, it's very complicated.

As the riots pertain to me and my friends, we are safe as long as we are not rioting ourselves. The cops are just ispersing violent rioters and scaring them away with intimidation, tear gas, and the occasional ass whooping. Some of my friends here have been swept up by fleeing rioters and pursuing police. They were cornered and looking at a pretty severe ass beating until they started talking to them in English and the cops then yelled "Angol, Angol", which means English, English. The cops told them to go home. So, the police are not beating everyone up. These kind of encounters are random and can happen. In fact, some riotors ran down our street and were pursued by the cops. I could smell tear gas and burning property. I took some pics from my window and they are posted below. Forgive the poor quality. It was dark, the flash on my digital camera is weak, and I do not have a tripod.

Police chasing rioters down Dob ut.

Police standing and directing cop cars in the direction of certain rioters.

Cops breaking a gate down to a construction site where rioters could be hiding.

Police making sure that the rioters do not regroup after all of the action.

I hoped this post helped to clarify any questions and concerns about the my situation and the general situation of Hungary.

Vienna

As promised here are the pictures taken on the trip to Vienna and while there. Enjoy!

Me on the hydrofoil with Gellert Hill in the background. (Hungary)

This was a 2000 year old castle that was somewhere on the Danube.

Same castle but closer and from the other side.

A picture of the back of the hydrofoil with the Hungarian country side in the background.

This is me in front of the Parliament building in Vienna, Austria.

Here is a better view of the entrance to the Parliament.

This is a picture of an old Catholic church behind some foliage and a fence that surrounds, what was once, the Hapsburg's winter palace.

This is the town hall, or the Rathause for those that speak German. There is the top of a circus tent too. They had a small carnival set up in the square.

Ahhh. Another church. This one is in the center of old downtown Vienna. It's named St. Stephan's church. It was striking to see this old church amidst the various apartments, both new and old.

Here is a striking and ornate statue that I saw on the main pedestrian shopping street in Vienna.

I hope you liked them. Maybe I'll start posting pictures of things besides old churches and government buildings soon.

Cheers

Quick update

Hey all,

once again I would like to thank those of you who are visiting the page and especially those who commment on it as well. Your interest is appreciated.

Well, I went to Vienna, Austria thursday morning. My roommate and I took the hydrofoil boat up the Danube River and arrived in the early evening. We came back via the opposite route on the hydrofoil and arrived around 3:30 pm. Vienna is amazing, and I will post pictures asa soon as I can.

Meanwhile, on the home front. I have found out that Kinga's number (the girl whom I met at the wine festival while covered in wine) gave me her real number. YEAH! Also, there were a series of protest here on the government and it's actions. Don't worry I'm fine.

Well I will give a more detailed post of the trip later on and start responding too.

Laters

Mmmm tasty!

Guess what!

You're all in for an amazing, sweet treat. You get a second update all in the same day! Ooohhh, awww. Okay, so it's not so much a sweet treat as a salty load of hate. Also known as a potatoe chip. Look!

It even come with the image of Jesus on it!

Here is the real news though.

On the 8th I went to a club on the Buda side of the river. I escorted 3 girls there! That's right. Guess who is a player. One lady was on each arm and the other was, ummmm..., running her hands through my thick, long golden locks. In all honesty though, I had a great time with the ladies, and in my unmistakeable suave way I have succesfully wandered into friend territory with all 3 of them. CRAP! Oh well. Friends are friends.

On the 10th, my roomate and I went to a wine festival they had in the courtyards of the Palace and I got freakin hammered. In my infinite wisdom I wore a white shirt and khaki shorts, and I managed to cover every inch of them in red wine. Good times though. Even in my stupor I was able to pick up a few phone numbers from some of the Hungarian women, and they were the booth operaters no less. I still have it, yeah. I would like to thank my Dad for passing on his "able to pick up girls" gene along with the "attractive no matter how drunk" gene. You're the man!!

Sorry but there are no pictures of either of these adventures. Well, I'm off to scrub wine stains out of my clothes and to check and see if the phone numbers are real. I'll post again soon enough, but I figure you'll need the break from the salty explosion that you just experienced.

I'm going to hell.

Hello all,

on the 2nd I went to the Castle district yet again, but this time I went inside the palace and the Matyas church. Needless to say that both of the buildings are absolutely spectacular. The Royal Palace now houses the Hungarian National Art Gallery. Unfortunately, for good reason, there are no pictures allowed and therefor there will be no pictures of the gallery on this post. But you don't have to cry because below are some picturess of the church interior and the real reason why I'm going to hell.

The Matyas Church in all of it's glory. Scaffolding included!

The tower.

A closer look at the stone work on the front.

Double Take.

An altar or shrine, whatever it's called. Guess whose not Catholic or a frequent church goer.

A beautiful painting on the wall.

Mmmm... stained glass.

Another glass with stains. They need to clean house.

A closer look...

The Hungarian Royal Crown, orb, and scepter. (Rightfully mine though.)

The cross is crooked! Who fucked up my crown?

And here is the finale! The reason why I am going to hell......

Seemingly normal.......

What the? Who put my hand there and that stupid, gleeful grin on my face!?

To think. I did that in a Catholic church to a bust of Queen Elizabeth! It was worth it though. Who wants me to save them a reclining chair next to the river of lava?

Laters

My 1st day of exploration

On the 23rd my roommate and I went exploring around Budapest. Here is what we found.

I found this statue amusing. This little guy just chills on this railing with the Palace and the Danube river in the background.

This is the Chain Bridge. It's one of many bridges around here and definitely one of the most famous. It was the last bridge to be blown up in WW II.

The large spire is a part of the Matyas church on CastleHill, which is on the Buda side of the Budapest. I went inside this church at a later date, and I will post pictures of my exploits there soon enough.

Here are some pictures of the Parliament building, which is on the Pest side of the city. The one below was taken from the Chain Bridge.

Taken from the path up to the Palace on the Buda side.

Taken from the Palace courtyard.

This is the facade of the Gellert Hotel. This hotel has one of the more famous bath houses in Budapest.

This is the Palace in all of its glory. Taken form the Chain Bridge.

A statue that is directly behind the Palace.

Another statue but this one is on the side of the courtyard.

A picture of the courtyard from the staircase that leads down to it.

A closer look at the fountian in the couryard.

The gate that oversees the courtyard and is at the top of the stone staircase.

Here is a picture taken from the terrace of the couryard behind the Palace. In the picture is the Chain Bridge and Roosevelt Square which is the place with all of the trees.

These were some of the more prominent things that I saw in my brief exploration of Budapest on the 23rd. I hope everyone enjoyed the pics. I will post more pictures of various people, items, and places as the weeks progress. Hopefully, I will throw some pictures up of other places that I visit in Europe as well.

Later

My Place

Here are some photos of the place that I'm staying in.

my room

my roommate's room (tee hee, sucks for him)

the kitchen

bathroom

the gigantic living room (only partly shown)

The view out of our windows to the East

The view to the West

That's really it for the apartment. It's actually quite nice. My roommate and I have met some of the neighbors. They're alright but they keep to themselves. Our best neighbors are the ones who work on the corner of the convienient store. Abdul and Kaleet have been telling us all about the hotspots in the city and helping me "borrow" some wifi connections from the neighbors. I talked to our land lord and she said that a place like this typically costs about $700 a month! That rocks especially since we are located in the center of Pest, which is the place to be.

Laters