Budapest

I had uploaded these and other photos almost a month ago with the intentions of posting them. This time I won't blame my absence from Camels and Taco on laziness. Ana and I have been preparing for our trip to Bangkok, more specifically for a job-recruiting fair. This translates to spending any and all free time dedicated to researching schools all over the globe and establishing correspondence with headmasters where there are potential openings. 


During the Eid break in early November we had a chance to visit Budapest and Prague with our friend Carrie. It was cold, we saw some interesting bands, ate various versions of pork fat, sampled beer, drank chunky wine, walked-a lot, took in new sights, had history lessons and everything else in-between. This is our evidence.     

Your favorite new metal band. You're never too old to rock and roll.

A view from Buda

The object that looks like a partial cartwheel is concentrated bacon-each little sliver is a package of bacon exploding in your mouth.

Night view of the Danube from the Margaret Bridge 

Morning view of the above.

Your favorite new coffee stand.

I like signs, what can I say.

Ana wondering how many more stairs to climb to the Buda Castle

Fisherman's Bastion

Matthias Church

We rented an apartment in the city and the owner not only told us the sights to see but also places to eat.  The cherry tart had me doing stage dives off the table. 

Hungarian National Archives building.

Is it a mailbox or a droid? 

Ana's first real experience with fall and leaves. She collected quite a few. The colors and variety were pretty amazing.

The troll awaits.

Not the chain bridge.

At the bottom of Gellert Hill

The Central Market is a haven for everything good and bad-produce, meats, cheese, paprika, handicrafts, food, and beverages.   

We met up with one of Carrie's friend and went to a rock concert. ZZ Top played in this room. 

The band, the guitarist on the left is wearing WWI aviation goggles because he can.

There are many walls of fame in the club.

House of Terror. First run by the Nazi's then by the Communist.

A stroll down Andrassy Street

Outside the House of Terror.

The museum is a memorial to the victims of the Nazi and Communists.

The next couple of photos are a bit sloppy due to the no camera policy-they wanted you to buy the book, which we did. Photos of the victims profiles stretching three stories.

Torture chambers.

The basement is where the suspected members of the political opposition were beaten, tortured and murdered.

Frida delivers tacos y mas.

Statement of the year.

Spanish guide for Hungarians.

Every rock band needs a megaphone and a stuffed pigeon.

Does your favorite rock club have a Jurassic park room? Didn't think so.

The guy holding the beer became my instant friend when I walked into the club. We started chatting away about music. His voice reminded me of Barney from the Simpson. My job was to buy him beers as he was out of money. He did ask me to go "pick up chicks" with him, I told him I was already married. I ran into him later trying to pick up another guy's girlfriend (see photo above) 

A band dressed in drag from France also played making the headlining band (from the USA) a bit mad.

Carrie enjoying a bowl of goulash. 

If you're a fan of meat and potatoes, Budapest is your calling. What's better than a meat dish? Additional meat with it. 

Punk rock!

I bet you want a job at the airport climbing on the glass ceiling.

Gellert-Pricy, fancy, not unisex,
Kiraly-had live festive music and dancing, a maze, inexpensive, unisex, got massage aka beatdown
Rudas (pictured above)-Our favorite, inexpensive, unisex (weekends), hot-hot water, cold-cold water, very local, and some PDA (public display of affection).    

Finally there was the tram and the police. A great scam if I don't say so myself. The key ingredient is to find a place to purchase a ticket. We are stupid Americans and didn't know we couldn't buy tickets on the tram. There was a group of 10 controllers and police waiting to board next to us. We got on and they asked for our tickets as we were trying to buy some as the doors closed. You see where this is going. We get kicked off at the next stop followed by a group of uniformed officers and asked to each pay a 60 EURO fine (180 total) or we would go to jail. They made us read the confession card that said we were in violation of the law etc. I told the controller to call the police because we didn't have that sort of money on us. One of them said that they were the police. Then I asked call the US Embassy (I was pulling all the stops). I opened my wallet (as my money was hidden on my body) and produced about what amounted to a EURO. After 10 minutes of this routine they yelled at us to go home. Talk about dodging a bullet.       

Egyptian Haircuts, Movies, and Death Metal

I guess it is worth jotting a few lines about my experiences with barbers in Alexandria now that I have a few sessions under my belt. The former IT/tech teacher Mark kept an extensive blog about his trials living here and I found his entries regarding full service haircut something worth investigating. I have to admit that my last outing to the barber shop was over the top, the grand finale, the "I don’t think I ever want a haircut again" kind of experience. Before I go any further, I should mention a few words about the runner up.

Butcher puppet with blood and axe

Second Place was my christening, my introduction to Egyptian barbers. The nondescript shop was tucked in the middle of a long street block, there was no sign just an empty chair in storefront. Since my afternoon was free and I had been holding out for two months, I figured why the hell not. When I saw the proprietor engrossed in his soap opera that should have been my cue to keep on walking.

Girl praying painting

Initially everything was going smoothly until the heavy drama on the TV set above my chair interrupted the flow of his scissors. There were long pauses between snips; commercials were a godsend. When he started talking back to the characters, I knew I was in for the long haul. Additionally there was no blow dryer or device to brush off the cut hairs that lingered on my face and neck; he resorted to removing them by using his stale tea breath to blow them off. Afterwards he shaved my face with a straight razor minus cream, the cuts eventually healed. I also learned that conditioner substitutes for hair gel.

Nice old lady puppet

...and the winner is: For my last haircut outing I was warned well in advanced by other teachers of what I was potentially getting myself into, I blame curiosity. The salon is located right down the block from school and the eager and friendly owner has a knack for prying on lone foreigners. On more than a dozen occasions he had asked me to come into his shop. The session was initially pleasant as he told me stories about living in Dubai and even asked me to bring him back some smocks from when I go there in April. Once finished he wanted to wash my hair which is standard for me. I followed him into the dark back room and he closed the curtains as I sat on a chair. Instead of leaning back into the sink I was asked to lean forward and that is when he started to massage my shoulders then his hands slowly moved down my back. He put one hand on my chest then with his other hand still on my back and stared doing something that I can only describe as a variation of the Heimlich maneuver. He got a couple of hearty grunts out of me as he explained it as something he learned at a hotel in Dubai. It wasn’t so much creepy as it was bizarre and for the life of me I had no idea what he was attempting to do. Thankfully a couple of customers walked in and that spooked him into pulling those curtains open and turning on the water to wash my hair. After overcharging me he said, “see you next time.” Now I just run past his shop when I have to walk down the street.

Rat riding horse with antler giraffes painting

Going to a movie theater in Alex is plagued by Chatty Cathies of all sorts. Cell phone offenders are the major culprit, most have no qualms answering their phones and having a conversation during a film. We like it when there’s unedited kissing scenes, teens typically shout an encouraging “yes” in Arabic. Ana and I had seen the 3D versions of both Avatar and Alice and let me tell you there is nothing more remarkable than a scarved or veiled girl wearing 3D glasses, in my book that’s worth the price of admission…way better than seeing a nun bowl.

Broken glasses puppet

It has been confirmed, there is live rock music in Alex, or I should say death metal in a symphony hall to be exact. They call them headbanger concerts and we went to go see one. There was moshing complete with black clothing and there were veiled girls rocking out; you can’t stop the rock. I was disappointed that one band had a drum machine and sound checked for thirty minutes only to play a twenty-minute set b/c they didn’t program enough songs. Que lastima! We left when the next band played the same tune three times in a row!

Hungry gator painting

You like the cultural puppets don’t you…better pictures next time.

Saudi Puppet