Budapest

Kat and I left Vienna two afternoons ago, after visiting the Schloss in the morning and saying goodbye to the to guys who were hosting us.  Then, we got on the train to Budapest and went walking a bit after settling down in our hotel.  Kat found a couchsurfing dinner and so we went and spoke with some people from France, the US, Budapest, and a few other places.  The prices here are so much cheaper than in Vienna that I feel like a high roller!  Yesterday, we were heading towards the castle but ended up getting tea at a beautiful place and walking around the Budapest Labrynth where people hid out during the bombings of World War II.  It was a cool place, and we kept singing songs and quoting lines from the movie Labrynth. Then, we came back to the hotel and got some things in order before grabbing dinner and heading over to the Jewish district of Pest and grabbing a beer at the coolest bar I've ever been to.  It was like an open air market/cafeteria mixture with at least six alcoholic bars throughout, a hookah bar, and more places throughout that we were too pinched for time to explore.  The transit system here is great, but it stops running at 11, and we are on the Buda side of the river, so we can't stay out very late unless we want to pay for a cab. Today, we stopped in St. Stephen's Basilica and walked around some cool places.  It's been raining all day, so we kind of feel drained and might go to the sauna at our hotel after dinner.  

Leaving Vienna

Vienna started off a little dreary with the rain and the exhaustion that Kat and I were not quite prepared to deal with, but got steadily better and better as time went by.  Our hosts Matthias, his girlfriend Laura, and Theo were extremely nice, helpful, and fun to hang or go out with after a long day of walking around the city.  We definitely could have spent more time here and seen more things, but it's been pretty lovely, overall, and we will be on a train to Budapest in about an hour.  Here are some photos to mark the journey:

Stranded in the Ukraine

This morning, the archaeological group of URI and friends woke up somewhere between 5 and 6 AM to prepare to leave Haifa.  Most of the students had a flight at 11am or so, but my flight wasn't until 1:45, Ryan's wasn't until midnight, and Shana was staying behind.  Dror was supposed to come and take some of us to the airport, but was late.  Because we three didn't need to be in Tel Aviv right away, we waited the extra fifteen minutes for Dror and ended up going out to breakfast with him in Tel Aviv.  It was a great morning, though he tried to convince me to cancel my flight the entire time!  He said Israel has more to offer than Vienna and Budapest.  I opted to leave, though, and he walked me into the airport he used to work security at, got the chief of security to check me in through customs in a few minutes time, and kissed me on the cheek goodbye.  Then, I had a few issues waiting for my carry-on to be checked and paying for my obese bag, yet again.  Next, my flight from Tel Aviv to Kiev was delayed by an hour and a half due to baggage issues.  Luckily, there were some nice Israeli musicians there who had noticed me in distress earlier and we all started talking for the wait.  I ended up asking if I could buy their CD and listened to it on the flight.  They were going to be taking a 40 minute flight to a city in the Ukraine from Kiev and I was worried I was going to miss my flight to Vienna, so they wished me luck.  On the flight, I sat close to a girl who was also on my flight and we discussed our situation with the stewardess who did everything she could to delay the flight.  Unfortunately, the plane left before we touched down and it was the last flight to Vienna.  Fortunately, the girl from Los Angeles and another guy from Vienna were stuck with me, and we all spoke English, so we got comped a night in a hotel close by along with dinner and a flight at 7:20am tomorrow.  After we all showered and met up for a simple but nice sit down dinner, who walked in??  My musician friends from the airport!  Apparently, they made it all the way to their gate before finding out that the plane had just started towards the runway and they were not permitted to board.  I feel bad for Kat, because she went to the airport to meet me before I was able to contact her and let her know the deal, but I am looking forward to a jam session a little bit later in the evening with my new Jewish band friends!  Their music takes traditional religious songs and puts a spin on them and they are very sweet.  I definitely lucked out... Also, one of the security officers from the airport who was close by when I was paying for my oversized bag and started small talking with me just friended me on facebook!!  I didn't even tell him my name!  Anyhow, I'm going to go to the restaurant and see what time we're jamming... My wake up call is at 5:15am and we'll be taking the 5:40 shuttle to the airport.  Life is crazy and you can't plan for it, only be ready for anything =)  

Last Supper in Israel

We just got back from the beach and are preparing for a barbecue that our hostel has decided to host for us!   Koby and Dror will be here, and it's sure to be an eventful night!  At the beach, they had set up a stage and we heard music coming from it.  I went to investigate and, after a few inquiries, discovered that it was the rehearsal for the final show of Israeli Idol or whatever they call it here.  They said I could walk past the barriers that were up, so I went right in front of the stage while they were setting up and got serenaded by the final contestants for an hour or so.  Some guys came over to talk to me and were nice.  One man came over and asked me if I was a part of the show.  When I said no and that I had just heard the beautiful music and came to listen, he introduced himself as the producer of the show and shook my hand.  I really wish I had a camera and knew how to vote, cause I'm rooting for the first (small-framed) guy I heard.  I really love it here and would love to visit again....perhaps, over my spring break I'll spend a few days in Tel Aviv if I can find someone to go with and get contact info for the people we've been working with.  Koby, Rami, and Dror have all offered to house me if I come back, but we shall see.

Laundry Night

I think one of my favorite parts of this trip is attempting to blend in with the locals at this little cafe and bar across the street from where we get our laundry done.  While Will and Zara look after my laundry, I am sipping on some hot wine with cinnamon and catching up with my family.  Last time I was here, I got dinner with these phenomenal tunes they play, but unfortunately I have just eaten dinner...I'll probably still get something shortly if I can decide.  Today was breathtaking.  We went back to Akko, but got a full/behind ropes tour of the underground crusader city that has been and is still being excavated today from the previous director of the IAA.  He has been excavating this site since 1993, I believe?, and walked us through the city and made it come alive and find its place in history in my mind.  For those who do not know, I love the idea of hidden passageways and cool underground lairs, and this place was just that.  So many layers of city and history!  I spoke with a marine biologist named Stefan who was working with Koby about getting dive certified over one of my breaks from teaching this year, but I'm not sure if that will end up happening or not.  We had very good hummus today, perhaps the best we've had yet (which is saying a lot, since we eat it every day at at least one meal).  We got to see where Dror worked for a while, the new headquarters of the IAA on Akko which is still being renovated, and we watched a team of reconstructing masons as they chiseled at rocks that would fill the holes of ancient walls.  I really could spend some more time here, but I am excited to move on as well.  I think one of the things that has made this trip memorable is simply my hair.  I've never gotten more attention for it in my life.  Luckily, I was with a group the whole time, but I don't think three quarters of the odd conversations I've had with locals would have happened to me if they hadn't come over to ask me about my hair.  It's funny the things that you possess that seem so commonplace in one society and so exotic and interesting in others.  Tomorrow we sleep in for the first time, get packed up, and go to the beach.  I think we were going to see a museum, but I'm not sure anymore.  I plan to enjoy the day and maybe try to spend the last of my shekels...