Szia ból Magyarország!

"Hello from Hungary!"

After 12 hours of travel time, I had finally made it! The overnight flight to London was actually very comfortable, and I was able to nap for about 2.5 hours of the 6, and I made use of the rest of the time by indulging in British Airways onboard entertainment and watched The Hangover(which I had only seen once and have been wanting to see it again) and Angels and Demons (which I had never seen before and thoroughly enjoyed).

I arrived at Terminal 5 at London Heathrow, and boy is a thing of beauty, opening just last year and becoming the main terminal for British Airways.  Harrod's, Hugo Boss, Lambourghini showcases, it has it all.

Moving on, the flight from London to Budapest was interesting.  For one, they changed my seat from an exit row seat to a window seat the seemed to have a lot less leg room then it should have.  Secondly, I had an 80 year old Englishwoman who thought that it was OK to use my left shoulder as her little head rest.  Despite the constant nudging from me and the tapping awake from her husband (who felt really bad about it) she couldnt resist cuddling up next to me.  SOO on top of not having leg room, I couldnt move my left arm or lean on that armrest.  Ugh. But it was a short flight and I was happy to get out of there.

All in all, everything went well after I landed; both bags arrived, airport shuttlebus attendent spoke good english, and I was on my way to the hotel in less then 15 minutes....

Budapest airport is about 15 kilometers outside the city center, and driving through the neighborhoods before the city was like a trip back in time.  Concrete block apartment complexes, old rotted down checkpoints, barbed wire and concrete fences surrounding properties and the railroads; I seriously thought I was traveling through a Cold War era Soviet bloc nation. But come to think of it, it's only been 20 years since Hungary did away with its communist government, and to this day it is still changing and evolving into a free market democracy, highlighted by its recent admission into the European Union.

The city itself is a thing of beauty.  A mosh-posh of Parisian architecture, Venetian swagger, and a certain mysteriousness about it make me happy that I chose this as my home for the next 4 months.  I walked the river, did a little exploring, and managed to meet up with my roommate Corey for some beverages (at TGI Friday's no less).

I'll wait to give a better description of the city after I have a few more days of walking around and taking everything in.  The tourist in me had me taking a few pictures of my exploration, so they are here for your viewing pleasure.

Probably will update again on Sunday.  Peace out.