This morning we left for Maramures, Romania. After a bus and train ride to the border town, we had lunch in Debrecen. Then, we boarded a 1 car train into Romania and after another bus ride, we arrived in the hill country of Romania for our homestay. It’s great to be able to see more remote places when you’re with a small group. And the train ride was…
This morning, after a quick trip over to the Jewish Synagogue, we walked to the Budapest train station. After a short train ride, we arrived in Eger, Hungary. It’s the third most visited city in Hungary, with a lot of history. The downtown area has been revamped quite a bit and is a cute “village town” style, but quite touristy and sterile. The downtown area seems too cleaned…
What do you call a party at spa? A Sparty! It sounds like a joke, but Budapest frequently has sparties. There was one at the Szechenyi Baths yesterday, which I missed. So today, I decided to check out the Gellert Baths across the bridge on the Buda side of town. Glorious! It is indeed like swimming in a cathedral. I swam in the indoor area (very cold!), before…
I tried finding the outdoor market today, but I ended up walking to the wrong bridge, so instead I walked back to the Deak Square area and took the metro to the House of Terror. What a chilling place. Budapest has such an amazing history. It was such an advanced and prestigious city before the wars and communism. I rode the metro back out to Hero’s Square and…
I arrived in Budapest yesterday afternoon and crashed at my hostel. Although I usually try to get out and do something to fight the jet lag, I just wasn’t up for it. The hostel, Budapest Bubble, I’m staying at is really small and personable. After grabbing some coffee at the hostel, I headed up to the Deak Square for a city bike tour. I had a little extra…
Since I got home in June, I re-activated my 24 Hour Fitness membership. Hey, unemployed people have to have something to do during the day! I’d tried their yoga classes before, but as an employed individual, it wasn’t convenient to drive into Portland for yoga, since I already went to spin class twice a week. So I’ve been joining my sister during her lunch break, for Monday yoga.…
With a month to kill back here in Portland, I switched into planner-mode and decided to finish some items on my 101 Things in 1001 Days list. I called a few golf courses in the area, but most classes were around $50 per lesson. This seemed pretty outrageous to me, but I finally heard through a friend, of classes that they’re starting out at Rose City Golf in…
This one was probably the easiest to accomplish while traveling. You can’t travel solo and not make friends. You’re forced to make friends! ;) Anyway, my first friend of the trip is probably the most memorable as we’ve kept in contact through the rest of my journey. We had so many laughs through China and Japan. So many in fact, that I got an email several weeks later,…
After traveling for four months, it’s hard not to approach your home town with more curiosity. After hitting all my favorite restaurants that I’d been missing (Chipotle and Ya Hala), I’ve checked out a few restaurants that remind me of my travels, Malay Satay Hut (Malaysian food) and this little vegetarian Vietnamese restaurant on Powell. Another interesting experience was taking the bus and Amtrak to Albany to get…
My only complaint with online money management software, Mint.com, was fixed today. Finally, the ability to add loan accounts! Asset (investment) accounts were added a few months ago, although my 401k provider is not listed. I was able to check it out with my IRA account though, and it’s pretty sweet, with all of the expected colorful graphs and change values. The only drawback? My Net Worth and…
After taking a half day rock climbing class in Krabi, Thailand, I was hooked! So I signed up for a class at the Portland Rock Gym here in town when I got back. Since it was a fairly informal “class” in Krabi, it was nice to learn all the basics, like belaying. Rock climbing is really fun. When I’m done with my travels, I think I’ll get a…
I kicked the coffee habit while I was in SE Asia. Or maybe I just replaced it with tea? Or Tiger beer? Anyway, my morning headaches finally disappeared and then I found myself ordering coffee drinks at dinner as a treat instead of a necessity. Good on ya’ mate! ;)…