Travel Journal Overview: It was around about now I realized I was writing double. The Blog was a blog, still for me and so on. While my actual handwritten journal was becoming thicker by the day. A book was being born.
Oh Boy my groin was in agony… I was starting to hobble. I made my way over to chain bridge as the sun was setting, taking photos of the parliament building and being disappointed by a great photo spoiled by building works. I knew I could not keep walking because of the pain, so I headed to the metro to take a short cut to center to find a place to eat.
“Budapest, please goodness start putting directions on your metro telling people which way they are going before they get on board!!! Especially for people crippled with a terrible groin pain developing.”
I think its got something to do with the yellow signs they use, plus the fact that they have a yellow line. Hmm, so you head off to the blue line, follow the little blue arrows, and then they change to yellow arrows so you assume its the yellow line… nope, it might be, or maybe not. It’s quite random I think. Much like that on some stations they tell you where the lines go, well… sometimes… Never on the yellow, and randomly on the blue and red lines…. Must have been designed by a colorblind Hungarian 12 year old.
I also failed to find a Hungarian restaurant, well at least one that did not cost over 10Euro and so settled for a cheap Chinese restaurant ate plenty and also failed to drink a Hungarian beer due to a bad hungarian/english/chinese translation. I did my lost on the metro act again, shuffling along in small steps to avoid the feeling of skin ripping apart around my upper thigh region heading back at the hostel at 8.30 to find it overrun with young Americans….. ok they were not that annoying but still…. Ok maybe they saw me shuffle in, well actually it looked more like I had a shovel up my butt, so no wonder they gave the showerbreaking shuffler a strange look.
A little internet time set me some good news, and not so good news with my giant up coming visa problems.
I headed to the bathroom and doused my upper thighs in skin cream and hoped for the best, then slipped (no pun intended) into my tiny bed. After a brief conversation with a guy planning a trip around the world on a motorbike… with lots of glitz but little planning. I placed the mandatory earplugs in, and passed out.
During the night my thighs were on fire, but thankfully by morning were burning only as much as a 2nd degree burn. I checked my mail and got a silly tip person to buy a pair of cycling shorts to help with my rubbing/burning problem. hmmm, I asked the hostel worker where I could buy a pair, erm, because I wanted to go cycling in the Carpathian mountains… Internet to the rescue, address in hand I headed off.
Time to get the Brasov ticket first, done and dusted with ease after a burger king breakfast. I got the urge to make it a photographic day. So started with the beautiful train station (I am not a train spotter, I swear). Next up I headed up to the castle area in Budapest, right where the bike shop was. After a little map searching I found the shop and did not stay long after finding out they cost around 50euro, and had strange little pads around the bum crotch area?!!
I headed to the huge mall up the road, and found a big sports shop that, yes, had 15euro shorts, still with these strange pads in the crotch area. Also, the sizes were a little ciphered (hey, it is Hungary) and after a brief manly conversation with one of the attendants we decided the xxl were too big. I took a chance, and after a quick superman change in the Mall toilets I emerged painless, albeit feeling like I was wearing some strange male tampon! I needed a feel good fix, Subway tastes good anywhere in the world!
Links: Travel Guide to Hungary