Expectations...

Note to self: Always stay with David Klein when traveling to Budapest. Time of your life. We have decided that our time with David is beyond description. The following are our collaborative efforts to summarize the past few days:

When sleeping in a Mongolian Yurt, expect the following:
-One room. No corners.
-Late night philosophical discussions.
-Open the door to any European travelers for communal living.
(the key is kept with “the place” rules, available on the desktop)

When taking a road trip from Budapest with David Klein (spending 32 straight hours), expect the following:
-Cooking dinner over an open fire, it IS the only way (don’t think that a bottle of sunflower oil is water, like Kristen)
-“We’re still determined to go to the lake” actually means: going to the lake, even when its cloudy, and swimming in 50 degree water
-Sleep outside, under the star (with a tent available only in case of rain)
-Watermelon for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (only served in one pound wedges)

When traveling in David Klein’s 1970 “Loto”, expect the following:
-A frequent stop to pour water over the engine to cool it down
-A frequent stop to check the map, after passing off to Kathleen who doesn’t know where we are in the country
-David’s encouragement for the worst driver in the car (who isn’t even allowed to drive in Columbia, Missouri) to learn to drive a stick shift, on Hungarian roads
--here’s a visual: Kristen and I laughing as hard as we can in the back, holding each other with each jolting sputter for fear of the clutch going out.
-Picking up a hitch-hiker…. You can’t expect any less, after all, if this is your main mode of transportation(we’re pretty sure David has never actually driven to this lake before, he usually hitch-hikes. Keep in mind, we did stay at David’s family’s lake house where he had just been to one week prior)

When engaging in conversation with David Klein, expect the following:
-“Dear Lover” – only the kindest reference used mainly for sexual partners, acceptable for romantic interests, used out of detachment for worldly relational perspectives.
-“Trust the process” – you can never control the outcome, just rely on the experience. There’s no room for worry, just enjoy what happens in life.
-The lack of the word “my” – everything is communal. We share.“I don’t tell you where the trash can is because it is mine, I tell you where it is so you can share it with me, and tell other travelers where it is as well.”

We obviously enjoyed our time in Budapest. We haven’t laughed so hard in one day, been scared out of our minds that we were going to be lost in the middle of Hungary, and been more “trusting of the process” as we spent time with David Klein. We loved the conversations and time with a famous Hungarian mountain climber…. apparently even the tabloids follow him!

Now, a few highlights from Vienna, Austria:
1. A 24-hour transportation pass apparently doesn’t cover everything, as we honestly anticipated. Austrian trains are strict about their passengers, and we almost got kicked off for not having the right ticket. We saved 60 euro by politely explaining that we had no idea.
2. A nice afternoon rest in the park… and a fight. We were just resting in the grass, when a nearby outbreak of fighting between two locals turned into a brawl with a man almost thrown into the lake, and 4 police cars showing up to break it up (according to our host, Martin, this is highly unusual for Vienna. We picked a good day, hiuh?)
3. The first disappointing tower climb of the trip. We climbed 365 steps to the top of the St. Stephen’s south tower, only to be enclosed by fenced windows. Not as impressive as the others we’ve seen, but St. Stephen’s was beautiful.
4. Zanoni Zanoni. Even though we left Italy, we did find an extraordinary gelato place (owned by an Italian family) and enjoyed a big cone! We’ll be back tomorrow.
5. A 2 hour train ride home… maybe reminiscent of our bus ride in Valencia… but we promise it’s not our fault. We got on the train (to catch a train and another train) but it stopped and turned around at the next stop. So we got off where we started, and ended up taking another metro line (maybe a little out of the way) and switched two trains, and made it to our last stop. Perfect, right? Well, Kristen turned and asked “Hey, Who’s got Rick? (our best friend and travel guide) but neither one of us had it… So we retraced our steps and realized it was either on the last train we were on (now headed to the outskirts of Vienna) or in the bathroom at the last train stop. After sulking with a gyro and pomme-frites, we got back on the train, walked the entire train end to end, but no sight of Rick. We got off at the previous station… and were reunited with Rick in the bathroom! He waited for us, and we are excited to have a guide for the rest of the trip. Kristen apologized and made up with Rick, after he graciously accepted her apology. Thanks, Rick.

Contrary to the implications of this blog entry, we really do love Vienna. It is beautiful, very clean and we are excited to spend the day here tomorrow. We are staying with our host Martin, who lent us bikes to get the train station. We definitely felt fraulein-esque (just like Maria) as we biked around Austria this morning to the train station.

and now.... picture update:
Our Watermelon Breakfast


Kathleen's Driving...


Flashback from Venice: Feeding Pigeons in St.Mark's Square


More Pigeons!