The two cities are on the same latitude, which means that shadow angles (from the Sun) are the same, contributing to a feel of similar ambiance outdoors. You might wonder why I care... ;)
Budapest is the city of dreams in Mongolian musician Aldar's new music video. You can turn off the volume, and just watch these surprisingly cool scenes of the Hungarian capital...
Some winter photos from 2.5 months ago... Let me show you Budapest from the vantage point of Gellért Hill in Budapest, which is on the Buda side in the middle of the city, right next to the Danube, and south of Castle Hill. You can recognize Gellért Hill from quite far, as it has the Statue of Liberty at its top:
Descending from Gellért Hill to Liberty Bridge, we get to Gellért Square. This scene might be familiar from Eddie Murphie's I Spy...
...this is where the agent chick's car blows up while driving onto the bridge:
We conclude this tour with a Volvo accordion bus of Bus Line 7 making a sharp turn on Gellért Square, to remind you that public transport in Budapest provides you with daily adventures and thrills for a low price (especially if you don't have a ticket):
I didn't blog for about a month now... interestingly, visitor numbers remained constant, which just proves that there are no constant readers of this blog, just random people coming across the site from web searches. Anyway...
It is already the second week of the second semester... I was at home for about 3 weeks for the holidays, basically on vacation. When I returned to Atlanta, I picked up the Sunday Paper outside the Midtown MARTA station, which I finally managed to read last weekend, when I came across this: (if it's unreadable, try this.)
"...It's Hungary Bitch!"
(This is a user's signature from the Colbert forums, actually the Szabadság-híd (Liberty Bridge) next to Budapest U.)
So I'm flipping channels the other day, arriving to the Colbert Report on Comedy Central, and I see a Hungarianish flag in the corner. Well, it turns out Colbert has called on the nation to help name a major to-be-built Budapest bridge in Hungary after him. The Hungarian government set up a webpage to get the opinion of the people for naming the bridge. The bridge will be part of the M0 perimeter freeway around Budapest (under construction for about 15 years now) over the Danube, to the north of the city.
Vote here! (If you need instructions to navigate on the Hungarian-only page, go here.)
I discovered a ton of old BKV (Budpest public transport) monthly passes in my purse. They give a nice pattern, so I figured I might make some use of them before throwing them out...
Britney Spears? 50 Cent? Michael Jackson? The Pope? Putin? Lots of celebrities have been to Hungary in the past 16 years, but yesterday was different: it was the Real Deal... George W. Bush! Major Budapest bridges and avenues were closed off from traffic for several hours, with the highest security level the city has ever seen. Bush spent about 22 hours in Hungary, arriving Wednesday evening, and delivering a speech live on CNN and BBC before departure. Actually, it was such a major event, that I got up at 7 AM to chase Bush's motorcade on the streets of Budapest with public transport... My photos and videos are here...
The perception of Bush in Hungary is through U.S. foreign policy and actions. The vast majority of the population disagrees with the war on Iraq. Powell's delivery of the WMD-proofs in the UN is regarded (from day 1) as a poorly disguised scam to control Middle Eastern oil. Hungary has assistance units in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq, but for the people all these regions are Somebody Else's Problem... after all, it is not Hungarian soldiers that are getting killed every day. So viewed from here, Bush is much more like a fictive President from 24 or the West Wing, than a real person: he might be controversial, but he is mostly for amusement and entertainment. My impression yesterday was that as a result of this passive attitude, Bush is probably safer in Budapest than in the States (where feelings are much stronger about him).
Bush's visit and speech were about the 1956 Hungarian revolution against Soviet rule (it was started at Budapest U). The 50th anniversary is actually on October 23, but you know, midterm elections... :) Many people also expected for him to explain or apologize for US inaction when the Soviet tanks came to crush the revolution, despite assurances of support beforehand. Some are interpreting a sentence of his speech as citing the catastrophic result (ie. failed revolution & cemented communist rule) of US inaction in support of the current extended US involvement in Iraq ("We've learned from your example, and we resolve that when people stand up for their freedom, America will stand with them.") He also talked about the 1989 revolution, and quoted from a celebrated poet of the 1848 revolution. All in all, the speech was quite flattering for Hungarians. Still, there is no visa waiver for Hungary (for tourist trips into the States) ... In addition to the visa process being a pain in the ass, the visa-requirement is hurting the borderless unity of the EU, so was brought up at the EU-US summit also (on Wednesday in Vienna).
And now, some photos...
Bush's first stop was up in the Castle Hill of Buda, but it was too closed to allow seeing anything. Security told people that they can't even stay where they could get a glimpse of Bush's car. Whatever. So I went down from the Castle Hill to the Chain Bridge, just below the hill, where Bush's motorcade was expected to cross the Danube... Because of all the road closures, I had to first take a bus (standing in for the subway because of reconstructions...) across another bridge to Pest, then walk to the Chain Bridge and walk across, back to the Buda side... (here is the area in Google Maps)
The Chain Bridge was quite an uncommon sight with the mix of Hungarian and American flags...
Then the presidential motorcade came down from the hill (and across the bridge, going to the Parliament), with two 2001 Cadillac DeVille limos...
...and two Presidential Limos. Unfortunately, my camera forgets it is set to "continuous shooting" mode when turned off; I got better pics later. In addition to regular Hungarian police cars, there were also a bunch of Chevy Suburban SUVs, some with communications equipment on the roof. Secret Service or SWAT, presumably...
There was also an ambulance in the motorcade, just in case...
After they passed, the bridge was reopened...
...so I walked back to Pest across the Chain Bridge...
...and to the Parliament. There was a massive crowd of three protesters, waiving Confederate and Hungarian '56 flags (which has the Soviet coat of arms torn out from the center). The connection between 1956 and the Confederate States is not quite clear, but anyway :)
The Parliament was surrounded by a ring of trams....
...and police cars blocking the road,...
...which operated as a gate:
By far, I was not the only one trying to take a quick look at Bush:
After a lot of waiting, people started emerging from the Parliament Building, flowing on and off for several minutes, but they were too far to identify who they were. There were three guys with high-zoom cameras, so I tried to follow their shooting rhythm (this time with "continuous shooting" on). I only discovered after downloading the photos at home, that 10 out of the 15 photos taken here showed at least some of George and Laura; quite lucky! I wish I had better zoom...
And the motorcade was coming again. The first 2006 Cadillac Presidential Limousine...
...followed by the second Presidential Limo, both fully armored. One of them is only a "spare limo" full of Secret Service, while W is riding in the other one (the second one I think).
Here's another Suburban with a big bump on the rooftop:
After they passed, I walked towards Bush's hotel. The avenues were closed here too...
...and after a while, a motorcade came with the older (2001) limos that I've seen the first time around, but not when they exited the Parliament. Maybe it was Condi Rice... (she was visiting with Bush)
The hotel entry checkpoint was at a safe distance from the building itself.
After this I went home to catch the live speech from Gellért Hill on TV. More photos with police cars, Suburban SUVs, empty avenues, American and Hungarian flags are here...
Atlanta-based Delta's new direct Budapest-New York daily connection (Delta 98/Delta 99) made its debut today. However, direct daily flights to NYC already existed, and the price is not low enough to make a BUD-NYC-ATL route cheap enough. Come on Delta, don't you want to start a direct Budapest-Atlanta connection?
I could sooo use that...
Some more flying stuff... Have you ever been to the FRA airport hub at Frankfurt am Main? If you haven't, you don't need to go, because I made a video for you :) As I previously wrote, I was bored and waiting for a connection at the almost deserted airport at night, so I decided to take a video of the full length (3 stops at terminals) travel on the airport's elevated automatic SkyLine train. The train I was travelling on was totally empty. Since it runs above-ground, you get a nice view of the planes & activities inside the airport:
Arriving to Budapest Ferihegy Airport (BUD), there is a 100% tinted (black) window-wall just before entering the arrivals waiting area from the baggage claim carrousels. I always found this black window-wall very mysterious. They sometimes show people like athletes or distressed holiday-makers (when their travel agency goes bankrupt and "forgets" them abroad :) in the news on TV, stepping out the automatic door. So here is the other perspective, what those stepping out from behind the tinted wall see:
It was only a week ago that the Danube was flowing freely on the Lower Bund of Budapest -- no more! The water level is not much below the road surface, and the the stairs leading "down to the Danube" are still underwater. Traffic is already back.
Some comparison photos (April 6 vs. April 13)...
(The round red sign with a "50" in it is a 50 km/h (30 mph) speed limit sign: this is the default speed limit on Hungary's urban (inside city limits) roads. However, most sections of the Lower Bund have a 70 km/h (45 mph) speed limit, since it's a more-or-less separated highway.)
The Lower Bund is back to handling its heavy car and truck traffic -- the pedestrian "happy hour" caused by the flooding is over...
The water level of the Danube increased until about two days ago. The photos from 7 days ago are here, and some new ones from yesterday are here. Yesterday's level is already probably 2 feet (0.5 m) down from the peak.
Here's a shot from the 4th level of a Budapest U building... You can see the heavy northbound traffic on the upper Bund, and the ramp going down to the Lower Bund (bottom-right), but the Lower Bund itself is submerged in waist-high water, not even the crash barriers are visible anymore...
Some comparison photos (March 31 vs. April 6)...
Unfortunately, my batteries ran out, plus there was some rain so I was starting to freeze. As you can see, all kinds of junk and tree debris is starting to pile up; it will be quite a mess...
Móricz Square is a busy traffic junction, so you can expect advertisers to target the people flowing through the square, and they do. Billboards advertising pussy-magazines (pinamagazin, a less hypocritical way of saying "men's magazine") are displayed on a news stand (Playboy and CKM):
Although not buying any tittie magazines, I consider the _public_ display of such ads to be a good sign of sanity being alive and well... Now, can you imagine the same billboards in Atlanta, or somewhere in the States? I think the more coastal, and more metro an area is, the more it is possible. As a test of the States' sanity, I've been keeping an eye out, and I think all is not lost... in Atlanta (Sex and the City TV show billboard in downtown), in Seattle (mild Bud Light billboard), in New York (Jenna Jameson movie billboard next to Times Square), in New Orleans (storefront on Bourbon St.), in Las Vegas (Victora's Secret storefront in Forum Shops).
You might wonder why I think a "sanity check" of the States is necessary, well... It is terribly annoying that MPAA film ratings lead to so-called "violent" or "sexual" segments being cut from films shown on cable TV, or "bad words" being silenced out in songs on radio stations. It is ridiculous that if I want to listen to uncensored radio in the States, I have to tune in to web broadcasts from Hungary! The negative attention drawn by the Janet Jackson "wardrobe malfunction" (and the hypocritical naming!), the Paris Hilton carwash/burger commercial, or the effect of the GTA "sex minigames" (game being withdrawn by stores) is upsetting. I guess Sweden is the world leader in dealing sanely with such issues (that is, giving only the minor attention they deserve), but I'm happy that Hungary is not lagging too much (although Dragon Ball, a mere cartoon, was banned a couple years ago).
Update: The Hustler Magazine vs. Falwell case before the Supreme Court is a similar sanity check, with a positive outcome, protecting freedom of speech. I feel that my attitude towards provocation as a test of freedom of speech is similar to Larry Flynt's.
Update 2: It turns out that the overreaction to sexual content in the media is clearly not a reflection of the American people's opinion, but a small obsessed group wanting to impose its views on the general public (Brent Bozell's Parents Television Council).
The Budapest traffic is especially heavy during the rush hours. After checking out the flooding on the Buda (west) side, I took the tram on Bartók Béla Blvd. from Gellért Square to Móricz Square -- the same two stop long ride I mentioned two days ago. Several tram lines share the tracks for these two stops: Tram 18, 19, 41, 47 and 49, so it is an extremely busy section... This is the Gellért Square stop with Pest-bound (eastbound) tram 47, and westbound Tram 49:
Although there is a tram arriving every 1-2 minutes, there are still crowds waiting: (same tram stop)
Of course, there are many cars too, especially with the Lower Bund closed off. This is the northbound traffic on the upper Bund, in front of Budapest U's buildings:
And the northbound traffic of the upper Bund on Gellért Square: (the hill on the left is Gellért Hill)
Moving on to Móricz Square, a major public transport interchange, also with the terminals of Tram 6 and Bus 40. Here, a bus, cars and a tram arriving on Bartók Blvd. to Móricz Sq.: All BKV trams are yellow, but the first car of this one is wrapped in a blue ad for the liberal party (general elections are next weekend).
This is a view of Móricz Sq. with two jointed buses back-to-back in a bus stop: (These -- unlike those on the Bus 40 line -- are modern buses.)
Pedestrians do not respect traffic lights, and not without a reason... When I walk from the Tram 6 terminal to the Bus 40 terminal on Móricz, in order, I have to watch out for incoming traffic from: left (cars), left (tram), straight ahead (cars), right (tram), right (cars), left (cars in 2 lanes), left (tram), right (tram), right (cars in 3 lanes), left (buses), right (cars). That means I need to cross 4 tram tracks and 10 traffic lanes on a 300 ft/100 m short walk. Some crossings are protected by traffic lights, while others are not, so the fastest solution across is to use your street smarts, and just go whenever you won't get hit :) You can imagine, how I immediately felt at home on Canal Street in New Orleans, crossing 6 lanes & 2 streetcar tracks right in the middle... :) (This photo shows pedestrians crossing the 3 westbound lanes of Bartók Blvd, "in the red".)
The Danube river flows right through Budapest (separating it into Buda on the west and Pest on the east), and it is now flooding. The Danube is a pretty wide river by default and originates in Germany, so when the winter snow starts melting in the mountains, floods occur regularly. Budapest is well protected, with a stone reinforced Bund on both sides (the Rakpart). In addition to the Bund protected by this wall, there is a highway running on both sides inside the river bed, which usually carries heavy traffic (this is the Lower Bund, or Alsó-Rakpart). The river is about 20-30 stair steps below this road -- but not now! The Lower Bund is closed from traffic, and the Danube is beginning to take over... This is a traffic sign on the flooded Lower Bund that quite appropriately reads "Warning! Flooding hazard on road!"
This is what another part of the Lower Bund of Buda looked today, with no traffic and the water: (The wall of the upper Bund is on the left.)
As the sign says, you'd better stop here! Normally this is where cars enter the Lower Bund.
This biker obviously can't read signs :)
You can see the painted signs under the water here (taken from the upper Bund of Buda; the Bund of Pest is at the top of the picture):
As you can see, the floodwater covers the highway, but not yet the sidewalk of the Lower Bund. It will probably get much higher in a couple days...
So today I'm riding on Tram 41 (runs just north of Budapest U campus) for only 2 stops, and there is quite a crowd on board, so I do not move too much inside and just stand by the handrail closest to the door. Approaching the first stop, a guy gets ready to get off, so I try to make way for him, but he grabs the same handrail I'm holding on to, blocking my movement in a way that I can only move towards the door. Since I don't want to block the door, I stay put. And when we reach the stop, the guy gets off the tram saying "Hop aside!". WTF?! The guy is already off the tram, but I lean after him and say "Sorry?!" And he repeats "Hop aside!"... I mean, are you retarded or what, the tram is obviously crowded, I noticed you wanted to get off but I couldn't move because of you blocking me, and you COULD get off the tram, so what is your problem?! Oh, your girlfriend is cheating on you, sorry I didn't know THAT....
I think this attitude is common is dense cities everywhere, where there are so many people forced together. For contrast, in Atlanta (which is clearly not a dense city, with probably the largest urban sprawl in the world), I was so surprised in Kroger, when I'm looking at stuff on shelves in a practically empty store, and when someone passes behind me, they say "Excuse me", and I start looking around like "what am I doing wrong", but nothing, they are just courteous enough to forewarn me not to step on them :) They would have a hard time in stores here, with all the crowds, hehe :) But I must say that I noticed saying "excuse me" and "thank you" more often after coming home in September -- getting some surprised looks from the big-city-folks too :D
Jennifer Lopez had an album titled "On the 6" a few years ago. The "6" in the title being Subway #6 in NY, which she took when commuting from the Bronx. As life is, I'm also taking #6 on the commute, except my commute is from Budaörs West to Budapest U, and it's the tram line pictured in the previous post. However, I only take it for two stops, which is a 3-5 minute ride -- the "fun" part (not!) of the trip is taking Bus 40 from Budaörs West to its other terminal inside Budapest. The Bus 40 line takes 20-25 minutes in light traffic -- and 40-50 minutes in the morning rush hour :(( Since this is a suburban line of the BKV (Budapest Transport Co.), they
use their crappiest buses (20+ years old, you have to take 3 high steps
up/down when getting on/off). All this wouldn't be a big problem, if it
weren't also extremely overcrowded. :(( It is no joyride, trust me... I consider "the 40" as much part of where I come from, as "the 6" was part of JLo's life.
People consider the BKV to be dirty, but still, many prefer it for their commute over driving because of the huge Budapest traffic (especially if they use the subway to reach their workplace, since it avoids all traffic). The driver does not check your ticket/pass (so you can get on/off at any door), and many people consider it OK to ride without a pass on the BKV, since the service is such crap. But ticket controllers sometimes raid the subway stations, trams or buses, so it is not without risk. Because of the we-don't-pay-for-this-shit sentiment (even among those who buy monthly passes), the social status of the ticket controller job is extremely low, and it is regarded as a moral failure to work in such a job. :) I think this anti-authority attitude has its roots in the socialist era...
Anyhow... here's a video of Bus 40 arriving to the "High School" bus stop in Budaörs West (right in front of my HS!):
Some things you can note: The bus sounds like a truck :). See how hilly the area is. Traffic lights change to yellow before going red, and it's still OK to pass. On approach, the block houses on the left are the Budaörs West Housing Projects.
Today I took my camera with me, and made some test shots in preparation for my Budapest Spring Photo Bonanza (when I want to take many pics of places in Budapest). The weather has been really depressing with dark winter skies until recently, with even snow a couple days ago (which is quite unusual), but maybe it's starting to change... Anyways, I just wanted to get accustomed to seeing the city through an LCD viewfinder for a change. I didn't go out of my way to shoot pics, but everybody was still looking at me like I was out of my mind for taking pictures. I must admit, in the daily grind, there is nothing interesting in these places, but I want to have a bunch of pics for the upcoming time when Bp will be 5000 miles away... A test-shot of a tram on the world's busiest tram line (line 4/6):
As for some other news and number-crunching: this blog was a featured blog on Freeblog's front page last Friday and Saturday (only bumping the ratio of this blog's Hungarian visitors up to 19% and 10%, respectively, because Nighttime just hit in Portugal at the same time :) As for Nighttime, the hype has died, and its daily visitor numbers are down to a steady 2-3000 (except for when the Portuguese jumped on it last weekend). Europa (introduced in the previous post, a week ago) didn't generate a hype (also an instructive experience), and is getting a steady 300-400 visitors daily, from Day 1 (except when the Portuguese.... :)
