Travel Edition: Romania and Hungary

At seven a.m. on Friday morning, I was enjoying my breakfast on KLM's flight from Helsinki to Budapest, when I heard the English man behind me comment to his friend in a somewhat puzzled and incredulous voice, "She's putting jam on her cheese!" The muffled reply sounded something like, "...must be Finnish," and I could hardly contain my laughter. I wondered if my example gave him the courage to try the combination! I was on my way to Deva, Romania, via Budapest. I know, you may be surprised that I didn't mention it earlier, but actually, I only had four days of forewarning myself!

I had friends who had been in Deva for two weeks helping a missionary family by building a roof over a section of their house, and I have wanted to return to Romania every since I visited last summer. I can't explain my attachment to the place; but if the six hour trip from Budapest to Deva were all that I experienced, it would've been worth it! But it didn't stop there, as I had the wonderful opportunity to see friends and family (some of the same people from previous travels), climb rafters, get soaked in the rain, enjoy wind in my hair at breakneck speeds through sunflower fields and small towns, go to a Romanian church service (about three hours long), eat delicious food under grapevines, and be in very very warm weather! I actually don't know anything about construction, so my attempts at helping were not too successful. So once I realized that I couldn't cut a straight line with a chainsaw, I just held the level and made marks on wood...ok, ok, so most of the time I just watched! :)

The time I had was short, but I feel spoilt for even having the opportunity to go there for a visit. One of the great joys I had on the trip was to meet up in Budapest with one of my college friends whom I hadn't seen in three years or so! Way back in California, we were partners in an anthropology class, and after she graduated we lost touch for a while. So Brigitta and her son Davido gave me a tour of Budapest on Sunday night. We wandered up at the Citadella with delicious ice cream and the next day braved the heat to walk around the city. I like seeing a new city with people who actually live there, because it gives me an opportunity to see how they live and what the "ordinary" life there is like, as opposed to merely visiting the tourist haunts on my own. And it's nice to see where your friends grew up! It was good to just talk and catch up on what has happened in the last few years!

It has been on my summer "to-do list" to go on a roadtrip. Little did I know that I would get that opportunity in Eastern Europe! In my memory I hold the beautiful scenery of storks in their nests; sunflower fields whizzing by; men wearing speedos almost hidden by drooping round bellies (ok, that's not such a beautiful sight, but it was certainly cause for laughs!); weathered old men and women sitting on benches by the roadside as the evening approaches, seemingly with nothing better to do at the moment than to watch cars drive past and catch up on the village news; houses painted in colorful varieties, most often with peeling paint exposing the brick layer underneath and giving the vicinity a quaint, run-down look; flourescent orange security jackets hanging on the line in a muddy yard; and the sun touching everything with beautiful half-light as the day begins to fade.

So, this is Yours Truly, the globe-trekker, signing out! Hope you have all had wonderful weekends as well!