Buda-pest
I walk down the stairs of the plane leading me to the tarmac and a huge shuttle the size of a subway car. We get carted away to the terminal in a matter of minutes. I immediately notice the interesting language on the signage when I step into the terminal. I am definitely fullfilling my number one requirement for my travels: the primary language is not English. This is 2 countries in a row living up to this. I don't even know what they speak here. Is it Hungarian?
I breeze through customs, grab my roller bag and head out to find my taxi that should be waiting for me. Just as I approach the loads of people waiting and some holding signs, a small and purposeful woman of middle age approaches me. "Are you Mark?" "You must be . . ."
She quickly states, "Csilla". Oh, that's how you pronounce it (chill-ah). I was about to say either shilla or silla. Csilla is one of the producers of the studio that hired me for training. She introjects "I wasn't going to be here, but then I thought how confusing it is to come into a new country and I just wanted to make sure you were taken care of." How sweet this woman is to personally pick me up on her busy day.
The cab ride into Budapest immediately reveals a drastic difference in the landscape from what it looked like in Israel. It's green everywhere and tree lined streets almost covering the street at places. It's a bit humid but comfortable with a slight breeze. Csilla fills me in with my hotel details, some basic things to see in the city and what is available for the weekend. The language spoken here is Hungarian, the currency is the Forint, and the population of the country is about 10 million with a bout 2 million in Budapest alone. There is a huge summer concert going on, but it's in the west side of the country a few hours away. I won't be making it out there.
We arrive at my hotel, the Corinthia Grand Hotel Royal. A beautiful 5 star hotel with a gorgeous marble filled lobby. Csilla joins me to check me in and make sure everything is covered. She bids me farewell, leaving me with a 7 day metro pass. I throw my things into the well appointed room on the 4th floor. Time to head out to see this new city.
The first thing I notice is how colorful everything is compared to Israel. I didn't even realize how accustomed I have become with the cream and light tones of Isreal until now. This city already has a strong sense that I'm in Europe, from what I've seen in pictures and movies. This is my first city on the continent of Europe. Here we go!