Autumn in Budapest

Budapest, Hungary

I Love Budapest. This city is so charming and peaceful. Maybe it has something to do with the cool, crisp air, the gray heavy skies, the periodic, light sprinkles, or the golden leaves floating to the ground. Today Josh and I went to the little island in the river between Buda on the left and Pest on the right. It was unbelievably serene. So quiet and calm. A mother played soccer with her son. I made a small pile of leaves fell/sat back into it a couple times. Josh sat against a tree and journaled for a bit. I took some macro pictures of an ant crawling across the leaves. It truly feels like autumn. At times, however it even feels like winter, as it's about the same temperature as it is in Tucson in winter. We went to a a Turkish bath today, but it was only open for women on Monday. So we will go again tomorrow morning. We've been having a great time with our Hungarian couchsurfing host Gabi. She has taken us around and made us feel at home. Last night we went to one of her friend's house where we ate a home-cooked, traditional Hungarian dish called rakott krumpli which consisted of potato, egg, sausage, sour cream with spices, cheese and some bacon on the top. It was layered, prepared like a lasanga. Afterward, we had thin pancakes, almost like crepes, that Gabi prepared. We covered our pancrepes (as I call them) in chocolate spread, home-made jam, and other sweet things. Apparently, pancakes are eaten as a desert after lunch or dinner, never for breakfast. Tomorrow, Josh and I leave for our next city, and I will miss Budapest very much. There is such a beautiful energy here. I write that risking sounding out there, but there's no better way to describe it. It is so peaceful and exciting at the same time. This is a place I will definitely return to and where I could potentially see myself living at some point... or at least shooting a film.