Hungary

First time there. The first images that I got of Budapest, were very sad and uncertain (but it could've been just me). Basically, I saw a small transformer building with kids shoes and clothes, and got a vivid image of happy kids unwittingly slipping into the world of drugs .. with the following issues with their friends, family and so on. The abrupt extinction of the potential that youth provides. Tried to find the registration desk which was supposed to be at the first floor of the university main building. Entered the building and found myself in some cellar corridors which looked as if they led to interrogation chambers from the soviet era, with old machinery and pipes everywhere. Well, cool .. walked through the maze twice, and eventually still asked where the reception desk is supposed to be. It turned out that there were 2 ground floors before the first, so I had to go to the "3rd floor". Silly me, but at least I caught a fairly rough feeling of the university. I'm impressed by the university and how advanced it is.

When asked how I find Budapest, I said "interesting". Typically when I've been to some country or a specific city, then there's a feeling to the place that uniquely describes it. Although Budapest is large (could easily fit the populace of Estonia .. even that of Latvia), it's well planned, beautiful, and the people seem very friendly, something's off. While staying there I couldn't shake the feeling that something's not right - perhaps because I couldn't find the feeling that would uniquely describe the place.

Met a Latvian (friend of a friend) with common interests, and he said he had been puzzled by the same thing. In an attempt to catch the feeling, he had walked the shady corners of the city but the unique feeling had still eluded him.

This makes me wonder if perhaps Budapest (or maybe Hungary as a whole) is shielded, or somehow shifted away from the rest of the world. Or perhaps it's just so diverse that there no longer is a solid construct of the place. Anyway, weird.

Hotel

A bit too fancy, imho. However, apparently I was not given a non-smoking room. Smoke constantly propagated through some ventilation shafts or whatever.

Double bed just for me? Why? Well ok, took the side of the bed with a slightly brighter aura. Couldn't sleep for the first night .. actually couldn't sleep too well the next nights, either.

Anyway, the first night. As I closed my eyes, I found myself surrounded with flowers of different colors. It looked as if the space itself consisted of flowers. There was an obvious presence of a woman. She had her problems, but she also had her joys so all in all the entity was neutral or perhaps slightly positive. I just had to make her acquaintance in order for her to let me spend the night on that side of the bed.

Regardless, the next couple of nights were a bit nightmarish. A tunnel collapsing due to a bus crashing into the wall or something. Couldn't do anything except perhaps getting people to places with a bit higher probability of survival. Then some classic dreams of somebody chasing me, and so on.

The hotel was so fancy that the fanciness confused both me and the personnel too, I guess. Took a bottle of mineral water from the minibar and left a bank note to pay for it. Based on some simple detective work, this confused the janitor who had taken the minibar log, called their boss, nervously stuffed the minibar log back onto the table, and readjusted it on the table just before leaving the room. Oh well =) .. took the minibar log and bank note down to check-out on the final day to explicitly state that I would like to pay for it in cash.

Weather

A couple of days before leaving for Hungary, it was +23 *C in Estonia. The next day it was perhaps +2 *C or something. In Hungary, the weather forecast had said it would be cold, but it was over +20 *C for most of the time.

Smalltalk

Tried to acquire a reasonable amount of contacts but tried not to be too annoying. Got along pretty well with guys, but things were different when I tried to talk to a girl sitting next to me at a restaurant. She seemed more interested in my age than in the topic at hand, and my age was the end of the discussion. Sigh. I need to learn communication (not RF, mind you).

Suithike

Following a Gala dinner on the Danube river, most of the people decided to go to some bar. A few of us decided to enjoy a hike up the Gellert Hill, in suits. Nice discussion on theoretical physics and electronics. After the descent from the hill, a white city jeep passed by real slow, going uphill. Everyone inside the car stared at us for a long time while passing by. The car engine died, they restarted the car while it was rolling back downhill, and then parked it with great skill. Us: Wat just happened?

Yup, finally bought a suit before the Hungary trip. Used to despise suits but proved to myself that I can also enjoy a suit. Realized the influence and importance of traditional robes. It's a ritual that works through the expectations that people have developed in their minds.