Running / Walking

RUNNING:

• First, some context. People in Budapest do not run outdoors (with one exception - see bullet point #2). I ran across a few of the bridges a couple days ago and elicited many stares. When I asked some Hungarian acquaintances about this reaction, they claimed that one possible question that was running through the bystanders' heads was, "Where is the sale at the supermarket?" It has been confirmed by multiple sources that a sale at the opening of a Home Depot-like store caused massive running in recent Budapest history. (Sounds similar to the day after Thanksgiving back home.)
• With this in mind, I took the 10-minute tram ride to Margit-sziget (Margaret Island) to run around the sweet 5km track that circles the island. I am normally pretty competitive when I run (honestly, on busy days I'll track the +/- of how many men/women I pass - does anyone else do this?), but there are two things that bring it out more than any other: (1) a crowd of people watching, (2) a lot of runners to try and beat. This island has both in spades. This is going to be fun, and the extra effort will be utterly necessary if I am going to keep playing hockey on an Olympic sized rink! (FYI - In the US and Canada, we normally play on "NHL rinks." In Europe, they normally play on "Olympic rinks," which are 15 feet wider. You skate more, pass more and generally get a better workout on the Olympic rinks.)

WALKING:

• I got my work permit at the immigration office this morning. It would've been much, much easier to take public transportation there.... but I chose to walk. This was somewhat foolish, as it was four bridges down the Danube from where I live. (Thankfully, my Irish friend had blister-preventing bandaids.) On the up and up, I found a sweet coffee house! It would sort of be like Guthrie's on Addison, if Guthrie's served espresso in addition to beer. For the non-Chicagoans, Guthrie's is a bar with board games. My "learn Hungarian" conquest continued at this establishment.
• Went around town with my new friend from Belfast and caught an old church, lunch and the "Museum of Ethnography."

Finally, you should be aware that this article about a recent happening in the countryside has hit the news stands:

"One László Komor, who edits the "village website" of Szemely, in Baranya County, has filed a police report against the hamlet's mayor , Pál Kovács. In his complaint, Komor alleges that Kovács was angered by some negative comments Komor posted about him on the site, and retaliated by assaulting him with a bikacsök, a weapon/dog toy made from a dried bull penis. Komor apparently suffered minor injuries to his abdomen, back and right arm, which are definitely the places you'd want to get injured in an attack with a weapon like this, and police have launched a probe into the incident." --pestiside.hu