Captain Canada and the Cup Final

Here I am in Budapest! After surviving the long trek to get here, we have settled into our new hostel. I believe that Dzido is going to blog about it, so check his for a desciption. But I think it is the best one we have ever been to. There are hammocks in the backyard, outdoor beds to relax on and the people are all extremely nice. We have been out seeing the city each day, trying to make the most of the time that we have here. It is very strange to be in such a big city again. All of the places that we have been so far have been much smaller towns, but Budapest is a lively city and is HUGE. Another drawback is that I have become a bit sick. I have had a hacking cough for a little while now, and the other night I had a fever. But I am trying to take it easy (ie. not going out at night) and I seem to be on the mend. It is insanely hot here and Dzido and I are wondering how we are going to make it through Spain where I am sure that it will be even hotter. But I am sure we will manage.

All complaints aside, Budapest is a beautfil place and I wish that I had more time to explore it prorperly. We have seen the major sites, the castle and things like that. Here is a picture of me in front of the parliament buildings which are stunning. The rest of the city is simply amazing. We tried out the baths that Budapest is so famous for. I think we went to a cheap one because it was kind of dirty and not all that much fun. But it was a relaxing few hours. Some of the steam room are so hot you cannot breath. It is crazy.

One cool place that we visited was called Statue Park, it is a collection of old communist statues just outside the city. It was really spooky to think that these were once so feared. Another place that we went that we heard was cool was the labyrinths that go under the castle in Buda (one of the two cities that make up Budapest). The guide book said it was expensive but worth it, so we tried it and it was awful. Nothing interesting at all, though it was a welcome relief from the heat. But at the end there was a room that was supposed to show a video about the place, but someone had changed it to the soccer game, so we sat in a labrynth and watched Japan tie Croatia. Good times.


The big night at the hostel came last night when we went to watch game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. Luckily we didn't have to search the city because the hostel had the game on some sports channel. So to kill time before the game, a group of us were watching Pulp Fiction, waiting for 2am to roll around so that we could start watching the game. Well at about 1:15 we hear a huge crash from the hallway and all of the power in the room goes off. It turns out that some fan on the wall fell and knocked out the entire circuit. We are started to panic a bit. I had my Canadian flag wrapped around my shoulders (I was Captain Canada that night) and I was ready for the game. So I grab my flashlights (a travellers essential) and start trying to find the fuse box while Dzido and another guy from the hostel make sure that the loose wires are taken care of. Now the hostel we are staying in is basically a house, so it took quite a while to find the fuse box in the dark when we had no idea where to look. But thankfully we found it at last and we got power back just in time to watch the game.

Now we had been making a really big deal about this game to all of our English and Aussie friends and a good number of them actually stayed up to watch the game with us...for about the first 10 minutes. Then most of them (slighly inebriated from the nights events) went to bed, so that by the end there were 5 of us in the room watching, but only Dzido and I were actually awake. Still, it was nice of them all to try and watch it, and for many of the English guys it was their first taste of hockey and they especially enjoyed the violence. By the middle of the third period the sun was up and we were still watching the game. Obviously there is no need to relive the heartbreaking result, but at least we got to see the game. (There are pictures of me in my Canada cape, but they won't upload right now, so I will have to add them on next time.)

So now it is off to Spain! We head to Barcalona first and then start the tour. We are getting really excited for those bulls!