Movin' on up, to the East side

We've finally got a piece of the pie!

Random fun quiz: Which TV show is that from?

Anyway, here I am posting once again. It's been a long while not because of travel this time, but because of the Finance class I'm taking. It's a lot of fun and pretty interesting to boot, but it's been sapping up my time recently. Some days we have class 9 hours of class, with 3 hour at a time sittings. The only downside to it is that despite my efforts to do the right thing and focus on the work, even in my free time, I still only fare average (slightly sub average in our class, 3 points below) on the exams... The final is this coming Tuesday and I'm really nervous about it. The material is easy to understand, and I feel like I have a good hold on it, but I was outsmarted on the midterm, and it's really costing me. I had hoped to have an A in my first in-major class, but that has all but become a pipedream at this point, unless the person who eeked out a 98% score on the midterm slips up pretty big and I get the highest grade.

This trip has had plenty of ups in it, but it's been a slow process when it comes to the recent business classes. Each class is different, and I have basically no idea how the proffesor will come at me with the material often until it is too late. The professors are great, and the material compelling, but for whatever reason I'm not performing the way that I've become accustomed to at home. Its really not even the difficulty of the material that is the issue as to why I'm struggling; at this point I don't have an answer to that question, so as of now I'm still working my hardest and hoping for the best.

Back to the Trip. The first portion of our Northeastern trip was to Budapest, Hungary. Here are a few highlights:

Heroes' Square:








A major landmark in Budapest that commemorates the seven tribe leaders that founded Hungary, as well as several other outstanding figures in Hungarian History. It was started in 1896 to celebrate the 1000th anniversary of Hungary's formation and was completed 33 years later.













Mathias Church and the Fisherman's Bastion:

Two adjacent important pieces of Hungarian History. The church contains both pieces of Baroque and Gothic style, and incorporates both to serve as a reminder of portions of their distinct periods in history. The interior even combines the floral designs of one time period with the patterned designs of another. It's really a very unique place. The Fisherman's Bastion (also partially seen in the church picture, bottom right) is the fortificaton behind the church that includes seven towers, also representing the seven Magyar tribes that settled in around 896 AD. It gets its name from the guild of fisherman who kept watch over the Pest portion of the city in the Middle Ages.

Gellért Hill, site of the Freedom Statue:
Aside from offering a great panoramic view of the Danube River, the top of this hill features the Freedom Statue, constructed by the Soviet Red Army after their victory in World War II. It and many other Red Army statues were created in Budapest, but only this one remains because it's meaning was transferred after Hungary as a nation separated itself from communism, and it now stands as a symbol of its political freedom as well.

Visegrád:
This is a side view of the upper castle, one of three (upper, lower, and royal palace) in Pest. Each of the three are being renovated to show the way people lived there in the Middle ages. It also offered a really good panoramic view at the top (see photo album). Some of us even got to use medieval weapons and do target practice (for a fee).




All in all, I had a really good time in Budapest. Riots (from civilians uprising against their prime minister, whom lied to them for years and finally admitted it, yet promised to change) still carried on in the first night of our stay, and some students wandered off and even got video footage, but it was far enough away from us as a whole that it never threatened our safety. By the time the next night rolled on, the noise subsided and we didnt hear a thing about it. We also took a night boat ride on the Danube, and got a general tour of the buildings and statues visible from it up and down the river. We also explored the Balkan marketplace, which is a highly recommended stop if you want to get souveniers. While there, we visited a winery and tasted their different varieties. It was there I discovered that sweet wine is not my cup o' tea-- its actually rather appalling, in my opinion.

After all that was done we hopped on a bus toward my favorite destination of the trip...PRAGUE!

Details on that portion to come--

Stay serene, much love,
B Ezie