first- before i flew back to the states i played in the hungarian ultimate frisbee national championships. it was one of the most thrilling days of my life, i still get the giggles thinking about it. i played for a team called halodigaze, who i had practiced with the week before.
the tournament was in a town called markaz, about an hour and a half drive from budapest. it is wine country, and some of the people organizing the event ran a winery (the prizes at the end were therefore all wine-based). it was a cold and rainy day, but at least no wind, which really screws things up. there were seven teams and two fields, and each team played 4 or 5 games to determine the standings.
we lost our first two games, to the two best teams there - the two that ended up playing for first. it was a tough way to start, but after that our team clicked. everything started working perfectly, and i finally relaxed and was able to play my best. we won our other three games, taking third place. again, one of the most thrilling days of my life.
i am trying to find pictures online, and will inform if i do.
so. now that i am back from the states, i am doing just what i planned. i bought a bike in budapest, along with a lock, helmet, pump and tire repair kit, all for about 220 dollars (if i return it all in good shape, i'll get about 170 back- this is far cheaper than renting). i didn't get paniers, but there is a rack on the back that is good for strapping down my bag. unfortunately this makes me quite topheavy, which took a while to get used to. also, it takes at least 10 minutes to get it all strapped on correctly. i have to take it off and wear it when i lock up my bike and leave it behind, so i am loath to stop in civilization, it's all just a pain in the ass.
on friday i rode about 85 km, from budapest to just past the town of gyöngyös. that night i nested in a patch of bushes between a dirt road and a vineyard. wrapped in a cacoon of garbage bags and nearly all my clothes, i was almost warm enough to sleep. almost. not a great night.
(but man, plastic bags. greatest invention ever. i am utterly dependent on them, and keep a big stash on me at all times. so here's to plastic bags, my best friend out here).
on saturday i rode the rest of the way to eger, about 45 km. i stayed in a little hostel that was run by a family. the son, bolasz, spoke some english, but not his parents. bolasz took me down the family's cellar where he had me taste his father's wine. the earth under eger is just full of cellars, running right into each other (our was separated from the neighbor's by an iron gate). the heart of wine country, most of the town's business is wine. there is a little valley outside town called szépasszony-völgy (valley of the nice lady) that is just ringed with cellars buried into the hillsides. from the openings of each people sell their wine, give out tastes for free and glasses for less than a dollar. this was may-day weekend, a big four day holiday for the country. all the tourists there appeared to be magyar.
i slept for 14 hours that night. for good reasons. sunday i took off for bukk national park, riding up and up until i ran out of daylight and had to find a spot to sleep. i was nice and warm with my sleeping bag i bought from bolasz' mother, which is purple and white and covered in flowers ("just like a man!" announces bolasz).
monday i spent hiking, exploring the confusing network of paths winding through the park. i climbed to some hilltops for the views, found a sweet little spring, and generally just soaked up these beautiful forested hills. things were peachy until a massive thunderstorm broke over my head. i took shelter in a little wooden observation tower, across a meadow from some type of corn-dispensing container, for luring critters of some kind. i thought it would be deer, but last night a pack of wild pigs or boar romped around it. grunts and oinks and squeels and bubbling splashing as they churned the whole area up into a muddy sloppy pond. i slept up in the tower.
today i came back down to eger, about 20 km, to resupply. i am subsisting on bread, cheese, jam, peanut butter (trying to make this precious little jar from santa barbara last as long as possible), carrots, bananas and yogurt. the limiting factor is water, as its so heavy to carry. i wish i knew where all the springs were in this region.
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