Week 7: October 18th - 24th

Monday 1999-10-18

I updated my student card. The temporary cards are valid only 45 days. I got the Operating Systems book. It was in the shop already on Wednesday, but I couldn't read my email. At worst I got about 20bytes/second from the server (Iobox). Nem jó. Becca and Sarah returned from Italy. Anssi T. came.

In the evening Mikko had a birthday party for ~20 in the Martos corridor ("dining room"). I talked with Eric and Juan-Carlos (from Guatemala). People were more or less intoxicated, mostly more. There was wine, beer, sparkling wine, cake, rolls, cheese and whatever. I didn't leave with the others for somewhere else.

Tuesday 1999-10-19

I was too tired to go to the lecture in the morning.

I the afternoon we went caving. The Mátyás cave is the fourth longest one in Hungary, about 4.5 km. The cave was made by hot thermal water that ate its way in the lime stone. For the last couple of million years the cave has been dry. It was found in the 1930's, and new routes are still found. There're no stalag[t|m]ites (only in cold water caves), but there're crystals, fossils of seashells, and round cavities carved by spinning water.

Moving in the cave was no picnic. My arms and knees are all blue. At the mouth of the cave we got overalls and helmets with lamps. The guides had carbide lamps, i.e. a real torch on the helmet. Only in some places the cave was high enough for walking, mostly one had to crawl or go on all fours.

Some sights:

• Theater: a hall with a stage-like step on one side, and a statue with man's face (phantom of the theater).
• Earthworm: about 20 meters long twisting hole that is hardly wide enough to crawl through.
• Birth channel: A couple of meters long narrow hole going steeply uphill. Nakki had some difficulties to get through it.
• Szendvics: two huge flat rocks with a 40 cm gap between. In some places the ceiling is so low that it's impossible to turn one's head - the helmet gets stuck. All the way is ascending, and it's hard to get a grip from anywhere. By far the most difficult and funniest section.
• Elefánt: A stone wall resembling an elephant. Somebody has given her an eye, but otherwise she's made by water.
• Plus some other things.

J-P had hangover and Anssi wore his best shoes. Though the cave was dry, the clay got everything dirty.

After getting out, we ate in a Hungarian restaurant (Anssi, Antti, Nakki, J-P, Sarah, Becca). A violin-accordion duo played Hungarian nevergreens.

Wednesday 1999-10-20

For a change I went to the Hungarian lecture instead of the computer lab. I took a nap. My parents came to Budapest in the evening. The washing machines are not available. Mikko, Jarkko and Antti were trying to get drunk. They say the booze has no effect anymore...

Thursday 1999-10-21

Janne succeeded in getting the washing machine. We washed six hours. The reception only charged for four hours (on pity?). The OS guy forgot to lecture the two extra hours he'd said he would.

I went to see my parents. Zsuzsanne brought us to Martos and returned to Gödöllő. On the way we visited the Market Hall. We ate in Kis Rabló, which was a much better place now that I didn't pay myself. I sent them to their hotel on a tram.

At night I visited the Bahnhof disco at the Nyugati station with Janne P, Juan, Olaj, Dan and Sam (from Germany). I hadn't had as good time in a disco for a very long time. They say Bahnhof is on the black list of the American or Swedish embassy, i.e. that they cheat stupid tourists.

Friday 1999-10-22

I visited the Castle Mountain with my parents and Zsuzsanne. In the evening we ate at King Arthur in Obuda. It's a pseudo-medieval restaurant where the food is server on large wooden plates and eaten with bare hands. The food wasn't special, but there was a lot of it.

There was some fancy party somewhere, where one should have had a suit. Jarkko lost his phone there.

Saturday 1999-10-23

In the morning Péter picked us up from my parents' hotel. We ran through the National Museum. This time the crown and the coronation gown were guarded by a couple of wax-figure-looking guards in old uniforms. Then we visited Sissi's castle in Gödöllő. The renovated part of the castle is gorgeous, and the rest is in ruins. The Russians had used it as a barrack for decades.

We had lunch at Divinyi's. In the evening we walked in Pest. The grocery stores are closed, it's the anniversary of the '56 revolution.

Sunday 1999-10-24

I woke up at two, got up at three and took a shower at four. Our shop is closed. I ate with Mikko in a Latin American restaurant (corner of Akácfa u. and Wesselényi u, I guess.) By and so far the best food on this trip. Of course it was expensive. I surfed in the net till 4 a.m.

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