For my last few hours in Budapest I wandered the very modern pedestrian mall along Vaci Utca which ends at the Great Market Hall. I took a quick tour of the market and then grabbed a bite to eat and a beer at the Red Cafe on Raday Utca. I got lots of practice in riding the Metro around, since I had to get the most value out of my time. Several Metro rides later I had my pack and was back at Budapest Keleti Station. I got there just as they were announcing which platform the over-night train to Krakow was leaving from. I was a bit too early because I climbed on what I thought was my car and was surprised to see that I had reserved a sleeper and there was only benches. I sat there for awhile grumbling to myself until I felt the jolt of additional cars being added to the end of the train. It occurred to me then that it wouldn't make sense to have been dragging around sleeper cars during the day, so I jumped off and found the right car which had just been attached. I was very pleasantly surprised to see that I had a very nice room all to myself. It would normally fit three, but it was just me this time. There was even a sink, mirror, drinking water, and even a little chocolate filled crossaint in the room. I took a moment to brush my teeth and get comfy for sleep. I tried each of the bunks out, the middle one was the coziest but I couldn't figure out how to raise the guardrails and since I was paranoid about falling out in the middle of the trip I took the lumpier, but safer bottom bunk. I'm definitely a fan of train travel, if it's an option, versus airplanes.
My adventure is almost at its end. I have to say it was much less trying than I presumed. I'm not home yet, but I feel like the hardest part is over. Time to try to get some sleep now before we hit the passport control. I will cross two borders tonight as we travel across Slovakia. I will have to wake up for each stop just long enough to get stamped out of one country and into the next.
...
I'm feeling well traveled now. I'm sore and not just from the long journey and the lumpy beds, but also because I took a nasty spill on the cobblestones while walking in Krakow this morning. After I arrived at 6:20 I put on my heavy backpack and hiked towards old town in search of a place to stay for the night. I hadn't bothered to reserve anything this time and was relying on pure luck. I had waved off all the tourist vultures that had swarmed me with their promises of cheap rooms for rent at the train station as I disembarked. As I was crossing into old town I stepped onto a ragged patch of sidewalk and started to turn my ankle. Now normally I would have recovered gracefully, since I've walked on much rougher terrain during this trip, but with my fully loaded backpack on I was over-balanced and could not correct in time. It seemed like it took for ever for me to go down and eventually hit the ground as I made a valiant attempt to stay upright. The momentum carried me a good ten feet from my original misstep. I connected with the cobblestones hard on my right side and then did a half roll to my back, but the pack stopped me from turning over completely. At least this time I did not break my fall with my elbow. The wind was knocked out of me, but everything seemed to be intact. After an awkward moment of trying to stand up with my bag weighing me down I did a quick damage report and continued, albeit slightly less energetically, on my search for a room.
It only took me three tries to find a place with vacancy for the night. It was at the aptly named "Bed & Breakfast" just a couple blocks from the main square in old town. The room is funky with low ceilings and furnished like a college dorm room, but it is cheap and convenient and most importantly available. After checking in I took a shower, patched up a scrape on my leg from the fall, changed clothes, and grabbed breakfast in the dining room. By this time it was 8:00 and time to get reunited with my abandoned luggage waiting for me at Biprostal. I hopped the tram and was whisked off to the office. Luckily I wasn't the first one there in the morning so I could be let in and get repacked. It was good to see everyone again.
I was excited to get my laptop back and start doing some serious publishing, emailing, and such, but just as I was diving in I started experiencing technical difficulties. I was draining power from the battery despite being plugged into the wall, and fiddling with the adapter would give me short bursts of power but nothing else. Soon I started to smell melting and burning plastic. I reached down to look at the adapter again and burned my hand on the cable. On closer inspection the cable leading from the adapter to the laptop had become frayed and started to fail, copper wires were exposed and melting the plastic covering. I shut everything down immediately. Unfortunately I cannot get a replacement here and not having power will severely limit the laptop's usefulness. Once again, Paul came through and lent me his spare laptop for all my internet needs while I'm here at the office. I really hope I get to continue working with him and his team in the near future.
Tonight there is a going away party for Szymon, who is leaving for another job, and marginally for me as well since I am leaving for home in the morning. It isn't clear yet whether Marcin will be leaving on the same flight or coming later. There have been some major hiccups at Lunar Logic while I was away. All liaison positions have been dissolved, so this may be my last official business trip to Poland. I am very frustrated with LL right now and the position I have been put in, being sent on a fool's errand. At least Marcin feels that having me here for a little over a week was beneficial to his team.
See you all very soon.
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