August 13: My trip from LAX to BUD

August 13, 2010: The day finally arrived. Ruth and Han-Sol drove me to the LAX Airport to catch my flight to Budapest. Traveling on Friday the 13th may have reduced the number of passengers flying that day because when I arrived, two large suitcases and two carry ons in hand, I literally stepped right up to a kiosk and began the boarding process without waiting in a line. The suitcases weighed 95.6 pounds (four pounds under the weight limit!) and the agent checked them through all the way to Budapest. The agent pointed me to security and I was on my way. No one was in line there so I walked right up to the TSA agent. The only problem was that the paperwork I had printed at home the night before was not a boarding pass after all so the TSA agent directed me back to the United Airlines ticketing area. Again, I walked up to the kiosk and printed paperwork for getting my boarding pass and again went to the TSA agent (no line still!). The paperwork was still not correct -- it directed me to actually talk to a United Airlines agent to get the boarding pass. Fortunately no one was in line and the agent printed my boarding pass for me (I think the only reason that this was necessary was because I had purchased a one way ticket and airlines are particularly suspicious with one way tickets so they check). Back to the TSA area again but this time a short line had accumulated. However, the guard there was so used to seeing me that she ushered me to the front of the line and I was admitted to the boarding area very soon after that.

The flight from LA to Chicago was crowded but seemed to go well. The gentleman sitting next to me was a senior at UC Boulder majoring in mechanical engineering and was very familiar with the work we do at JPL. As I have found of all the UC Boulder candidates I have interviewed for JPL, he was bright and definitely focused on pursuing a career in systems engineering. (He was even reading a book about modern systems engineering methodology "for fun" on the plane!)

When the plane approached Chicago, we circled the city for several minutes (lucky my next flight didn't leave for a couple of hours). I asked the stewardess about it, and she replied "We've been circling Chicago for over an hour and 55 minutes ago, we had only enough gas for one hour so I think we'll be landing soon even if that means landing in Rockford where the weather isn't so bad.") Fortunately before she could finish her thoughts on this, the captain announced that we were landing. Meanwhile all other planes at Chicago were flying in circles around the city waiting for the bad weather to subside and certainly no plane could take off either.

I deboarded the plane and whom should I see but Mohamad Ali sitting in a special service vehicle waiting to board a flight. Unfortunately I didn't have time to look long because I had to take the train to the International Terminal, arriving at my gate with twenty minutes to spare. The LOT Airlines (Polish Airlines) airplane going from Chicago to Warsaw, Poland, was a very efficiently run trip. We were served two meals (free), both with a definite Polish taste to the menu. The dinner was a chicken stew with vegetable. They also provided the makings for a sandwich including bread, thin slices of salami and cheese. Also on European flights, in addition to the tea, coffee, and soft drinks that come free, they also include free wine. The meals were always distributed very quickly and the stewards/stewardesses always knew when I wanted more beverage.

The trip from Chicago to Warsaw took eight and a half hours and since the elderly Polish lady sitting next to me was transferred to a new seat in back (she required a cane to walk so I think they found her a seat with more space to accommodate that), I had two seats to stretch out in. I had a several hour lay over in Warsaw. Since Warsaw was my entry country into Europe, I had to go through customs there. I had somehow thought that that would mean going through a baggage check, too, but that was not the case. I was told that my checked bags would be waiting for me in Budapest and that there was no customs to deal with, as in the old days when I was in the Peace Corps returning home.

With several hours to wait, I decided to have a drink (see picture). Even the airport restaurant had a European feel to it. I also roamed the airport and found an area devoted to entertaining little kids between flights (see picture)














A short trip from Warsaw to Budapest and I arrived exactly on schedule at 6:50 p.m. Since there weren't too many people on the flight, I walked right to the carousel where our bags would arrive. Since the money changer was nearby, I decided to change money first and was surprised at the high exchange rate. A friend in LA had told me that it would be cheaper to change money in Hungary than do it in the US beforehand, but the exchange rate was $1.51 for euro in Hungary vs $1.28 in La Canada. Let this be a lesson to those of you who come to visit me! I also purchased a ticket for the airport shuttle bus going from the airport to my doorstep. A real bargain at less than $15! By the time I had changed money and purchased my airport shuttle ticket, my bags had arrived. I took them to the area where we waited for the airport shuttles to pick us up (vans that could hold 10 passengers).

While waiting there I observed the Hungarian people working around me at the airport and felt like I had selected the correct country to live in -- they were quite jovial with each other and seemed interested in what their friends were saying and doing. My bus driver arrived and I was one of two passengers going to the central part of the city. He chose to listen to jazz on the radio and I noticed that the DJ of the station spoke in English, so I at least will have a jazz station to listen to provided I have a radio.

At first the portions of the city we drove through seemed a bit bleak -- concrete buildings with little color, some buildings in disrepair, Burger King restaurants dotting the roads into the central city, etc. but eventually we arrived in the central city where things were quite vibrant and the narrow alleyways were quite appealing with sidewalk cafes here and there and people roaming the streets looking for a good place to eat or drink. One restaurant in particular caught my eye, a very quaint courtyard with colored lights hanging from trees and most tables filled with people enjoying food. Little did I know that the shuttle driver would let me off just around the corner from this restaurant!

So, with four suitcases in hand and after a 20 hour flight I approached the store where my friend said his cousin would be waiting for me only to find it closed and no one there. I peered at my watch and noticed that the time was still earlier than the time I projected I would be there so I didn't panic. Instead I decided to put my few phrases of Hungarian I had learned on-line to use. I was alone on the street where my friend's apartment was and eventually I saw an attractive young lady approaching me. "Tud segiteni?" (Can you help me?) I asked the young lady, my first "victim" in practicing my basic Hungarian. She responded "Igen" (Yes). Thus, my first words uttered were understood! On to question two: "Beszel angolul?" (Do you speak English?) to which she answered "Igen of course!" Thus I was able to postpone a "real" conversation with a Hungarian using only Hungarian! At any rate, she seemed a bit surprised that I spoke any Hungarian at all and she attempted to call the telephone number of my friend's cousin. Unfortunately there was no answer. The young lady and I tried to see if there were alternate numbers posted on my friend's cousin's shop where we could reach her (no) and also tried to buzz the apartment to see if she was inside it waiting for me there (no). The young lady attempted to call her several times but got no answer. I told her "That's okay. You were on your way somewhere and I don't want to hold you up." She said she was on her way to a birthday party that she really didn't want to attend, and since she's the manager of a tourist related business, she seemed pleased to talk with me. Nevertheless, she suggested that my friend might arrive shortly and rather than wait in the middle of the street for her, that there was a nice coffee shop around the corner where I could wait.

This coffee shop it turns out was the very restaurant I had spied from the shuttle bus so I was pleased she recommended it. I invited her for a cup of coffee but she declined. I wheeled my four bags to the coffee shop and read the menu posted on a sign outside the restaurant (fortunately written in English) and discovered that not only did they sell coffee, but also food, so I decided to splurge my first night in Hungary on a meal there. Good thing I did, too, because I ordered a delicious pork roast with dijon mustard sauce in pan drippings. It came with mashed potatoes and carrots and it was to die for. I ordered a cup of Earl Grey tea to go with it and the total bill was 2500 forint (~$12). (See picture) Meanwhile, while waiting for my food, I heard a voice behind me say "Hello, Dick" and it was my friend's cousin, Suzan. She told me that she had received a call from a lady informing me that I was looking for her and told her where she could find me. Suzan joined me at my table and we got to know each other while I ate. I finished my dinner and we went to the apartment. Suzan introduced me to the apartment, telling me how to use the keys, kitchen and bathroom fixtures, etc. The apartment is just perfect! It is ideally located right in the heart of town, close to many great restaurants, cultural sights, and transportation (next adventure: learning how to use the bus!).

After Suzan left, I connected my computer on-line and saw that Ruth was on-line, too so the two of us connected via Skype. Then to bed. I need to adjust to Hungarian time. However, after four hours of sleep I woke up and couldn't return to sleep so I write this to you now. I think I'll try to sleep a bit more before I go to that restaurant for breakfast. No point in pushing it my first full day in Hungary. I'll write more later.