Travel Statistics: 23,609 miles (plus)...

Last year, I blogged about my travel stats after the 2010 Cape Town-European adventure and many of you said that it made for an interesting way to sum up two months of travel. So, here is another statistical summary! Taking the time to reflect back on my travels and experiences in a quantifiable manner is rather fun. Yep, I am a geek like that.

Here are my travel stats from this big trip:

(150) hours of grading papers and blue books (ugh!)

(53) days out of Athens, Georgia

(16) dropped Skype calls (with Charlie)

(7) weeks out of the motherland (U.S.)

(7) visits to the Schiphol Amsterdam international airport (how I love, thee)

(7) Airplanes= 22,559 miles
Atlanta to Amsterdam: 4,401 miles
Amsterdam to Cape Town: 5,997 miles
Cape Town to Amsterdam: 5,997 miles
Amsterdam to Budapest: 727 miles
Budapest to Amsterdam: 727 miles
Amsterdam to Chicago: 4,120 miles
Chicago to Atlanta: 590 miles

(4) Trains= 450 miles
Amsterdam to Sneek: 84 miles
Sneek to Amsterdam: 84 miles
Amsterdam to Brussels: 141
Brussels to Amsterdam: 141

(4) Countries: South Africa, Belgium, Hungary & Netherlands

(4) weeks of illin' (coughing, sore throat, congestion...ick!)

(3) Metro Systems: Budapest, Brussels & Chicago

(1) Bad-Ass Safari Truck: 600 miles
Garden Route, South Africa

(1) canceled airline reservation (FML!)

Pleasure & Small Connections in Budapest

After the Erasmus Mundus meeting, I stayed an additional three days to simply enjoy Budapest. Unfortunately, I was still battling a lingering illness (cough, sore throat, etc.), thus much of my time was spent relaxing and relishing in short walks/outings around the city center.

Small connections with local people get me jazzed about international travel. For example, I stumbled onto a great Sunday market right in the passageway connecting six apartment buildings where I was staying at Gozsdu apartments (screamin' deal alert: 39 euro for a one-bedroom apartment in the city center--see photo to right). Local artists sold their goods--jewelry, clothes, and handicrafts--as local musicians played their instruments in the courtyards. I met an incredible photographer who was selling prints of his captivating photos. We talked for nearly an hour about his photos, tactics, and love for photography. I think I may come back and take a photography class with him...his black and white photos captured the essence of emotion coupled with nature and environment.

Then, when I was struggling to order my lunch in a vegetarian eatery a nice lady (about my age) helped translate a few items. We sat down next to each other and began talking about the delicious food and then life (jobs, passions, travel, etc.) It's amazing how you can connect with a total stranger in a culture so different from your own in a short matter of time, especially when talking about food and life's challenges. By the end of the conversation she was inviting me to spend Christmas with her family in Hungary. Now this is where world peace begins...

Business in Budapest

Why Budapest? I am representing the North American chapter at the Erasmus Mundus Student and Alumni Association (EMA) Annual General Assembly and this year it is hosted by the Central European University in beautiful Budapest. I love this place. I really do. I think it is just as beautiful as Paris, yet in a different and darker way, seeped in war-torn history and incredible architecture, sculptures, and Danube river vistas. This trip, however, was not so much to admire the city as it was to participate in a meeting with fellow colleagues of mine from the European Union sponsored scholarship masters degree program (European's response to the Fulbright program). And, WOW, what a meeting it has been...we not only voted on the President and Vice President positions, but also on the restructuring of the steering committee. So, yes...it has been an intense meeting with plenty of politicking, jockeying for position, and heated debates. The European Commission is known to call this organization a mini UN (and I have to agree with this on some level). Over 170 people attend the meeting and they represent the world (literally!) I love feeling apart of something so international. There were eight of us representing our masters program (see photo). The European Commission hosts the meeting and this year the big dinner was an incredible dinner cruise on the Danube...WOW. The city is even more beautiful at night from the water. So, thank you European Union for the all-expenses-paid trip to the beautiful city of Budapest.

Budapest, Hungary

From Vienna I said goodbye to my cousin and took a hydrofoil boat down the Danube river to Budapest. The Queen of the Danube river, Budapest is a gem of a city with the old buildings, fountains and statues on every corner and cafe districts every couple of blocks. I think it compares to Paris in terms of beauty and elegance. And the ripe history of communism and nazism can be felt through the fibers of the cobblestone streets, and the architecture. The Moroccan travel bug caught up with me in Budapest and so one day was spent walking slowly across the beautiful bridges and touring the UNESCO World Heritage site castle district. The highlights of my solo trip to Budapest consisted of Heroes Square, a park celebrating Hungary's national identity, the turkish baths, and my zen-like hostel. I just so happened to be in Budapest during the first annual festival of horses, in Heroes Square, where they paraded around Slovenian horses and everyone dressed up in their traditional regional clothing. It was a cool festival that I just happened to stumble upon.

When in Budapest, you must go to a turkish bath! The turkish baths are elegant, large, with many pool and saunas to choose from and quite roman in style. I went to two different baths and fully enjoyed them! And, yes...the dudes really play chess in the water. I also got to experience (first hand) how men pick up women in the baths...they say they are 'massage therapists' and begin giving you the rub-down. Luckily, I had enough sense to realize that the free massage probably came with other expectations.

I stayed at the zen-like Mandragora hostel, complete with elephant tapestries, and Dalai Lama pictures hanging on the walls. I have come to discover that the hostel I choose can make or break a solo trip. You see, the hostel is where you meet the most people and this hostel had a friendly and zen environment that encouraged guests to chill out and chat. I met a great Aussie whom I traveled with for the next 2 days.