Paul's Blog: October 2006

It's been a while since I've had time to update my blog but I've finally settled in Budapest, Hungary, after a few weeks of homeless wandering around Germany. It wasn't an easy decision to leave Prague, it was a really pleasant city and I even started taking Czech lessons and learned how to pronounce "Jířiho z Poděbrad" and "čtryři" (the Czech world for the number 4). Still I found the Czech people to be a bit closed towards foreigners and since my apartment lease ran out and I wasn't able to find a new place to live soon enough, I decided to go on the road again. I went to stay with someone I had met in Frankfurt, Germany and also attend the Photokina photography conference in Cologne. Unfortunately the "friend" I had met on the internet turned out to be a rather disgruntled woman who spent most of the time criticizing everyone in the world and when I confronted HER about her constant complaining and rather negative outlook on life, I was not-so-politely asked to hit the road... Funny how some people can dish out criticism but they can't take it... Still I had a good time exploring some of the small villages around Frankfurt, with their funky wood frame houses and really enjoyed seeing the amazing medieval monastery of Arnsburg. Frankfurt itself is a rather unnactractive commercial banking city, but the small villages in the area are really beautiful and a great way to check out some of Germany's historical and cultural legacy.

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Butzbach, Germany

Remains of Arnsburg Cathedral

Spa town of Bad Neuheim, Germany

Architectural detail from German village

Travelling from Frankfurt to Cologne takes about an hour on the high speed ICE train, which got up to about 260 KM per hour, a great experience in itself! Cologne is worlds apart from Frankfurt and I really liked this town, dubbed as the media capital of Germany. I had a blast while there, volunteering for Nikonians.org at the Photokina trade show and checking out all the very latest in the photography world. Photokina is the largest photography trade show in the world and it was a really great experience to be there. I met a bunch of wonderful people at the youth hostel where I stayed and really enjoyed Cologne - this is one of my favorite cities in Europe so far! If you haven't been there it's definitely worth a visit! For those of you with a photography interest, I wrote a couple of reports over at my Digital Photography Blog.

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Photokina Trade Show - Cologne, Germany

Germany too was quite a shock after spending so much time in Eastern Europe. It's amazing how advanced a country Germany is, both technically and economically. It's really a highly developed and prosperous place, full of smart people who know how to get things done quickly and efficiently! Overall I have to say that I really admire Germany and the German mentality. Yes they are direct and aggressive and all of those things that the rest of the world stereotype them as, but I find it refreshing in limited doses. It's no coincidence that Germany makes great cars and cameras and things like engines and factories - anything requiring advanced intellect, diligence and know how. Unfortunately they got a little carried away during WWII but you can't deny that Germany has been responsible for some great technical and economic achievements since then. It's a country that works very well, not unlike a fine mechanical clock. If you don't like it you can leave - but I like it.

After the Photokina show I head back to eastern Europe, flying into Budapest where I managed to find a very cheap room rental. It's in a great big flat on Ráday Utca in the heart of downtown, just a stones throw from the Danube river and short walk to the Gellert Bath Resort. Budapest is one of the more interesting cities I've had to the pleasure to visit. I can't quite put my finger on it but it's very "different" than other places in Europe. Maybe because their language and culture originated somewhere in the steppes of Asia centuries ago... Or maybe because of all the hot water that rumbles underneath the Carpathian basin and bubbles its way up to create one of the greatest spa cities in the world. Whatever it is, Budapest is a very cool place and it will offer an excellent base to explore the rest of eastern Europe and the Balkans. I hope to be travelling a lot while I'm here.

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