Budapest

Last weekend was another, um, fieldtrip. I spent three days in Budapest trying to practice my Spanish (with my compañeros Maria (Spain), Mijail (Ecuador), Alejandro (Colombia), Jairo (Colombia), Christian (Bolivia), Elena (Spain), Carlos (Ecuador), and Freddy (Ecuador)). I had been to Budapest four years prior, with Mom and Ruth, and it has changed a lot since then. Or maybe I have changed since then.

We arrived Thursday night, after Freddy's graduation and a quick cocktail. Our flight was delayed due to thunderstorms in Budapest, which abated quickly, but we still saw the debris the next day. Friday was a beautiful day. We took our time as we crossed the bridge from Pest to Buda. Suddenly we were at the foot of Castle Hill, where Elena and I separated from the group to attempt to climb the hill, as opposed to taking the funicular (the others never made it too the funicular and climbed the hill as well, thought via a different route). So Elena was my date for the afternoon. We had some lemonade on the terrace, visited the church, peaked into courtyards, and had a fantastic lunch. That was one of the things that I do not remember about my last trip to Budapest, the food. I know I ate, I mean, even I have to eat. But during this trip I was acquainted with the goulash and chicken paprika that I probably would not have dared to try before. All of it was excellent. And the iced coffee, which actually was coffee with ice cream, was divine.

During lunch we ran into the others, but they still had more of the castle area to see, so we decided to meet at the Gellert Baths later that afternoon. These baths are apparently the most famous in Budapest, adjacent to a luxury hotel. When I was in Budapest last time, the baths were single sex, and sans clothing. This time, they were not. It is fortunate that Elena had recommended that I bring my swimsuit there, just in case. Apparently, the proper way to appreciate the baths are to first get a massage, then relax in the pools, so we each booked half hour appointments. We had time to first relax in the pools, one at 34C, the other at 38C, then head to the steam room (which smelled like chamomile), and jump in the 8C plunge pool. It was very invigorating. Our massages were wonderful and by the end of our three hour experience at the spa we could barely drag our feet home.

Unfortunately it took us about an hour and a half to take the tram the 3km home. This was due to some misunderstandings. While on the platform we tried to figure out how to buy tickets. There was one machine, but it only took coins. So we figured we would ask the driver of the next tram. When it arrived, as I was walking to the front of the tram to ask the driver, the rest of the group got on, and as the doors closed I was left on the platform. Alone. So I went grocery and asked about the tickets. The women gave me change and told me to buy it on the platform. OK, that was easy, get the ticket, catch the tram. I sent an SMS to the rest to tell them that I was fine and would meet them back at the hostel, but at the next stop I saw them on the platform, and they saw me so they got on. None of them had tickets. No one had change. So we got off at the next stop. There was a metro near by with a ticket machine, so we went over there trying to find enough change, almost begging. After we had 5 of the 7 tickets the machine would no longer accept our coins. So we asked another train conductor what to do. He pointed us to the ticket window that is 5 meters away where one can buy tickets with bills. We had seen the building, but thought it was closed since there were no lights on and barely a tiny slit of an opening where the ticket man was. Finally we had enough tickets, so we went back to the tram stop and waited for the next tram and eventually make it back to our hostel. We showered and dressed for dinner, hit a trendy restaurant for some decent food, then hung out at the bar telling jokes in Spanish while we waited for Carlitos (he arrived a day late due to a field trip).

On Saturday morning we were once again at the doorstep of the Gellert Baths, via another route from Pest, to climb the hills of Buda to the reach the citadel. The day was once again hot and I enjoyed the hike. But there is only so much time that I can enjoy a view, and I get very impatient in large groups. I always feel as if we are going too slow and that I spend more time waiting than I do actually exploring. I know I need to relax a bit more, but I'm not very good at it. So Carlitos and I left the group to returned back to the castle (there was more that I had not seen the day before, and he had not visited it at all, the rest wanted to go to the national museum, which I was not in the
mood for at that time). We had a really nice time strolling the palace grounds, having a beer, and finding our lunch at a street festival on the Chain Bridge, which they had closed to vehicular traffic for the afternoon. It was about then when my back started to itch a bit and I noticed my sunburn. From the photos I cannot imagine why I did not notice it before, but it was quite bad. I guess that I had forgot to put suncream on my back, though I had put some on my chest.

Carlitos and I headed to the museum to meet the others, for the museum was supposed to close at 6PM. But when we arrived it was bustling. We had seen the signs around town beforehand, but only then did we realize that it was a city wide museum night. Many museums in the city were open until 2AM with special programs. I was in heaven, it was ideal, I could have not picked a more perfect plan for the evening if I had tried. We entered the museum and met our friends and saw a nice exhibit on Ghengis Khan and his empire. It was about 10PM by the time we left and half of us dragged ourselves to dinner while the rest showered at the hostel. By the time it was out turn to shower we were so tired that we stayed in on Saturday night (well we did only finish dinner at 12:30AM).

We decided to relax on Sunday. Well, I did (try). Carlitos had not been to the baths with us before, so he joined Elena and I on a walk to the Szechenyi Baths in the park. The walk to the park was on a beautiful tree and mansion lined street. The park itself was OK. But the baths were excellent. It took us almost an hour to get in, for there was a bit of confusion as to which entrance to use, which ticket to buy, where to book the massage, etc. But it was worth it when we finally made it inside. This complex had some outdoor pools as well, plus about 12-15 thermal baths, a steam room, and a sauna with an ice machine. It felt so good to rub my sunburn with a snowball while sweating in the sauna. We took massages again, of course, but the coolest thing about these baths were the current pools. I had never seen anything like it before, they were small circular or oval shaped pools with jets at an angle along the wall. It produced a current that whisked you along the wall, all you had to do was keep your head above water. I was out of breathe from laughing the whole time, it was so much fun.

We finished our trip to Budapest with some night photos and a beer. We got a three hour nap before catching taxis to the airport for our early AM flight. I was completely exhausted by the time I arrived back at IHE, but only 20 minutes late for class.

Party of the Year

Last Friday night there was a party at IHE. But it wasn't just a typical party, it was held to celebrate the institution's 50th anniversary. So it was a PARTY! For the two days prior, I had been sequestered in the theatre with 18 other dancers eating soggy cheese sandwiches and making my own coffee in order to spend a total of 15 minutes dancing at three different moments (two different pieces on Thursday, only one piece on Friday but that was for the Prince). Let me be clear, I am not a dancer. I should have had that tattooed on my forehead for everyone at the party who came up to me and said something to the effect of, "You look like a professional...you must have been dancing for years...you looked so natural..." I think that was one of my greatest acts of deceit, ever.
To be clear, I had fun, it was a great experience. But the whole time I was on stage, wearing more makeup at one instant than I had ever worn in my entire life collectively, I was wishing that I could grab the headset of one of stage crew and try to blend in with them. I will try post a video of the dances, once I find them, but for now I have a few photos that don't show very much, I just can't decide if I prefer the one of us moving, or standing still. Our costumes were awesome. They were tailor made my the mother of one of our classmates who brought them from Bangladesh. I have to admit that I don't remember the name of these trousers, thus will not write it here until I get permission from my editor. Regardless, they were beautiful and colorful and I was a bit sad to have to return them.

After the performance on Thursday we had some cocktails (as shown here joined by Maria, Angela, and Elena), but after the show on Friday was the PARTY! As I entered our building to be greeted by champagne (would you prefer white or rose?), I knew that this would be a night akin to the lifestyle to which I was accustomed. I spoke with the head chef, Jaco (who typically keeps me well fed) to get an executive summary. The told me that the pasta bar was here, the sushi bar was there (but be sure to get there early), there was a grill in the back, and some ice cream as well. If I dared to venture towards the library I would find, among the cocktail bar and oysters, a chocolate fountain and a casino, stocked with some nice whiskey and brandy (and we even found some cigars).
I know that it doesn't sound all that impressive. It could have been a wedding, or a bar mitzvah, or even just a normal night out in Vegas. I think we were all excited when we realized it wasn't going to be a typical IHE party with the same crowd (besides the students and staff, there were about 250 guests, many of them alumni), the same food (I'd been craving sushi for ages), the same DJ (there were four adorable twenty somethings serenading us with classic rock and roll on the terrace). I cannot really explain why, but consensus was that it was a great party, we all had a good time and everyone is quite sad that we will have to wait another 50 years for another party like this.

More tales from abroad...

Free Day in Munich
During our trip we had an appointment or two every weekday. When we did not have a visit we were driving (time on the bus varied from two to six hours a day). Though we usually had our evenings free, we only got one free day in a city where we were staying during the two week trip. That was in Munich, the only city on our itinerary that I had visited previously. So, what do you do in a city that you have visited six years ago (almost to the day)? The exact same thing as last time (well, almost).

On Saturday morning Anwar, Loreen, Helga, and I went to the train station and discovered (remembered?) that Munich has a fabulous deal with their day passes (probably the best public transit deal in Europe). For €9, a group of up to five people can travel together until 6AM the next day on all the trains within the city. For the four of us our whole day pass cost each of us less than one ride. We began at the Marienplaz to watch the 11AM performance of the glockenspiel (carillon) on the Neues Rathaus (town hall). It's basically a few statutes spinning to music near the top of a spire, but it was something that you have to see in Munich. I was just as unimpressed, yet satisfied, as last time. From there was a pleasant walk to one of my favorite museums in the world, the Deutsches Museum. Though most of the exhibits are still right out of the 70's, it is a museum of science and technology with planes, ships, rockets, cars, drills, bridges, and a cell that you can walk through. This is the what the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago was based on.

After wandering back to the center of town for some bratwurst, we went to the Olympic Park, only to get caught in the rain while strolling around. We took the elevator to the top of the Olympic Tower for some great views of the Park, but the fog prevented us from seeing the Alps, or for that matter, the center of Munich which was only 3km away (though managed to find the Hauptbahnhof).

Adjacent to the Park is the BMW Museum, which had some beautiful cars that we couldn't touch and very limited information. It gave a nice brief history of the company, though it seemed to be geared towards people who actually like cars, as opposed to people who just like museums. But it was still a nice visit. Like an observant civil engineer, my favorite part was the parking lot (please note what the location of the puddles can tell about the quality of the construction).

We ended the night with one more flashback, a trip to the Hofbrauhaus (a picture of McHale and me here at age 21 is my key chain) for a liter of beer with the locals. OK, I admit that about half the visitors are foreign tourists, but we shared a table with some German guys around our age who tried to convince us that the Hofbrauhaus was a stereotype and not typical Bavaria (though we already knew that, considering how few people we saw on the streets of Munich with lederhosen, dirndls, and feathers in their caps). The beer was good, the food was great, and the people were friendly. It was the perfect way to end our stay in Munich and prepare for a six hour drive to Zurich on Sunday.

What is a Trevian?
My high school mascot. Or someone from Trier. I finally visited Trier, Germany, the namesake of my high school, New Trier in Winnetka, IL, USA. Trier is thought to be the oldest city in Germany, founded by the Romans in 16BC as Augusta Treverorum (thus the locals were known as Trevians). I managed to get my picture snapped behind the Porta Nigra (from the front the whole gate didn't fit in the photo). We were only there for an hour and a half, and it rained as we were leaving, but Anwar, Loreen, Helga and I managed to have lunch in front of a graveyard in front of a thousand year old church. It was a bit of a shame that our time there was so short, but we had to return to Luxembourg for our last night before heading back to Delft.

Luxembourg
We spent two nights and one day in Luxembourg. Our hotel was near the airport. There was nothing else nearby, even though the airport is only 6km from the city center. Luxembourg City is beautiful, its placement on a fortified cliff yields amazing views from almost everywhere. Even from the bus. After our Friday morning meeting with the Ministry of the Environment, we drove through the city (to go to Trier). From our bus window we saw valleys and parks and castles and churches and...the Environmental Science class? Pounding on windows to get their attention (we didn't), the only time we saw any of our IHE colleagues was through the bus window on the last day of our trip. It would have been nice for the school to coordinate field trip schedules so we could have a futbol match with the other group, or at least a cup of coffee. But we went onto Trier and when we returned a few hours later they were gone.

Executive Summary
The field trip was great. I would have liked a few afternoon hours free in the cities, but I do realize that the primary purpose of the trip was not tourism. Still, it would have been nice to make it to a few more museums. A few of the hotels were a bit far out of town (Zurich, Luxembourg) which limited our access to inexpensive/local food (basically the only place to eat was the hotel restaurant). And after 48 hours back in Delft we were off to Limburg.

International Field Trip

After two weeks on the road, in four different countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Luxembourg, three more if you count starting in Holland, lunch in France, and driving through Belgium), my MWI class has returned to Delft. I will start with a few stories, and add more in the following days. I hope. There may be a time issue. On Monday we have fieldwork in Limburg until Wednesday, then beginning on Thursday is the 50th anniversary party for UNESCO-IHE and I will be dancing in two performances and attending parties and symposiums all weekend. But now it's a grey Sunday morning and I have nothing better to do besides look through a thousand photos and try to put some into words...First meet the team, Loreen (Philippines), Helga (Honduras), and Anwar (Bangladesh) were my primary traveling companions.

Water Treatment
In Munich, the drinking water isn't treated. No aeration, no chlorine. It is pumped from the ground and piped to reservoirs for the consumers. That meant we saw some pumping stations and not much in the way of drinking water treatment in Germany. In Zurich they treat their surface water, which meant we got to see a nice treatment plant. But of the 15 or so visits that we made during this field trip, only about 3 were directly applicable to my speciality. Fortunately, the rest (most of them) were really cool, regardless.

Futbol
In Munich we finally found a park to play in, about one week in to the trip. The match was well attended, with about 24 of the 41 participants playing, plus one professor. The pitch was small, with a tree in one corner, the ground uneven with manholes interspersed, and behind one goal was a small forest as a buffer from the major street. It was nice to stretch our legs after so much time in the bus (usually 3-4 hours per day). Water Supply beat the composite Sanitary and Integrated Urban Engineering team, but I think that is only because our team had Dr. Kebrab, who is lightening quick. And also since I got a futbol to my face with two minutes left to play. It was loud. I got hit on the side of my face and almost lost my balance. I thought that I had broken my nose, but there was no blood. Helga steered me back to the hotel and got me some ice. I had a bit of a swollen lip and my cheek was a bit pink the next day, but it didn't hurt at all. I was fine. Well, a bit annoyed because I missed the end of the match, but fine.

There was another friendly in Zurich, which was injury free, but on a real pitch, and a competitive game in Luxembourg that I didn't attend (I wanted to explore the city instead). I had hoped to have a match with another department, but the only time we saw anyone outside our program was from the bus window during the last day of the trip in Luxembourg, we saw the Environmental Science class. It was a shame that our bus kept on driving and all we could do was bang on the window to try get their attention.

Incinerators
We visited two. One in Zurich for municipal waste, the other in Basel for hazardous materials. Both were located in residential areas and only emitted steam. The energy from the waste was used to heat homes in the area and run the plant. At the haz mat site they threw entire sealed 55 gallon drums into an 1100C incinerator. From the camera you could see the contents explode and the steel melt. Apparently only six seconds at that temperature is needed to convert these dangerous chemical byproducts into inert molecules that cold be easily sequestered. After incineration there is waste, about 10% by mass that needs to be buried. But where? I think the Swiss send it all to Germany.

The Sewer of Europe
That would be the Rhine. We saw it upstream when it was clean. By the time it reaches Holland, it is not.
Swisshotel
After 10 days of the Ibis Hotel, we arrive at the Swisshotel in Basel. This can't be right, the hotel looks really...nice!? There are doormen, a concierge, a pool/gym/sauna, English newspapers. It's not that the Ibis Hotels were bad, they were just more simple. The location in Basel is perfect, about 750m from the Rhine and the center of town. Basel was my favorite city. It was quiet, almost silent except for the music, a cello and accordion player in the town hall, an orchestra practicing at the university on the hill, Vivaldi's Four Seasons creeping out into the main shopping street.

It was in Basel when I realized that I had an obsession with foreign food shops. During this trip, we couldn't pass a chocolate shop or bakery without me peering in the window (or wandering in for a moment). I had to find the street food, since it always tastes better than from a restaurant. But it's the posh food markets that I seem to like the most. The ones where the jars are arranged perfectly and the packaging so sincere that I actually believe that I will be a better person if I drink that tea or that my taste buds will be overwhelmed with pure delight by that grand cru of chocolate from Venezuela.

Up next...Free Day in Munich, What is a Trevian?, Luxembourg...