Two other fellows here at the Collegium Budapest, Sergio and Walter, also do work similar to mine. They are working on computer simulations of the types of reactions I do in the lab. We are finding a lot of similarities in our ideas about the origins of life, and we are all learning things form each other. The energy and excitement is great. We went out for beers last night, and we kept talking about science. We also discussed politics, culture, movies, and music. Although we have covered a lot of gaps in our knowledge of science, none of us fully understand the popularity of George Michael. He sells out here in Budapest, at 60 Euro a ticket. We think it is some sort of Wham-nostalgia syndrome. Sergio is Italian, so he doesn't handle his beer so well. After a few, he broke down and admitted that he really enjoys Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and has all the seasons on dvd. We also all like Tom Waits, but don't understand what he is singing about. So, all in all it was a very productive night.
The weather has cooled off some, and I actually needed a jacket last night for the first time. Lightening storms continue to blow by, quickly, each afternoon.
Tonight, Eors has invited me to a big fancy dinner a the Collegium. These only happen once every other month, so I came at the right time. With the dinner, the other scholars that are here right now, and the fact that this is the only week Eors will be here all summer, I think the planets are aligning for me. It is too bad I will have to leave Saturday but,
Eric Travels
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Science, at last
I finally met Eors Szathmary today! It was brief, because he had a bunch of meetings. He was very nice, and insisted that I refer to him by his first name, which, I have learned, is pronounced Ursh. His last name is pronounced Sat-mayree with the second syllable kind of elongated, but the emphasis still on the first (Its a little tricky for us Angolul). I also met Adam Kun who published a paper with Eors recently. After a little ice breaker small talk, we got down to it, and talked science. I explained to him my research project, and we talked about what he found interesting from his perspective. He and Eors do a lot of theoretical biology, which they test using computer simulations. So he suggested simulation type experiments I could do, or try to do, or have somebody with some simulation experience do. I gave him a copy of my recent paper, and he found it very interesting. It all went pretty smooth. He's a good dude. Tomorrow, I will find out what he and Eors are up to.
And as I left the collegium, I felt less like a tourist. I wasn't walking around aimlessly, taking photos and thinking about where I would have my next meal. I was now a visiting scientist. In fact, if I may speak frankly, the tourists are a bit annoying to us Budapest scholars. They due help drive the economy, so I guess I will put up with them. Hmph.
Well, I should go, there are still some sites I want to take pictures of, and I'm not sure where I will have dinner tonight.
Eric travels
p.s. For Will in particular: I had the best Indian food of my life last night. The experience was similar to the first time I had really good Thai food (Kun Pic's in Portland). I couldn't believe all the flavors I was tasting, I didn't know my tongue could do that. It was like turning on a color tv for the fist time, but in my mouth.
And as I left the collegium, I felt less like a tourist. I wasn't walking around aimlessly, taking photos and thinking about where I would have my next meal. I was now a visiting scientist. In fact, if I may speak frankly, the tourists are a bit annoying to us Budapest scholars. They due help drive the economy, so I guess I will put up with them. Hmph.
Well, I should go, there are still some sites I want to take pictures of, and I'm not sure where I will have dinner tonight.
Eric travels
p.s. For Will in particular: I had the best Indian food of my life last night. The experience was similar to the first time I had really good Thai food (Kun Pic's in Portland). I couldn't believe all the flavors I was tasting, I didn't know my tongue could do that. It was like turning on a color tv for the fist time, but in my mouth.
Monday, May 28, 2007
The building
The building that houses the Collegium Budapest is beautiful. I put a picture up on my picassa page (see previous blog). Read more at
http://www.colbud.hu/site/building.shtml
http://www.colbud.hu/site/building.shtml
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Opera and Lake Balaton
I have seen a lot since my last post. We went to Bratislava in the Slovak Republic for a day. We went to the opera. And I got lost on a bicycle. You should be able to see some pictures at
http://picasaweb.google.com/autorec
The Opera: The Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra performed Korsokov's "Sherezade", Musorgsky's "Night on Bare Mountain", and Stravinsky's "Firebird Suite". The conductor, a Japanese man named Kobayashi Ken-Ichiro, has had a long history in Budapest, and is very popular there. We were sitting in the front row, and got to watch this man work. He was so into the music that you could take away the sound, and follow the emotion of the music by his facial expressions. During one slow movement, he had his face turned to the ceiling of the opera house, eyes closed, and looked like he could cry at any moment. Then, when the music picked up, he would bow his head down, shake it from side to side, and make these sort of angry Donald Duck grunting noises. He stole the show, despite tremendous violin and chello soloists.
Lake Balaton: The orientation was over, and the group had split up to go to their placement universities. I was now on my own in Budapest. Since it was a three day weekend (Pentacost) I decided to go to the largest lake in Hungary: Balaton. I heard that the lake had a paved bike path all the way around, so I decided to rent a bicycle and explore the villages around the lake. I took the train to town of Siofok (s = sh in Hungarian). I walked immediately from the train, through a nice park, to the lake. The lake was enormous, and a beautiful light blue green color. I walked along the lake shore for a while, then got directions to a bicycle rental shop. I wasn't impressed with the quality of the bicycles, but I guess thats what I get for not planning. And, what the heck, I was in for an adventure. So I rented the bike suggested to me by the shop owner, a "Lucky Country" rainbow colored mountain bike. The woman next to me on the train had suggested that I go to the town of Tihany on the north side of the lake, which was about a 50 mile ride form the bike shop in Siofok. There was a ferry in Tihany, and I could take it back across the lake to complete the loop. The shop owner suggested that I take two days to get to Tihany since it was already 4:30pm, but I was pretty sure I could do it in one. So I took off on the bike path, to make it to Tihany before nightfall.
The bike path had signs posted at most key navigational points. There were a few times that I was sure I had gone off the path, only to see a nice sign of a bike with an arrow to reassure me. The path followed the lake shore through neighborhoods, along farmland, and through forested areas. It was about 90 degrees outside, and very humid. I enjoyed seeing the hungarian countryside. There was a large farm with a heard of white cows with long horns. There were a few vineyards on the hills on the north side of the lake.
I had been biking for hours, the sun was setting, and the bicycle seat was taking its toll. The trusty signs, however, told me that Tihany was near. So I pressed on. I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to find a room before night fall. Finally, I cam to the Tihany exit. Tihany is located on a bulbous peninsula that juts out into lake Balaton. The bike path doesn't go down into the peninsula, so I had to leave the trusty signs. Tihany was about three miles away, on top of a hill. After a long day of biking, and no dinner yet, my legs didn't have much left. I kept peddling, and found myself riding past large fields of lavender. At the top of the hill, I found the Tihany city center. It was a bit touristy, and the hotels were more expensive than I had hoped, so I made the commitment to go down the other side of the hill. This was a commitment because there was no way I was going back up. At the bottom of the hill I found a very nice hotel. It was getting dark, so I went in looking for a room. The concierge looked at me like I was crazy. He explained to me, in a combination of Hungarian, German and a bit of English, that this weekend was a holiday, and there were no rooms available. He sent me down the road, where I found a kind of campground, which also had rooms available. Due to the tenacious mosquitoes, and the lightening storm that had just began, I chose a room instead of a campsite. I was just in time, as the lightning storm quickly escalated, and was getting very close. After trying to sleep through the thunder, I decided to open my curtains and look at the lightening. Just as I pulled back the curtains, the lightening struck a building right in front of me. There was no delay between the lightening and the thunder, and the sound was so shocking that I actually grabbed my chest in fear. The power was out.
The next day, I rode back up the hill to the town center. After site seeing, I had a huge three course Csarda style lunch with fish from the lake dressed in a lavender sauce. I also had three SMALL glasses of wine, you know, to taste the different wines made around the lake. Feeling pretty good, I managed to take the ferry back across the lake and return my bicycle in time. I swam the rest of the afternoon, and took the train back to Budapest that evening.
http://picasaweb.google.com/autorec
The Opera: The Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra performed Korsokov's "Sherezade", Musorgsky's "Night on Bare Mountain", and Stravinsky's "Firebird Suite". The conductor, a Japanese man named Kobayashi Ken-Ichiro, has had a long history in Budapest, and is very popular there. We were sitting in the front row, and got to watch this man work. He was so into the music that you could take away the sound, and follow the emotion of the music by his facial expressions. During one slow movement, he had his face turned to the ceiling of the opera house, eyes closed, and looked like he could cry at any moment. Then, when the music picked up, he would bow his head down, shake it from side to side, and make these sort of angry Donald Duck grunting noises. He stole the show, despite tremendous violin and chello soloists.
Lake Balaton: The orientation was over, and the group had split up to go to their placement universities. I was now on my own in Budapest. Since it was a three day weekend (Pentacost) I decided to go to the largest lake in Hungary: Balaton. I heard that the lake had a paved bike path all the way around, so I decided to rent a bicycle and explore the villages around the lake. I took the train to town of Siofok (s = sh in Hungarian). I walked immediately from the train, through a nice park, to the lake. The lake was enormous, and a beautiful light blue green color. I walked along the lake shore for a while, then got directions to a bicycle rental shop. I wasn't impressed with the quality of the bicycles, but I guess thats what I get for not planning. And, what the heck, I was in for an adventure. So I rented the bike suggested to me by the shop owner, a "Lucky Country" rainbow colored mountain bike. The woman next to me on the train had suggested that I go to the town of Tihany on the north side of the lake, which was about a 50 mile ride form the bike shop in Siofok. There was a ferry in Tihany, and I could take it back across the lake to complete the loop. The shop owner suggested that I take two days to get to Tihany since it was already 4:30pm, but I was pretty sure I could do it in one. So I took off on the bike path, to make it to Tihany before nightfall.
The bike path had signs posted at most key navigational points. There were a few times that I was sure I had gone off the path, only to see a nice sign of a bike with an arrow to reassure me. The path followed the lake shore through neighborhoods, along farmland, and through forested areas. It was about 90 degrees outside, and very humid. I enjoyed seeing the hungarian countryside. There was a large farm with a heard of white cows with long horns. There were a few vineyards on the hills on the north side of the lake.
I had been biking for hours, the sun was setting, and the bicycle seat was taking its toll. The trusty signs, however, told me that Tihany was near. So I pressed on. I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to find a room before night fall. Finally, I cam to the Tihany exit. Tihany is located on a bulbous peninsula that juts out into lake Balaton. The bike path doesn't go down into the peninsula, so I had to leave the trusty signs. Tihany was about three miles away, on top of a hill. After a long day of biking, and no dinner yet, my legs didn't have much left. I kept peddling, and found myself riding past large fields of lavender. At the top of the hill, I found the Tihany city center. It was a bit touristy, and the hotels were more expensive than I had hoped, so I made the commitment to go down the other side of the hill. This was a commitment because there was no way I was going back up. At the bottom of the hill I found a very nice hotel. It was getting dark, so I went in looking for a room. The concierge looked at me like I was crazy. He explained to me, in a combination of Hungarian, German and a bit of English, that this weekend was a holiday, and there were no rooms available. He sent me down the road, where I found a kind of campground, which also had rooms available. Due to the tenacious mosquitoes, and the lightening storm that had just began, I chose a room instead of a campsite. I was just in time, as the lightning storm quickly escalated, and was getting very close. After trying to sleep through the thunder, I decided to open my curtains and look at the lightening. Just as I pulled back the curtains, the lightening struck a building right in front of me. There was no delay between the lightening and the thunder, and the sound was so shocking that I actually grabbed my chest in fear. The power was out.
The next day, I rode back up the hill to the town center. After site seeing, I had a huge three course Csarda style lunch with fish from the lake dressed in a lavender sauce. I also had three SMALL glasses of wine, you know, to taste the different wines made around the lake. Feeling pretty good, I managed to take the ferry back across the lake and return my bicycle in time. I swam the rest of the afternoon, and took the train back to Budapest that evening.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
quick post
Not much time but I'm going to try to put up some pictures.
Budapset is beautiful. An entire city of turn of the century architecture. We went to the opera house, to see a symphony, and it was incredible. I had goosebumps.
Budapset is beautiful. An entire city of turn of the century architecture. We went to the opera house, to see a symphony, and it was incredible. I had goosebumps.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Jet lag and first impression
Wow. I think relativity states that if you travel to outer space, you actually come back younger than if you hadn't gone. But I don't think that takes into account time zones. I have jet lag. The mixtures of free beer and coffee during the flight didn't help much either. I arrived in Franfurt for a three hour layover, and since I hadn't eaten since early in the 10 hour flight, I was pretty hungry. I decided to get a bite to eat at the bar in the airport. So I ordered some Nurenburg sausage with kraut, mashed potatos and a stein of weissbier. I was halfway through the hearty German meal when I looked at the clock and realized it was 8:30. . . in the morning. The funny thing is that the waitress didn't even bat an eye. Clearly, I was in the fatherland.
After another hour and a half flight, I was in Budapest. At least that's what the signs in the Airport said. But airports all look basically the same. My first impression of the city was from the backseat of an airport minibus. Coming from the airport side of town, Budapest wasn't as striking as I had expected. The airport is situated away from down town, and you have to travel a way to see the city castle and beautiful architecture. Then again, I was half asleep, and we were traveling near the speed of sound, so I may have missed a few things.
The hotel Fortuna, where I am staying, is in a boat on the Pest side of the Danube. It looked a little shady from the outside, but the inside was very nice. We all get our own cabin which is named after some long past mariner. I am in the Ernest Shackelton room. The interior is covered in rich oak sidings and there are very nice chandeliers in the hallways. Its a lot like the Titanic. There is also only one small life boat, so, its a lot like the Titanic.
We had a long day today of orientation and a walking tours, so I have pictures which I will put up soon. Until then,
Eric travels
After another hour and a half flight, I was in Budapest. At least that's what the signs in the Airport said. But airports all look basically the same. My first impression of the city was from the backseat of an airport minibus. Coming from the airport side of town, Budapest wasn't as striking as I had expected. The airport is situated away from down town, and you have to travel a way to see the city castle and beautiful architecture. Then again, I was half asleep, and we were traveling near the speed of sound, so I may have missed a few things.
The hotel Fortuna, where I am staying, is in a boat on the Pest side of the Danube. It looked a little shady from the outside, but the inside was very nice. We all get our own cabin which is named after some long past mariner. I am in the Ernest Shackelton room. The interior is covered in rich oak sidings and there are very nice chandeliers in the hallways. Its a lot like the Titanic. There is also only one small life boat, so, its a lot like the Titanic.
We had a long day today of orientation and a walking tours, so I have pictures which I will put up soon. Until then,
Eric travels
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Test Drive
Test one two. . . is this thing on?
Well, I'm still in Portland, but I leave in . . . 48 hours and 25 minutes!
So, I will be studying in Central Europe for the next 8 weeks, and will use this blog to, well, blog I guess. I'm new to this type of thing, but I thought it would be nice for friends and family to be able to keep up with what I am doing. Hopefully I can put up pictures and describe my adventures.
So until next time,
Eric travels
Well, I'm still in Portland, but I leave in . . . 48 hours and 25 minutes!
So, I will be studying in Central Europe for the next 8 weeks, and will use this blog to, well, blog I guess. I'm new to this type of thing, but I thought it would be nice for friends and family to be able to keep up with what I am doing. Hopefully I can put up pictures and describe my adventures.
So until next time,
Eric travels
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