Honolulu, Hawaii

I ended up staying in Sarajevo for an extra day, enjoying the company of Salem and Skander, and missing the Wednesday night train to Budapest. I finally arrived in Budapest on Friday afternoon and immediately headed to the nearby village of God. It seemed like the logical and necessary destination. God is located about 25 kilometers north of Budapest. God has two nice bars: one beside the Danube River and one beside God's train station. As an educator, I felt compelled to visit both of God's bars. God's beer is cheap, but tasty (as one might expect).

On Saturday, I dragged myself away from God and back to Budapest, only to leave again on Sunday for the nearby village of Szentendre. I spent all afternoon and evening in the company of some wonderful people (including a UN Human Rights Commissioner) and finally made it back to Budapest in the wee hours of the morning on Monday.

My flight home on Monday was long, but manageable, and I am now attempting to recover from a nasty case of jetlag (it is a twelve hour time difference between Budapest and Honolulu).

All told, the trip was absolutely amazing and far more successful than I had dared hope. Enjoyable journeys always end too abruptly. It is like a roller coaster ride: after screaming bloody murder for somebody to stop the ride, you finally begin to relax and enjoy yourself, when suddenly the ride stops and you are told to get off. Disoriented, on wobbly knees, you walk away, wishing the ride had never ended. All rides, however, do come to an end, and the calmer mind realizes that this is, in fact, a good thing.

It's good to be home. I won't be back in my apartment until Sunday afternoon, and I won't have my cell phone until that time, so please don't drop by or call until then. In the coming weeks, I will be posting my own photographs for each blog entry, and I will also be doing some minor editing. Feel free to check back any time.

Thank you all again for you love and support!!! Let me know if you have any nagging questions that I have left unanswered, and I will be happy to answer them now.

Aloha!!
Eric

(Photo by Eric: God's nicest dog, God, Hungary)