Where is Patience?

[Patience]

I have noticed that I don’t post my trips away when I get back from them.
Hopefully I will post as I go.
Today started with a very early start and was out of the house at 3am and in the airport before 4!
Everything went smoothly and parked up, and dropped off my checked in bag then slept walked through security where the scanner knew I was tired and didn’t bother to beep me as it normally does.
The flight was on time and uneventful. I had popped an air tag into my checked in luggage and was relieved that it had arrived. However I was less than happy that it was the last bag on to the belt.
I bought my travel card at the airport, then popped into a taxi
The early start meant I was at the hotel before noon which is too early for checkin. My room was ready and I went up and changed. I am somewhat confused why my booking has been split into 3 and I need to move room tomorrow. Therefore I haven’t bothered to unpack.

Before I went I got one of those foreign currency cards called Currensea. I ordered it on Friday and it arrived on Tuesday. Phew! It is linked to a bank account and a direct debit is set to take the money out. I’ll see how it works out.

Oh yes, where am I? I leave you with a little challenge.

[eccles]

It's overcast but the tourists bottom left are wearing shorts so it's warm. The weather in Copenhagen is currently cloudy but reasonably warm. Taxi cabs are yellow so my guess is Denmark. Budapest shares similar weather and taxi colours so maybe Hungary as a backup guess?

[OurCreature]

There is what looks like a train station over on the left, and a church over on the right that looks Central European. It's a shame I can't get a higher resolution for the pic I could then see the car number plates properly and also what's written on the bus. At least it isn't Liechtenstein because the buses there are green and the car number plates there have a black background.

The country must be fairly close by if Patience could be at her hotel before noon, and Patience can't be all that far away from the airport. I'm guessing Austria.

[OurCreature]

I suddenly remembered that the World Athletics Championships begin tomorrow in Budapest, Hungary..............so I wonder if Eccs' second choice is correct..................

[Furby]

I don't know where patience is but I did notice yellow taxis and thought its not New York.

[Patience]

I love all your detective skills and reasoning.
Well done, Eccs! I am in Budapest for the World Athletes Championships. I’ll be watching every session and will wave from the crowd.
It is very hot here.
Today, I waked to the stadium which is just over 2 miles away and mostly a pleasant stroll along the Danube. The path does narrow around the “suburban” line station and it will be interesting to see how the crowd is managed.
There is also the option of a tram with a walk at either end or a boat. However the walk to the boat and the walk at the other end is nearly as much as I walked there today.
I got the tram back.

Last night I walked around parliament. It is very pretty when lit up.

[Patience]

Today I also walked around parliament to see The Shoes. These represent the shoes the Jews were asked to take off before they were shot on the banks of the Danube. The shoes were then sold. People do terrible things to others.


I also visited St Stephen’s Basilica. It is beautiful inside. I was quite surprised at how small it is. There is a viewing gallery at the top. As I’m not fond of lifts, I climbed the stairs. When I returned to the hotel, I went to my new room which was on the 4th floor.
There has been a bit of a saga with hotels. The 4* one people were meant to be at, hasn’t finished its refurbishment. I was meant to be at the 3* one but was moved here. For some reason this involves a booking for one night, a booking (and room change) for 10 nights and a booking for 2 nights with no idea if I need to change rooms!
I can’t say I’m impressed with the room. I think it is 4* only because it is an old hotel. There is air conditioning, a shower and fridge as well as the other things you would expect. But it’s not very spacious and there is no kettle. That might be a Hungarian thing and I will find out tomorrow when I meet people from the other hotel.

[Patience]

This painting in the Basilica caught my attention.

I tend to read the labels first.

Edit - Just realised that the label doesn’t show clearly. “Saint Peter and The Cock”

[Patience]

Phew…

[OurCreature]

My friends Oddur and Habba from Iceland visited Budapest with some friends of theirs a few years ago. Habba found the shoes by the Danube and their story very moving.

[eccles]

This painting in the Basilica caught my attention.

I tend to read the labels first.

Edit - Just realised that the label doesn’t show clearly. “Saint Peter and The Cock”

Naughty Patience.
Edit: forgot to compliment you on the photos. I'm wondering about the sideways on; they're all presented as landscape even if they are not. Could it be to do with the way phones work their orientation exif data?
I might try an experiment with my phone tomorrow.

[Patience]

Today was eventful. You wouldn’t want to be a Dutch athlete or fan. Twice within a few meters of the line and winning the gold medal, the Dutch athlete tripped up and down they went.

I set off for the tram but it started to rain and I headed back for my waterproof. I set off again and got to the tram station to find it shut. Same with the next one, so it was Shank’s pony for me. I got soaked.
The morning session was delayed be an hour as it rained! it would seem athletes are no longer made of hardy stuff! Fortunately I dried out by lunchtime.
Here is a photo of my seat in row D when I arrived.

I should be sitting in row D

Once events got underway, there was a delay in the hammer when one of the implements got stuck high in the netting. Spider-Man came to the rescue.

I should be sitting in row D

After the morning session I headed home on public transport. However there was less than an hour at the hotel before it was time to head back.
I got to the tram station and the tram was rammed, so I walked.
Unfortunately I don’t have any photos from the evening session.
It took a while to get out and when we got to the station, the suburban train was rammed and we walked back to the hotel.

Tomorrow’s session starts at 9am.

[OurCreature]

I watched the Dutch Disasters. In the home straight of the 10k the Dutch runner Hassan and the Ethiopian Tsegay were sprinting for the line and Hassan drifted out of her lane and tripped herself up against the Ethiopian. If Hassan had drifted left instead of drifting right she would have been OK for at least the silver so nobody to blame but herself really.

Femke Bol made it a double tumble for the Dutch minutes later in the 4 x 400 metres mixed relay and dropped the baton which IIRC went over the line without her. I didn't see clearly how she tripped but it was another sprint for the line this time with the USA and when runners get too close to each other these things can happen. So GB got a silver instead of a bronze; I'm not sure what the Dutch reaction would have been if one of them had gone over to the distraught Bol and said with a beaming smile 'Dashed bad luck there, Femke!'

The BBC folk said the reason for the weather delays was because there was lightning and a thunderstorm.

[Furby]

Nice to see public transport is just as useful in ex communist states as it is in the UK.

[Patience]

@OC there was heavy rain on Saturday morning and there may have been lightning but it was far away.

Today was en exciting day in the Stadium with 2 medals for GB and one for the hosts, Hungary.

In the Heptathlon, KJT exceeded expectations after an average LJ with a PB in the Javelin and another in the 800m to win Gold! She did not let Anna Hall get too far ahead and won by 20 points. The crowd was cheering loudly as the Hungarian athlete had a chance of bronze medal. I was glad to see that World Athletics allowed the Heptathletes have their lap of honour.

KJT wearing a crown with the heptathletes on their lap of honour.

The Long Jump Competition was a cracker with Vuelta finally winning a Global Title. It took a PB of 7.15m. In the last round the Romanian athlete jumped into Bronze medal position. It was delightful to see all the other athletes being delighted with their competitor’s good performances.

The Hammer was another cracker. At one stage, the lead was held by the Hungarian athlete. Then someone threw 1cm further than him. Eventually he came 3rd. The home crowd were happy.

Final race of the evening was the 200m where Reece Prescod Zharnel Hughes (thanks OC, I was tired) came 3rd in a race won by Noah Lyles. He is quite a character and is leading other athletes to think about and change the way the interact with media and fans.

I walked into town and watched the fireworks on Hungarian day.


I am so glad the evening athletics and fireworks were so good. I felt a bit unwell part way through the morning session. It was very hot and I started to feel sick and very very tired. I wondered if I had a touch of heat stroke. I drank some water and went to get more then I felt much better.
As there was only 2.5 hours between the morning session and having to be back for the evening session, a small group of us decided to go for lunch. It wasn’t made easier by none of us knowing the area and quite a few restaurants being shut for Hungarian day. We tried 2 who said it was a 2 hour wait for a table.
We eventually found a cafe that sold paninis. Whilst we were there, Paula Radcliffe, Alison Curbishley, Katharine Merry and Steve Cram also came to sample their goods.

[OurCreature]

The second most astonishing feat (first being KJT's gold medal) in the heptathlon was that huge javelin throw by the Dutch athlete Anouk Vetter - just under 60 metres and a heptathlon World Championship Best though not quite a PB. It will be interesting to see where that would have placed her in the proper javelin competition!

[Patience]

Well, I have no idea what day it is! Everything has blurred into athletics and heat!

Monday was just an evening session. As it is Europe and a Monday, the vast majority of museums and other public attractions are closed. This seemed to come as a surprise to the seasoned travellers in the group. Well the few in the 60 people spread across 3 hotels and various parts of the stadium that I have met.

I decided to visit Margaret Island. It seems to be an island in the middle of the Danube which is predominantly park with a few hotels, a spa and an athletics track to boot. I got the tram and then a short walk to the island then caught the bus to the other end and meandered back through a small Japanese Garden, a ruined priory, a church and a rose garden. It was very pleasant.

Duck

Speaking of statues there were several dotted around the area and this one caught my attention.


I continued on and walked around the old Olympic Pool and wandered over the the track. You couldn’t get into either. One because the Australian Team has it booked and the other because there were school kids using it.
To give you an idea of how hot and humid it was, here is a photo.

Hot hot hot

After a very nice lunch of goulash soup and some duck, I went to the Synagogue. This is the 3rd largest one in Europe! It has an unusual style where there are things you wouldn’t expect in a synagogue such as pulpits and things not where you would expect them to be. This was so the Jewish Community could make it appear they weren’t too different from the Christians.



As ever with the way the Jewish Community are treated there were some harrowing stories. Like many cities the Jewish community were confined to a Ghetto where many perished.
Within the walls of synagogue precinct there are a few mass graves where some of the bodies found in the ghetto on liberation are buried. There are Alsó commemorative stones. This has caused unease in some more orthodox communities are bodies are considered unclean and they will not walk down the adjacent path.


Within the grounds there is also a Tree of Life where for a small fee you can have a leaf added with the name of a relative who was murdered in the holocaust. I think Tony Curtis was instrumental in setting up the foundation which runs this.

Mr Zoltan

Inside the Synagogue

The Graves

[Patience]

The tree of life

[Furby]

Museums and even libraries are closed on Mondays even in the UK these days so the seasoned travellers can't get out much.

[Patience]

After a little snooze at the hotel I went to the stadium to see the medal ceremonies. They take place before the evening session and outside the stadium, but still within the ticketed area. I don’t like it. But hey!

There were 2 British medals Kat and Zharnel. Coe always takes the prime medal presentations for himself so he was presenting KJT’s medal. There must be some athletes out there who would quite like a medal from someone else.

KJT’s gold

A very teary Noah Lyles and Zharnel’s bronze

Into the stadium and the session. No medals for the British competitors but some cracking competitions!

The discus final was right in front of us and superb. Ceh was the big (in more ways than one) favourite. He took an early lead. In round 4 Daniel Stahl who has been struggling for a few years beat in by 10cm! In round 6, Ceh was the second last athlete and threw 70.02 for the lead. Stahl goes into the circle and launches it to 71.46m for the win and also a Championship Record!

Ceh and Stahl

The Triple Jump was not to be outdone. A lady sat next to us and claimed to be Zhango’s girlfriend. She may have been or she may have been a random nutter. At this point there is no way to know!

Zhango took an early lead in R1 and was surpassed by Martinez in R2 who jumped 4cm more. In R3, another Cuban, Napoleon jumped 1cm less than Martinez! The top 3 are separated by 4 cm! R4 is uneventful and in R5 Zhango jumps to 17.64m for a much more respectable 25cm lead! There were no changes in the final round.

The TJ medalists

What of the GF / Nutter, I hear you ask? Well at the end the coaches spoke to her, but there was no words / embraces from the winner

Finally it was the drama of the Women’s 100m. First the semifinals were one of the favourites Sha’Carri (don’t ask) Richardson ran like a turnip and only got through as a fastest loser / non automatic qualifier. As did Dina Asher-Smith whose time was exactly the same as Eva Svoboda’s to the 1000th of a second. 9 ladies were in the final.

Richardson forgot she was a turnip and ran out of her skin to win, also in a new Championship Record. The 2 Jamaican ladies were 2nd and 3rd. This was the first time in years that Jamaica hadn’t won this event and more surprising that the SAFP hadn’t won.