I Feel Like A Kid On Christmas Morning

I feel like a kid on Christmas morning, that is, if that kid received a new bike.  That's right, I bought a bike today!  Would you like to see it?  Of course you would.

My new bicycle.

I bought it behind an old power plant.  The guy was a friend of the husband of one of the teachers at my school.  Out of a small building - a kind of shed - he sells bikes, and other things.  I've gone a few times to see if he had a good one for me, but I didn't have luck until today.  He stopped working on a lawnmower and showed me how he finished building this one.  It was an eccentric experience.

I love it.

The train station is a 20 minute walk from where I live.  It's a five or ten minute bike ride.  Now I can easily explore the whole town, and all of the surrounding areas.  Hungary's a very, very flat country, and I intend to take full advantage of that.

My day had two other highlights, a haircut and a sausage festival.  Usually, when you get a haircut, you look at the hair of the person giving it.  If their hair doesn't look great, you head the other way.  This man, however, broke that rule.  His hair was ridiculous.  He looked like he stuck his finger in a light socket last week, and hasn't combed it since.

When in Hungary, do as the Hungarians do.  Get haircuts from crazy haired people who don't speak English.

It was well worth it.  He spent an incredible amount of time on it, and he did a very good job.  I think he may have cut each hair individually, but I am not complaining.

Then, this evening, I went to the Csabai Kolbászfesztivál (the Sausage Festival of Csaba).  It's the world famous festival held in Békéscsaba every October.  If it's not world famous yet, then it will be.  It was surprisingly large, although empty, because it just started today.

There were bands, beers, wines, Pálinka, and sausages.  Lots and lots of sausages.  Cooked, dried, and everything in between.  I didn't get to see one of the traditional Hungarian pig slaughterings (a very big cultural thing), but I did see and smell a big truck full of pigs earlier today.  It's not a good day to be a pig in Békéscsaba.

I ran into my neighbor at the festival, so I had someone to talk to.  We at some food, drank some wine, and tried not to freeze to death.  I'm not really sure whose idea it was to plan an outdoor festival during the last week of October, but they should rethink it.

Tomorrow, I leave for my fall break trip.  I'm going to spend the Friday night with my travel companions on the other side of Hungary, and Saturday we leave for Slovenia.  After a few days there, we'll go to Croatia to cause some trouble.  Finally, I'll get back here next Sunday the 7th.  I'll try to post on here while I'm gone, but I may not have the opportunity.  I promise I'll have good stories when I return!

You can always pass your time by planning a trip to next year's sausage festival.  Once you buy your airplane tickets, you can get a lifetime supply of antacids.  Maybe a doctor too, I can feel my arteries clogging with the heavenly sausage.