Sept. 30, Budapest, Hungary

Hi Folks!

I have been resting up for a few days, getting ready to head back to the USA for Stage 3 of the grand tour. I have taken a couple of days off and met some really neat folks here in Hungary. I’d like to introduce you all to Larry and Dede Miller.

Larry and Dede Miller

Larry and Dede live near Budapest. They are from the USA, but have chosen to live here, so they can pursue their passion–aiding and serving holocaust survivors. I met Larry and Dede through a mutual friend who responded to my SOS for help in Budapest. When Larry told me what he did here–help holocaust survivors–I said, “you mean the one back in the 40’s?” You see, I like most people, see the holocaust as something that you read about in a history textbook–a terrible thing that occurred in the past, but is gone now.

Larry and Dede opened my eyes. The fact is that there are over 60,000 holocaust survivors–all between the ages of 70 and 95–who have been virtually forgotten by society, here in the former Soviet countries. Wow. It never occurred to me. And, anti-Semitism is running stronger than ever. In Hungary, it is approaching 65% of the population.

Folks, Larry and Dede are the real deal. Over the past few days, I have had a chance to see their hearts, and they are all about kindness and service. They make no pretense about solving all of the world’s problems–but they strive to do what they can, where they are, with what they have. Nothing they contribute will undo what was done to these people in the last century. But they can improve the lives of these survivors for the years that they have left. I am humbled!

Larry and Dede are not operating on a huge budget, and their service is part time. Translation: if you make even a small donation to their efforts, it will result in a huge impact in the lives of the survivors. If you would like to help these folks out, just go to their website and click on the contribute tab. It’s tax deductible.

Now to catch up a bit. I left my last campsite to ride the last day into the Budapest area. I rode on perhaps the most dangerous section of road yet. It was about 10 miles of pothole filled road, no shoulders and lots of speeding cars who couldn’t care less about my safety. But, I managed to survive it all!

On the way to Budapest, I was happy to discover that Ozo’s has made it to Hungary!

Ozo coffee in Hungary?

Civilization! Hungary has had the best architecture so far on the entire European ride–at least in my opinion.

An unexpected castle

Larry took me around to see some of the local attractions. I could go on and on posting pictures, but so could anyone who visited this area. Here are a couple that were meaningful to me. For example, this courtyard down below an overlook:

Random courtyard

The longest escalator that I’ve ever seen.

We walked down this street to a place that sold Langos–a type of fried bread with garlic. Loved it!

A pretty narrow street

Langos–fried bread with garlic. Yum!

Yesterday, I gave the last seminar of the European tour at the Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences, Konkoly Observatory. The Observatory was quite impressive–they have 50 researchers and lots of support staff. The facilities were top notch.

So, tomorrow I get on a plane for the USA. I have mixed feelings about the European tour, but I am sure there will be other opportunities to talk about that. Wish me luck as I learn how to exist in a place where everyone speaks my language!

Cheers,

Scott