An Interesting Welcome To Budapest

One of the reasons I arrived in Budapest nearly a month before university classes begin was to attend the St. Stephen´s Day festivities- a street fair, air show and impressive fireworks which take place on August 20th.

I am pleased I was here for this year´s events, as it was quite a day. A Hungarian friend and I spent the day walking around the city, taking in the sights and enjoying the day along with 1 million Hungarians also in attendance. As you will see from the picture, I also took the opportunity to sample some Hungarian cuisine.


As you will read on CNN and BBC, minutes after the fireworks began a tropical storm/hurricane blew in and nearly killed all 1 million of us. People literally went running for their lives as rain, hail and broken glass whipped through the night.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5269642.stm
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/08/21/storm.reut/index.html
PHOTOS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/5275376.stm

Here I am thinking I had left that crazy tropical weather in South Florida. Luckily my friend and I escaped relatively unharmed- soaking wet with a few minor scratches, but nothing more. Welcome to Budapest!