Last night at camp I met a Turkish man and his daughter who are taking a cycling trip to celebrate her high school graduation. I’ve been wondering about what it’s like to cycle into Istanbul so I walked up to them and introduced myself. This turned out to be a great move. They cooked up a pot of Turkish tea and we talked for a couple of hours before calling it a night.
We decided to ride into Budapest together this morning. Throughout the ride I listened as my new friend told me about Turkish politics and history. Turns out that they were even more directionally challenged than me. Every 10 minutes we just had to stop to check the map and ensure we were headed in the right direction. This didn’t help much, we often made the wrong turn regardless.
We braked for breakfast pastries then again for lunch and beer.
What was supposed to be a short 35km ride ended up taking all day due to our (fun) stops and (frustrating) wrong turns. We made one last stop for a drink along the Danube just before Budapest then parted ways as we crossed into the city. They went on to meet with a friend working as a Turkish attache in Hungary and I was off to find Abby’s and my Airbnb.
After hauling my bike and gear up four stories into the Airbnb, I immediately smelled a gas leak in the kitchen. After some sniffing around I found that the source of the leak was the meter. The host assured me there was no leak but the stench of mercaptan told me otherwise. There was no way in hell we’d be staying there.
I booked a last-minute room at Hotel Memories Oldtown. It was so much better than any comparably priced Airbnb. I recommend this hotel.
The ticking time bomb 
My new gas-free digs
Abby’s flight was scheduled to arrive after 10 pm, so I was on the hook for dinner alone. I wasted no time picking a restaurant, Napfenyes for their vegan sarmale is a no-brainer.
Today’s Miscellany
