Budapest, Hungary

I arrived in Budapest after a long flight from Seattle to Frankfurt. I had the extreme good fortune of sitting next to another knitter on the first flight (over 10+ hours) She was such an interesting person...grew up in Germany, learned to knit at the age of 4, lived in Guam for 25 years, still involved in the medical profession and doing research on Alzheimer's. Moved to Seattle 6 years ago to be in closer proximity to her two granddaughters. Was on her way to Italy with her husband (who had proposed to her in Venice 47 years ago). What a love story.

Other than United Kingdom and Australia I have never had a problem with getting needles through airport security and knitting on flights destined for locales around the world. Because of a surprising and anxious encounter with a Belgium airport security supervisor's inclination to refuse the knitting needles in my carry on bag a few weeks ago, I am trying to be prepared for any altercation. I had never had trouble in the Brussels airport before, but am wondering if the European airports are now having a change of heart or at least a measure of inconsistency towards my beloved hobby. The only reason the security supervisor let me continue on with my knitting needles was because I told him I had 16 hours of travel ahead of me. I was not above pleading and begging but thankfully I didn't have to resort to those tactics and managed to maintain some of my dignity. For this trip, I put the metal addi's in my checked bag and used wooden KnitPicks needles on the flights. I didn't want to take a chance that they would be confiscated in Frankfurt.

Budapest is regarded as one of the world's most beautiful cities and it was easy to figure out why. Budapest consists of two very different cities - Buda, on the west bank of the Danube River and Pest on the east bank. I took an airport shuttle to my hotel, the Le Meridien on the Pest side which is more commerical in nature and flatter than the hilly Buda side. The hotel was graced with many chandeliers and crystal, which I, of course, have always been delighted by. Thankfully I was upgraded to a hotel suite which had a living area, two bathrooms as well as bedroom area. Unusually large accomodations by European standards. Almost as good as home sweet home!

The next morning I braved the rain to take a walk down Vaci Road to Nagy Vasarcsamok, the Great Market Hall. It was a large building filled with vendors selling meats, fruits and vegetables, spices and hand crafted items such as leather goods, embroidery and wood figurines. Most of my business meetings were in the Northeastern part of the city. Late in the afternoon one day, a colleague and I went over the Chain Bridge to Castle Hill to see the Royal Palace, and Matthias Church. Despite the gloomy weather we could see the huge Parliament Building on the other side of Danube River, described as a neogothic jewel. I would like to come back someday and explore more of the city and go to some of the museums. The city is inviting and the people are very friendly.
On the flight from the US I had begun working on Nihon Vogue, Year Two, Project 1. I only had two projects on needles and was in a panic the night before my trip figuring out what to take with me. I am almost done with the Forest Canopy Shawl and have one sock on size 2 needles. Even though the Nihon class doesn't begin until early October, I wanted to use the time on the flights to get a jump start on the first project. The requirement is to knit set in sleeves that are gathered at the top and "puff up". Hmm. Even though it is the current fashion rage, it is something I would not personally wear. So, I am knitting a child's size garment that is a re-compilation of a Debbie Bliss smock cardigan. I am changing the pattern a bit and then redesigning the drop sleeves to be set in. After business meetings in the morning today I am flying to Istanbul with a 5 hour layover in Frankfurt... so will have plenty of time to work on my computer, read or knit.