3 Stitches in Time

After finishing my morning workout, my phone indicated I missed 6 phone calls, 2 text messages, and 3 emails from Deets' school. I knew immediately I would probably be spending some time seeing a doctor. My first guess: Deets needed stitches.

He split open his forehead when he fell on the ground. On carpeted ground. Peeling back the bandage on his head with my suspicions confirmed, I drove him to the Med Unit for a referral. They found us a plastic surgeon at the pediatric hospital and the Embassy's doctor would accompany us, a fortuitous opportunity for some medical hand-holding. I must admit the perks of the Foreign Service really shine through in situations like this. 

Even though we speak Romanian, maneuvering the hospitals isn't always easy; there's not always an admitting desk directing patients where to go and there's not necessarily a single building either. In our case, we entered through a back alley into a hallway with a graphic poster about advances made regarding burn victims. They asked for only his name and birth date before moving into the procedure room where they stitched him up. Afterwards they guided us to Radiology for some skull X-rays and moved again to read the results.

Getting in line for his X-rays.

A hospital with modern equipment and THIS is their sign. I love it.

Ready to go home.

Three stitches, a giant head wrap, two X-rays, and one discharge sheet about head injuries later we went home with strict instructions to lay off on  chocolate, Coca-Coca and alcohol. All this, for the prime cost of zero dollars. No one asked for insurance cards, no one asked for money, thanks to socialized healthcare. (Although admittedly, bribes and blackmail are still hot topics in this country. I've seen it myself:  money exchanged between employees and families in turn for medicine, supplies or a bed to sleep in. That is another discussion for another day).

 

The day after: drinking his pretend coffee at the park.

Sweater Pig ala...

...grill with Gorgonzola sauce.  The creepy looking Sweater Pig, aka Mangalitsa, has a special place in the hearts of pork lovers. Bringing them back from the proverbial dead, the Hungarian long-haired pig gained footing on the endangered species list thanks to a farm that bred the massive 300 pounds hunk of marbled meat makers. Now "succulent pork enthusiasts" willing to pay the price can eat one freshly prepared in concept restaurants and tapas bars in Budapest  according to this NY Times article. 

Jealous you can't find the time to fly into Budapest (or drive 12 hours with two young children, 4 bruised tires and broken window?) Seems like the United States also loves this curly haired behemoth. Apparently a breeder with Wooly Pigs in Washington oogled over the pig's thick, fatty, glistening layers or fat and couldn't control their joy, immediately serving up delicious tastings for his fellow foodies. "It’s a true nose-to-tail experience with the Mangalitsa, and there’s not any part we’re not using” he says in this interview. Wowie. Move over Wilbur, that's some pig. 

Southern Smooth Sailing

I don’t know that anyone reads this blog for Romanian travel purposes, but let me go on record and say the southern route we took home Hungary was far nicer and enjoyable than the northern route we took to get there even though it added on an hour of travel time. Keep in mind that when traveling with two children, we do not take such decisions lightly. 

What was so great about it you ask? For starters, the road was in fantastic condition: no gravel or dirt roads, no ruts, and no gaping pot holes threatening to swallow the car or jilt the new tires (or broken window) we shelled out for while in Budapest. Second, the view was inspiring with mile after mile of green farmland, hills, bluffs, mountains, and gorges. It felt like we discovered Romania's best kept secret on this trip.

Bird's Eye Wiki

The Iron Gates on top of the must-see list before we left Romania. They are essentially 134km of gorges and bluffs hug the Danube River, separating Romania from Serbia. It's weird to think about a different culture, nationality and country exist just across a river. I questioned Mark about the appropriateness of swimming over to say hello to the Serbians. All he could say was that it just doesn't happen.

I did not take this shot but wish I had.
Iron Gates c/o Google

At any rate, we made it to Drobeta-Turnu Severin to shack up for the night. Mark booked a suite at the Hotel Continental, confident it would compare to the other ones he stayed in. He also thought it would be a unique experience to stay in a Communist style hotel emphasizing the company updated their accommodations. Unfortunately they did not get around to this hotel. While we did have 32 drinking glasses of various style in a hutch and a TV with a retro channel knob, we didn't have much of anything else. But then again, I can't really complain about clean sheets and (mostly) hot water.

Ready to just get home, the next morning we piled back into the car headed to Bucharest. With exception to one small town called Slatina that struggled with tranzit maintenance, the roads continued to amaze us. We rolled into Bucharest without incident and enough time to let the kids decompress before dinner.

Suggested route:

Bucharest to Pitesti via A1, then toward Slatina on E574, and follow signs to E70 for the duration: Craiova, Drobeta Turnu Severin, Timisoara. If headed to Hungary, skip the Arad route altogether and take the E43 to Szeged from Timisoara. 

We wished we stayed in Szeged. It's Hungary's third largest city and sits across the border. It's famous for its university, their Open Air Plays  event held every summer and their immaculate water park. After that, the driving experience becomes your oyster as Hungary boasts over 1300 kilometers of smooth asphalt.

Budapest Emily Style

And now for my turn. I wanted to do three things: hit the playgrounds,  the baths on Margitsziget (Margaret's Island), and the Budapest Zoo which is Europe's second oldest.  Since Mark had some work related business to attend to I was on my own with the children for a chunk of time, which was slightly stressful due to missed nap time and a huge downpour. Thank goodness for two things: Deet's obsession with trains and Wreck It Ralph. Yes. I am one of those parents who bust out the iPad to keep the peace. You know what? It worked when we were stuck in a subway waiting for the rain to ease up.

Deets in his element.

Margo representing the Schlink futbol obsession at one
of the many playgrounds we hit.

Water baby #1

Water baby #2

People non-chalantly feeding the camels.
Are these people crazy?!

Deets yelled "bang, bang" with such joy. Hmm.

Mark deftly said this was a sweater pig from the Andes.
I almost believed him. 

Strawberry break at the zoo.
People thought we were so weird.

Budapest Mark Style

Despite detouring a few times to the US Embassy in Budapest and Mark's field trips to the VW dealership accomplished our goals in Budapest. Mark wanted to eat pastries, drink espresso and walk, walk, walk. Mark made us walk all over the city; until his knees, my hips, and the kids succumbed to exhaustion. I kid you not, we walked with children mind you, over 14 km (8.6 miles) on the day. If it weren't for his joyful skipping and sentimental enthusiasm, I probably would have hailed a cab back to the apartment.

Parliament from Fisherman's Bastion

Fisherman's Bastion

Peter and Deets on the river

Széchenyi Chain Bridge. We slogged across
Elizabeth Bridge on the way back

Jewish Synagogue

Cappucinos and apple strudel

Water break

Hungary for Some Action?

I typically like to begin my blog posts with positive spins about our travels, so here goes my attempt for the first day in Budapest...

Border crossings. So much fun.

While waiting for Border Control's computers to kick back on so they could stamp our passports, the sweaty police-officer-man waddled up to my window: "Your front tire does not look so great," he mentioned. Sure enough we could see our tire, like my own spare, bulging off the sides. Taking a deep breath we drove onward to Budapest.

Thankful for a relatively uneventful arrival, we found our apartment but couldn't check into quite yet so instead headed out in search of an ATM, ice cream, and beer. Settling on a local Stardust Coffee, we ordered and eagerly waited for a snack that surely would hit the spot. If by spot, you mean moment of absolute meltdown, we hit it with fury. Deets uncharacteristically exploded, angered by his ice cream and  totally exhausted from what I can only assume was from having too much fun.

Ahhh, an outside cafe!
What could possibly go wrong?

Oh wait. This.

After chilling out in the apartment and gaining better toddler perspective we decided to hit the town again in search of playgrounds and happy hour. Sadly we didn't make it farther than a block and a half where we parked the car: a rotted crotch-monster busted the front passenger window in pursuit of Mark's seven year old iPod. Nads! He stayed by the car to deal with broken glass, police reports, and notifying the Embassy while I attempted to find dinner and calm the roar of hungry, wild eyed children.

Settling on pizza, the girl at the counter just watched with amusement (I hope) as Margo dug into her baby food smothering anything within arm's reach and Deets gleefully erased the outside chalkboard menu with abandon. I could only sigh and eat my stale slice of pizza.  Mark caught up with us and we went for our third attempt to find the bright side of an otherwise frustrating day.

In the end, we did find a small oasis of park and beer activity. Margo entertained a cute ten year old girl who wanted to practice her English and Mark got to practice his Hungarian by talking about shoes and swearwords to other fathers at the playground. Then we all promptly passed out from a long eventful day.

Fast forward... Now the Foreign Service has a lot of perks, most which I try not to take for granted. The Regional Security Office assisted us with paperwork and scheduling an appointment with VW to inspect the damage the very next day. First the good news: repairs would be completed within two days and they would go ahead and wash/vacuum our car. This was something I fantasize about doing on a regular basis, but never actually do.  Bad news: we needed to replace all four tires. You win some, you lose some right?