big summary of events

ok, things are rolling here now and I'm feeling like i'm hitting a groove. it's my second full day in Budapest, and even though its been pissing rain here and quite cool the whole time, i've been enjoying myself. met an Aussie guy named Mike (hey, I can remember that) who in turn introduced me to another girl, and from there a couple of English guys named Paul and Andy. Today I spent the morning and early afternoon with those two at a Hungarian bathhouse. man am i relaxed now! We didn't spring for massages, but hit a bunch of different temparture pools and a sauna in various sequences. One warm pool had a water spouting statue that was gushing warm water in a heavy stream. sitting in front of that, letting it pound you in the back and neck, was like a mini massage in itself. it was great. The building itself was amazing, and fortunately i was able to snag some pictures of it from the inside. i may try to post one or two here later, but i'll finish this and save it before i try such a radical experiment.

The rain has been a bit of a bummer. i really haven't done as much wandering as i normally would, just because it's so difficult to stay dry, and once you get wet, drying clothes and shoes is pretty tough. I am pleased that i brought both my jeans (for heading out at night) and these super light nylon pants (they dry almost instantly once you're in from the rain). It's also hard to take pictures in the rain. Despite all tihs, i did go for a hike up the hill in Buda and saw this cool cave-church. Yes, it's actually a church built inside a cave, with little rooms branching off in all weird directions. Very neat.

Still having a bit of trouble with the time zone shift. I get tired around 4pm and have a hard time sleeping soundly past 5am. I think it's getting better though. Today's jackhammering road constructing at 7am didn't help though, let me tell you!

One thing I've been enjoying is some good breakfasts. i made a poiint of buying eggs and veg at the market and so i've been having omellettes with hostel-supplied toast in the mornings.

After this post i'm going to try to figure out where to go next. my original plan was Belgrade followed by Sarajevo, but i was thinking that i might just go where the sun is actually shining. unfortnately, a quick search shows that its raining throughout this entire region right now, with sun returning around Sunday. i may just go directly to sarajevo and then try to hit the coast by sun or monday. stay tuned for further details on that front.

Well, i'm going to go make some food and then probably have a nap. i'm meeting the guys at 'half seven' to go out for beers. i'll probably grab another bite later in the night, so now's a good time to eat. oh, i almost forgot, i have to get myself to a phone to call CIBC and have them unlock my online banking. somehow it got locked out and i can't get in there to transfer money from my line of credit to my chequing account, which of course is where all the atms try to draw money from (there's no option to select account). hopefully this does not turn into an ordeal.