Doubilet-Benson Orient Express Bike Trip 2014: About to Get the Show Back on the Road

For the first time in our many years of bike touring, we had two consecutive non-biking days (Thursday 9/4 and Friday 9/5). Not that we has planned it that way, but we needed to spend the time fixing or replacing a bike, camera, and computer. Actually, the non-working laptop was even more of a show-stopper than the poorly functioning bike. We have become incredibly dependent on our computers, even while on a bike trip, using them for routing, mapping, blogging, email, and keeping up with work (e.g., preparing for upcoming lectures).

We also spent a little time today as tourists. We wandered through interesting parts of the inner city, including exploring Gozsdu Courtyard, an Art Nouveau block of six courtyards and seven apartment buildings built in the late 1800s and early 1900s, now a site of upscale condos and trendy restaurants. We strolled to the banks of the Danube. We also went on a guided tour of the Central Synagogue, the second largest synagogue in the world (the largest is in New York City). A splendid building constructed in 1859, it underwent major renovations in the mid-1990’s supported in part by large donations from Tony Curtis (the actor) and the Lauder family (of Estee Lauder fame), both of Hungarian Jewish ancestry. The huge chapel, which seats 3000 people, has an appearance reminiscent of a Catholic cathedral, not too surprising since it was designed by a Catholic who had also designed a number of churches.

On Friday evening, we spent some time with an old friend Zoltan Harkanyi, chief of Radiology at Heim Pál Children’s Hospital. We caught up on news of our families and work life, and heard about the sorry state of Hungarian politics and economy. Because of limited opportunities and low salaries here, there is a significant brain drain of bright young Hungarians, including Zoltan’s sons. One of them, an anesthesiologist, practices in Liverpool, England, like many other young doctors who can make about eight times as much money by practicing in Western Europe instead of Hungary.

Tomorrow, we head off on our bikes again, keeping our fingers crossed that our equipment holds up.