The Green Bridge was under renovation, closed completely except for pedestrians. Sidewalks around the hostel torn apart to lay new cables and piping. Some buildings demolished, some finally finished. Roads closed, intersections blocked. The new Metro line 4. Transformation.

Walking up the Pest side of the Danube, I stopped to take it all in. The rising hills of Buda across the river, topped by a citadel and other stately buildings filled with history. The flatlands of Pest, the centers of life. Beautiful architecture everywhere–not old enough to be stoic, not new enough to be pretentious. Perfect.

The cold, crisp air swirled past my face and numbed by exposed hands. Even the cold was perfect, not too humid, not too numbing. Walk to stay warm but cool enough not to sweat. Clouds overhead, but no rain for the meantime.

Even as I stood contemplating my third trip to Budapest, I subconsciously started planning my fourth.

This was how I choose to end my whirlwind trip through the Middle East and Europe, a visit to my favorite city to rest and relax. I had come from Amsterdam, where I had finished my ninth and final presentation the day before, and spared just enough time to visit my old college friend Anna.

When I went to Hong Kong and Seoul in September, I fell ill. I had a fever the day I arrived and then a massive headache that lasted more than three days. As I was collapsing on my bed one afternoon, having just endured the heat and humidity outside, I thought to myself–how great would it be to be in Budapest. Andrassy Ut, Voro Smarty Ter, wandering random streets, sitting at restaurants, sipping coffee in a cafe. No heat, no humidity, no crowds…

Going was a foregone conclusion. Buying tickets three weeks later was simply a formality. When I announced that I was going, Sarah W asked if she could come down from London and join me. Absolutely.

I know this is a little late in coming (I’ve been back for a few weeks now), but ahhhhh….I love Budapest! =)

More photos of Budapest

I totally called it.

On Digg today:

Christian groups call for boycott of ‘The Golden Compass’

The movie, opening Dec. 7, is drawing criticism from religious groups that describe it as “heretical,” and “diabolical.” The controversy stems from His Dark Materials, the series of children’s fantasy novels on which The Golden Compass is based. The author says he wrote it in part to counter the Christian themes woven into The Chronicles of Narnia.

This drives me CRAZY. No one calls for boycotts against the Chronicles of Narnia for being Christian themed, but the moment someone comes out with something anti-Christian, these groups get on their soapboxes and advocate. People have a right to see what they want to see and read what they want to read. Just because someone doesn’t agree with your point of view means that they should be shunned.

What’s especially disappointing is how this reflects back on the definition of "what is church." Church: associated with great peace, a center of joy, celebration, a home for those who have no home, and a source of hope…also associated with the crusades, abuse of power, controversy, and petty crap like this.

I read the His Dark Materials trilogy on my trip (thanks Tara) and loved them. It’s fantastic storytelling. Riveting, exciting, wonderous, and imaginative. I finished the trio of books in less than a week. And Pullman is right, the triology is about destroying God. Sure, it’s anti-God. And the Chronicles of Narnia are pro-God. Each deserves it’s place, no?

This reminds me a time in high school when some group of people decided to start a Christian club. My friend Chris L, playing to this very same notion (and separation of church and state), started a Satan club in response. None of us took the meaning of the club seriously, but all agreed with it in principle. And the school, not being able to stomach this, disbanded both.

Perhaps this was a bit extreme, but if you’re going to play, play fairly.

I never really expected to go to Moscow in my travels, but last Thursday morning I found myself rounding the corner onto Red Square and staring at St. Basil’s cathedral. Seeing St. Basil’s in person threw me back into my childhood, where Dan Rather would be reporting from Moscow with St. Basil’s as his backdrop on the CBS Evening News. And now there it stood, right in front of me.

One of many instances where I stood blown away.

Call me naive, but I had expected Moscow to be gray and bland, with poured concrete block buildings dominating the neighborhoods. As you can see from the picture below, this was totally not the case. Moscow had colorful streets and neightborhoods interrupted by the occassional plaza.

By reputation, I had also expected Moscow to have a very wealthy elite. But whereas most major citities have a strip containing all the high end fashion retailers, Moscow had whole city sections filled with the likes of LV, Dior, Ferrari, Maserati, Rolls Royce, YSL, and more. There is tons of wealth in this city.

In another ’bout of naiveté I had also expected the land surrounding Moscow to be kind of a barren land, something akin to steppe. As I drove into the city from the airport, it was clear I was off, both sides of the road were lined with ASPEN TREES in all sorts of colors! It was beautiful.

I took my last afternoon and went to the University area on the advice of Elena, our admin assistant at MS in Russia. The metro train stopped on a bridge spanning a river dividing the center of Moscow from the outskirts. A hill side sat on the far side of the city limits, covered with lush trees in the colors of autumn.

All in all, it was beautiful. It was a fun city to visit, including the infamous bars, clubs, and excellent vodka.

More pictures from Moscow

I’ve been sitting here at the corner of Ben Gurion and Dizengoff for the last few hours catching up on mail, uploading photos, and writing a spate of blog posts (I’ve delayed posting to drag out my content, so you’re probably reading this a few days after I’ve written it).

Ben Gurion is a two way street but sub-divided by a wide boulevard running down the middle. On one side of the boulevard sits a fantastic sandwich stand and across the intersection sits a colorful fresh juice bar. The four corners of the intersection are occupied by a mini-mart, clothing boutique, a small restaurant, and an upscale cafe called espresso d’zengoff. What else could you possible ask for? I’m sitting outdoors at the cafe, where the weather is in the mid-to-upper 70s, I’m a 3 minute walk from the beach, and my writing supplied by a constant stream of fantastic espresso. Is this the promised land, or what?

I love Tel Aviv. It’s easily joined the ranks of Budapest, Shanghai, Chengdu, and San Francisco, that feel great to hang out in. I wish I could spend more time here. The Israelis are infamous for their community and it shows…everyone is incredibly inviting, warm, and friendly. The Microsoft sub here has been the best of hosts and tons of fun both in the office and around the dinner table. We’ve even made friends with a couple of people that work at Widelink, one of our partners here.

And the walking–Bram, Annamarie, and Sarah W–you guys would love this place, the walks are fantastic. Cafes everywhere, beaches, tourquise blue water, and beautiful skies. Tons of people, trendy fashion, all wrapped into a city that’s very down to earth.

Highly recommended. I have to come back here. As Meirav keeps telling me, I have a home in Israel now.

More photos from Tel Aviv

I arrived in Israel last Sunday, after flying a red-eye from Dubai that took me through Istanbul. I have never blogged about an airport before, but the person next to me on the plane claimed that Ben Gurion was the best airport in Europe, and I can see why…it’s small, beautiful, and spacious.

Yes, that is a waterfall from ceiling to ground in the middle of the airport.

Though I was jetlagged, I felt good about being here in Israel. As a traveler, sometimes you show up in a place and it just feels good to be there…something to do with the pulse of the city. As we drove out, the highway signs read things like "Nazereth", "Bethlahem", and "Jerusalem." It blew me away, I never knew these places in the Bible still existed. As Rob, the CRM SSP here, said to me, "yeah man, the Sea of Galiliee, the place where Jesus walked on water. I go and have BBQs there twice a month." Wow. Who knew.

The office here had arranged for Karen, Kevin, and I to take a super-brief afternoon tour of the Jerusalem. Now, I can only take so much sightseeing–all the people, cameras, tourists, souvineer shops, and hawkers…I can’t handle more than a few hours. But despite my jetlag, I’d make an exception for Jerusalem.

I saw the site of the original Temple of Solomon. The path that led to Golgotha where Jesus carried the cross up to be crucified. The Wailing Wall. Where they took down the body and prepared him to be entombed until he rose again. Two thousand years later, here it still is.

But I have to admit, I feel like there’s no spirit left in the place. As much as I wanted to be spiritually struck by being in Jerusalem, I felt empty. Tons of tourists didn’t help. I believe God is embodied in people, not in places. A place without any people has no soul. Hence you will find me hanging out with the locals in Tel Aviv, which is the subject of my next post.

More photos of Jerusalem