Every now and then you get surprises on your trip. On Friday I took a train from Vienna to Budapest with 10 passengers in my group. When the train departs I notice there are 2 more groups from the same company! For weeks I’ve not seen any groups and suddenly I see them all on this one week trip. It is so refreshing and encouraging to talk to people who do the exact same job as you. It makes things so much easier, even if it is just a quick chat.
Later that day I am doing an orientation walk through Budapest to introduce everyone to the city. As I exit the metro there is a strange noise that seems to come from the river. Suddenly I remember reading something about the red bull air race being in Budapest this weekend. The planes were doing their practise laps. Excited by this we rushed to the shore to have a look and try to capture the crazy planes on photos. They approached fast and flew under the chain bridge towards a course with inflatable pylons. This is the stuff you see on TV and here it was, live in this gorgeous setting for our entertainment.
The next day was the proper race and it was scorching hot. Hundreds of people were looking at the planes in amazement, from the stands or just from the side of the river, the Buda castle or the slightly elevated square at the parliament house. I probably wouldn’t easily buy a ticket to see this, but when you stumble upon it, can watch it from one of Budapest’s main attractions while eating ice cream… that’s the best!