Leap of Faith

November 7th, 2010

Making Movie Magic in Belgrade/October 2010

I bounced into Belgrade after a very long train ride in which the train stopped at every small town between Budapest and Belgrade, plus numerous stops in the middle of nowhere to drop off the local people.  When the train left Budapest a dozen cars were attached to the engine.  I arrived in Belgrade that night with only one car attached to the engine.  I consider myself lucky to have made it to Belgrade as no one told me that the train would be discarding cars along the way.

Lauren and I headed out into the cold and dark to walk the one mile hike uphill into the wind to our hostel with 50 pound packs on our backs.  I was having flashbacks of our uphill trek in Luxembourg to the bus stop. You would think that since this is a “leap of faith” trip that God would cut us some slack.  It ain’t happening.  Of course, it is rather egotistical of me to expect God to stop what He is doing and pave the way for me to Easy Street.

The next day while walking aimlessly around the city center I came across a film in production so I walked onto the set and began photographing the crew and actors.  The image above is me with some of the extras from the film. Movie making is the same everywhere, a very slow process.  The extras and other young people of Belgrade were kind to me and willingly engage in conversation, something that has not happen since I left the United States.  Everyone is quick to tell me that Belgrade is a safe city, day or night.

The city maybe safe but watch out for the taxi divers, those guys are crazier than New York City cab drivers.  The locals never step out into the street unless they have the right-of-way and checked the road for taxi drivers.

Leap of Faith

November 7th, 2010

Stalin, Lenin, Bicycles and Unicycles/October 2010

A park in Budapest where statues of Lenin and Stalin once stood is now a covered parking lot.  The day Lauren and I walked by a group of young guys were practicing their trick moves on bicycles and unicycles.

The images speaks for themselves.

Leap of Faith

November 7th, 2010

Budapest/October 2010

Budapest slapped me in the face from the moment I stepped off the train and the assault did not let up until I left the city.  What do you say about a city in which the canned tour guide speech claims the city’s roots are based out of a time where “animal husbandry ran wild”.  A bishop was so hated by the townspeople that they put him into a wooden barrel studded with nails and pushed him down the mountain to his death.  In his memory a beautiful waterfall was created on the site of his death.
I cannot make this stuff up.  Budapest is one tough town.

The city and its people are covered in grime of varying shades of gray that choked out any room for humanity dignity.  The sidewalks are packed with people pushing and shoving as they hurry to their next destination.  No one speaks.  No one looks at one another.  No one smiles.  Beggars sit silently on the sidewalk, their heads bowed, as they stare at their feet and hold out their paper cup, waiting for people to walk by and drop in spare change.  When the sun goes down, the beggars migrate to the underground metro where they sleep, lined up next to each other on the concrete floor.  The only color in the Budapest is the graffiti that covers every building and even that is muted.

The sadness and the sorrow of the people and the city overwhelmed me. I could no longer look up as I walked around the city.  I walked mutely behind Lauren, following her footsteps, looking only at the reflection of the city in the puddles on the sidewalk.  I knew it was time for me to leave Budapest when I realized that the puddles were urine.

I have never experienced a place that filled me with such sadness and sorrow.  For me, Budapest is a city without soul or spirituality.  I have no idea how the people of Budapest survive.

Leap of Faith

November 7th, 2010

A Peek Behind The Iron Curtain/September 2010

When I was growing up Communism was the identified threat to US democracy and the “American Way of Life”.  Eastern Europe was not a travel destination but a place that people risked their lives to escape. I thought of Eastern Europe as a faraway land firmly hidden behind the “Iron Curtain” of Communist control, a world of Cold War intrigue, poverty, despair and the prohibition of any religion.  As I child I wondered how the absence of religion impacted daily life in Eastern Europe.
The doors are now open to Eastern Europe, this was my opportunity to “take a peak behind the Iron Curtain”.

The daylong trip to Prague began with a train ride out of Luxembourg, in Nuremberg I had only minutes to catch the bus for the remaining four hours to Prague.  (Construction on the train tracks prevents train travel into Prague.)  Prague surprised me. The outskirts of the city is the scene of an espionage movie of the 50’s, miles of grey concrete housing buildings covered with sadness and hanging laundry.  In the center of the city color begins to appear in the people and the buildings, along with numerous tour groups lead by exhausted tour guides frantically waving their umbrellas in the air in vain attempts to keep the tourists on schedule.  While the impact of Communism is still evident, there is a spirit to the people and the place.

Leap of Faith

October 6th, 2010

Why In The World Is Lauren Smiling? September 2010

I thought Luxembourg was a quaint, sleepy little hamlet surrounded by mountains.  That is what I remember from my geography lessons in Catholic elementary school.  Sister Mary Helen is looking down from heaven and she is not smiling.

Luxembourg is a bustling metropolis with all the sights, sounds, crowds and chaos of New York City.  I gave the city a few days, then it was time for me to leave.

The morning of our departure we overslept.  We had 20 minutes to get dressed, pack our backpacks, check out of the hostel and catch the bus to the train station.  Any sane person would have rolled over, gone back to sleep and caught the train another day.  That was not a option, we had a 10 hour train trip to Prague.  We were idiots.

Lauren and I frantically dragged our packs out of the room as we rapidly stuffed things into our packs.  We gently tossed the bedding to the hostel personnel as we begged for a ride to the train station.  The staff had seen it all before, they just shook their heads and wished us luck.

We had to take the bus to the train station.  What remained between us and the bus stop was a 1/4 mile climb up a very steep hill.  Lauren surged up the hill with 50 pounds of junk on her back.  I found Jesus on that bloody hill.  That is the only explanation for how I made it up that hill alive.  Lauren reached the top and looked back to see me clutching the railing as I dragged my sorry butt and a 50 pound pack of unnecessary stuff up that damn hill.

Why is Lauren smiling in the photo?  Because we made it to the bus stop with 5 minutes to spare. Lauren is proudly standing at the Luxembourg train station in her pajamas and hiking boots.  I am just out of frame passed out on the ground.

My only regret is that we were unable to videotape the experience.  It would have made a great audition tape for “Amazing Race”.