Today, Molly wanted to run. We headed to a park on the island named Margitsziget (after a Hungarian King's Saint daughter). The Danube river flows by each side of the island and bridges connect the nature lovers to the nature lovers park. It was a long walk to get there. I thought Molly would be too tired to run, but I was wrong.
A nice trail went around the outside of the island, so Molly took off. I found a bike rental place and headed off on the trail on a bike. I circled the island, twice, as did Molly. I was so taken by the beautiful fall colors and the leaves making a carpet of gold across the grass. At the moment, I thought I had never seen anything as spectacular. And then I wondered. When we are traveling, do we see things differently? Are we more open to beauty and wonder? Has our pace slowed to a point of having the ability to absorb what is around us instead of letting it simply brush our senses? Why is this more spectacular today, than what I see at home? Are my eyes just more wide open?
We saw the elaborate Parliament building, close to the Communist block housing. We saw a boat in the Danube that looked like a bus. We saw the Opera House a street away from the former Headquarters of the Hungarian SS division. Budapest is a city that has stirred my thoughts and messes with my brain.
