If I remember, Occam’s razor refers to the supposition that the simplest explanation is usually the most accurate. In my case, I was looking to understand why my backup razor (didn’t bring the “good one”) wasn’t working well. It made all the right noises & obviously had power. Ah…perhaps I didn’t line things up correctly yesterday (when I went to clean out the razor & piece that holds the blades in place fell into an unused toilet bowl…of course, I promptly fished it out & gave it and my hands a good cleaning). The retaining piece was fine…but it was no longer retaining the three blades. Which (given the simplest explanation) mean they must have fallen into the toilet (long since flushed) & I just didn’t see them.
As you might imagine, electric shaving without blades is a less than satisfactory experience. So, on this day (Monday), I set out to find replacement blades or a new electric razor (yes, I’m that much of a wimp that using a manual razor isn’t really an option).
While we were next to the main shopping district, it turned out that none of the stores carried either item). At the suggestion of the front desk staff at the Marriott, I headed over to the West End City Center mall (via metro). I had hoped to get an “all day” metro ticket (to avoid waiting in line each time to buy an individual ride ticket), only to have an old woman speak to me in some sort of Hungarian rant. Perhaps I now am the proud owner of a curse? In any event, the West End City Center mall could easily be swapped with any major indoor mall in the US. Except for the fact the store names were largely unfamiliar & signs were in Hungarian. It then occurred to me that I didn’t have the name of a particular store for this excursion, much less the Hungarian word for “electric razor”. This was made all the more daunting by the fact it was a three-story mall with what seemed to be about 6 different wings. I talked to a young man at a Dell store (OK, so that’s a name I recognized) & he said he didn’t know of any places that would sell razors or blades. But, he thought they might have some at “Media Markt”. Media Markt (which I think I visited in Rotterdam some years ago) is about the size of a Fry’s Electronics store. I didn’t just find a razor; I found the aisle of razors & hair dryers. They didn’t have my replacement blades, but I was able to buy a relatively inexpensive replacement razor. After I spent time in a couple of the slowest lines in the history of modern retail, I emerged victorious, ready to be facilally shorn.
I took metro down past our hotel to meet Charlie at the Great Market Hall. This large building (which looked a lot like the nicer train stations & other “old shopping malls”) housed more butchers & produce shops than one could imagine. Lots & lots of peppers of every shape, size, and color for sale! An interesting place, but one instance where my trusty travel buddy, Rick Steves, probably over-rated it.
After heading back to the hotel & packing/checking out, we walked across the Chain Bridge to see the Buda side of the river. Several of the main sights are up on “Castle Hill”. We took a funicular up the hill & were almost immediately accosted by one of the craziest people I’ve seen in a long time (then again, I don’t spend nearly as much time in Berkeley as I once did). We decided not to go into the many museums on the hill, but rather wandered around & saw the buildings and the views back across the Danube & an impressive fortification called the “Fisherman’s Bastion”. And yes, we managed to skip the Marzipan Museum.
We descended the hill by foot, got our bags from our hotel and headed to the train station. Our destination: Eger (a well-preserved town, with a rich history). By the time we got to the train, I think both Charlie & I were beginning to feel a bit under the weather. Yet we soldiered on.
Eger is a very nice, medium-sized town. We’re staying at an inn that has a whopping 5 rooms. We had a very tasty dinner outdoors here (Charlie’s Wiener schnitzel was claimed to the biggest in the county, I’ve seen nothing thereafter to contradict that claim). Hungary does seem to have a lot of alfresco dining options, of course, that may be related to the eating in places more touristy than others. We enjoyed the nice, but seemingly changing weather and the relaxed pace of Eger.
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