Seven years have passed from this moment. There is an opening in Budapest, to go for a transition. I am tempted, but the statement is clear: “if you want to be promoted, you need to go there for one year, not six months”. There was no more room for negotiations, in the direction I wanted to drag my career. So I accept it. I don’t think too much. I feel, in many ways, that it is a perfect moment in my life to do that. To do it without questioning too much. I arrive in the capital city of Hungary without knowing exactly what to expect from the experience, but I have embrace it fully.
2019, from… COVID-19!
Being there for one year it made it easier for me to find a suitable rent, and so I have sealed a convenient accommodation somewhere very close to Lehel Ter. It is aimed to be close to my office, and so I arrange it. We are in late November, beginning of December, when things are being set smooth for me, and I start to enjoy my new experience. However, in the same time, it is end of 2019. When COVID-19 strikes. Short forward, around end of February, we are put to work from home. From my rented place, that is. Because I was quite far from home, but the contract and my papers were running, so for one year I need to be there.
Balaton Szupermaraton – the trigger
I can even say that I want to be there. We don’t know for sure when we might return to the office, so I need to keep my composure. I don’t make too many friends, my colleagues came here for three, six months maximum, so in the end I need to find a preoccupation, so my spare time to get a meaning. Without knowing, things might have started in early March, when I’ve run the Fel Balaton Szupermaraton. After 95 kilometers in two days, I’ve fled home, but emergency state was exactly then established in Romania. I am stressed, don’t know what to do, and this is materializing at peak when I am about to leave.
Flying alone from Bucharest to Budapest. I mean, alone in the plane!
I arrive at the airport and see nobody: “There were three more people, but it seems they are afraid to travel”, a flight attendant from Tarom told me chuckling. She was amused. In the end, what other options were left? I know I am the only passenger, but the “plane would have left even without you, as we have a return flight scheduled from Budapest also”. It is an interesting feeling to be alone in a commercial plane, apart from the flying crew, few people could experience this during their life time.
Almost unable to enter Hungary
My concern now is oriented towards the way I can enter in Hungary, and my fears got real when I was denied at first. I have all the papers, of course, but the border people are not willing to grant my access. I am lucky because a lady from the gate speaks Romanian, so she facilitates my story. I am a legal resident of Hungary, I have a work contract there, and should be allowed. In the end, I am, and I go to my studio from Pest.
Grounded, I need a purpose: running milestones
In theory, I could have been sent to Romania, but I didn’t really want that. And so it didn’t happen. Still frustrated, a bit scared and uneasy with the unknown around COVID-19 I go for a run. And then for another one. And another. I conclude I should do 50 in a row, then 100. Then I conclude I want 5,000 kilometers in 2020. These are crazy benchmarks. I am a runner for some years already, but I didn’t run every day. Now, it is the perfect moment to start, even if I didn’t necessary planned it too far ahead.
Budapest streets starting to hit different
I am waiting for curfew, for strict regulations, but Budapest, in many ways, remains quite permissive. Tourists numbers are getting thinner and thinner, though, and for some persons this can become a tragedy. Not for me. I see the opportunity, and I can feel the grasp of the city a lot better. Streets and side walks are much clearer and emptier comparing to 2019 – I’ve been there three times before settling in. The core of the people with whom I am sharing the city are locals, and the expats, like me, who have a deeper purpose of being there.
The 2.9 kilometer “safety loop”
This is a blessing! The Danube has fewer and fewer ships crossing it, but running events are being held. At a more discreet pace, but still they are held, and that is a great opportunity for me to wind my daily runs with some running events which can add purpose to my new I build a 2.9 kilometer loop near my apartment, which I enjoy until it is evident we can get on and run further. I like going on Margret Island. It is fairly close to my accommodation, and a beautiful place to run on.
Expanding my running horizons
It becomes a straight routine: bed; coach for work; in the late afternoon / evening run. I might run several rounds at times, but I usually prefer to stick to one, but longer in weekends. As said, not too much of a sociable guy, and didn’t force any friendships which were not necessary at glance. I prefer to build stamina. And I run. One day after another. I even circle Budapest in a record 55.55 kilometers run.
55.55 kilometers, longest “amateur” distance on record to date
With pauses, OK, but still 55 kilometers. I would maybe have added more, but my Polar M430 from back then, was not the type of watch with an autonomy greater than six hours. It was depleting, and I concluded 55.55 kilometers. My longest run, up to date, outside any competitive run. The next day, all over again. I even try to tie 10 half marathons in 10 days, but I can’t manage that. The level of effort required, unbearable. I listen to my body, and I abandon the idea. I run as much as I can daily, but not less than seven kilometers. It is an arbitrary goal, I don’t impose it from the beginning. It was just meant to be.
Moving the streak to Romania for one month
The pandemic is growing, and Budapest becomes even emptier. I feel blessed! I don’t think there was any other time better to be in Budapest than 2020, and for such a long time. Of course, being alone, I feel the need to return to Romania, and so I do, and June I spend almost the entire month in my country. I continue the streak. There is no other option, I need to reach 5,000 kilometers that year. When traveling back and forth to Bucharest, I see an empty Liszt Ferenc Airport. For many that might have been scary, creepy.
Liszt Ferenc Airport, as empty as it will ever be
For me it was just inspirational. I like being among the few there. I like quite, and even solitude too much to not take advantage of moments like this, which might not come back in this state, any time soon. It is abnormally quiet. Budapest’s airport is not huge, but neither is it small, so to see it this empty breeds mixed feelings. When I return, even if I don’t have any entry problems this time, things look to consolidate the isolation, the state of hopelessness.
The unknown gets bigger, wider. No problem!
Almost eight months since I’ve arrive in Budapest, I don’t know yet what to expect of. At the beginning it was the unknown. Now, it is a greater unknown. But it is not the initial kind of unknown, experienced by a foreigner going to work in a different country, but a type of unknown to which nobody really had a suitable answer. I decide to enjoy my streak, the emptiness of Budapest and what this beautiful city has to offer.
Budapest, new center of my universe
I keep running it, I keep traveling inside the country, I even take the train to Slovakia, Czech Republic and Austria. But at a moment in time, around August, this becomes tricky too. Therefore, I prefer to keep the best card I have: completely enjoy the autumn in Hungary, and even better in Budapest. Fenyőgyöngye forest and its surroundings is a blessing, you can run there and explore a lot of hilly paths.
Half-marathon to Szentendre, marathon to Esztergom!
All runs along the Danube, with the Parliament building, or Buda Castle in sight are real cultural experiences, and patches for the soul, especially in these periods. The adidas Runners Budapest community is still long shut down, but I enjoy Laszlo’s company. We get along, and run together in some moments. We even go for a half-marathon to Szentendre, and for a whole marathon to Esztergom. These are, indeed, unique experiences. Experiences which bring additional millage to my goal, but also the sentiment of fulfillment.
We never return to office in Budapest, but I’m returning to Romania
November is back again, and my one year contract is about to expire. We didn’t got back again to the office, not even once. We did manage to meet all team members once at some drinks, and that was it. For many, the life I had for 12 months in Budapest could have looked shocking, like a real punishment. Maybe a curse, even? But for me, being stuck in Budapest for the core of the pandemic, at least as we perceive this core in Romania, was the best thing I could encounter.
My solitude had absolutely nothing to the relationship with Hungarian people!
I am eternally grateful for that, and maybe this is the exact reason for which I decided to write this, seven years after I was presented with the opportunity to go to Budapest. This remains the kind of train you can catch only a few times in a human life. My solitude in Budapest could be strange, but it was everything I needed. I was not avoided by people, on the contrary, I met a lot of great Hungarian people, and I never felt, even once!, discriminated in Budapest.
Zero discrimination felt in one year! ZERO!
I mean, I could learn only short words, and to count to ten, mostly that was it. But this didn’t affect my life there in any way. People are fair and friendly, so I don’t want you to think I was forced to remain isolated because of people’s treatment. No, it was my free will, and I had all the ingredients at hand to make a large friend’s circle, if I wanted. I preferred my running solitude, most of the time.
The day I am departing Budapest, curfew sets in; COVID-19 getting enhanced
One small exception was very close towards my departure. I was about to date a lady, but in the end we couldn’t meet, and I was at the end of my runway in Hungary. Maybe she thought there is no point in going out with me, as I was about to go. And, honestly speaking, she was right. In the exact day my train left from Keleti train station to Gara de Nord, a curfew was decreed in Hungary. It is second half of November 2020, and the pandemic hits hard there also. There is no more room for easy rules. Things need to change.
Only 30 minutes of delay, something almost shocking
People can’t get out after a certain hour, 20:00, if I remember well, and other kind of draconian measures to fight the virus, as much as it could be fought. In my last day there. It is another thing I will never forget. I left “freedom” and reached freedom. There were no more planes flying, so this is why I needed to take the train. The final journey was delayed only 30 minutes, to my huge surprise, given my overall experience on the Romanian railway.
I had the loop to legally avoid home isolation, and I successfully used it
The problem I now faced was that there was a chance I needed to stay two weeks confined at home, for this trip. I couldn’t sleep on this, so I find the “corporate employee” loop presented to DSP. The police officer from Curtici didn’t knew, but the lady from the health department was aware, so I am granted free access. I dodge any kind of forced confinement for the whole length of the pandemic. In the end, staying in house for two weeks was not a huge tragedy…
My streak started in Budapest, ended in Bucharest on day 268
But I was on a streak still, and needed to make it as long as possible, so I was thinking then. It ended somewhere mid-December at 268 consecutive running days, and then filled with whatever needed to complete 5,000 kilometers. It is a number completely unusual for an amateur runner. It brought a lot of muscle pain, but no more than that. My muscles were devastated, pushed them to the limit, but my overall joint and bone health looked intact. I am happy.
Kilometer number 5,000 in 2020 was never witnessed by my long road companions
My shoes with which I’ve collected more than 6,000 kilometers, as written here, didn’t make it. I cleaned them and left them somewhere near Nyugati. There was no point to carry the “wrecks” back home, even if they served perfect to my experiment that proved shoes are not the most important part when running. I mean, after a hilly half-marathon on a October Saturday, I’ve did a 10K personal best back then, at 40:52. I only significantly improved that PB three years later, by one minute. It still remains one of my best times at this distance to date.
Budapest, the perfect place to be in 2020!
Speaking about remaining, I had also the option to prolong my stay in Budapest for an indefinite time period, but because of the different conditions I passed it out. I was not necessary very happy to come back to Bucharest, but in the end the dots connected perfect. However, Budapest remains the absolute perfect place to be, for me, in 2020. In its overall solitude, the city revealed a majestic edge, few could see, and which – I am afraid – fewer will ever have the privilege to see.
Preparing to leave Budapest thru Keleti train station
For me, even the last evening, when going to board my long haul train in Keleti, a last detail clicked in perfectly. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the virtual races kicked in, and I’ve joined a few. Honestly, I never taught the world will be the same again. One of the notorious races I took part in was The Great Virtual Run Across Tennessee. 1,000 virtual kilometers to be logged in. Of course, given the fact that I’ve run 5,000 in 2020, that was nothing. The key was, at the end, I was about to get a famous American buckle for the race.
A buckle for a virtual race, organized by a famous American
Unfortunately, that was being delayed. More and more, so I lost hope I will ever get it. The trick here is that the organizer is Gary Cantrell. If the name is not familiar to you, maybe Lazarus Lake is. If this doesn’t sound familiar also, then the legendary Barkley Marathons should be. If it is not, then for sure you should have a look, to understand why I found this information relevant. In a way, it was a very important achievement for me, and a great memory to have.
The buckle has arrived in the last moment, saying: Budapest, Romania
I am about to leave Budapest, so one more glance in the mail box, which I am positive should untouched by relevant “merchandise”, but as I open it, I see it: the buckle has arrived!!!! I have it, even hugely late. I can take it home with me. A very interesting fact was the address written on the envelope: Budapest, Romania. Not only this is a common mistake between Bucharest and Budapest, understandable, for those who can see the very similar phonetic between the two, but my case was really special, and highlight it. I mean, I was living in Budapest, but “competing” for Romania. That breed additional confusion, of course.
A generous collection of medals to be transitioned to Romania
In the end, though, it is in my hands, and I can put it next to my Spartan medal collection, and to other medals achieved in the last year in Budapest, and entire Hungary at physical events. It is a good vibe, a great last feeling from Hungary before departing for good after this full year. I never regretted departing, even if I felt so good in that year. It was an unusual year, though… A year which can’t be matched with any past or present reality. Because the solitude I embraced in Budapest was truly unique, given the circumstances.
Budapest thought me about human behavior at its core
Once back, I got to my normal life, and could keep an ascending path in my life without mattering I am back to Bucharest. Or maybe exactly because of this! Who knows for sure? The only important thing is to cruise, from memory, back in 2020, when Budapest was the center of my Universe. When I have discovered hidden and beautiful places while running. When I understood better the core Hungarian approach of life. It is not only about culture, it is about behavior, about the way in which people live.
Budapest in the purest light
These details are hard to be absorbed and processed if you are not a highly sensitive human being, with a huge thirst of knowledge and understanding what is around you, and how everything came to life, or vanished, by case. Budapest, from many points of view, is a place unlike any other. I discovered it’s historic and cultural part more towards my departure. I visited places I didn’t hurry to see before. As said, though, this was not important. To explore the past, from a “fixed” way is important, but not only relevant.
COVID-19 worked a bit of magic
Watching how people behave, especially in a period of high emotional torture and psychological fear, like the COVID-19 brought is really something different, and meaningful. This is the core, the soul, and the key to every discovery. It might not always be beautiful, but this time was sublime. I explored everything mostly alone, and that added a lot of value to my shape as a human, in general.
Budapest, back after two years from my departure!
Maybe this is exactly why I am craving to see Budapest over and over again, as much as I can. Unfortunately, I could be there only once, in end 2022. Basically two years after my return. It remains a beautiful celebration. I did run on Margret Island, did climbed again to Gellért Hill, one of the best places to see. Went again to Gül Baba street, the steepest in the city, and so on. Fortunately, I met Laszlo again, and we could share some memories.
Planning to go there every time I’ll have a chance
Budapest keeps being a place where I will gladly return every time I might get a chance, and I can’t rule out any possibility for living there, again. For a year, or maybe more. Who knows? The sensation, for sure, can’t be the same. Not only because I doubt we will have another pandemic behaving like COVID-19. But even if we will have it, for sure the knowledge brought by the past one will support in a different behavior. I am not sure if for the better, or for the worst, but I am anticipating it would be different 100%.
My first 5K ran in under 20 minutes: Margret Island, Budapest!
Funny enough, I am writing this in the exact day in which, six years back, I ran my first 5K run under 20 minutes. Completed a virtual challenge on the adidas Runners app, on Margret Island, of course. Nobody makes it difficult there for a runner, people walk / run properly, and there is always room for everybody. Even in the most narrowest parts, where you might thing it is easy to stumble across people. It is really not, and this is absolutely the kind of delay which helps defining a nation.
My solitude in Budapest, a different type of solitude!
My story of a year of solitude in Budapest has nothing to do with loneliness or with the lack of success in connecting with others. It is about enjoying though times, by realizing everything can be a huge blessing if you know how to look at it. I looked at it in the most deep sense of words, senses, and sentiments. This year really deserves to be cherished for life, and Budapest deserves to be understood and discovered in a way few really can.
