Good news: The oppressive heat that has gripped Budapest for the last 2 weeks has finally given way!
Bad news: The oppressive heat that has gripped Budapest for the last 2 weeks has given way to torrential downpours that have flooded streets, metro stations and basements, collapsed roads, and led to electricity outages lasting upwards of 24 hours so far. People have had to be rescued from stranded cars and one person was even electrocuted to death from the water flooding his basement. They’re saying Budapest received the equivalent of 1.5 months of rain just in yesterday’s storm.
My apartment building is one of the few along Andrassy Ut. that lost power. They say the power outages are due to basements being flooded and tripping the emergency “off” switch on the power supplies. This doesn’t surprise me, given that the courtyard my apartment sits in was flooded with up to two inches of standing water in some areas due to insufficient drainage. I was worried the apartment was going to flood. Fortunately, it did not. The power went out last night around 6:30-7pm. It’s not back on yet, nearly 24 hours later.
The rain was coming down in torrents when my power went out and the courtyard was flooded with standing water. At the time, I was getting ready for the weekly swing dance event here in Budapest. I was especially looking forward to getting out and dancing once the power went out, not wanting to sit alone in my dark apartment. The dance was, of course, cancelled. Still not wanting to sit alone in my dark apartment, I walked downstairs to the Georgian restaurant next door for some dinner. I’d been avoiding the place along the clearly logical argument that, since it’s so close to me, it can’t possibly be as good as the restaurants further down the street. At least the rain was good for something – the meal was amazing!
Since the power was still out, I walked across the street to a coffee shop for some coffee, dessert, and FREE WIFI! But alas, ‘twas just a pipe dream as only half of the wifi was functional – the internet was down due to the storm. I avoid using my data plan abroad because it’s highway robbery, but made an exception to check couchsurfing.com for anyone getting together in the area. I headed over to a bar where there was a group getting together and realized I recognized the place – I’d walked through here a few nights prior. It wasn’t a bar as much as collection of several bars in one area, with an upstairs and downstairs and several hundred people standing, sitting at tables and couches, hidden in nooks and crannies… All I had to go by was a guy wearing a hat with an “M” on it and “one girl in a jean jacket!” Imagine!
I surrendered to the craptacularness of it all and went home to bed. This morning, the power still being out, I took a shower by the light of a tiny flashlight (thankfully the hot water heater is gas-powered!), got dressed and headed out to a café for breakfast. I ate and studied my Hungarian notes before heading off to my lesson. Now I’m sitting in a coffee shop writing this post in Word because, though their wireless router is working, their internet is not! At least they have ample power plugs for charging my electronics…
I’m headed home soon and keeping my fingers crossed the power is back on. There’s another couchsurf meetup tonight, as well – maybe 2nd time’s the charm?
Ooh look, the internet’s up for a minute! Publish, please!
TL;DR: Heat gives way to what the Hungarians are calling a “pokolvihar” – hellstorm!
