Well. We’re off to Hungary in a couple of days.
Unfortunately it’s not for the best of reasons.
My dad passed away on April 5th, 2009. It was just a few days after his birthday. He just turned 71 years old. At the time he was in Egypt on a little mini vacation swimming. I still don’t know all of the particulars, but the official cause of death is “drowning,” but we also heard that he had a heart attack. I know he can swim… and one can easily lead to the other.
Other than the last bit, it seems like not a bad way to go. Vacation to some far-away land.
It also makes things complicated. Moving a body between countries is an involved affair. I’m just thankful he had travel insurance that handled the intricacies of the logistics. The problem is that it takes a long time.
It’s been almost two weeks already. The funeral is on the 22nd. In the time we’ve already processed what has happened. For the most part anyway. I’m sure things will hit me more when I’m actually there.
In any case, this blog is back to record what’s going on when we’re there. No reason not to at this point. My mom and my brother will be going along with Ennie and me. I’ll also be bringing along a new camera to take some pictures (more on that later).
The really strange thing is that me and En were just there two years ago and we’re more familiar with the lay of the land than either my mom or my brother. To simplify things (and since it’s pretty cheap anyway) we’re going to be staying at the same hotel that we stayed at last time: the Mercure Museum Hotel in Budapest. We’re going to know all the cafes, the restaurants, the transit system, where to pick up groceries. The whole nine yards. Even though my mom was born there (well, in Transylvania – a part of Romania that used to be part of Hungary), we’ll know it better than she will. Go figure.
In any case, here’s what I posted to Facebook the Tuesday after this all started happening to save me from typing it all in again:
Q: Why the hell are you at work?
A: Because there's nothing I can do at home. The routine is a nice thing to have now.
Q: ??
A: My dad lived* in Hungary in Monorierdő, a little town to the east of Budapest, and was taking a vacation to Egypt. At this point we've talked to two embassies about moving his body back to Hungary. It’s a hard process it seems. The upshot of all this is that with the time difference of six hours, everyone has gone home where it matters — Egypt and Hungary. So I’m here.
Q: Where in Egypt?
A: We’re not sure yet. We know it’s not Cairo. Egypt can be broken out into two parts: Cairo and not-Cairo. The not-Cairo part is somewhat podunk-y. It’s making the process harder.
Q: What happened?
A: The best we can ascertain is that he was swimming and had a heart attack.
Q: Where will he be buried?
A: He was born in Hungary and his family has a plot at a cemetery in Monor, Hungary. We're thinking that's where he would want to be.
Q: Are you going to Hungary? When?
A: Yes. Sometime soon. Probably next week, but we don’t know for sure yet. It depends on how quickly various processes that we have no control of work. That combined with the Easter holiday make for many layers of uncertainly piling up.
* – It’s hard typing in past-tense. 
In case you’re wondering and want to pass the time, here’s a link to the city he lived in.
The maps makes far more sense in Hungarian. The streets are mainly named after types of trees and birds. He lived on Sas Utca: Eagle Street. Other streets nearby are called Walnut Street, Lime Street, Pheasant Street, Oat Street, Falcon Street. There's also a Friendship Street and Independence Street thrown in for variety.
In front of the Szabads
It depends on how quickly various processes that we have no control of work. That combined with the Easter holiday make for many layers of uncertainly piling up.
hope you had a great vacation