2011 Hungary: Ckm - September

I’ve been meaning to write this up for a few weeks, but honestly, I needed the dust to settle. I was traveling with —for those of you who don’t know the acronym, it’s either a very serious project code or the initials of the most chaotic, wonderful travel partner I’ve ever had. (I’ll let you guess which).

Budapest & The Hungarian Countryside

We ended up sleeping on a stranger’s porch in . The stranger, an old fisherman named István, brought us blankets and halászlé (fisherman’s soup). He didn’t speak English. CKM didn’t speak Hungarian. But we all understood "good soup." The Takeaway Looking back at the photos, September 2011 was a weird month. The Euro was tanking, there were protests in Budapest for a few days, and we had to navigate riot police to get to the Great Market Hall. But CKM just laughed it off. CKM - September 2011 Hungary

We realized that Hungary isn't a "luxury" destination. It’s a messy, spicy, filling one. You don't go to Hungary to relax. You go to argue about goulash, to soak in 40°C water while playing chess, and to realize that "CKM" stands for "Crisis Management King/Queen." I’ve been meaning to write this up for

If you’re reading this, I still have the bottle of Unicum . I’m not drinking it without you. Thanks for the flat tire, the paprika hangover, and the best September of my life. Did you travel with a "CKM" in 2011? Or were you in Hungary that month? Drop a comment below. Budapest & The Hungarian Countryside We ended up

Long story short: CKM gave a 10/10 to a 70-year-old woman’s dried sausage. She was so happy she kissed us on both cheeks and forced a liter of homemade pálinka into our backpack. We were functionally useless by 2:00 PM. We took a day trip down to the "Hungarian Sea"— Lake Balaton . The water was still swimmable in September, just barely. We rented clunky old bikes to ride along the north shore.

Flashback: CKM and the Golden Month in Hungary (September 2011)