Its about to be 9oclock and Brett is helping Ivan and his Mom take books off the shelf and put them in boxes. The shelf almost fell off the apartment wall last night and we have to do this before we go out dancing tonight. We are meeting up with a coulple of girls we met at the bar last night for a local drink called Palinka. It is pure alcohol infused with fruit of your choice. Needless to say we are right on track. We have been Budapest for 2 nights now and are staying with Ivan, another couch surfing friend, who is showing Budapest by bikes messenger style. We are showing him some of that Budapest nightlife he lives so close to. But lets back up. Its been awhile and an entire country since we last checked in. Slovakia was amazing. As South Poland fades into Slovakia the mountains punch out the earth and the sun gets hot. We rode some hard days and fell into some pretty funny circumstances and steep hills as we lost our way. Slovakia had us sleeping in school parking lots, lovely mountain meadows, a bus stop, and other little coves here and there. North Slovakia has the mountains and the tourists while the South has projects and frowns. We were happy to cross the Hungarian boarder as things started looking up. The woman look better and the restaurants are more easily identifiable.

We will be on our way south toward Serbia as soon as we get new maps and start pedaling. That makes our stay here in Budapest at 4 days. That is not nearly long enough as we have just started to get acquainted with the locals. We were able to play some bike polo and this was amazing. They play on hard courts with boards but everything else is about the same including the laughter and drinking. Brett and I represented the states like some true blooded players making passes and scoring points.

There is so much to tell and this blog does very little justice to the experience we are having. There is so much to tell and so little space to do it. Do know that Brett and I are getting along swimmingly and continually laughing at our inside jokes and shared experience. We are constantly put in situations that illuminate how good and how crazy we have it in the States. It seems so long that we have been away. Each day is an eternity of memories.

It is nice though being able to share a bit with all yall back home. Thanks for staying in touch and posting those comments. We miss you all. Until next time. Much love, Steven and Brett. (and for Kelsey, Ace and Gary)