You Know the old saying...

Early to bed and early to rise makes an Ole healthy, wealthy, and wise… Unless class is being held 20 feet from that Ole’s bedroom door at 10:30 am, in which case early rising is unnecessary. Class in the breakfast room is always a treat. If attention manages to escape oneself, the 8th-story views of the Danube are certain to cater to the whims of the imagination. The endless supply of tea in the breakfast room provides an alternative solution to the problem of concentration. It’s not that number theory isn’t interesting, quite the contrary actually, it’s just that every time we have class in the breakfast room there seems to be an extra-exciting event that directly follows – and today was no exception.
Today we trekked up to Hungary’s National Gallery. The gallery is housed in the former royal palace, which was originally built in the 15th century but was destroyed multiple times by the various invading armies, like the Turks and the Austrians. Its present incarnation was built after World War II. Our tour guide showed us several interesting paintings from the 19th century that were commissioned by Hungarian noblemen, most notably Count Szechenyi (pronounced Say-Cheney). The object of these paintings, which were all enormous and meant for public viewing, was to create a sense of community in the Hungarian people. They did this by pictorially describing the history of Hungary, which was important for two reasons: One, it gave all Hungarians the knowledge of their history, which until that point consisted primarily of legends and ghost stories. More importantly, it created a theme for all Hungarians to understand, namely that Hungary had been invaded and its people subjected to unmentionable cruelty, but through it all they survived and threw off their oppressors. This theme was important to Szechenyi and his compatriots, who were organizing a revolution against the Habsburg monarchy.
After the tour, we were given the freedom to roam the gallery and enjoy the views of Buda from the grounds of the palace. While photos inside the gallery were restricted, we definitely made up for it outside, and despite the cloudy weather (I’m sensing a theme here…) we still took some wonderful photos!
After the gallery we all dispersed to quickly grab dinner and make final arrangements for the much-anticipated weekend in Vienna before hurrying back to the dorm for some last minute cramming. Tomorrow we will cross our fingers and jump into a 2-hour test worth 30% of our final grade; but on the eve of such a seemingly daunting exam, doors are open, music is playing, and tensions are light. Must be the crystal clean Budapest air that’s calming our nerves. Anyhow, wish us luck tomorrow, and safe travels to Vienna.

Auf Wiedersehen!
Chris Gustafson, Colin Huffer