Day 45 – Thursday, March 12, 2026

I felt a bit like a cowboy in the Wild West without his rifle - for me, my beloved bike was at the workshop. Not much went on, I did some more sightseeing in this eclectic town, sometimes I had to pinch myself whether I am in France, Spain or the the center of Bucharest. Regarding Budapest, "my" city was mentioned on a plaque, it having Art Niveau buildings just like Lima - see the Casa Courret I had depicted. At noon, there was a change of guard front of the presidential palace - alas, as the square was closed for the fear of protests, it could only be seen from the far. It reminded me of the Ministry of Silly Walks by Monty Python ( https://youtu.be/iV2ViNJFZC8?si=Oop9a4P4rAxtTbPB). I had seen something similar in Atari, at the Pskistani-Indian border. I get a haircut outside downtown, crossed a roaring river for that, then back in the city (i.e. 5 minutes later, there is not much to cut on my head) I visited a wonderful (and, mind you, free) pre-Columbian museum. The building is a former bank headquarters, there was a gigantic safe door where all the Inka gold is kept. Usually, I am not a big fan of street performers - so all the more memorable mention to the guy who was playing his broom and the cyclist somehow hanging in the air. The Bollywood performance was rather weak, but again, I had to pinch myself where exactly I was.

I had booked an afternoon flight to Cusco, but it was delayed till eight in the evening. Still, I had no idea how getting to the airport was and whether I would find everything- so I left downtown by the airport bus just minutes away from my central accommodation. The bus cost about $2 and was there quickly - I do have to mention that as soon as we left the pretty downtown area, it turned into a rather uninteresting, industrial area. The check-in process at the airport was a breeze, I made it through all controls within minutes. Some airports could learn from Lima. Then a mishap happened - I grabbed something to eat and when sitting down, I realized my cell phone was missing. I asked someone to call my number - and phew - the lady at the check-in counter replied. I got it back soon, but need to be more careful!