Buona sera!
The 40th International Chemistry Olympiad is quickly coming to a close. It amazes me that we’ve have been in Budapest for so long. The mentors have become experts at navigating the city via the Metro, trams, and buses. Today Team Lynch went on the planned excursion to Eger for the guests. While there, they visited a cathedral and fortress and after lunch took a train trip to a forest preserve.
Meanwhile JL, Ms. Pezzi, and Mr. Monson traveled into Pest to visit Széchenyi Baths and Műcsarnok Palace of Art. The museum houses contemporary Hungarian art. It was a very interesting collection. We then took the metro to Vörösmarty tér in central Pest and had lunch at Gerbeaud Cukrázsda, one of only two Budapest cafés that the Soviets allowed to remain open during their occupation of Hungary.
From there we walked back to the main Metro station (we did NOT take the Barbie Bus) to make the first leg of our trip to Szoborpark (Statue Park) where the city placed 41 Communist monuments in 1993. After arriving in Buda’s Moszkva tér, we took the #56 tram to the end of the line in Budafok. From there, we took the #114 bus even further south until we reached the point where we could transfer to the #50 bus that would take us to the park. Considering that each new leg of travel requires a new ticket, this was not a cheap trip. There are no transfers on the mass transit system in Budapest! The park was a stark reminder of what life must have been like during the Soviet occupation; lots of propaganda to remind the people of who was in charge of their lives. The trip to the park probably took at least 2.5 hours – much of the time was spent trying to interpret the transit maps that have over 100 buses, trams, and metro lines. The return trip to the hotel was at least 13.5 miles and took 1.5 hours of which at least 1 hour was actually spent in motion on the buses or trams.
After dinner, the mentors had their fourth jury meeting. Here we learned the schedule of the upcoming Olympiads:
2009 – United Kingdom (Cambridge and Oxford); 2010 – Japan (Tokyo); 2011 – Turkey; 2012 – USA (no location selected!); 2013 – Singapore; 2014 – Vietnam; 2015 – Thailand. 2013-2015 are unofficial venues, but hopefully will become finalized soon.
The International Jury also allocated medals. There will be 30 gold, 52 silver, and 79 bronze medals awarded in tomorrow’s closing ceremony. No one knows for sure how their team did, but we are all hoping for the best.
Tomorrow is a day of rest and packing for the return trip on Monday. I will be traveling to Italy to meet some Pezzi relatives who still live in the area in which my great-grandparents were born. I am very excited to have this opportunity! Dr. Lynch and JL will accompany the team back to New York on Monday. Hopefully the departure will go smoothly and everyone will be able to make their connecting flights back to their respective homes.
Until tomorrow, arrviederci!
The 40th International Chemistry Olympiad is quickly coming to a close. It amazes me that we’ve have been in Budapest for so long. The mentors have become experts at navigating the city via the Metro, trams, and buses. Today Team Lynch went on the planned excursion to Eger for the guests. While there, they visited a cathedral and fortress and after lunch took a train trip to a forest preserve.
Meanwhile JL, Ms. Pezzi, and Mr. Monson traveled into Pest to visit Széchenyi Baths and Műcsarnok Palace of Art. The museum houses contemporary Hungarian art. It was a very interesting collection. We then took the metro to Vörösmarty tér in central Pest and had lunch at Gerbeaud Cukrázsda, one of only two Budapest cafés that the Soviets allowed to remain open during their occupation of Hungary.
From there we walked back to the main Metro station (we did NOT take the Barbie Bus) to make the first leg of our trip to Szoborpark (Statue Park) where the city placed 41 Communist monuments in 1993. After arriving in Buda’s Moszkva tér, we took the #56 tram to the end of the line in Budafok. From there, we took the #114 bus even further south until we reached the point where we could transfer to the #50 bus that would take us to the park. Considering that each new leg of travel requires a new ticket, this was not a cheap trip. There are no transfers on the mass transit system in Budapest! The park was a stark reminder of what life must have been like during the Soviet occupation; lots of propaganda to remind the people of who was in charge of their lives. The trip to the park probably took at least 2.5 hours – much of the time was spent trying to interpret the transit maps that have over 100 buses, trams, and metro lines. The return trip to the hotel was at least 13.5 miles and took 1.5 hours of which at least 1 hour was actually spent in motion on the buses or trams.
After dinner, the mentors had their fourth jury meeting. Here we learned the schedule of the upcoming Olympiads:
2009 – United Kingdom (Cambridge and Oxford); 2010 – Japan (Tokyo); 2011 – Turkey; 2012 – USA (no location selected!); 2013 – Singapore; 2014 – Vietnam; 2015 – Thailand. 2013-2015 are unofficial venues, but hopefully will become finalized soon.
The International Jury also allocated medals. There will be 30 gold, 52 silver, and 79 bronze medals awarded in tomorrow’s closing ceremony. No one knows for sure how their team did, but we are all hoping for the best.
Tomorrow is a day of rest and packing for the return trip on Monday. I will be traveling to Italy to meet some Pezzi relatives who still live in the area in which my great-grandparents were born. I am very excited to have this opportunity! Dr. Lynch and JL will accompany the team back to New York on Monday. Hopefully the departure will go smoothly and everyone will be able to make their connecting flights back to their respective homes.
Until tomorrow, arrviederci!
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