Saturday Night - A Study in Surprises

Some of friends and I decided Saturday night was going to be an evening of culture.  We found a listing for a folk music show and decided we were going.  Saturday afternoon, I try to find out more about the show before we go and, wouldn't you know it, it's benefit concert for a children's hospital being put on by the local JCC.  Apparently I just can't escape the Jewish world.  Deciding that we didn't want to go (don't worry, folk music is hopefully happening tomorrow).  This leaves us without a plan, but an urge to go out.

We meet some other kids on the program at an amazing ruinpub called Szimpla.  This bar is a 2 story building with a courtyard and something like six separate bars for drinks.  The atmosphere is pretty relaxed and is definitely a place we will return to.

After a beer, we head out to a night club Corvin.  We don't exactly know where it is, but we haven't stopped hearing about it since we arrived.  Walking around at 11:00 at night when it's something like 1 °C can be fun, especially when trying to get directions from locals who don't speak English.  Turns out that last week there was a Panic! At The Disco (at a different disco that is) and, as everybody rushed to the exit, 3 women were trampled.  As a result, Corvin was closed (same management?).

This leaves us aimless again.  We head back into Szimpla hoping to find a helpful local, but almost ready to call it a night.  We decide to ask just one person before heading home.  I choose an Arab looking guy assuming that he'll speak English:

Aloni: "Excuse me.  Do you know where we can find a good club?"
Ahmed: "Sure.  You should head to Morrison's 1.  You can get there by...(directions)..."
Chris (one of our party): "Where are you from anyway?"
Ahmed: "Riyadh"
Chris: "No way!  I spent a few years there in high school"

Ahmed get's very excited, hands his beer to his brother and - with only a hoodie (apparently that's correct spelling) for warmth - escorts us to Morrison's 1.  This walk, it turns out, should only have taken about 6 min. It took 20-25 at an impressive pace due to the fact that Ahmed only had a general idea of where the club was.

Finally we arrive at the club (about 1-1.5 hours after we left Szimpla the first time) and Ahmed (convinced at this point that I'm Persian because "you can always tell by the eyes") takes us inside.  It's a smoke-filled bar with karaoke and a dance floor and the following age distribution:

Songs we heard while dancing:

• Somewhere Over the Rainbow - IZ
• New York, New York - Frank Sinartra
• Hit the Road Jack - Ray Charles
• They Don't Care About Us - Michael Jackson

Songs we heard at karaoke:

• Zombie - The Cranberries
• Are You Gonna Be My Girl? - JET
• Rapper's Delight - Sugarhill Gang
• A selection of Hungarian favorites with which we eagerly sang along

Needless to say it was hilarious.

On our way out of the club, my clothes and my person reeking of cigarette smoke, we head to the trolley (which you might note is running at 4:15 am.  During our ride home, we had the pleasure of listening to a group of Hungarian metal-heads discussing their sexual liaisons in crude English.  Needless to say, it too was hilarious.

On a completely unrelated topic, I woke up today to find it snowing.  "Giddy" would best describe my morning commute.

Webpages that may or may not be relevant:

http://www.oldmansmusicpub.com/ (see "Languages")

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0129167/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKMgleUxD9w