Yes indeed, it's very cold. Here in West Virginia we've been getting more than our fare share of this. It's gotten so bad that school's here and around the neighboring counties are going to be having students make up for missing days because of the snow. A couple months ago, it got so bad that some of the areas in West Virginia didn't have electric for around a month straight because of the damage the winter has caused. I had the flu a couple months ago and just as I got over it, it began again. My transportation to work is a bicycle but because it was so bad here, I had to walk to work for about 2 weeks straight. Very hard on the feet having to walk in snow. Now it seems like it's gonna get better but now we're told we have to put up with rain. Can't wait until summer finally get's here.

Jeff Z.

• December 08 2008
• 14 comments

Brad Simms has been traversing around the world on a solo mission for the majority of this year. Aside from a few weeks on American soil, he’s been skipping around Europe lately, which is where we caught up with him.

While most tourists have their photo taken in front of this temple with a silly smile on their face, Brad opts for a raditude fortified hang-5 instead. Photo: Toma

So where are you right now?
Poland. [I] was in Krakow, now I’m in Poznan.

What’s it like?
It’s awesome! Nice people, good food, cool spots to ride.

I figure it would be really cold. Have you been riding much?
I was until three days ago. It just got really cold here.

Have you finding stuff on your own, or do you have locals showing you around?
Locals show me around. In each country I go to I meet up with locals. Everyone is nice and they take me in like I am a family member.

How do you go about meeting the locals in the first place?
Some of them I meet on previous international contest trips, but a lot of them are from MySpace.

I’m assuming they speak English?
Yeah, some better then others.

Are you picking up any Polish?
Not really, I knew a few words before I got here.

You learned what to say to girls, right?
(Laughter) Of course.

Are there really as many hot girls out there as they say?
Holy sh-t! Yes. Belgrade, Serbia is ridiculous. Every country has beautiful women, but some just have more then others. Everywhere you turn your head in Serbia, there is your dream girl.

The commute into town from this mountain retreat has gotta be a drag. Photo: Brad Simms

Damn! So where else have you been on your European vacation?
Greece, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, and Poland. [I’ve] got four more to go to before I fly back on the 5th [December].

Where else will you be going to?
Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Switzerland, and France.

Do you have connects in all of those countries?
Yeah, except Slovakia, but I am going to just go to Bratislava for a few hours and then head straight to another country.

Which has been your favorite country so far?
I don’t have a favorite.

Brad blasts some big air somewhere in Greece. Photo: Mike Potter

Tell me about the spots.
Spots are everywhere. Sofia, Bulgaria has a ton in a 15-minute radius—you ride 20 completely different spots. Some places have spots, but they’re spread out. Each country is really unique.

How so?
Spots are different, rails are different. The spots differ like the women—some fat some slim (laughter).

(Laughter) So a lot of rails, did you find a second Barcelona of Eastern Europe?
I don’t know, I haven’t been to Barcelona yet, but I hear the Ukraine is flooded with a lot of good sh-t, and Vinlus, Lithuania.

So tell me about the riders, what are they like?
Greece and Hungary have some insane park riders, but I don’t really remember all of there names.

You told me once that a lot of the girls over there don’t see black guys too often.
Being a black man in Eastern Europe is the craziest thing ever. Imagine walking down the street or in a club and gorgeous women starring at you like you’re a superstar.

Everyday for me, baby!
(Laughter) Trust me, Z, I know you’re a handsome young man and all, but you have no idea what I’m talking about out here (laughter).

I know. I really have no idea about those ladies. Do people give you sh-t for being American, because of our terrible international relations?
I’ve only had one person act really weird to us and it was these two wanna-be Jamaican girls in England that tried to clown Nate and I for being American.

Nate Moroshan?
Yeah, it was weird.

How was it weird?
We were kind of dancing with them and they asked where we were from and we when we told them that we were American they rolled their eyes and said, “Oh please, America…”

That doesn’t sound too weird to me.
It’s hard to explain. You’d have to be there. Basically, they quit talking to us because we were American.

Brad flipped out once he reached Hungary. Photo: Danny Kralik

What are you going to do once you’ve run out of European countries to visit?
That’s easy. In mid January I am going back to South America to visit three new countries on my list, Peru, Argentina, and Uruguay. And the famous Macchu Picchu in Peru. I definitely need to explore more of Africa and Asia, too.

Have you ever considered bringing a filmer with you and filming an entire section from your travels, with zero clips on American soil?
Yeah, I’ve thought about it a hundred times, but the thing with that is, who is going to pay for the filmer? Not too many companies like shelling out money for someone who is not apart of their team. Yeah, they’re helping them out, but it’s still a whole different ball game.

Damn economics… So in all of your travels, what do you think is the most valuable lesson you’ve learned?
America has it great! And even with all the sh-t wrong in the country, we are very fortunate. But at the same time, there is vast beauty that can be seen, that money can’t buy—breathtaking landscapes that the poor and rich alike can enjoy. There are places people should go before they die because they are that amazing—and some of these places are not at all wealthy. There are great people throughout the world with great things to offer and teach us. As much as there are scumbags everywhere, good people do exist and there is nothing like the journey to find all of that out for yourself.

Turndown in Hungary. Photo: Danny Kralik

The museum is huge. Three massive floors hold everything from artifacts to video screens. The only downside to this experience was the fact that there was next to nothing written in English. We were able to get around fine, but when it came to reading descriptions of artifacts then we were completely in the dark. Speaking of the dark, we wandered to the basement to tour the prison exhibit. I don't know if it was the actual prison or not, but it was pretty creepy none the less. The rooms were dark and damp and scary. Some of them you could walk into and explore, there were others that were roped off. There was one that was full of water. As there was no light, it was hard to tell if the water was inches or feet deep. Eventually, we made it back outside in the balmy heat. I'm surprised at how freaking hot it is here. I feel grimy and sweaty all the time, which does wonders for my mood.
 
As we were trying to get back to the meeting point, the three of us managed to get quite lost. There is a subway system here in Budapest, which surprised me quite a bit. It was, however, not the easiest to use. Out of desperation, I asked what I assumed to be a police officer how to get back to the city center. Surprisingly, she spoke enough English to tell us we were on the wrong side of the track. The three of us managed to race back up the stairs, across the busy street and back down the subway entrance just in time to catch another train.

“Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!” sings ole Dean Martin. Yet, Taylor has already tired of the constant snow here in Fehérvár. The constant snow has had us holing up in our apartment, bundled up in covers, the steam of our hot tea caressing our faces as we research trips to the back of beyond. Sunday, however, we broke free of our cocoon of blankets and set out to see the House of Terror in Budapest. We enjoyed a piddling morning and were a bit late getting out to Budapest. When we arrived, Taylor was starving! We made it to the House of Terror, only to go out searching for food without even entering the museum.

Taylor was determined not to eat pizza again, as it is her everyday vice. So we traipsed across the snowy sidewalks, looking for anything that wasn’t KFC, Subway, Pizza Hut, McDonalds, or Burger King, the only open restaurants that we’d seen. We ended up quite out of the way, at a hole in the wall gyro restaurant, where Taylor ordered pizza and pasta – haha! After finishing her meal, we set out in the wrong direction, making a full circle back to the House of Terror, and managing to stop at a lovely bakery along the way, where we tasted delicious marzipan in the shapes of kissable froggies.

We made it back to the House of Terror with an hour and a half to see the museum. It ended up being free, as the ticket saleswoman thought that we were British! The museum was incredibly interesting, yet a bit of a disappointment, as it was not English-speaker friendly. The exhibits themselves were not all translated – it was difficult to understand exactly what we were looking at. The information was distributed to us on sheets of paper that we felt we could have read from a website or history book – but nonetheless, riveting. I began to understand why the Hungarians, unlike the Italians, are not as quick to talk about politics, or as quick to instigate a political debate. Being on the wrong side of a political discussion – even thinking about being on the wrong side of a political discussion – often got people killed.

We left the museum to search out comfy leather chairs and coffee, happy to enjoy a lazy wait for our train. We arrived home in Fehérvár to sparse bus schedules, hiking through the snow back to our apartment, where we rolled dough, making a grand attempt at the delicious Hungarian cheese straw recipe a student had given me. Pleased with our efforts, we goofed off, having a wonderful night with little rest – and spent Monday recouping, being laze-a-beds, napping and reading after work.

hahah thats quite funny. The woman appears to be in Rome,outside a shop with miniskirts/loud garish colours, & she says ‘Italians don’t wear loud coours or miniskirts’!!I live in Rome & the majority of the womens shops sell TAT you’d expect from Primark.&as for not wearing distracting designs, what about those god-awful gold platform trainers the women wear?However, they do make an effort with hair/make up & they wear nicely pressed clothes. But in Rome is 5-10 years BEHIND the styles of London!

Situated in the Mid-Transdanubia Region, at the foot of the Bakony Mountain Range, Veszprém is the seat of Veszprém County.

King István, Hungary’s first king, and his wife Gizella established Hungary’s first bishopric based on Veszprém, and founded its cathedral – St. Michael’s. Originally built in the Romanesque style, St. Michael’s Cathedral was first rebuilt in the Gothic style – before acquiring its final Neo-Romanesque façade at the beginning of the 20th century. Its Romanesque foundations, and its Gothic sanctuary and crypt can still be seen today; the sanctuary contains a relic of Queen Gizella.

Because the Bishop of Veszprém had the prerogative of crowning Hungary’s queens,

Veszprém also became known as the “Queens’ City”.

The Baroque style Bishop’s Palace was erected in the second half of the 18th century, over remnants of the medieval Queen’s Palace. The 13th century Gizella Chapel – incorporated into the Bishop’s Palace – contains life-size Gothic frescos which are amongst the oldest in the country.

The majority of the city’s sights are concentrated in the castle-quarter, which developed along the 500m long castle-hill. Most of the castle’s buildings now have a Baroque façade; of the fortification built between the 10th-11th centuries, only the protective wall surrounding the castle-quarter has survived.

The fire-tower – the symbol of Veszprém – was originally erected as a guard-tower; its lower section dates from the 15th century, while its upper section was added at the beginning of the 19th century. Veszprém castle provides a wonderful view over the city and the nearby mountains.

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