While on a vacation in Europe with my mother in Aug 2010, we ended our travels in Budapest, Hungary. I had never been to Hungary before, so I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. The day started off with a 7-hour train ride from Salzburg, Austria. Not fun.
When we got to the hotel, which was in a kind of crappy part of town, they would not let us check into our room (even though it was 3:30pm) because their laundry service hadn't returned the towels or sheets yet. On top of that, it was about to storm outside any minute. The hotel at least let us change our clothes in one of the spare rooms and store our bags. I grabbed my raincoat and tied my hair back in a pony tail. Having no idea what to do or where to go, I did what all Americans do in stressful situations and went to McDonalds for a really late lunch. After that, we went back to the hotel and were finally able get into our room.
I guess I thought this was as exciting as it was going to get - a woman playing with her Dalmatian.
The signs made things clear as can be.
Castle entrance. Very cool., except for the construction barrier.
Close up.
Full view.
When the "important" group approached the church, the guide started telling them about it and I incorrectly guessed that the purpose of the group's tour was because someone was going to get married there.
There were a total of at least 20 other tourists in the area at the time, and I believe most of them were older Asian tourists. Two other guys in the "important" people group starting climbing on a Grim Reaper-looking statue near the castle, which I thought was really strange and uncivilized, as did all of the other tourists.
OK, maybe there actually weren't any Asian tourists.
I looked at those guys a little longer, and I noticed that another one of them looked familiar to me. After realizing there were three main guys in this "important" group, it dawned on me all at once that these guys were MUSE! I totally second guessed myself, because why in the world would Muse be at this park, but I figured it HAD to be them. Seeing how I LOVED Muse at the time, I was surprised that I didn't get too nervous. My adrenaline took over and I just wanted to follow them. So, as they started walking back to the vans, I walked that way too. A big bodyguard realized that I was onto them, and he kept his eye on me. He said, "No pictures," and I thought, "Seriously dude, this is a historical landmark. People are taking pictures all over."
This is what happens when you try to take pictures while walking and having a bodyguard lurking around.
Bodyguard in the back; band mates and mystery girl in front. (I realized later that the bodyguard cared more about the mystery girl than the band.)
The mystery girl, who actually was Kate Hudson, went off with a little boy somewhere. Matthew Bellamy (Muse's lead singer) was standing by one of the vans with some of the entourage. I decided it was now or never, so I went up to him and said, "Excuse me, I just want to say that I'm from the US and am a huge fan of you guys." He then actually shook my hand and talked with me, asking me where I was from. The drummer of the group was also standing near Matt. I mentioned some of the places that I have seen them play. I confessed that I didn't catch them in Phoenix the last time they came around because I liked it better when I could see them perform in small venues. I said that I saw them play at Austin City Limits (ACL) twice a few years earlier, and Matt replied that they were playing ACL again. He also said that they were going to play in Albuquerque soon, and he asked if that was close to Phoenix. I told him it was quite a far drive. That was about the extent of our conversation over 3-5 minutes, since I was completely brain dead and could not think of anything else to say. (Though afterward, there were like a million clever things I thought of!) Matt was totally nice and down-to-earth. It was everything you'd want meeting your idol to be like! How I maintained my composure through all of this is beyond me. At the end, I asked if I could get a picture with them, and they said sure!
Ughh, I cringe at the way I look every time I see this picture! As you can see, I did not give a crap what I looked like when I left the hotel. (I sure wish I would have.)
The kicker to the story is, that after taking the picture I said good-bye to them by saying, and I quote, "Thanks for making my visit to Hungary top-notch." Top-notch??? When on earth have I ever used the phrase top-notch, and why did I choose this moment to start? Oh well, such is life.
Later on, I saw a poster in town showing that Muse was one of the main headliners for a festival going on that weekend, so I assume when I bumped into them they were getting an official tour of the city. (Being such a huge fan of theirs, you think I would have known in advance that they were going to be performing in Budapest the same time I was there.)
A very interesting mix for a line up, to say the least.
I still can't believe that this totally random experience happened to me. I was lucky enough to be the only person in the park who knew who they were. And I can't believe I had the guts to go up and talk to them. If I didn't have the picture and my mom to back this story up, I probably wouldn't believe it myself!
The moral of the story is...always look your best and expect the unexpected.
Side note: I have not liked Muse's last two albums. (Sad, but true.) My love of their music ends at Black Holes and Revelations.
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