thoughts/observations on budapest/hungary one month on

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· Are you a lover of fanny packs, but too afraid to wear yours in America (or anywhere else for that matter)? Well then, come to Budapest where fanny packs are all the rage. You can see them peeking out from under the beer-bellies of middle-aged men or on the hips of young fashionistas. It’s a fashion accessory for the whole family!

· Hungarians love dogs. And they usually don’t have just one. You can see dogs of all shapes and sizes (including the Hungarian Puli, it’s the dog that looks like a mop). Also, most of the dogs here are not neutered or spayed, this could explain why they are so abundant…I wonder what Hungary would be like if they had Bob Barker on TV everyday?

· Smoking is second to breathing.

· Vegetarian options at restaurants usually comprise fried vegetables and/or cheese (usually also fried). That is, if vegetarian dishes are even an option. In a country where lamb knuckle and goose liver cooked in its own fat are staples, it’s not really a surprise.

· Hungarians love ice cream of all varieties. I pass approximately 20 ice cream stands on my walk to work (approximately 1.5 miles). It doesn’t help that a lot of the ice cream is quite cheap and also, quite delicious.

· Things that you would like to stay open late (i.e. the metro) don’t, but things that you would have no use for at 1 a.m. (i.e. flower stands) are open.

· Every major American fast food chain is in Budapest and they all have Wi-Fi (because everyone wants to surf Facebook while chowing down on a greasy burger)

· Hungarians also love pastries. Pastry shops and bakeries are just as common as ice cream stands. You can buy a kakáos csiga (chocolate snail), my favorite, for about 50 cents. This is also a problem; when I come back to the United States and weigh 50 pounds more, you will know why.

· 85% of all waiters in Hungary are incredibly attractive. This is also true for police officers, soldiers, and bus drivers.

the girl who kicked the hornet's nest

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I finally finished it! I brought The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larsson with me to read on the plane, but I didn’t actually start reading it until I got here.

Well, what can I say? It’s the end and it’s sad. Sad that there are no more books, that is. I was worried that it would leave me hanging (since there were supposed to be 10 books but he died after completing only the first 3), but I was pleasantly surprised. This book wraps it up nicely. It could go further, but it isn't necessary. I really enjoyed this one, it might be my favorite...

I’m going to say what I always say—you really should read these books! I don't know what I'll read now...A Concise History of Hungary?

hungary really should consider shortening it's city names

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Our last day was very relaxed. We walked to the bus stop to catch the 10 a.m. bus into Székesfehérvár. There was an older woman waiting for the bus when we arrived, and a few minutes later a man came up to the stop. The two of them were speaking in Hungarian, so as usual, we had no clue what they were talking about. Then they looked over at us expectantly. Using my amazing deductive reasoning skills I assumed that they wanted to know exactly what time the bus was going to arrive. We all knew the answer, just not how to tell them. Luckily I had a pen and paper in my bag and wrote down the time. I felt so useful! They thanked us and then the man walked away; about 10 minutes later he came back with a bunch of wildflowers that he had picked for us! It was so nice and it made me very happy. It's nice to know that we are able to communicate (somewhat) without speaking the same language.

Sarah wasn’t feeling very well at all, so she headed back to Budapest early. Beata and I worked out some of the details for our trip to Serbia and made some other arrangements for later this summer, including a trip to Lake Balaton in early August! We fueled our planning sessions with way too much sugar—even more pastries and cookies.

Székesfehérvár is the third largest city in Hungary (pop. approximately 400,000). It’s a really nice city (I kept calling it a town and Beata kept yelling at me, so I’ll be sure to call it a city here). Here are a few pictures from our stroll around the city center:

There was a fair going on and there were all sorts of groups of older folks dancing and singing (they also were the only people watching...)

The famous! flower clock of Székesfehérvár

I really thought I had a few more pictures. I'll look around and add them if/when I find them.

sunset over the lake of shining waters

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Okay, so I’m not Anne of Green Gables and this isn’t the Barry’s pond, but it’ll do seeing as how neither I, nor Beata, know the name of this lovely little lake in Kincsesbanya (or maybe it’s in Ferhérvárcsurgo…who knows!).
Beata's house in Kincsesbanya

These friendly goats live on the hill leading up to her house. Goats have weird pupils; don't look a goat in the eye...it's freaky.

We passed a barbeque/outdoor party on our way to the lake. They were listening to magyar techno and getting very into it. It looked like they were having a good time and we wanted to join, but the language barrier would have made that very difficult (no one in the countryside really speaks English).

Kincsesbanya reminded me a lot of our family cottage on Lake St. Clair in Ontario, Canada. It even smelled the same. (Is that weird? Oh well, even if it is, that’s what I think).


The sunset was beautiful and the weather was nice and cool-perfect for sitting by the lake and watching the sun go down.

veszprém- the city without signs

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Saturday morning we took an early bus back into Székesfehérvár and had some pastries. I say pastries because we had multiple. Don’t judge us, you would do the same.

We took a bus from Székesfehérvár to Veszprém, one of the oldest cities in Hungary, to see the castle. The bus ride was fine, we had to stand up for most of the ride, but it wasn’t too long. The only thing that made me uncomfortable was when a young guy we were standing by pulled out a handgun…He didn’t want to shoot up the bus (as far as I know), but just show it off to his buddies. How dumb. I dislike guns to begin with; I dislike them even more when they are in the hands of teenagers/stupid people.

Once we arrived in Veszprém we didn’t have a map and couldn’t see the castle from the bus station so we went into the station to see if we could find a map. There was one hanging on the wall but it didn’t say where the bus station was, so that obviously didn’t work. I went up to the counter to ask if they had a map (with the help of Beata and her dictionary), the lady looked at me like I was speaking gibberish (which I very well could have been), got up, and came out into the main room. She gave us a very annoyed look at pointed to the map we had just been looking at—once again, not helpful, we saw that map already! We tried to ask her where we were, but it’s not so easy when you have the vocabulary of a one year old. She took forever to find the bus station on the map, which worried me; if she didn’t know where she was we might really be in trouble.


We headed out and found our way, with a few wrong turns, to the castle. Most of the wrong turns weren’t our fault. We would find a sign that said ‘Vár’ (castle) and head in that direction, but then there wouldn’t be any more signs! There were several more tourists in the same predicament and we followed them and finally made our way to the castle district.

It’s a very nice area, but I didn’t think it was anything special. Especially since Veszprém advertises how old it is…nothing looked that old to me! The best part was when a parade passed us and we ended up joining it and walking into the center of the castle district with them.

After walking around for a while we had lunch at a local restaurant and then headed back to Székesfehérvár.

towns with names i can neither spell nor say

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This past weekend Sarah and I traveled west (approximately 70km) to visit Beata. We took a bus from Budapest to Székesfehérvár (I know right?), the town where Beata works. Then we took at bus another 20km to Fehérvárcsurgo and then we walked 20 minutes through the countryside to Kincsesbanya where Beata actually lives...It was quite the adventure. Good luck trying to pronounce any of those names!

Kincsesbanya is a lovely country village (town? maybe? who knows!). It was a nice change from Budapest. It was so quiet! Except for the evil black dog that lives next door and went on a barking fest at 2 am...

Our first night was very lowkey. We (well really Sarah and Beata) made a delicious omelette with two! types of peppers (paprika) and onions and I ate it all (I'm turning into a vegetarian who eats all sorts of vegetables, I'm so proud of myself). It was really nice to just chill and listen to music (mainly queen and klezmer bands), drink green tea, and spend time with good friends.

That night Beata and I had a brief Hungarian history lesson (aka me reading out of a book). We learned about all sorts of famous Hungarians who have streets named after them, but who I previously knew nothing about (Kossuth, Andrassy, Petofi, Szechnyi...). Basically they were all poets/literati and also Hungarian nationalists. I can elaborate if you want, there are some pretty good stories just from the five pages we read.

More about the weekend to follow soon...

toreador...toreador!

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Sarah and I went to the opera again this past Wednesday. Two operas in one week, who would have thought that would happen? Not me! We saw Carmen by George Bizet, and it was a very different experience from Sunday's five hour opera...

We had box seats this time, which are fun just in themselves. I had a better view of the stage (last time my view was partially obstructed by poofy hair) and the pit! (I love to watch the basses when I have no clue what is going on in the opera). Our box had a settee in it and of course we had to take pictures with it...

It was an interesting experience just finding our seats. I'm so convincing in saying "Good Evening" in Hungarian that everyone assumes I'm a native speaker...or it could be the fact that I don't try to speak English to them. Nonetheless, we received directions to our seats in Hungarian, it wasn't until we had 'talked' to the fourth usher that we made it to our seats.

I was able to take more pictures of the interior of the Opera House and I will post those soon so you can get a better feel for it!
As was the case with the last opera, the subtitles were in Hungarian...although the libretto was in French so I could pick up a few more words than the German opera. Carmen is a much more aesthetically pleasing opera, there is so much going on in each act that even if I didn't know exactly what was going on I had something to look at, or I could watch the bass players. Plus, Don José was a babe and the bullfighters were pretty much wearing spandex costumes. You can't go wrong with that.

But why write a French opera set in Spain? Why not just write it in Spanish? It doesn't make sense to have Spanish people singing in Sevilla, about bullfighting and such, in French! It bothered me. Can someone explain why Georges Bizet did that? I know he was French, but I don't care!

But, in the end, it was a very nice night and a good opera. Although, I've had the Toreador song stuck in my head ever since. We went to Café Eklektika (as usual) after for some wine before heading home.

lentil soup

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lencse főzelék(lentil soup)

This is a typical lunch for me. Lentil soup at a local soup restaurant, if you can call it that....It doesn't look so appetizing, but it really is delicious. Plus, it only costs HUF 390 ($1.75). I love it. It's great, and vegetarian. Being a vegetarian in Budapest in not as fun as being an omnivore. I miss out on all the traditional dishes, such as lamb knuckle and goose liver cooked in its own fat. I'm really sad that I'm not able to sample such delicacies. Maybe I'll give up on this whole veg thing...

a night at the opera

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I'm so cultured...

Outside of the Operaház

Last night, Sarah, Beata, and I went to the Opera to see Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürenburg. It was my first opera and what an interesting choice for my first time. We originally planned on going to see Mendellsohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream because Beata and I had played the overture together in our college orchestra. Well, we couldn't see that one because I was looking at the September 2009 schedule...so we ended up going to see the Wagner Opera. Sarah went to buy the tickets and the lady at the counter made it very clear that the opera was five hours long.

I didn't take many pictures inside the Opera House, but it is a very lovely building.

It didn't sound that long before we got there, but it definitely was. A five hour German opera with Hungarian subtitles. Needless to say, I really had no clue what was going on for 95% of it. I kept looking up at the subtitles in the vain hope that I would miraculously understand Hungarian...ha! I was really glad when it was over, but overall, I enjoyed it. Next time I think I'll study up on the opera a bit before I see the performance.

And the tickets were only 900 HUF (under $4)! How great is that? Those were for balcony seats, but because attendance was low they closed the balcony and we got main floor (more expensive) seats for the same price!

Oddly enough, Sarah and I may go see Carmen this week. It's the final week of the Opera season so we're going to get our culture on while we still can.

night of the museums

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Every year, on the summer solstice, museums across Hungary stay open late and host special exhibitions and performances. For the low price of HUF 1400 ($4.65) we purchased an all access pass to every museum in Budapest, plus access to all public transit. In order to make the most of the night you need a plan and good logistical skills...

We planned to stop in at ten museums, but only made it to five, but we definitely got our money's worth! We made it to:
  • the Museum of Fine Arts (pictured below)
  • the Terror House
  • the Postal Museum
  • Jewish Holocaust Memorial
  • Magyar (Hungarian) National Museum
There was a queue outside of the Museum of Fine Arts as we left...
Hero's Square at night (flanked by the Museum of Fine Arts and the Contemporary Art Museum)
The Postal Museum is a Budapest must-see!

We started around 7:30 pm and went until 2 am...it was a long day! First the Castle District and then walking all over Budapest to get to the museums. Some of the museums were busier than others...the Postal Museum didn't a ton of visitors, but more than we thought it would. Yes, we really did go to the Postal Museum. Now we have to go to the Stamp Museum, then our visit will be complete. I think the Night of the Museums is a great idea and every city should do it.

the castle district

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Beata came back into the city for the weekend and she, Sarah and I went to Szimpla Friday night (I told you I would go back!). The weather was great, it was a cool summer night (the opposite of last weekend's oppressively hot days and nights). We had a few Dreher-tasty and cheap Hungarian beer and did some people watching. We ended up talking to a few Hungarian guys and I gained some insight into their opinions of the Roma; I didn't really like what I heard. Lesson: keep bar conversations light. Well we were out late...too late! But we're good samaritans- we helped two Brazilians find their hostel...they couldn't read their map.

Just a few hours after getting home, we woke up and headed to Buda. We were joined by a guy from my grad program, Jonathan, who crashed at our place for a few nights. We walked all the way from our apartment, across the Chain Bridge, up a giant hill and into the Castle District. So much walking! But the weather was wonderful and it felt good to be outside. We also ran into the Brazilians! There is something about this city where I always run into people again. It's very odd.

We passed by St. Stephen's Basilica on our way to Buda

Walking across Chain Bridge...
A view of Parliament from Buda
Some Hungarian guy told us to go into this sculpture garden...
St. Matthias's Church
All good adventures end (and begin) with ice cream

On our way back we decided to hop on the no. 2 tram...without tickets. Well, it was just our luck that was got caught and fined. But no worries, the guy was very "tolerant" or so he said about twenty times and we paid a slightly reduced fee. Oh well, lesson learned. Although I should already know that lesson by now...

The godforsaken (not really) no.2 tram

We had picked up our tickets for the Night of the Museums at the National Gallery and we headed home to plan our strategy for hitting as many museums as possible that night....

asparagus soup

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Tonight, Sarah and I went out for dinner. We're supposed to be cooking more on our own, but no, we fail at that. Instead, we went out to eat at Ferenc Liszt tér, just around the corner from our apartment, at a restaurant called Passion (very Hungarian, no?). Well, as is the case at most restaurants in Budapest, the vegetarian options are limited. I decided to go for the Cream of Asparagus Soup, one of the seasonal specials. It was amazing. No questions, absolutely delicious.
Terrible picture, awesome soup.

We also went to City Park and walked around -pictures to follow soon!

langos

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For lunch today I had langos (pronounced lawn-gosh), a traditional Hungarian food. It is all things amazing and at the same time, all things awful. It's deep fried bread smothered in sour cream and cheese. It was far from the healthiest lunch, but it definitely delicious.

It's mainly a street food in Hungary and you can find it at small shops and stands across Budapest. This was the first time I've had it in Hungary. I tried it just a few days before leaving Denver at the Budapest Bistro on Pearl Street. If you live in or near Denver you should go there and try some! The rest of their food is also very tasty, as is the Hungarian wine.

beata visits budapest

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My friend, Beata, is currently interning at an NGO (BOCS Foundation – check them out, their work is really very interesting) in Székesfehévár, Hungary (approximately a one hour bus ride away). This weekend she came to visit us in Budapest! This is the first time we’ve seen each other since graduating from college in May 2009.

Beata arrived via bus Saturday morning and as soon as she was settled at our apartment we headed out to Margret Island (Margitziget). It’s very easy to get to the Island from our apartment: we just took the 4/6 tram towards my work, got off at Jaszi Mari tér and walked across Margit híd (Margaret Bridge) to the island. Very easy! It’s a huge leafy park and very lovely. All of the shade is nice when it’s 95 degrees out! It’s also home to the Palantius Strandfürdó, one of Budapest’s many baths, but it really seems more like a water park. There are also several dance clubs that are open only during the summer.

We didn’t have any specific plans of what we wanted to do on the island, but that didn’t last long. We saw a bike rental shop and went to take a look. Who could resist the opportunity to rent a bike cart and ride it around an island? Not us! It was so much fun. We rode all over and probably embarrassed ourselves, but we didn’t care, we were having a great time.

A lot of the men wear short shorts here. I think it’s great. There were also a lot of old men wearing loincloth type things and playing handball in the park. I’m not exactly a fan. We would have taken a picture but we didn’t want to be too creepy…

On the way back to the apartment we stopped for ice cream. There are ice cream stands and shops all over the city. It seems as though every other person I pass walking home from work every day is eating ice cream. I’d successfully resisted the temptation until Saturday. Now I understand why everyone is always eating it! It’s amazing and so inexpensive (320 HUF or $1.50 for a small, but not really small, cone).

Saturday evening we went out to eat an Italian restaurant in Liszt Ferenc tér (Franz Liszt Square). The US vs. England game was on, but I’m so blind I couldn’t even see the score! (There are giant screens in a square closer to the river for watching all of the World Cup games. I’d like to go watch a game or two there before it’s over). It was a delicious dinner and just a great time, overall. I kept thinking how strange it is that we all met in Chicago and have not been able to meet up in the United States but we’ve all come to Hungary this summer.

After dinner, Beata and I walked down along the river and walked across Chain Bridge (Széchenyi Lánchíd).

Then we headed to Szimpla- my favorite bar ever. It’s amazing. We didn’t stay very long because we were both exhausted after such a long day. I’m sure I’ll be back several more times before I leave Budapest. (Going to Szimpla was one of the things on my To Do List, but I'm not going to cross it off yet because I plan on going again).

Sunday morning we woke up in search of freshly baked pastries. (Beata is a pastry connoisseur with very discriminating taste). Unfortunately, we could not find a single bakery that was open! What a shame. Not much is open on Saturdays and even less is open on Sundays, very typical for Europe, in general.

After getting our caffeine fix, we decided to walk around Lipótváros (Leopold Town) near Parliament because it was fairly close (our feet were dead after walking around last night for several miles in heels). There was some sort of marathon/relay/run going on- those people are crazy for running long distances in this heat! Here’s what we saw:

The Hungarian Parliament (Országház) This building is gigantic. I’m not sure if you can tell just how large it is from the pictures. It’s quite an impressive structure. Maybe one day I’ll go inside… Kossuth tér and the 1956 memorial (one of several throughout the city).

The Jószef Atilla statue near the Danube. Josef Atilla is a Hungarian poet. I’d never heard of him before, but Beata likes his work. I’d like to read some of his poems if I can find them in English… Our attempts to take a picture of Beata next to the statue were complicated by the two little boys who kept running around the statue. Then they started talking to Beata and playing with her. It was pretty cute.

The Holocaust Memorial along the Danube. It’s fifty bronze-cast shoes along the embankment; it was built to honor those who were shot into the Danube by Arrow Cross militiamen in 1944-45. It’s very moving and well done. I did not even know that this event had occurred. I really need to get a few history books…

A statue of Imre Nagy

We walked by St. Stephen’s Basilica (Szent István Bazilika) on the way home. I went inside two years ago and saw St. Stephen’s shriveled right hand. I will not be repeating that experience anytime soon.
And finally, the Opera House (Operaház) on Andrassy ut. I’d like to go to the opera sometime before the season ends. It’s supposedly one of the best operas in Europe and you can get tickets for as low as $4.
That evening, Beata and I headed to the Bookcafé on Andrássy ut. for coffee and cake before she headed back to Székésfehevar. We discovered the café earlier that day when we went in the Alexandra bookstore in search of a Hungarian history book. We were unsuccessful in our endeavors, but we did meet a nice local man who used to play piano at the café and told us that despite its grand appearance it is the most affordable café on the boulevard. We ordered cappuccinos and cake, but due to a miscommunication we ended up with three cakes instead of two! Not that I’m really complaining...
It was an excellent visit and we hope to visit Beata this coming weekend. I'm really looking forward to exploring another Hungarian city as well as a bit of the countryside. We've also discussed going to Lake Balaton (Hungary's largest lake) later this summer, because it is not very far from Székésfehevar.

Beata has been in Hungary since late April and works with several Hungarian girls, so she's picked up a lot more of the language than I have (or probably ever will). She taught us all sorts of words and phrases, most of which I've already forgotten. Most importantly, she taught me how to say "I don't speak Hungarian" - a phrase I could have used several times last week.

New Hungarian Vocabulary:
Nem bészelek magyarul = I don't speak Hungarian
Szia/sziasztok = Hello (singular/plural)
Jó napot = Good day/afternoon
Jó estét = Good evening
Hogy vagy? = How are you?
Viszlát = Goodbye
Kérem = Please
Kösönöm (sepen) = Thank you (very much)
Szívesen = You're welcome
Bocsánat = Excuse me (to get past someone)

I am going to look into taking a few Hungarian lessons. I know I wouldn't be able to pick up much, but I feel pretty terrible not being able to communicate with people (especially if I am going to be here for three months).

(Sorry that this post is so long!)

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