Etyek Wine Festival

For the first time in a long time, I am in BP for the weekend and it was a great weekend to be in town. This weekend was the Etyek Wine Festival, the first of many wine festivals for the summer. Hungarian wine is quite good. My favorite red wine comes from the Villany region, south west of BP. Etyek, however, is closer to home. So a bunch of us went to the Festival, with the aim to taste all the delicious wines from the region, which is known for its Chardonnay. Needless to say, we did not make it to all the great vineyards in the hills of Etyek, but we did imbibe a lot of wine, got a tan, and enjoyed the Hungarian hospitality.

Marsalis in Budapest

It’s time for the Budapest Tavaszi (Spring) Festival. Music, theatre, arts and crafts, both locally and internationally.

And I celebrated by seeing Branford Marsalis & his Quartet in Budapest for 20 bucks!
You cant beat that! Absoluely the best saxophonist!!

Next on the list…Susana Baca on the hippest club in Budapest…which happens to be on a ship!

Happy Spring to all.

Long Live the King!

Bangkok, Thailand…what an absolutely amazing place!

The sights, sounds, smells, colors, heat were spectacular and far from Hungary as one can possible yet. Stores are open late, people seting up stalls with the most delicious food and fruits. Pomelo, Papaya, Pineapply, Mango, Guava, (and of course Durian). Seeing such variety of fruits made me a bit homesick for the wonderful foods of California. Here in Central Europe, they are hard to come by..and if you do see one, it just doesn’t taste as good.

Besides the “all you can eat all day any day”, the possibility of shopping is endless in Bangkok. There is one air conditioned mall after the next. If you go in one mall and think its huge, just wait until you go to next door. Evertything from Prada, Louis Vitton, Habitat, to Thai arts and crafts- both expensive and cheap. I actually bargained a couple of times and got good deals. The arts and crafts are very beautiful, especially the Thai silk.

Best Tailor Place: GM'C Style: Gents & Ladies Custom Tailors on the 2nd Floor of Amarin Plaza.
Great service and great fit! Now, I can call anytime to have a shirt made and they have my measurements on file.

Heavenly Massages---I could have had one everyday! But Hungary also has good massages.

Phuket—Cape Panwa
This resort hotel was unaffected by the tsunami. In fact, where we went we did not see any leftover damage from the tsunami. Albeit, these were primary tourist sites.

Hotel Cape Panwa---it is a favorite of the Thai Royal Family. Leonardo Dicaprio, and Pierce Brosnan also stayed here. The place is wonderful. All your needs can be met…swimming pools, lounging, beach, sand, palm trees, and the all your can eat breakfast with a mangificient view. I highly recommend it. I, and those I was with, certainly could have stayed longer.

If you go to Phuket and surrounding areas, you have to take boat cruise on the night of a full moon. I have not seen anything like this before. If there is paradise on this planet, than it must be here..

All good things must end…so now it’s back to cold and damp Central Europe. Let us hope that spring is around the corner.

Hello in Hungarian

After you have lived in Budapest for awhile, you realize there are only a few recognizable words for a foreigner. One of these words is “Hello”.

You will hear “hello” when you leave a store. You will hear students and teenagers say “hello” or “hello hello” as they hang up their cell phones or part each other’s company. What is going on?

Hungarians have adopted the word “hello: as “goodbye”. Or perhaps, a better translation is the universal :ciao”. English translation: Ciao means both hello and good bye .

I get a kick out of it whenever I am honored with “hello” when I depart. It means that they think I speak Hungarian!

Hello.

Heya Folks! Its 2007 and I’m finally back online and will do my best to update this blog. I was on hiatus during the Fall 2006, but with a new computer, Internet access, I have joined the 21st Century again! All I need is more time now…

Well, where to begin. The fall was full of travel as well as visits from friends and family. I made my first visit to Romania and Transylvania. I learned that a lot of Transylvania once belonged to Hungary, thus the reason for large Hungarian-speaking minority. It is a beautiful countryside and will no doubt see an increase in tourism now that Romania is part of the European Union.

Here in Hungary, there were a number of political protests and demonstrations. The Prime Minister admitted to lying and stating publicly he thought the country was in deep do-do. The 50th anniversary of 1956 revolution also brought on new demonstrations and the frustrations of many are beginning to show after what was “a smooth transition to capitalism 16 years ago.” Similar disaffected political grumblings are occurring in other Central European countries: Poland, Slovakia, and Czech Republic. Interesting times to be an expat in these parts.

BACK TO CALI
I did return to the US for the first time in 10 months. The first thing I noticed was that I could finally understand people around me. It was amazing…I could join in their conversations, joke around, and was not viewed as a foreigner. It was a nice reprieve. The second observation was that the US has everything!! Well, at least, Northern California is spoiled. All foods, books, entertainment, gadgets that one could want, were available. Speaking of food, organic, Asian, Mexican, Thai, Persian…all variety exists in California. This was what I missed…in Hungary, well, Budapest, some of things items are available, but to a limited degree. And one has to search high and low for them and the store then is only open 9-11 am on Saturday! Therefore, in Hungary, one’s diet can only really consist of paprika, paprika, cabbage, and loads of poultry and pork. Not the country for the organic, vegan, lactaid-intolerable Californian. Perhaps a true New Yorker could survive here…
However, it was absolutely wonderful to be back in Cali for a brief second!

I’m now back in BP, chilling until my travel schedule picks up again in February—England, Serbia, Romania and perhaps a brief stint to a non-European country---Thailand!! Finally…Ill be able to have one of my favorite foods, which does not exist here in Euro-land---Thai food!

Peace and Health and Happiness to all for 2007!

The Storm on St. Istvan Day

August 20 appears to be the biggest Hungarian holiday. It is not only St. Istvan ( St. Stephen) birthday, but Hungary celebrates its consitution(s) and revolutions and everything/anything Hungarian.

To start off the weekend, I explored the Arts and Crafts fair at the Buda Castle. Endless stands of beadwork, woodwork, baskets, cloth, paper, knives, and do-it-yourself crafts. Some very beautiful things, which of course I had to splurge on and very useful for early holiday shopping. J
There was also a series of public concerts, Gypsy Music and more. Plus, I saw a real Hungarian cowboy (a guy in a skirt with a lasso)- at least I think that is what he was- there is some kind of Hungarian rodeo farm nearby.

On to Sunday, the biggest day. It was the day of the Red Bull Air Race. A series of competitions among the best pilots in the world. This is the 6th one. The next one will be in San Francisco in September. Will they fly under the Golden Gate? Believe it not, these pilots flew under the Chain Bridge, a very low bridge. The obstacle course was between the Chain Bridge and the Margeret Bridge, not very far or wide distances. A difficult course, I imagine. The winners were American and Brits, although the Hungarian was expected to do very well. Unfortunately, he was disqualified.

Later that evening, it was onto see the fire works. At exactly 9 pm when they started, the wind picked up, and within a few seconds the rain began. I was yet caught in another rain shower. Although, this one was harsher than the last one a few weeks ago. I managed to make my way to a café near the Castle Hill, but others were not so luckly. It turned out the storm caused severe damage: trees fell, loads of people injured, and sadly four are estimated to have died. Apparently, no one got the notice from the meterelogists that a storm was going to hit Budapest. For the average spectator, the day was sunny and warm and no sign of rain. Now, a lot of finger pointing. See article in the Budapest Sun.

And, that folks, ends the summer adventures. The fall hectic schedule starts soon. I look forward to my visitors this fall. Peace out.

Air conditioning, anyone?

Well, where to begin. Its hot. It’s the fourth consecutive week and there is no relief in sight. A true summer experience for this gal from the city by the Bay, where you always have to have a sweater or a coat with you in the summer.

After the World Cup, my evening hobby has turned to Hungarian langugage classes (beszelek Magyarul). Learning this language is like decoding morse code. Fascinating, but incredibly complicated grammer. I will happy when my vocabulary expands and I can conduct a grocery transaction in Hungarian. At least, my number comprehension is not bad. Maybe at the end of the summer.

Housewarming: I invited my colleagues (we had several visiting from our US offices) to my house. It was a lovely evening with good wine from the Wine Society next door. Contrary to popular belief, Hungary has a large selection of good dry white wines as well as good red wines – not only the sweet dessert wine Tokai.

Lake Balaton: The biggest freshwater lake in the world, I have been told. It is fairly large and one of the few lakes in this country. Balaton,-“Plattensee” in German- is approximately 2 ½ hours by train from BP- without air conditioning. However, upon arrival in Balatonfured, my colleague and I felt for the first time in weeks a nice cool breeze. The lake is beautiful, but full of German tourists. Literally, one has to speak German rather than English or Hungarian there. After spending 5 minutes at the tourist infested beach front, we escaped to a pier where we could dip our feet into the clear freshwater (it was not clear at the beach front, rather the opposite) and relax.

Chain Bridge: the famous Chain Bridge of BP shuts down on the weekends and a pedestrian-friendly arts and music festival appears. A nice initiative of the city that I think many cities should follow. Plus there are numerous outdoor concerts here in the many squares in the city. So much to do!!! The attitude here is to enjoy summer to the fullest, as the winter is a depressing time.

Vacation: As part of the summer festivities, many Budapestians escape elsewhere. Many go to Balaton, but also Greece, Spain, etc. I will be taking one week vacation to Germany. I will visit with friends from California and from Stuttgart. Plus, my aunt and I will venture to the Alps for hiking and relaxation.

Enjoy the summer (and stay cool) wherever you are!