Szechenyi Square, Pecs, Hungary

Whoo! That’s the sound of April whizzing past me! It’s definitely been a whirlwind, and I’ve definitely been on the move. Towards the end of March, my grandma became the latest family member to come out for a visit. She didn’t have too much time, but I think we packed in quite a punch for her trip! After arriving in Budapest, we immediately took off the following day to Pecs, Hungary. Located about three hours south of Budapest, Pecs is the definition of a quaint town. Look it up quaint the dictionary, and you’ll see Pecs right there! Or not. Regardless, it was a good start for her trip. Pecs, one of the formal Cultural Capitals of the world, has a great main square, colorful houses, and some cool museums. If you get a chance, check out the mining museum. You literally walk down into a recreation of the town’s old coal mine, complete with mind shaft and all. Pecs is also famous for a porcelain factory (Zsolnay), and several art museums. We had some extra time on Sunday, so we took a bus to the mini-zoo above Pecs. The zoo seemed much more pleasant than in Belgrade, but maybe that’s because it was surrounded by trees and greenery. Afterwards, I really wanted to go up to the TV tower since I’d never been up one. Well, thirty minutes of uphill hiking later, we finally get make it up! Had it not been so foggy, we probably could’ve seen some nicer scenery, but it was still cool. After getting lost going down, we made it back to civilization and on our way to the train station.

View from the TV tower, Pecs

Grandma with a miner

After surviving Pecs, we headed back to Budapest. I reserved the same apartment my family stayed in back in September (called the Kriszta Apartments – highly recommend them!). During the week, she hit all the main spots to see, including heading up the Danube Bend, going up the Bazilika, and eating cake at Ruszwurm in the Castle District. I finally went on the tour at the Jewish Synagogue on Dohany Utca, and learned that Garfunkel’s father is buried in the ghetto. Go figure. The only thing my grandma didn’t get to do was eat chicken paprika! At least she had a nice, big langos at the Grand Market! And she got to come to my school during the game festival! It was fun to see her talk to the kids, even if I made more fun of her than I should have. Grandma, you had it coming. Sorry.

The following weekend, we went to Venice, Italy for a couple days. The city never ceases to amaze me, from the canals to the narrow streets to the excellent pizza! We managed to squeeze in a visit to Murano and Burano , too. Of the three, I think Burano takes the cake. The colorful houses definitely set it apart from ancient Venice and glass-famous Murano. If you’re looking for a book, I don’t recommend City of Falling Angels. Thanks, Nick, for the suggestion (and spending 15 bucks on a book for Kindle…I thought those books were supposed to be cheaper!).  I mean, the book was all right, if you’re interested in learning about high society Venice. By the way, Nick, if you’re reading this, I didn’t mean that thank you. In fact, you owe me 15 bucks. At least I finally did the one thing in Venice that I hadn’t done before…I went up the bell tower in Piazza San Marco! The weather was great all weekend, making the view that much more amazing! I wouldn’t say it’s 8 euros worth, but if you’ve got some extra to spare, why not?!

View of Venice, Italy from the bell tower

I don’t remember the last time I spent that much one-on-one time with my grandma, but it was a great visit, and I’m glad she got to come out and see what’s going on in my life these days. After she left, I had a couple days to relax before the next relative, Paul, came to visit. This marked Paul’s third visit to Budapest, and I’ve appreciated getting to know him more and more with every visit. The most rewarding part of the visit was going to Debrecen, Hungary for the weekend to learn more about my family’s background. I was able to see where my great (great?) grandparents lived, as well as a visit to the cemetery to see where some of them are buried. Paul’s friends in Debrecen, Lajos and Mariann were amazing hosts, and without them, we wouldn’t have seen much of the sights. Lajos, a chemistry professor at Debrecen University, and Mariann, a nurse, are two of the most generous and nicest people around, and I’m glad I got to meet them through Paul.

After Paul left, I had to make a quick decision about Spring Break. I’ve made it a point to try and travel somewhere while I have the chance. I was looking to

Paul, Mariann, and Lajos at the Hortabagy, Hungary

head to Slovenia, but waiting to the lastminute made it very difficult to book anything. Most of the hostel prices were way too high or not available, and I didn’t have the energy to try and track down some affordable options. After coming to terms with the fact that these geriatrics I’ve been spending time with have actually worn me out, I eventually made the choice to stick around Budapest for a few days and just…relax. Thursday had me doing some spring cleaning, followed by meeting up with John and Fanni and a couple of their friends for a great night out!

Flags of the participating teams

On Friday, fellow CETP teachers Maggie and Agi came out from Papa to check out the International Hockey Championship games! Fortunately for me, they had an extra ticket! After watching Korea beat the Netherlands, we prepared ourselves for the big game of the night…Hungary vs. Spain! Let’s see if we’re ready for the game:

Magyarorszag jerseys…check.

Paper helmets…check.

Hungary flags…check.

Game on!

The stadium was packed. Red, white, and green all around, and only a small group of Spanish fans to be seen. There’s no easy way to describe the beating Spain received, except to say that they got their asses kicked. The final score of the game was 13-1. It’s as if Spain didn’t even know what ice was. But when they scored that one goal in the third, the Spanish fans went wild! Or as wild as about 10 fans can get surrounded by Hungarian fans. It was an electrified crowd, with Ole’s here and Hajra Magyarok (let’s go Hungarians!) there.

If anyone is interested, here is a 15 minute clip (in Hungarian) of the game. When the first goal was scored, stuffed animals flooded the ice rink as donations for kids.

The rest of the spring break will involve me just kicking back, catching up on odds and ends, and hopefully revising that script I wrote in about three days back in February.  Or maybe I’ll work on that new idea…

Either way, next up is May, and with spring in full swing, looking forward to plenty of sun-filled days.

View from the Fortress in Belgrade

I’m getting pretty good at only posting something here every three months. I never meant to update so infrequently, but whether it’s due to my being lazy or just not getting around to write, all I can say is there is no excuse that makes up for a sad blog. All I can do now is recap the last few months and hope that the next update will be sooner rather than later. Moving on.

Mangalica before the festival

February, what a month! Or was it? I actually don’t remember what I did. I was able to visit the super muddy Mangalica Festival, celebrating the hairy, fatty pig that is apparently becoming a hit around the world but is still just a typical Hungarian ingredient. After waiting at least half an hour in line, I wound up enjoying a Mangalica kolbasz before escaping the menacing crowds.

Mangalica after the festival

Somewhere around February or March, can’t remember which, John and Val invited me to go with them to the INVISIBLE MUSEUM.  Now, to my surprise, we had no trouble finding the building, despite its deceiving name. Actually, the museum is very unique, and had I known the Hungarian name for it sooner, I would’ve realized it is advertised all over the city. What makes this museum unique is it gives the visitor a chance to lose one of your senses: sight. You walk through the exhibits in pitch black, having to feel your way through as well as using the guidance of your tour guide’s voice to find where to go. Oh, and by the way, your tour guide is blind (or in our case, Gabor only had 2% of his vision). Gabor was a great guide, and it was amazing that he knew each of us after the first handshake, enough so that every time he grabbed us later in the tour, he knew exactly who it was without fail.

It was so cool walking past a fruit and vegetable stand inside, and getting to pick up the items and figure out what it was via touch and smell. There was at least one we couldn’t figure out (or get a translation for!). Near my school there is a school for the blind, and I always feel bad not helping people cross the street because of the language barrier and not wanting to take them to the wrong spot. It was such a cool experience, and I recommend anyone looking for yet another quirky place to visit in Budapest to head here immediately. I’d post some pictures, but they all came out black…hmm…

However, we lucked out with the tour. If you need an English guide, you have to reserve it in advance. Fortunately for us, there was a couple that had already booked the guide, so we just paid the tour guide fee and joined with them. After enjoying a beer in the dark there, we decided to go with our new friends, John and Fanni, to Grinzini, a wine bar near Ferenciek Tere. John’s from Vermont, and is here teaching English, too. It’s a good thing we got to know each other quite well on that tour! It was definitely hard to know who or what (or even where) you were grabbing on that tour. Hopefully more hanging out with them around Budapest is in the cards! And onto March…

March was a little more eventful. The first weekend of the month, I had the chance to join Val and John and the majority of teachers from their school as they went to the Busojaras Festival in Mohacs, Hungary. A buso-what? Yeah, exactly. The festival is intended to commerate the Hungarians efforts of scaring the Turks away. They dressed up in costumes, made a lot of noise, and sent the Turks running for the hills. Or it could be to scare away winter. Here’s a video I made about the festival (mad props to John for the new logo for Frisbie Productions! He took my original idea, and made it 10 times more awesome with the glass breaking! Thanks, John!):

Urn of Nikola Tesla

There was a four-day weekend due to the March 15^th holiday commemorating the 1848 Revolution here. After much deliberation, I went Val and John to Belgrade, Serbia. We took the overnight train to Belgrade, which would’ve been great to rest up and enjoy a full day in the city — had I not been cornered by the heater in the room on full blast! I think we lucked out going to Belgrade this weekend, as it was definitely the first weekend in spring, and everyone was out in full stride, smiling and walking around the city.

We all agreed that Belgrade felt like a grungier version of Budapest. I didn’t have too many expectations of the city,

Exterior of the Serbian Orthodox Church

so getting off the train and seeing just how hilly it was reminded me of San Francisco. Our hostel, Green Studio Hostel, was a cool place to stay. It was right near the train station, but still close enough to walking to nearby sights. Some of the sights we saw included: the largest Orthodox church in Europe; the Nikola Tesla museum; the most depressing zoo in the world; the fortress; and the military museum.

Cevapcici

Supposedly there is an amazing nightlife to be found in Belgrade…that is, if you can find it. Belgrade is chock full of cellar bars, and we didn’t have the best luck finding them. I went one night to a place called the Marshall Pub, where a bunch of Serbians ended up arguing about foreigners, and the bartender telling us to leave…NOW. We also went to a store called Supermarket, which is a combination of a restaurant and a store with quirky/unique products for sale. However, one of the highlights of the trip was…CEVAPCICI. Going to Serbia was a chance to enjoy in those minced meat fingers I constantly yearn for. Add some ajvar, and it is a meal to satisfy me 3 times a day. Well 2, because the other meal, breakfast, was a big delicious helping of some meat or cheese burek at the market!

Amazing graffiti in Belgrade

If you ever decide to go to Belgrade, make sure you check out the Tesla museum. Interesting guy, and he definitely had an interesting idea with the potential to change the world that was spoiled by those who were more interested in capitalism. Try and find your own map around the city, as the signs posted are some of the most useless I’ve ever tried to follow! If there’s one disaster I would not recommend checking out, it’s the zoo. Sometimes, going to a city’s zoo feels like a good way to really get to know a city and what the place is like.  All I can say is that this zoo felt more like an animal insane asylum. A large bird biting a fence, an obese orangutan eating rust off the fence, a chimp happily masturbating, and a tiger waiting for the dad looking down from above to drop his little girl for a lunch snack really made the visit worthwhile! I will say that if you ever want to let a tiger out of a zoo, this one might be the place! Their crank-and-rusted-lock system for keeping the gate shut really seemed secure! If you’re in Belgrade anytime soon, the only reason I would suggest a visit to the zoo is to see a baby kangaroo (we assumed it was a kangaroo).

Kanga and Roo!

Now that's how you lock a tiger cage!

Amazing...or the elephant's hungry

Unfortunately, Val wound up catching some sickness on the trip and passed it on to several of those staying at the hostel. This included the guy working there, and me, of course. When I got back to Budapest, I immediately went to the doctor at the first chance I could, and he told me to rest a few days.

Too bad my mild cold turned into a nightmarish flu! Several sleepless, cramped up nights later, After missing a week of teaching, including a Saturday to make up for Monday, I finally started to feel better. With family coming to visit at the end of the week, I needed all the energy I could muster.

Roo came out to say hello!