Living in Budapest

The Grand Canyon vs. Rám Canyon

2011-11-19T00:43:00.000-08:00

The other day we were at a part at my wife's family where the Grand Canyon came up in conversation. My wife's uncle had been in the US about twenty years ago but somehow did not have a chance to visit the Grand Canyon, and he told us how much he regretted this. After all, this is one of the great wonders of Nature. We all agreed that it was a shame that he did not have a chance to see it.

At this point a younger Hungarian brother-in-law interjected that the Rám Szakadék (Rám Canyon) was just as beautiful, maybe even more so. The what? The Rám Szakadék, it really is a spectacular sight. He, of course, has never been to America so it was hard to take his claim at face value. Plus, I have never heard of this Hungarian "Grand Canyon" that equals the real one in Arizona.

So I looked it up. As there is no convenient Wikipedia page about it, it took me a while to find where it actually is. It turned out to be in the Danube Bend, not far from Esztergom. Photographs on the net looked truly beautiful so there is nothing wrong about its aesthetic appeal. But the whole canyon is only 1.2 km in length, that is, less than a mile. In contrast with this, the Grand Canyon is 277 miles long, twice the size of Hungary from north to south. And part of its stunning beauty comes from that size.

I do not, of course, mean to belittle the Rám Szakadék, which may very well be a worldclass attraction. I think we will explore it when spring comes so we can make a reliable comparison. Until then, maybe someone else cares to cast a vote?

Getting to the airport by public transport

2011-08-27T11:14:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week I was catching a flight and, since I had no luggage at all, decided to try the cheapest way of getting to the airport, that is, by metro and bus. As far as I remembered, you had to take the blue metro line to the Kőbánya-Kispest terminal and then get on an ordinary city bus all the way to the airport. Although this was the hottest day of the week and I did not want to get a heat stroke, I figured that public transport would be air-conditioned. I guess this was only partially true.

Once on the blue line, I noticed that although the terminal really was Kőbánya-Kispest, for the month of August, because of construction works, the line only went until the Határ út station. Just when I was about to panic, I noticed the sign that there was a bus from the Határ út station to the airport.

Once at Határ út, finding the bus stop was easy. But the bus did not come for about 25 minutes and during this time we stood surrounded by overheated concrete and asphalt. Some older guys really looked like they were going to collapse. I did not understand, for example, the middle-aged French group with large suitcases. Why not take a cab? If they split the price, it might even be cheaper than going this way. Well, you get what you pay for -- they were beginning to look quite unwell but then the bus finally came. From there on, fortunately everything went well, it took about 20 minutes to get to Terminal 1, and another 7-8 to Terminal 2.

All in all, it took me over an hour to get the airport, which is not that bad at all. If not for the heat, it would have been perfectly OK. In the future, I am still taking a cab if I have luggage but with a small backpack public transport seems a feasible solution.

Vampire security guard with a tattoo

2011-08-24T08:08:00.000-07:00

At the airport security check, as I was emptying my pockets, taking off my belt and shoes, struggling to put everything on the conveyor, I was directed by a young Hungarian lady. I noticed a highly promiscuous tatoo on her forefoot -- it was very elegant and fresh, must have been done fairly recently. None of those faded countours you see at times. It looked like Arabic to me so I asked her about it. Ehm, excuse me, that thing on your foot... Ah, that's a tattoo, said she proudly. Is that some sort of script? She nodded and I asked if it was in Arabic. She said yes so I immediately asked what it meant. She explained that it was from the movie Blade. Yes, but what does it say? She did not answer that but repeated that it was from Blade, the movie about the vampires. I am one of them, she added with a smile.

Wow, that's quite a confession...

So when I got inside the terminal, I got online and searched for the Arabic design from Blade but all I could find was tribal tattoos of Wesley Snipes (see picture). Maybe someone else can help me out here.

But once on the subject, I noticed in the past week that a lot of young Hungarians had tattoos now. Of course, I spent a lot of time by the water and this is when you notice that people have tattoos. But still, the tattoo industry must have undergone an explosion in the past year. There is a lot of women with large, elaborate artwork on their back.

The first week in Budapest

2011-08-21T23:56:00.000-07:00

So it has been over a week since coming back to Budapest. What happened during this week, how was it? Let's try to summarize it.

The weather has been great, I missed all the sunshine and even the heat. After all, summer is summer. It is supposed to be hot. So I enjoy every minute of it.

But there are, of course, other things to life than sunshine. One of them is food. On the second day of our arrival, we went to our favorite Chinese restaurant in Telepy utca (9th district). There was a new waiter and he was the only staff we saw in the entire restaurant. It took a while to get him over to our table, even though it was lunchtime. Sensing a potential problem, I asked how long it would take to get our food. Oh, 10 minutes, 15 tops. Cool, let's order then. Well, the first dish came after 40 minutes and it was something we did not order. When I complained, he rushed over with the menu to show me that this was exactly what I ordered. Needless to say, he was wrong, as there was also a picture of the dish. Then he came back and said that it was the cook's fault. In any case, we got served after about 50 minutes. Luckily, the food was good as usual. But in the meantime, I got a parking ticket just outside the restaurant. Apparently, parking on this street is not free anymore. Too bad to find out like this. To be honest, with this new development (even if that day's experience would have been perfect) the restaurant immediately lost some of its appeal to us. You would not have to pay at night but with the baby we do not go out at night anymore.

But we've also done some fun things. Like driving down to Bogács, which is a village with a relatively famous bath house. It was a lot of fun and we stayed there for a couple of days. We also went to another "strand", as they say in Hungarian, in the town of Százhalombatta. This is a small ugly town about 25 km away from Budapest but its baths are very nice. Then, we also went down to Velence but decided not to swim in the lake as it looked muddy and quite dirty. So instead, we drove around the area, stopping at small villages. This was nice, too.

The fireworks were also fun, even if we could not go to see them because our daughter went to sleep just about that time. But we live near the Castle Hill so we could see some of it from our window. And because it was so close, sometimes it felt like we were shelled by artillery fire. It was an experience.

Well, that was the first week.

Back to Hungary

2011-08-10T04:36:00.001-07:00

OK, I have been away from Hungary for 6 months in places people would consider better but tonight I am going back again. I am keeping my eyes open to have things written about. While being away, I met a few Hungarians in different parts of the world and they seems quite happy to be where we met. In other words, there are not many good news coming out of the country, it has not become a nicer and more comfortable environment to live in. But we'll see, maybe there are good things you don't find elsewhere.

For one thing, I am looking forward to having lunch for 3 euros, that's a kind of deal you don't get in other parts of Europe. Yes, in Asia but then you have to get there, don't you? So this is certainly going to be a positive experience.

Then sometimes, if the weather is nice, people can be very friendly. Even total strangers, they can just be affectionate towards you. This of course also goes the other way and when traffic is bad, everyone becomes nasty and mean.

And the weather. Apparently, it has not been that good but I keep my fingers crossed so that I get some of those amazing days without a single cloud in the sky.

Oh, and we will go down to Lake Balaton for a long weekend. The idea is to swim and enjoy ourselves, that is, if they let us.

Malfunctions of Hungarian online auctions

2011-06-27T01:44:00.000-07:00

The Hungarian equivalent of eBay is Vatera.hu, a site that has become extremely popular in the past couple of years. Before that, we thought that Hungarians were not that interested in online auctions and that is why eBay would not gain much presence here. But Vatera provided us wrong and has grown into a major portal. A more recent addition to this is Teszvesz which now seems to be owned by whoever owns Vatera.

Essentially, Vatera works as any other auction site: you list your item, people bid on it, then one of them wins and you ship the item to him by mail. Because online payments are still largely impossible in Hungary, people either pay on receipt (COD) or make a bank transfer before shipping. Of course, this is quite tedious and there are lots of potential problems. As a result, from the point of view of an occasional buyer like me, some sellers appear downright aggressive, trying to force you to pay before you even had a chance to check your email. You may get phone calls or just a series of mildly threatening emails when you check your email the next morning. Or even have a threat posted right there on the listing page before you bid. Needless to say, this turns me off completely and I just don't bid.

Then there are the problems with the postal system. First, they are ridiculously expensive. Indeed, it is hard to understand why it is sometimes more expensive to mail a book from one district of Budapest to the other than from Seattle to Houston. Why? And if you are the seller, you can be certain that you will have to wait in line at the post office for a long-long time before you can ship your item. But there are also problems with delivery. Since the postal system has somewhat of a reputation for losing non-registered packages, people prefer to register their mail. But then the postman has to deliver it in your hand and get your signature. This he often fails to do and instead drops a notice in your mailbox, saying that you were out when he came. This happens even if you don't leave your house at all because your home sick or just work from home. But now you will have to take the notice, go to the post office and stand in line with other losers like yourself. All this takes a lot of time and effort and often you have to go back at another time for whatever reason. You can train your local postman to actually do his job and hand your mail to you by a series of tips. But this is really paying twice for an already overpriced service, isn't it?

But let's get back to the auction site Vatera. It has one feature that is different from eBay. You have to make a mandatory review of the transaction, whether you want it or not. You may think that as a buyer your only obligation is paying for your purchase but no, you are actually forced to build their site by writing your review. If you do not, they will keep spamming you with email requests and eventually deny access to your account. So after a while you just sit down and get over with it. Yes, they win but then you think twice before making another purchase on their site. Who likes to be harassed?

And finally, in the past couple of weeks they may have done some "update" because the site simply freezes Internet Explorer. I am using IE8 so it is not the oldest version but Vatera consistently crashes all three of my machines. If I can remember this problem before clicking on a link in my inbox, I launch Firefox and the site works fine but I prefer to have a choice of using whatever I am generally using to surfe the Net and not have to keep switch browsers because their level of technical expertise is not up to their commercial ambitions.

Budapest Airport - Unattended luggage

2011-05-16T22:21:00.000-07:00

I was walking through the duty free shop at the airport when a woman blocked my way and explained that I had to go around and exit through another way. The reason for this was that security found an unattended luggage. All of a sudden the center of the terminal ground floor was secured and there were policemen and some other guys dressed like firefighters everywhere. Passengers trying to make their way to their gate were told to go the long way around. A group of young girls with "Hong Kong China" written across the back of their sport suits became engrossed in taking photos of the incident, which reminded me that I also had a camera in my bag.

I ate my lunch as the events unfolded but nothing really happened. Apparently the unattended luggage was harmless.

The new face of Budapest Airport

2011-05-16T21:58:00.000-07:00

I have not flown from Budapest Terminal 2 for some months and this was the first time that I passed through there in quite a while. I checked in at 2A which did not show any change. The three clocks on the board were showing three different times, none of them right. This is actually not a minor problem because some people, like myself, do not carry a watch and rely entirely on public clocks. In this case, for a moment I was foolled by one of them as I frantically tried to understand why I was missing the plane. A few months ago I passed through Moscow Sheremetievo Airport and there all the clocks in the terminal were showing 12 o'clock midnight. But at least you could see that they were not working. Here in Budapest, you realized this first by not understanding what was going on, then by noticing that the three of them were completely out of sync.

Going through security was as usual, except that a young security guard decided that I was hiding something and took his time trying to find that something in the folds of my clothes and inside my shoes. I had plenty of time so that was no concern, but repeated frisking from different angles was still unpleasant.

Inside the terminal was completely different. Brand new, like another airport somewhere not here. Just like in terminals in London or Frankfurt, now there was a shiny new luxury car on display, presumably to be won by the never-to-come-around lucky guy. Then there were a number of restaurants on the upper floor, some of them serving decent food.

To show that the change has come fast and not everything might be in place yet, some of the electric sockets into which I plugged my laptop did not have electricity. Others were still unfinished, with wires sticking out of them.

At a tiny casino in the duty free shop some Serbian teenage athlets in sports uniform were playing roulette. Now considering that they were only about 15, this might not be the perfect crowd to exploit for a licenced gambling establishment.

"Nightmare" holiday at Lake Balaton

2011-03-23T03:25:00.000-07:00

I met someone for the first time the other day and when she heard that I lived in Hungary, she immediately said, "I have been to Hungary." And then she stopped. Then we talked about other things but eventually she came back to her visit of the country. She had been with her husband and two daughters to Lake Balaton a few years ago but the whole trip did not turn out well. The house they rented was half-finished which, as she explained, was apparently quite common in Hungary. The beach was pretty much unusable, the water cold, and everything else was just not the way they imagined. She wanted to go and see Budapest but by that time her husband had enough of this country and voted against that. "It was a nightmare holiday," she concluded.

Now I wonder if it is really that bad. I realize that I complain about Hungary and Budapest on this blog quite often but there are clearly some good sides to it. Lake Balaton can be very nice, too. Of course, business owners there regard you as some sort of ATM whose whole existence is justified by making generous payments in exchange for bad service but if you can find your way amidst these obstacles, Balaton in the summer is definitely a pleasant environment. Or is this only my impression?

A strange woman in my car

2011-03-01T23:20:00.000-08:00

I was waiting for my wife in front of the drugstore when I noticed a young lady with some flowers in her hand walking along the sidewalk. She was young and attractive but what caught my attention was that she was looking straight at me as she was approaching my car. I kind of did not know what to do and ventured a smirk in her direction. But then she came up to the car, opened the passenger side front door, took a quick look at me and hopped in. I stared at her in total disbelief, gestured with the palms of my hands slightly to the outside, "What the @!$%?" Then she turned towards me again and at this point realized that she did not know me. Oops.

So she mumbled some sort of apology, got out and walked away with her flowers. Hmm. This is when my wife came out of the drugstore, just missing my new "friend" by a few seconds. I followed the woman in the rear view mirror and saw her cross the street and get into another car which sort of had a similar color but was of different make and size. Completely different, in other words.

I wonder whether this is a common thing, people getting into wrong cars? Or wrong apartments?

Best Somloi galuska in town

2011-01-14T23:13:00.000-08:00

My wife read somewhere that the Somlói galuska at Gerbeaud is the first or second in Budapest. We decided to try it, since this sponge cake is one of my favorites.

Gerbeaud was, as always, full of tourists -- a Japanese middle-aged couple sitting by the window, a larger German party around a few tables pulled together, etc. We did not want to eat in so we stood in line at the counter. To be exact, there was no line, only a single woman in front of us, buying a few cakes. But it took close to 20 minutes for her to be served, and during most of this time there was nobody on the other side of the counter. We stood there in our coats sweating, getting fed up with this whole scenario, but decided to bite the bullet so we can sample our sponge cake.

We got it, took it home. Ate it. It was not bad but definitely not one of the best I have had in Budapest. Not even in the top ten. Add to that the frustration when waiting for it and I can tell you that I will not only never buy another Somloi galuska in Gerbeaud but will not advise anyone to do that either.

Best Japanese restaurant

2010-12-18T22:52:00.000-08:00

I remember that friends in the past have told me about the Japanese restaurant Daikichi, as being the only Japanese place where they eat in Budapest. One of these friends was Japanese so it seemed like a good bet. But for some reason I never went there, until now.

Well, it was a genuine surprise, as the food was way beyond our expectations. Home-style Japanese cuisine at its best. Even the tofu tasted different from other places. And the rice, which is often a sure indication of the quality of the place, was perfect.

So you should definitely try this restaurant. There is for some reason a pre-occupation with "mangalica", a type of Hungarian pork but that simply seems to reflect the owner's own taste. And there is no reason to eat only pork. My advice is to try the many small side dishes, as these are the ones that are the hardest to get in other restaurants.

Ruszwurm: I don't wanna be waiting in vain

2010-09-08T08:53:00.000-07:00

Last night we walked up to the Castle Hill today and tried to get some ice cream before the season is completely over. Ruszwurm cukrászda is the closest place to the stairs where we reach the top, and their pistachio is not bad. Mind you, this is a really old and famous business with lots of pride and ego, and way above average prices.

Since it was already quite chilly, there were hardly anyone at the shop, and a few waitresses were chatting with each other behind the counter. We waited for a while by the ice cream stand, about 6 feet from them but they took no notice of us. This has happened before so we just kept waiting, for another 10 minutes. But nothing happened. Eventually my wife lost her patience and went out, while I tried to catch the attention of the 4 waitresses who were trying hard to understand what a Spanish tourist was saying. "Dollares, euro?" The waitresses stared with blank expression...

In the meantime other tourists came in and after standing around for a few minutes left the shop. It was amazing to see how customers were literally driven away but inattention.

Eventually I got one of the waitresses to get me ice cream which by this time, of course, did not taste quite as sweet as it would have 15 minutes ago. When I asked why we had to wait so long, she said that they were understaffed.

??

So we will probably avoid this place, even though it is right next to us. And here is a piece of friendly advice to the management: Fire the waitresses who drive away about a third of the customers by idly chatting to each other. After all, we are going through a depression and unemployment rate is on the rise.

Food prices at Ferihegyi Airport

2010-09-08T05:51:00.000-07:00

I was waiting to fly somewhere and as I still had plenty of time, I bought a soda that was three times the normal price, sat down and started to read a book. Two American businessmen next to me tried to figure out how the ended up paying what they paid for their food, what cost what, etc. At the end one of them said, "I think the prices are deliberately vague."

Of course, I know this but having heard it put like this felt like overhearing a true bit of wisdom.

Coke with no ice

2010-07-06T11:02:00.000-07:00

We flew back to Budapest from New York after being away for a month. As soon as we changed planes in Amsterdam and got on a Malev flight, the ice disappeared from our drinks. I asked for a Coke and got a glass of luke-warm drink with no ice. This was the point when I knew that I was back in Hungary, the land where 5 out of 10 times your Coke is flat and 8 out of 10 times it is not cold. (Just like in the US you it takes extra effort to find good bread, easily available in most of Europe.)

Pâté from Tesco gone bad

2010-05-21T21:06:00.000-07:00

I bought a small jar of Belgian pâté from Tesco that has the word "Delicious" written all over it, and also "Premium quality." I was actually very much looking forward to having it for breakfast but when I opened it, it had mold on it.

Now I wanted to take it back to Tesco immediately but that would have meant a lot of driving in traffic and it was clearly not worth it. But at least I am airing these picture of this premium quality food product on my blog.

But then again, maybe this is some kind of good mold that is good for digestion...

Bikicsunaj - A star is born

2010-05-19T21:57:00.000-07:00

The new craze in town is definitely Mr. Bikicsunáj, the guy who sang Alphaville's hit Big in Japan at the latest Megasztár talent show. Naturally, he dropped out of the competition immediately, but since his performace was aired on TV, his funny pseudo-English lyrics made him an instant celebrity in Hungary. Now, only a couple of weeks after his initial appearance in the show, he is already performing publicly before large audiences and giving concerts.

What makes him so much fun to watch is his lyrics. He is trying to imitate English but does it so badly that it becomes some sort of unknown alien tongue. His new nickname, Mr. Bikicsunáj (pronounced Bikichoonai) is actually his rendition of the English words "Big in Japan."

Being asked whether he considered learning English properly, he answered that this would be a disadvantage for him right now. I guess he is right, after all, it is not his singing that attracts the crowds.

Airport transfer - Fooling foreigners?

2010-05-15T22:11:00.000-07:00

I have been looking in amazement at the ad for airport transfer on Zona Taxi's cars. Since I travel to the airport quite often, I know that the transfer costs about HUF 5,000 or more. Now every Zona Taxi vehicle has a sign that says that "Budapest --> Airport 3600 Ft". But then there is the catch: the "-tól" suffix meaning "from," but this time it is oddly written in Hungarian. While there is nothing wrong with displaying ads in Hungary in Hungarian, in this particular case we should remember that the rest of the message is in English. "Airport" is not a Hungarian word, it never was. And, of course, the ad is directed at foreigners, as most Hungarians would either take public transport to the airport, or have someone give them a lift, or just book the door-to-door minibus.

So basically, the ad in question tells you that you can travel from Budapest to the Airport for HUF 3,600. Period. The not so minor detail that you may actually be paying almost twice as much is added separately, in Hungarian: the price is "from HUF 3,600." And this is valid if you travel to the airport from something they call Zone 1, an area closest to the airport. But if your hotel is in downtown Budapest, or on the Buda side, you end up paying a lot more. Not only that, a transfer from the airport to the city is even more expensive. So if you, say, booked a hotel in the city center by the Royal Palace, you are actually charged HUF 5,400 without the customary tip. This is surely not 3,600, is it?

Now somehow I don't think that this mix of languages in this case is not an accident...

Spring is here: girls sitting on the tree

2010-04-26T02:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a great day, bright sunshine, warm breeze. Finally, spring is here after months of miserable weeather. Walking through the lush park of Vérmező (which by the way, means "Blood field"), I noticed two teenage girls sitting on a tree, reading. Wow, I thought to myself, what an appropriate way to welcome the warm weather. We used to study in the library...

In the same park, there was a lady walking her dog, who (i.e. the lady) had two layers of sweaters on, plus a jacket. But then there were a few people almost completely naked -- well, in swimming dress -- lying in the grass, taking a sunbath. And the park, which is usually quite empty, was choke-full with people, walking around, lying around, cycling around, etc.

Lower price for less gas

2010-04-23T20:21:00.000-07:00

Still on the subject of varying gasoline prices, I remember a friend telling me a story how years back he noticed this small gas station somewhere near the city of Körmend, consisting of but a single pump. But it had the cheapest gas in the area. Yet when he filled up there, he actually ended paying more than usual as suddenly he needed more gas to fill his tank.

So sometimes cheaper is more expensive. Of course, there is no way of knowing this until you try. And my friend's story was years ago, I don't expect anything similar happening these days in any of the large gas stations. But just recently when my wife paid with a 20,000 bill at a station near the Austrian border on M3 (Budapest-Vienna), they gave back change from 10,000 and denied that she had given them a larger bill. When she insisted, two large men practically threw her out. Now that's what I call democracy in action.

Varying gasoline prices

2010-04-20T02:42:00.001-07:00

Gasoline prices just went up again and now we are paying about HUF 350 per liter. I try to go to the same gas station near the Kondorosi pool on Fehérvári út because their prices are often lower than elsewhere.

Over the weekend, we drove to Zala and before our departure, I filled the tank at the said gas station for HUF 346 per liter. At other places the prices were as high as HUF 357. But when we drove down to Zala, I bought gas for HUF 327, which to my mind is a huge difference. I know that the Hungarian oil fields are in Zala but I don't think that the gas I bought came from there. So why is it cheaper there?

Israeli spy planes over Budapest airport

2010-03-19T00:43:00.000-07:00

The two Israeli spy planes noticed near Budapest Ferihegy Airport remain a mystery, at least to me. There are various guesses as to what they were doing in Hungarian air space, ranging form being on a "spy mission" to simply training. The spokesman of the Hungarian Defense Mission told media that the planes were on a diplomatic mission. They never landed in Hungary though.

Now I wonder why carry out a spy mission in such a highly publicized manner. They are supposed to be covert operations. But then again, how can planes of foreign states come and go in other states' air space. Why weren't they shot down to begin with? Or if they were authorized to be there then what is all the fuss about?

Could Hungarian spy planes (if there are any) hover over Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, on some sort of "diplomatic mission"?

Winter is back

2010-03-12T21:49:00.001-08:00

Just as we were getting ready for the spring, it started snowing again. To be honest, I am sick and tired of winter, it would be nice to have warm sunshine again.

Anyway, here are a couple of pictures I took on the Castle as I got off bus #16.

Getting good bread

2010-02-24T03:05:00.001-08:00

I have been buying Paillasse bread for a few months, as this is the best that I have found in Hungary so far. I grew to dislike the typical supermarket-style white bread, especially once it becomes chewy since it is often wrapped in nylon. But now I just get a baguette of "Rusztikus Paillasse" and I am good for the day.

This is, of course, if I manage to buy the bread. Because if I go to the shop at Déli Railway Station after 10 am, they are likely to have sold out. After having been turned down over and over, I started to wonder what was going on here. First of all, why is the shop open until the evening when there is no bread in it at all? Why? And second, why don't they get some more bread there? Are they afraid that they will be stuck with it after closing? This surely is not the case because even during the 2-3 minutes I spend inside there are other disappointed buyers being turned down.

And the funny thing is that I have seen the company advertise on TV. What for if you cannot buy their product? Why bother, why waste the money?

The Greek village of Beloiannisz

2010-02-05T23:33:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we decided to drive out and visit the Greek village of Beloiannisz, about 40 km south of Budapest. I have vaguely heard about this place, it was established in 1950 for the Greek refugees who fled Greece after the civil war. But this was the first time to actually see the place.

Essentially, the village is at the end of a dead-end road and the only way to get there is by making a huge detour, at least if you are coming from Budapest. At the beginning of the village is a new Greek church, looks very imposing. The houses on the main street are also quite unusual for Hungary, they are joint together and are painted in all sorts of bright colors. And all the street signs are bilingual, in Hungarian and Greek. There is Odos Elektra, for example, which is simply Elektra utca in Hungarian. Petőfi utca is Odos Petoufi.

In the middle of the village is the public library, next to it is the Kultúrház (Culture Hall). There was someone cleaning the snow in front of the library and I asked him whether the library was open.

"The library?" was his response.

"Yes, the library."

"What library?"

I pointed to the building in front of which we were standing.

"Ah, the library. No. But you should have asked the Tanár úr," and he pointed at a man who was walking away. He yelled after him, "Tanár úr! Is the library open?"

"No." And the teacher disappeared in a building.

Our snow sweeper said that we should go to the school and ask there, the library is their jurisdiction. And he signaled at the building where the teacher had disappeared.

"But is the Culture Hall open then?" was my second question.

"No. You should ask in the school, it belongs there, too."

So we walked over to the yellow building he referred to as the school. The short and stocky teacher was just coming and his biggest concern was to mount a bicycle. I took the opportunity, said hello, and asked whether the library was open. I meant, ever.

"No."

"But this is a city library, right?" I pressed.

"Considering that this is a village, no." -- came the snappy answer. He was, of course, right. But that was not the point. And by this time he successfully mounted that bicycle of his and was leaving us stupid folks behind. As the man who held the key to knowledge in Beloiannisz was slipping away, I asked yet another question, my last:

"So when is it open?"

He thought a bit, and said without looking back at us, "Thursday," and hit the pedals. Now this all happened on Friday so whether Thursday was just the furthest day of the week he could think or the actual opening hours, I don't know. One thing was clear, he was beyond us.

Of course, we did not want to read in the library, just thought that either there or in the Culture Hall we would have some local museum or whatever information to look at. But it seemed that we were not wanted there.

Before leaving, I got into a conversation with an older lady who was carrying some heavy bags. I was happy that someone was finally talking to us but then she told us that she was from Besnyő, the neighboring village and came here to sell things to her customers. Every now and then she would take the bus here and bring some eggs, vegetables and "bunnies" to sell to a clientelle. The bunnies were not Easter bunnies made of chocolate, as I first thought but actual rabbits, or rather, rabbit meat. She was very proud that she still worked and made this small business going.

She has never seen the Beloiannisz Public Library open. "It used to be the Party Hall," she added. As to the town, she said that there were not so many Greeks there anymore. Lots of other people came here. She knew someone who married someone (a Hungarian) and moved here from Sopron.

"She sold her home in Sopron and moved here. Now I have never been to Sorpon but that woman gave it up for Beloiannisz..." she shook her head, implying that this was probably not the smartest move of the lady in question. Moving from Sopron to Beloiannisz.

She also told us that most people in town commuted to Budapest to work there. There were clearly not a lot of jobs locally. Outside the ugly building of the municipal government we saw the schedule for welfare payments.

Leaving, for a moment we thought of stopping at the Greek church on the edge of the village but immediately realized that it was probably closed.

Ice floating on Danube

2010-02-04T01:09:00.001-08:00

I always wondered how big rivers get frozen, what is the precise moment when the surface does not flow anymore. These few days there have been large sheets of ice floating down the Danube, and I guess this is the early stage of the process. If the temperature keeps below zero, the river will be covered with ice.

The Balaton and other lakes are already frozen.

Adventures in the gym

2010-02-01T00:13:00.000-08:00

Because of the cold and the snow, I cannot run anymore outside and I decided to run on a treadmill in a gym. I signed for a month. But after my first time running there I realized that there is simply no air in the room -- I could only run half as much as I could do outside, up and down the hills. So I asked the guy at the reception whether there was any kind of ventilation there, especially since we were in the basement. He said that they have air conditioning but people asked them to turn it off because it is too cold. And the door they cannot open because it is too cold outside. But actually that one door which is tightly shut is the sole source of oxygen. Hmm, why do I only learn this after having just paid for a whole month?

But I decided to persevere and take the lack of air as a physical challenge. The next morning I was running again when suddenly my treadmill stopped and everything went black. A power outage. If not for the handrails, I would have fallen off the thing. Then the lights came back and a staff said that this happens here and it is likely that it will now happen again a couple more times while I am there. "Run carefully!" she added.

But today was my third day and everything worked fine. I emerged unharmed from the dungeons of the gym.

Sparrows on a palm tree

2010-01-27T23:14:00.001-08:00

Yesterday we went to see a movie at Campona (which I like because unlike in most downtown destinations, I can park easily and for free). Unfortunately, I did not realize that the yellow color around the showtime in our movie guide meant "Saturday and Sunday only". So instead we had a quick bite at the food court on the same floor. And there, as we were sitting between Shake Palacsintabár, THAI, and Főzelékbár (and McDonald's, of course), I noticed two sparrows on the top of a ragged palm tree.

This was a bizarre site for a couple of reasons. First, why were there palm trees in the food court? Was it some sort of reference to Southern California or Florida? Tacky mall, modern food court, disgusting food, palm trees...? Second, this was the middle of the winter, it was minus 10 Celsius outside, and everyone was sitting around munching fast food in bulging winter jackets. Yet almost like in a tropical paradise. And then there were these two sparrows who used the tree to keep an eye on the tables before diving down to snatch the leftovers.

Haiti earthquake ignored in mainstream Hungarian media

2010-01-20T02:41:00.000-08:00

I am quite surprised how whenever I switch to any English-speaking channel (CNN, BBC, etc) I get up-to-date information on the earthquake victims in Haiti while in the main Hungarian TV stations this event is largely ignored. Instead, I was told 3 nights in a row about an old Hungarian man who accidentally entered the highway in the wrong direction and drove for 20 km before smashing frontally into a truck and killing himself. Yes, it is tragic but it does not come anywhere near the scale of the earthquake disaster. And it is not really news, is it?

In a way it is understandable that all news channels focused on the BKV strike, yet this did not feel quite balanced either. What about those in Keszthely or Debrecen, why do they have to listen to this all the time? The capital represents only 20% of the population.

What's the lesson from all this?

The BKV strike continues, people flood the streets

2010-01-15T10:55:00.000-08:00

Today was the third day of the BKV strike. Public transport employees went on strike to claim benefits they had last year but the company would not grant them in the new year.

The strike changed the landscape of the city. I run every morning along the embankment and it used to be empty, with an occasional cyclist. Since the BKV strike began, however, the embankment is filled with people -- everyone is walking to work or school. There are a lot more cyclists, too. For this limited segment of the city the strike actually has a good result. People walk along the river.

White night and virgin snow

2010-01-05T23:59:00.000-08:00

I woke up for a moment around 4 am this morning because it was really bright. I looked outside and the hills around us were covered in snow. Everything was white and somehow this whiteness was emanating light. It was truly beautiful.

In the morning I went up to the Castle Hill and by that time the snow was ankle deep. I trod on virgin snow.

Even now the snow keeps falling, I bet by lunch time there will be a lot more of it on the ground. Of course, such beauty comes with a price: traffic will be terrible and it is better to stay at home if you can.

Coke price sticker -- in the worst possible spot

2010-01-02T01:58:00.000-08:00

I never understood why in some Hungarian supermarkets you get the price sticker directly on the opening of the Coke can, right where you are supposed to drink from it. The one on the picture is not that bad, as it comes off easily. But there are cases when you simply cannot scratch it off and you end up licking a piece of paper while drinking your Coke. There are so many places to attach the sticker, why put it at the worst possible spot?

Christmas relief

2009-12-27T23:15:00.000-08:00

The holiday season is here and Hungarians, as everyone elese, are enjoying these few days when they can feel a bit more relaxed. But some people are apparently taking it too far. I was running early in the morning and as I was circling around Deli palyaudvar (Southern Railway Station), there was a grown man squatting on the sidewalk taking a dump. Wow! was my first reaction, as he was right on the pavement and I had to run by him. To his credit, he tactfully looked the other way while I passed by him.

But why in the middle of the sidewalk? The park was literally 20 yards from there, across the road. Or the public toilet in the railway station.

So while I thought that what I see on the streets of Budapest always came from dogs, now I know that there are other factors at work, too. Perhaps the city should put up signs saying, "Clean up after your dog, and yourself!" But would they have to be translated into different languages?

Free firewood in downtown Budapest

2009-12-12T04:43:00.000-08:00

While running this morning along the Danube, I noticed that some guys were gathering the wood that has been washed ashore by the river. There were about 5 of them, with a car and a small trailer, and had a chainsaw to cut up larger logs. They worked as a team, hauling big chunks of wood across the road and loading those on the trailer, while trying not to get hit by cars zipping by them. The lower embankment consists of only two lanes, one in each direction, and there is absolutely no place for parking. So although they pulled over as much as they could to the roadside, they were still blocking traffic. I guess this is why they picked Saturday morning for the project.

The team was busy and efficient, even if working in constant danger of being run over. And from the city's point of view, they were actually doing a good thing, cleaning up public space, getting rid of junk lying around. I don't know whether they were going to sell the wood (and how much they can get for it) or use it themselves but this project seemed like a great idea.

Pictures of Budapest

2009-11-28T01:54:00.000-08:00

These are just a few pictures of the city from my memory card. The first one was taken only a couple of weeks ago on Lanchid, when the fog was so good that you could not see the other side of the Danube. Although I hate bad weather, looking back at the pictures the bridge in this atmosphere looks quite interesting. At least it is different from usual.

The second picture is taken from the vista point at the top of the Gellert Hill. We had friends visiting and we took them up there to see the mandatory view of the city. This is the point from where 30% of all postcards about Budapest had been taken, I think. What you don't see in the serenity of the view is the two dozens tourists crammed around me while I was taken the shot.

The third picture was taken last summer when the Danube was flooding. The water is pretty high already but has not yet covered the the road. But you can see how deeply the Elisabeth Bridge has sunk into the river, a larger ship would not have been able to pass underneath it.

Lanchid (Chain Bridge) in a fog.

View of the city from the Gellert Hill.

The flooding Danube.

New cycle path -- torn up

2009-11-28T00:03:00.000-08:00

I run every morning along the river and noticed a few weeks ago that they were building a cycle path just before the Elisabeth Bridge (Buda side, coming from the north). This was part of a larger reconstruction of this chaotic intersection, with tram lines and roads merging right and left. In any case, a couple of weeks ago the cycle path was finally completed. This I really appreciated because I had been running in thick mud during the construction and switching to a shiny new tarmac felt like magic. But then, earlier this week, just as I was running by, I saw a group of workers (perhaps the same ones) breaking up the tarmac with huge hammers in one place. "Great, they are going to dig a whole in the new surface," I thought.

But when I came back the next day, I saw that they actually tore up the entire cycle path which had been finished a week earlier! So what is going on here? Why!? And once finished, they left the whole thing as it was and for the past few days nothing happened, the pathway remains mutilated.

Anybody has any clues as to what is happening here?

At the National Library

2009-10-14T07:56:00.000-07:00

This is a photo from the inside of the elevator of the National Széchenyi Library located in the magnificent Royal Castle on the Buda Hill. I always thought that it was funny that the main entrance (i.e. the ground floor) was on the 5th floor, a fact that newcomers find quite confusing. Basically most readers use only two floors, the 7th where the reading rooms are and the 5th to get in. So the rest is for heavy-duty researchers or staff who would know anyway which way they need to go. Why not make this easier?

Photo-copiers are open only from 12 noon. Having asked why, I was told that this was because nobody wanted to make copies. Hmm...

On Saturdays the Library is open but you can get no books from storage because it is closed. Why?

So every time I am there, I seem to run into some kind of petty regulation that prevents me from getting access to what I want. The only thing consistently open is the small büfé or snack shop. In fact, even though the Library opens at 10 am, the büfé opens at 8 am. Obviously, this is not for readers. But then if staff is treated so nicely, they should have the time to spellcheck things, like the "Special collactions" on the elevator photo here.

Or the "Nyitva tartás" (Opening hours) which are also misspelled in Hungarian(!) as the two words should be written together as one. This is on their main page and if you use IE to click on this link, nothing happens. (Evidently, it was designed for less mainstream browsers.)

Running in the city

2009-09-01T09:22:00.000-07:00

With an eye to becoming healthier, a couple of months ago I started running on a daily basis. Initially, I ran around 6 am when there was much less traffic and the air was cleaner. But sometimes I cannot go that early and if I begin running around 8 am, I am bound to have some incidents.

On thing that happens if you start later is that you have more people on the street. The other day I have already completed about 35 minutes when an elder man stopped me for directions. I had my earphones on so I silently gesticulated that I can't hear him and that I am not going to stop anyway. Much to my surprise, he grabbed my shoulder and started running alongside. In the meantime, he asked where was whatever street. Since I run in that neighborhood every morning, I knew the street and I showed him where it was --- only a block away. He then thanked me and stopped. But this man of seventy kept running with me for a dozen or so yards!

Then last week as I was running behind Gellert-hegy, I saw a black furry dog on the other side of the road. It also noticed me and came over to join me. It sniffed me in motion and then began running by my side, so close that at times its fur brushed against me legs. First I thought that it would stop after a couple of blocks but it kept running with me the whole time. We ran in this manner for 45 minutes and ended up at my doorstep. At this point I went inside the building and it sat on the ground in front of the door. The funny thing that it had a collar so it was not homeless...

Best Chinese restaurants in Budapest (2)

2009-08-30T10:29:00.000-07:00

Going back to my earlier post about Chinese restaurants in Budapest, I see that people have submitted a few comments and suggestions. Since I wrote that post a year and half ago, I think we need to make a few adjustments.

First of all, I ate at the Nine Dragons not too long ago and it was pretty good. You need to know, however, that there is a Chinese menu which is different from the one foreigners (i.e. non-Chinese) get. But you need to go with a friend who can read Chinese, otherwise you get Europeanized Chinese food. But it is also true that you get very bad service there, the waiters are always cocky and looking the other way while you are trying to talk to them. And the restaurant is incredibly noisy, with kids running around your table ALL THE TIME.

In the past months I rediscovered Lanzhou Restaurant near Rakoczy ut. In the past, the food was always salty and when we asked to put less salt we were told that it could not be done. Hmm... But lately I started eating noodles here and dumplings, and they are relatively good.

And two days ago I went to a new Szechwanese restaurant in Telepy utca, 9th district. And the food was great, I really enjoyed it. I finally had my fill of spicy things. Prices were also moderate and the best thing was that I could park easily, and it was free.

Back in Budapest

2009-03-10T04:22:00.000-07:00

After being away for almost a year, I am back in Budapest once again. Only the timing is not right, the country's finances seem to be slipping into a bottomless pit. The upside of all this is a great exchange rate if your salary comes from outside the country. So visitors find the prices are cheaper than before. As expected, this is not true for locals many of whom are now below poverty line. People compare Hungary with Argentina, and they might be right.

Tax day in Hungary

2008-05-20T01:32:00.000-07:00

Today is the last day to file your taxes in Hungary. The post offices are already crowded and will be until midnight. The solution? To file beforehand, not to leave it until the last moment. According to the news, a million taxpayers have not filed yet.

This certainly was a brutal year for most people, the Tax Bureau bent backwards trying to squeeze money out of enterpreneurs. I heard some truly ugly stories in this respect.

Bicyclist hit by a car

2008-05-20T01:28:00.000-07:00

A bicyclist was hit by a car this morning, according to the news. It is an ugly rainy day and traffic is, once again, crazy in the city. But Budapest is definitely not a bicycle friendly place, I don't understand people who decide to ride here. Life-threatening, both from the drivers and pollution.

Are there any good places to ride your bike in this city?

Shine a light: The Rolling Stones movie

2008-05-15T12:28:00.000-07:00

Just saw Martin Scorsese's Rolling Stones movie at Lurdy. I was expecting the film for quite a while now and today was the first day that it was on. We went to the 7 pm show but there were only two other people in the audience beside us. That's quite shocking, isn't it? The 7 o'clock show on a Thursday night. Is it that the Rolling Stones are not popular in Hungary? Or people do not go to the movies on Thursday?

By the way, the movie was great. The best part was Buddy Guy, he really outsang Jagger. I wonder why he did not show up at the very end for bowing out.

Hospital patients running lose

2008-03-27T12:39:00.000-07:00

I drove to a hospital (I will not mention which one it was, lest they sue me) this week to visit a friend and, as I was about a mile away, I noticed a man in pajamas and barefoot walking in the opposite direction. With his half-stripped top and dishevelled hair, and the lack of shoes on a chilly morning, I guessed that he was running away from the hospital. So at the ***ology where I was visiting, I mentioned to the people on duty that I saw a potential patient escaping. The staff got extremely excited, exclaiming, "We found the patient! Quick, call the police so they can pick him up!" Everybody started running around, making calls and all.

At this point I tried to describe the guy, saying that he had a beard and that he was a man of about 50. "But our patient is a woman!" they told me suddenly. "False alarm! This is not one of ours! Must be from another department." So now everyone calmed down.

But this made me think. Is this so common? I come across two patients in one day who run away from the hospital? There must be dozens of them every day. And the other question that comes to mind, why are the patients running away? Aren't they free to leave whenever they wish to?

Salaries in the Hungarian Army

2008-03-05T07:45:00.000-08:00

Just heard over the radio how much Hungarian Army staff are making. I never knew this, perhaps it is useful for others as well. So privates earn about 140,000 Ft a month before taxes, which comes to about $550 net. Not that much, is it? I pay more for my apartment and utilities.

Now officers, on the other hand, make almost twice as much, but this is only a general average. I guess there is a difference between a paycheck of a sergeant and a colonel. Even so, it is only about $12,000 a year. But then there are not many opportunities to risk your life for your country if you are in the military in Hungary.

Hail storm in Budapest, falling bricks damage cars

2008-03-01T13:39:00.000-08:00

This afternoon there was a terrible storm in Budapest, with gusts of wind blowing bricks off the roof in downtown areas. I have not actually seen the news but I did see quite a few cars in the downtown area which were completely damaged by fallen bricks. I am not sure how bricks dislocate themselves from the top of these buildings but they sure hit the ground (and cars) hard. Just imagine if a bunch of bricks falls on someone's head, he would be dead in a second.

There was also hail. I was driving at the time and the wind was so strong that the rain and hail seemed to be coming horizontally, rather than falling from up above. And my car was shaking even after stopping by the side of the road.

As a result of the storm, lots of traffic lights were out of order. It was a good thing that this happened over the weekend and not on some busy weekday, otherwise the entire city would have been paralyzed.

Unfortunately, I did not have my camera with me, but if someone sends me a picture, I will put it up here.

What's the best thing about Budapest?

2008-02-18T00:16:00.000-08:00

What is the best thing about Budapest? From time to time I notice that I mostly project a negative image of this city, as I am always pushed to write when I experience something abnormal or annoying. In my less malicious moments I simply do not write.

So what is good here? What are the best things? I would really be interested in what others feel. As for me, music would have to be on the top of the list, that's for sure. And the beautiful women. Not necessarily in any nasty way but in general, as an aesthetic observation.

Food is not good, prices are not cheap (anymore). Oh, the baths. Yes, I love the bath houses even though only go there about once a month. Still, the impression stays with me for the rest of the month.

Also, the relative freedom. If you are a foreigner and do not work for a bank or an investment company then you probably have some free time on your hand and can enjoy the slow pace of Hungary. This is even more so for smaller cities like Pécs or Szeged.

Can't think of anything else at the moment. Let me know if I missed anything...

Budapest is the capital of what European country?

2008-02-11T05:39:00.000-08:00

I though I'd share this with others.

Photocopying at the Szabo Ervin Library

2008-02-10T07:15:00.000-08:00

Has anyone been to the Szabo Ervin Library lately? This is Budapest's public library, sort of the like the New York Public Library (where they were burning the books in The Day After Tomorrow). A beautiful building, no doubt about it.

But photocopying is a nightmare. There are only a few machines and most of them are broken so you need to line up for ages to get anything done. And then you run out of coins and that's it. Nobody would change your money so you have to go down to the cashier at the ground floor and stand in line. And they might tell you that they do not change money there. I don't know, I did not have the patience to wait through the line.

So why is this so god damn difficult? It already costs twice as much as in any public library in the US, but takes about 10 times more time and an incredible amount of frustration. So my solution to the problem is that I try to avoid the library. Buy the book, it really is worth the extra 3,000 Ft not to have to roam around the building in search of a working copy machine.

Bush the winker

2008-02-08T00:17:00.001-08:00

So here is President Bush, the leader of the nation, the most powerful man on earth. And he is in good humor, having done something useful. I can only hope that it does not involve running over another country.

Hungarian belly dancers

2008-02-07T23:59:00.000-08:00

A photo of Hungarian belly dancers at the belly dancing competition in Budapest last May. I especially like the painting in the back, it really draws the ladies in, as if they were also part of the composition. In any case, I just stumbled upon these photos, I kind of regret not having had a chance to see the dancers in person. Belly dancing is such an Orientalist fetish and Hungary with its behind-the-iron curtain past definitely fits this tradition.

What's wrong with Chinese restaurants in Budapest?

2008-02-05T18:14:00.000-08:00

This post on Chinese restaurants started out as a reply to a comment to the previous post but it grew too long. There is so much to say about why typical Chinese food is not good in Budapest.

Part of the problem is that restaurants try to cater to local tastes, at least that's what Chinese restaurant owners have been telling me. There might be a perfectly good Chinese restaurant opening up, then in a year they would be serving crappy food because their clients educate them in this direction. This is a business so the owner and his cooks do whatever is necessary to hook customers. Hungarians, for example, love pineapple chicken (ananászos csirke), which is not something you would find in a restaurant in Beijing. But every restaurant serves it now. Where does this dish come from? Who knows. But somehow Hungarians got hooked on this and they demand it no matter what.

I think the Chinese fast food places (kinai bufe) embody what Hungarians think of Chinese food. It is generally orange in color, sweet and slimy. And an average dish costs about $2. There is your Chinese food.

Fortunately, there is a sizable Chinese community in Budapest so you can get good food (see previous post). The problem is more with Japanese, Thai, Mexican, etc food. It is just that there are soooo many Chinese restaurants in the city. There are more Chinese fast food restaurants here than McDonald's and that is not a good thing.

Best Chinese restaurants in Budapest

2008-02-02T17:25:00.001-08:00

OK, so what about good Chinese food in Budapest? Are there any good restaurants? I think there are but you have to know which ones to go to. The Taiwan Restaurant, for example, is quite good even if a bit on the expensive side. This expensive, of course, is nothing compared to the expensiveness of Japanese restaurants in Budapest. In any case, it is a good place for Chinese food. Despite its name, the cuisine is not Taiwanese. The Peking duck, for example, is very nice. Taiwan Restaurant is located near the parking lot on the corner of Hungaria krt and Ulloi ut. (This is the SW corner of the intersection.) Another good thing about it is that you can park for free, unlike at most of the downtown locations.

Another good restaurant is the Hongkong restaurant on Lehel ut. Once again, it is not Hongkongese food, but mainland Chinese. Frequented by Chinese and Vietnamese shop owners from the neighboring Shanghai market.

Then there is Kilenc sarkany (Nine dragons) on Dozsa Gyorgy ut. Although the name suggests that it is Hongkongese food (Nine Dragons is read Kowloon in Cantonese, which is the name of the main peninsula in Hongkong), it is mainland Chinese -- the owner is from Zhejiang province. Food is great and there is plenty of space for larger parties.

My personal favorite, however, is a small restaurant in Istvan utca, just before the intersection with Dozsa Gyorgy ut. It is only about a 100m away from Nine Dragons. This small place is disguised as an ordinary Chinese fast food restaurant serving revolting fast food dishes. But in reality, if you sit down and order from the menu, you get the best dishes in town. The place is very small, with only a few tables fitting in, no place for official parties. Prices are definitely the most reasonable of all the restaurants above, although you can also have some more expensive dishes (which are still worth your money).

If you know any more good ones, let me know. Or if you have a different opinion about the ones I wrote about. Let's share information so we can all have a better life in this city.

Good sushi and sashimi in Budapest - revisited

2007-11-29T19:42:00.001-08:00

We all try to find good sushi places in Budapest. For some reason, however, there is not a single Japanese restaurant that would serve good quality sushi for something less than a fortune. Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to get half-price sushi. I am willing to pay a premium price for it, short of getting of robbed.

I asked someone why there wasn't any fresh sushi in Budapest and was told that it is because Hungary does not have a sea. Well, that is true but you can get much better sushi in Vienna which is not any near to the sea than Budapest. In fact, you can get great sushi in Las Vegas, in the middle of the desert! Where is the logic in that? And in New York, where you can have wonderful sushi for reasonable prices, do you think the sushi and sashimi comes from Long Island? I don't think so.

So why is it that you cannot get the same kind of food in Budapest? WHY? Frustrating, isn't it? I don't have the qualification or the patience to run a restaurant but I really think that there is a niche here. All you have to do is to serve good quality sushi and the people will find you. No need to advertise, no need to be in the expensive downtown area. You could have it located in the suburbs, you might even be better off providing parking spaces for your customers. No need to be near public transportation, since you will be pitching at that segment of the population that drives a car.

So this is the idea. And this would also be the answer to the question of where to find good sushi and sashimi in Budapest.

Arminius Vámbéry and the Hungarians

2007-11-20T19:35:00.000-08:00

I have been reading about Arminius Vámbéry (a.k.a. Armin Vambery) and was fascinated by the amount of controversy his life and scholarship generated in Hungary. First of all, it is obvious that being a friend of the English family and a regular columnist in The Times, he was one of the better known people of his time. He was also the friend of the Turkish Sultan. He authored over a dozen books about Central Asia and related subjects, and is widely quoted to this day.

Having said that, there is somehow a huge amount of hatred generated towards him from his native land. People say that he is unscientific, that he is a fake, etc. So what is going on here? Why is he disliked so much? If he has been proven wrong in certain things, so what? He was a 19th century scholar -- everybody was wrong to some extent at that time, just as people living today will be proven wrong a few generations later.

Vambery was a Hungarian Jew who traveled in Central Asia in the diguise of a pilgrim, managing to get to places that otherwise closed to Europeans. When getting back to Hungary, he was thoroughly disappointed with the way his fellow countrymen ignored him and his merits, and he made his way to London where he became a celebrity overnight.

Budapest pictures

2007-10-20T18:25:00.000-07:00

I am posting some more pictures of Budapest from my hard drive. These were all taken within the past year, none of them are new.

Budapest pictures: The Royal Castle. This a view from the Pest side, from the tram station in front of the Academy of Sciences. There are always cops here, stopping cars who try to make a shortcut through the parking lot.

Budapest pictures: The Parliament. This photo is from the tram station in front of the metro station.

Budapest pictures: Liszt Ferenc square. This is when they were blocking the street for some reason. The sign on the board says, "This is our street, give it back to us!"

Budapest pictures: The Danube at night. And this is from the Pest side by the Margaret bridge. You can park your car for free here all day long, but you have to come early because it gets full by 8 AM.

Dog adoption day in Budapest

2007-09-28T18:04:00.001-07:00

I am reading the news that the Lelenc Dog Rescue Association is organizing an adoption day on 29 October, that is, this today. The organizers are hoping to give away about 100 dogs.

I love dogs but I hate dog shit. And will all the amount that is lying around the streets of Budapest, I wish the dog rescue association would hold a collect-your-dog's-shit day where they would appeal to the owners of those hundreds of thousands of dogs whose excrement makes the streets a little less appealing than necessary. Why is it possible to clean up after dogs in other cities around the world and not in Budapest? Why?

Actually, this is not so much a matter of people having the common sense to keep their city clean, it is a public health and city administration problem. The city district is actually responsible for keeping the streets clean and safe so they should make sure that they enforce regulations directed at keeping dog shit off the pavement.

Budapest taxi scams: Ripping off foreigners

2007-09-08T18:20:00.001-07:00

Taxi drivers have been notorious in Budapest for ripping off foreigners. I was hoping that this has changed during the past couple of years but apparently it has not. Someone just sent me an email comment about taxis like this:

"The taxis shame the city why do you tolerate those who charge $13 per kilometer on meters I had to take 2 to the dentist. If you want any kind of credibility stop them, they are even more unscrupulous than those in Hanoi."

Now that's ridiculous, isn't it. But who is to stop them? The police? Tax authorities? Me?

To be honest, I think this is much worse than it looks on the surface. Taxi drivers are only one aspect of life in Budapest today that is most visible to foreigners. But almost everything else is similar, only not so apparent to outsiders. For crying out loud, Gyurcsany, the PM of Hungary has admitted to having screwed up the country and he is still in office. So taxi drivers are only a minor problem. Try opening a business here or marrying into a Hungarian family and you'll experience the real Hungary.

Ancient forest discovered

2007-08-31T22:51:00.000-07:00

Remains of a prehistoric forest has been discovered in northeastern Hungary. Hungarians are accustomed to think of their country as being 1,000 years old but there was life here long before the Magyars arrived with their tents.

Scientists discovered almost perfectly preserved trunks of cypress trees in a mine near Bükkábrány. These large tree trunks are supposed to have lived millions of years ago, when the area was still covered with swamps.

Price of Coke in Budapest

2007-08-03T21:22:00.000-07:00

How much does Coke cost in Budapest? As you can see, this can of Coke cost me at the local grocery store HUF 139, which is about $0.80. It used to cost only HUF 100 a couple of years ago but since then prices have gone up. That is a 40% price increase! And if you add to it the real value of the currency against the dollar, you can see that prices have gone up about 60%! Prices for other things, such as gas and electricity more than doubled. Food and gasoline is already more expensive than in the US...

Hungarian salami: The pig, the man and the knife

2007-07-28T06:59:00.000-07:00

I really had to share this one. A poster of the Hungarian salami corporation, an advertisement directed towards stockholders interested in buying pork in huge quantities. The pig seems to be an unwilling participant in this cheerful celebration of Hungarian spirit.

In any case, I think it is a great poster. Nowdays you can only buy shares in oil companies (MOL) or banks (OTP), the rest of the Budapest Stock Exchange is only garnish.

To the Balaton: On the way to Balatonfured

2007-07-13T18:07:00.000-07:00

Below is an account of a trip down to Füred (i.e. Balatonfüred) by the northern shore of the lake Balaton. This is an excerpt from John Paget's Hungary and Transylvania, published in 1850.

"About eighty miles south of Pest, on the shores of the Balaton, there is a pretty little bathing-place called Füred; which is worth the stranger’s visiting, as well for the beauty of the neighbouring scenery, as for the pleasant and sociable society which commonly assembles there.

"As the weather was fine, and nothing was going on of particular interest at Pest, we determined to avail ourselves of it; and, making our arrangements accordingly for a few days’ excursion, started for Füred.

"The road as far as Stuhlweissenburg, which terminated our first day’s journey, contains little of interest, except a good house and pretty park of Count Brunswick’s at Márton Vásár, where we stopped to dine. Márton Vásár is rather a favourable specimen of an Hungarian village, and the inn bore marks of a thriving commerce; and, as a specimen of its class, I may as well describe it. It is a long one-storied house, forming two sides of a court-yard, and, besides the kitchen and landlord’s room, contains a large drinking-room for the peasants, and two strangers’ rooms. The latter have boarded floors, thickly strewn over with sand; and are furnished each with two beds, a table, and three or four wooden chairs. In half an hour we had a dinner of a soup, bouilli, vegetables cooked in grease, roast fowls, and pancakes; and such is the common fare and ordinary accommodation of the country inns of Hungary.

"I was wrong in saying that there was nothing of interest save Count Brunswick’s house; for, a little further on, we observed several villages built under ground, the roof being the only part of the houses visible. We examined some of these burrows, for such they literally are; and found them mere holes cut in the ground, roofed in with straw, and entered by a sloping path, frequently without any other opening than the doorway and chimney, and as filthy and miserable as can well be imagined. What may seem to render the fact more extraordinary is, that one of these villages, we were told, is inhabited entirely by noblemen; that is, by men who possess a small portion of land, pay no taxes to Government, and are free from all seigneurial impositions. Let the reader keep this fact in mind; for it serves to show that it is not the amount of taxation which renders men poor and miserable, but the absence of a knowledge and desire of something better, and of the industry and thousand virtues to which that knowledge gives birth. It is but fair to say that I never saw such houses in any other part of Hungary; though I believe, during the Turkish war, a great part of the country was reduced to a similar state.

"Stuhlweissenburg, though formerly a Roman town, and a name of frequent occurrence in Hungarian history, contains nothing remarkable. The palace of the bishop, and some of the buildings connected with it, are handsome; but the streets are badly paved, and the whole town disagreeably placed in the centre of a huge bog.

"The next morning we passed through Palota, and while we were waiting for fresh horses walked round the ruins of the old castle, which a Count Zichy -- one of the fifty-two Counts Zichy of Hungary -- has had the good taste to repair and render habitable.

"At Veszprim, the seat of another bishop, we stayed long enough to visit the handsome Episcopal palace, which crowns a steep hill that formerly bore one of the most important fortresses of Hungary. This was for a long time in the possession of the Turks; and contains a memorial of their residence, the more interesting from its rarity. One slender minaret, erected by the Turks above and old Gothic tower, still retains its elegant proportions. It now serves as a watch-tower against fire: where the Muezzim daily called the faithful Moslem to his spiritual duties, a watchman now warns his Christian brethren of danger to their worldly goods.

"The town of Veszprim is chiefly supported by trade, but not of a very high class. It contains few good houses, but has less appearance of absolute poverty about it than almost any town I know. A party of the better sort of country people, whom we fell in with in this neighbourhood, gave us but a bad character of the bishop and chapter of Veszprim as landlords. They complained sadly of their oppression, and said that the peasants of the church were worse off even than the peasants of the nobles, for the masters of the former had no permanent interest in their welfare, but tried to grasp as much as they could during the short period of their enjoyment. A young girl of about eighteen years of age, one of the party, observed rather caustically, “Ach Gott! Hungarian priests are not worse than any other priests; they are all tyrants when they have the power to be so.” It is curious that, round the room of the village inn where this conversation occurred, were hung the portraits of Lord John Russel, Stanley, Burdett, and Count Szechenyi.

"As we pursued our journey, early as it was in the year, we had several opportunities of remarking the old custom of treading out the corn by oxen or horses, so often and so beautifully alluded to in sacred history. It is commonly performed in the open field where the corn is cut. A flat piece of ground is prepared, by paring and beating till it is quite hard, for the “threshing-floor;” the corn is then strewn over it; and a boy with a long whip stands in the centre, and drives the animals round the ring till it the whole is sufficiently cleaned. It is still considered in Hungary the part of a miser “to muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn.” I cannot explain the pleasurable feeling produced by an actual illustration of this kind, simple as it is, of images which have been familiar to the mind from our earliest infancy, but of which we have never felt half the force or beauty till actually before our eyes.

"It was near evening as we came in view of the Balaton; and, if not grand, its shores have sufficient hill and wood, as seen from this point, to give them all the character of pretty lake scenery. Füred is a bathing-place which has come into vogue only within the last few years; and, except for the huge Horvathischen Haus, and a few other less pretending buildings, it is yet as near a state of nature as the most romantic could desire. The Horvathischen Haus is a large hotel, or rather lodging-house, which has been built by Mr. Horvath, the owner of the place; and, except the rooms reserved for his family, it let out to visiters at a very moderate rate."

Record trade with MOL shares at the BUX

2007-06-26T19:48:00.001-07:00

Yesterday trading with MOL shares reached both record price and volume at the Budapest Stock Exchange. At 3 am, for example, there was a single acquisition of HUF 60 billion which is larger than most analyzers have seen on the Hungarian market. At the end of the day MOL shares topped at HUF 30,000, which was a steep 6% increase for the day.

In these two days MOL has gained about 10% leaving smaller investors baffled and wondering about the background of the sudden change. Only yesterday MOL rejected OMV's offer for negotiations, saying that it has its own clear agenda and intends to follow that on its own.

Budapest: The city in heat

2007-06-23T14:57:00.000-07:00

The unprecedented hot weather is wearing people down. One funny side effect is that the small paper fans offered by Chinese merchants are completely sold out. I don't think I have seen many Hungarians using such a hand fan in the past but now, because of the heat, people started buying them and, lo!, they are gone.

I guess it would take months until a new shipment of paper fans arrives so until then the only thing you can do is to install an air conditioning. Air conditioners have been around in large quantities only in the past 5 years, their number increasing with every heat wave. Last year it was already getting more and more common to have some water dripping from buildings as you walked by. You would have wet patches on the pavement and you could never be sure whether they originated from a dripping air conditioning unit or from a more natural (canine or human) source.

Pork knuckles at Kaltenberg

2007-06-22T16:14:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to write about the food at Kaltenberg Sorozo in Kinizsi utca, by the Museum of Applied Arts. This used to be a great restaurant where they brew their own beer. In recent years, however, prices went up and I stopped going. However, in the past couple of years, they introduced half-price weekend, which means that on weekends you get a 50% discount on everything. So weekends are quite good here.

In my opinion, the best thing to get is the csulok, or pork knuckles. This is a two-person dish (but you can order a half portion which is perfect for one person) that comes with everything you ever wanted to have with your knuckles. It is good stuff.

Deserts are also great, I never miss a chance to have something.

Novels set in Hungary

2007-05-31T06:51:00.001-07:00

Someone asked me the other day about novels set in Hungary. Of course, there are a great many Hungarian novels set here, in fact, most of them are. But foreign language novels do not usually choose Hungary as their setting, unless they are dealing with Eastern European spies or dictators. Oh, and let's not forget the porn industry of the past 10-15 years which utilized the charms of Hungary.

But there is the novel Prague which, despite its title, is entirely set in Budapest. It is a great novel, if you have not read it, you definitely should. It is about the time immediately following the fall of Communism, when American youth flooded both Budapest and Prague, and when people made fortunes in the privatization game.

Apart from this, there must be some other novels set in Hungary but I cannot think of any at the moment. Can you?

How can I get from Vienna to Budapest

2007-05-20T10:03:00.000-07:00

How can you get from Vienna to Budapest?

Well, a plane is not a good option because of the short distance. Surely, you can fly between Vienna and Budapest but if you include the time of waiting around the airport, checking in and clearing customs, etc, then almost any other option is faster. The flight time is only 45 minutes though.

The other options would be taking the train, taking the boat, or driving. The train is inexpensive and takes about 3 hours so I would definitely recommend it.

Driving takes even less but you need a car. It is only 280 kilometers and there is a highway for the entire distance. The disadvantage is that there might be traffic when you hit Budapest. If you come on Sunday afternoon, when Hungarians are returning to Budapest from Lake Balaton, you can get stuck for hours.

Police officers steals money during hostage rescue

2007-05-12T15:20:00.000-07:00

A shocking news came out today about a police officer who stole 460,000 forints during the hostage drama earlier this week. This was during the famous bank robbery where the bank robber was shot dead.

When bank officials counted the money after the violent drama, they realized that some of it was missing. Watching the surveillance tapes revealed that a police officer took the money during the turmoil. The officer was immediately discharged and is currently being investigated by the Military Attorney's office.

An encounter with counts Szechenyi and Batthanyi

2007-05-10T23:09:00.000-07:00

"Every traveler, on entering the land of the Magyar, from Germany, must be struck with the marked difference in the characteristics of the people. Instead of the quiet, patient, methodical German, he sees a bold, daring, dashing fellow, who seems born to be independent. The one gives you the idea of a peaceable, hard-working citizen, that you might lead with a silken thread; the other, that of a fierce warrior, who would not allow himself to be robbed of his liberty, without unsheathing his sword in its defence.

"It is not nearly twenty years since we first visited Hungary. Its inhabitants were then slowly recovering from the losses they had sustained during the disastrous wars of Austria against Napoleon, and a long-continued contest – the contest of centuries, when they stood alone as the barrier against the Turks, who, like the Russians in the present day, menaced the whole of Europe with subjugation.

"A tour in Hungary was, at this time, considered by the quiet Germans as a very dangerous enterprise. Indeed it was with no little difficulty that a couple of fellow-students and myself succeeded in prevailing with our domine to accompany us in a visit to that country; and then, to provide against every contingency, it was considered necessary to be armed to the teeth.

"During the first few days of our journey we met with no adventure worth recording, till we entered that vast table-land which separates Pest from the Carpathian Mountains. Here we took up our quarters at a little road-side inn; when, lo! at the moment we were about to sit down to a capital dinner, two Hungarian noblemen and their attendants, all well mounted, and dressed in the picturesque costume of the Magyars, entered the court-yard; when, with all the insolence of authority, their saucy domestics peremptorily commanded the landlady to send in our savoury repast to their masters, who had retired to a private room.

"What was to be done? A Hungarian magnat was accustomed to be implicitly obeyed, and our good-natured Germans, no doubt pitying the dilemma of the hostess, felt included to consent. Ourselves, however, and an English fellow-student who accompanied us, fully imbued with that stubborn spirit of independence which John Bull so often exhibits to the wondering inhabitants of the Continent, entertained a very different opinion; and as the request had been so discourteously urged, we positively forbade the abstraction of a single dish from our repast. The war of words grew louder and louder, threatening each moment to end in a battle as sanguinary as any fought in the olden time by the Turks for the possession of one of those capacious copper caldrons which it is said would contain sufficient food to satisfy a regiment of soldiers. At length the dispute attracted the attention of the magnats, who on receiving an explanation laughed heartily at the contretemps, withdrew the claim, and agreed to accept as a favour an invitation to share our dinner.

"How gaily they quaffed the wine; how heartily they laughed at the pugnacious resistance of John Bull when his dinner was threatened; and how little, how very little, did those two noblemen, then in the full spring of health and manly vigour, dream of the melancholy fate which at a later period awaited them! Count Stephen Széchényi, after devoting the best years of his life, and the best energies of his mind, to the service of his beloved country, unable to witness the sad reverses she sustained, is now a confirmed maniac. The other, Count Louis Bathyani, after distinguishing himself as a patriot and a hero in defence of her liberties, died the death of a felon, by the hand of an Austrian executioner. But the day will come when his countrymen will avenge on Austria the judicial murder of one of their bravest patriots."

From Spencer's Turkey, Russia, the Black Sea, and Circassia.

2007-05-10T22:46:00.000-07:00

"Whatever may have been the cause, whether pride of race, or any peculiar feature inherent in the character of the Magyars, they have never sought or desired to amalgamate with any of the races over which they have been called to rule. Hence, we find in the present day, although more than a thousand years have elapsed since their forefathers conquered the country they now inhabit – the ancient Pannonia; they are as distinct in their features, manners, dress, and language as when their ancestors first struck their tents on the plains of the ancient Parthia. It is entirely owing to this want to unanimity and friendly feeling, which exists in a greater or less degree among all the nationalities that inhabit Eastern Europe, that the Germans on the one side, and the Turks on the other, have succeeded in keeping in subjection some of the most warlike tribes in the world.

"The different races which now inhabit Hungary consist of the Magyars, and several tribes of Slavonians, called Croats, Serbs, and Sclawaks together with Wallacks, and a few hundred thousand Saxons and Gipsies, giving altogether a population of about 15,000,000, of whom 6,000,000 are Magyars, and if to these we add the Szeklers – a mixed race, who pride themselves on being called Magyars, and who are in fact descended from the fierce warriors that first settled in this country under their great leader Attila, the far-famed king of the Huns, we may compute the Magyar nationality at upwards of 7,000,000, and perhaps even more when we call to mind that at the last census, to the great surprise of the Austrian Government, there was scarcely a family in Hungary, whatever might be their race or tribe, that did not manifest a desire to trace their descent from Magyar ancestors, even though the alliance might be very remote, thereby showing how much this nationality has advanced in the estimation of the other races since their glorious struggle for liberty in 1848 and 1849.

"There can be no doubt, and modern travelers confirm the assertion, that this heroic race, the Magyars, derive their origin from the ancient Parthians; and it is very remarkable, that they brought with them from Asia – at every period of the world the home of despotism in its worst form, - a free Constitution, to which they have clung through all the transitions of war, invasion, and revolution with a tenacity scarcely surpassed by that of the Anglo-Saxon race, and like them, as the natural consequence of living under free institutions, embraced at a very early period the principles of the Reformed Church."

The above excerpt is from Edmund Spencer's book titled Turkey, Russia, the Black Sea, and Circassia, 1855.

Watching the movie Transylvania

2007-05-09T13:47:00.000-07:00

Tonight we watched the movie Transylvania at the Muvesz movie theatre. The theatre was packed and we were lucky to get a seat, even though we came half an hour early.

Before the playing the film Beata Palya, who sings in the movie, gave a short speech and sang a few songs. She had a wonderful voice which completely captivated the audience. It was truly wonderful.

The movie itself was also quite entertaining, telling the story of two girls visiting Transylvania from France, looking for the lover of one of them who got deported. She finds her love but he breaks her heart telling her that he was not actually deported but simply left her. Of course, the girl is already pregnant so she freaks out and wanders off. She meets this guy Tchangalo of unidentified origin who is a nomad with an old Mercedes. And so on... Really, it is a lot of fun, even if it sometimes goes aboard with gypsy stereotypes.

But the best part of the movie was the music, I am definitely going to get the soundtrack.

Transylvania: This is Marie sitting in a Transylvanian tavern. She tries to take care of Zingaria but eventually loses her.

Transylvania: Tchangalo and Zingaria. Zingaria is dressed up here as a gypsy woman, taking care of Tchangalo's wounds after a beating he got from 5 gypsies. She actually uses a meteorite stone to rub his bruises.

Hungarian women: an old perspective

2007-05-09T07:48:00.000-07:00

Below is a description of the life of Hungarian women from the mid nineteenth century. This is an English perspective, from the 1851 edition of the Quarterly Review, in an article titled "The Hungarian Nation."

The conduct of the men at ball-rooms may already have induced the surmise that Hungarian notions about women are as conservative, as old-fashioned, as their notions are about most other things. The Magyar country-women are worse clothed than the men; where they can afford it, however, they wear knee boots, and sheepskin jackets. The covering for the head is a handkerchief. Unmarried country girls wear their hair in a plait hanging down the back. Married women tie it up. Peasant women, throughout Hungary. are very unwilling to change the costume of their ancestors. A sentiment of shame is attached to any change, and especially to an imitation of the higher classes. The saying with them is common, that an honest Hungarian peasant girl should wear the same clothes as her grandmother wore before her. Paget quotes several Magyar love-songs, which indicate some of the duties of an Hungarian wife. The lover says that he should like to drive six oxen in the plough, if his dove would hold it, and four horses in a sledge, if his rose would hold it up. This last duty must be performed by some one, as the roads are so bad that the sledge would empty its load into the ditch if it were not occasionally held up at one side. The girl, far from resenting this exposition of the services expected from her, answers that her dove shall have a clean shirt, if she be olbiged to soak it on Saturday and wash it on Sunday. He shall have a cake, if she have to beg the flour and manoeuvre for the butter.

Miss Pardoe mentions a visit made to the county jail of Buda. There were many women confined there, and two thirds of them for the crime of child-murder. She observes that this crime is very prevalent in Hungary, and on one occasion she asked a friend of hers, a judge, to explain the matter. He answered, that the cause was twofold, poverty and shame. There is no law to enforce the support of an illegitimate infant by its father, and the mother is frequently unable to maintain it. Divorces, says Paget, are far from uncommon among the Protestants, and they are seldom regarded as disgraceful occurrences. Most divorced women marry again quite as well as before. Inveterate dislike, ill-treatment, impossibility of living together, or the employment of threats or force to bring about the marriage, is, in law, a sufficient reason. The woman retains her property and her rights unimpaired.

Women have rights in Hungary. The widows of magnates can send a deputy to sit, though not to vote, in the lower house of the Diet. In the county meetings, the widow of a noble can send a deputy to act in her name. An Hungarian lady never loses her maiden name. During the life of her husband all actions at law, in which she is interested, are conducted in her name. Her husband has no control whatever over her property, and, if she chooses, she can retain the management of it in her own hands. A maid, however, remains a minor, and a ward of her nearest male relation, no mater how old she may be. Women, as one may suppose, after hearing all this, are as interested in political discussions as the men.

It is the fashion, says Paget, for two ladies to walk and sit together, and this custom is not confined to young ladies; so that, go where you will, there is a third person in the conversation. This is a praiseworthy regulation of fashion.

Budapest restaurant: Noir et l'or

2007-05-08T11:31:00.000-07:00

Today we decided to drive the blues away by going to a nice restaurant. We had walked past Noir et l'or on Kiraly utca so today, not in the mood for a heavy meat dish, we chose to eat there. The style was reminiscent of the Goa Cafe on Andrassy but the prices seemed a bit milder, at least from the outside menu.

The restaurant was basically empty, there was only one small table with 3 people who were just about to leave.

The menu looked good, a bit more expensive than promised on the outside, but still quite reasonable. But the food was a disappointment. None of the dishes we ordered, including the appetizers, were good. Everything was pretty mediocre or even below that. And when I had to pay I really felt unhappy about the whole thing, having to pay a relatively high price for pretty substandard food.

I mean the restaurant could be really good if they found a good chef. That's the only thing missing -- delicious food. But it is really the most important thing in a restaurant, isn't it?

So that was my first and definitely last visit to Noir et l'or.

Getting robbed in my own apartment

2007-05-07T14:08:00.000-07:00

This must be one of the worst days since I have moved to Budapest. I woke up this morning to find out that someone sneaked into my apartment while we were asleep and stole a bunch of things, including my laptop with half of my life on it. Plus cash, cards, everything.

I am so furious, I can hardly think straight.

And this is one of the safest streets in the city...

Today I really feel that living in Budapest sucks. Big time.

Bank robber shot dead in Budapest

2007-05-05T02:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday a man at the Széna-tér branch of OTP Bank (right next to the Mammut plaza) disarmed a security personnel and robbed the bank. He also took hostages. When the police arrived, the man shot into the wall and let the bank's clients go.

The whole event lasted for nearly two hours, at the end of which the police shot the bank robber dead. Three of the hostages were injured, too.

Now where is this going to? People getting shot on the tram, others robbing banks and being shot by police snipers... It is like living in one of those adrenaline rush Hollywood gangster movies.

Morality issues in Budapest: Women, art, nudity and the Parliament

2007-05-04T00:50:00.000-07:00

On this very 5th day of May, 80 years ago the following short story appeared in the Port Arthur News in the State of Texas.

Morality Laws Stir Budapest
Short Skirts Force Women to Stand in Cars

"Budapest, May 4. -- The war of words over Mr. Scitovsky's new "morality" orders continues apace, and such incidents as the request of a plainclothes detective in a tramcar that two women passengers should remain standing, because when seated their skirts failed to cover their knees, are reported daily. Fresh alarms and excursions occurred with the interpolation made in parliament by Mr Pakots, a socialist member, who handed round an album containing reproductions of the Venus the Milo and made paintings in the art gallery, which had been
seized by the police in a shop window in one of the principal tourist fares.

"Mr Pakots created amusement by asking the members to inspect the photographs, and declared that the confiscation was an attack upon art and freedom of artistic taste. Mr. Scitovsky, however, held to his point, and mentioned that his order was mild when compared to the convention at Geneva in 1923. Although himself a lover of art, he objects to shopwindows being filled with reproductions of the nude in streets frequented by school children, who are brought up to regard nakedness as immodest in everyday use. "

At least today the Parliament is not engaged in chastising women who show their knees in public. Perhaps there is progress, after all...

Gloomy Sunday, the suicide song

2007-05-03T22:39:00.000-07:00

Having mentioned Erika Marozsan in the movie Gloomy Sunday, it is worth returning to the actual song one more time. Just to illustrate the atmosphere during the times when the song was in vogue, I am citing an old newspaper article from the February 2, 1936 edition of the Syracuse Herald:

Budapest Combats "Gloomy Sunday" after 18 Suicides

Budapest police have branded the song "Gloomy Sunday" public menace No. 1 and have asked all musicians and orchestras to cooperate in surpressing it, dispatches said today.

To its gloomy strains, the police attribute 18 suicides. It was the 18th suicide -- which moved police to action -- when Joseph Keller, a shoemaker, killed himself and in a note to police asked them to put on his grave 100 of the roses mentioned in the song.

Men, women and children are among the victims. Two people shot themselves while gypsies played the melancholy notes on violins. Some killed themselves while listeninig to it on gramophone records in their homes. Two housemaids cut their employers' linens and paintings and then killed themselves after hearing the song drifting up into the servant's hall from dinner parties.

Here are also the English lyrics of the song which, they say, do not justice to the Hungarian original.

Gloomy Sunday
Sunday is gloomy, my hours are slumberless.
Dearest, the shadows I live with are numberless.
Little white flowers will never awaken you,
Not where the black coach of sorrow has taken you.
Angels have no thought of ever returning you.
Would they be angry if I thought of joining you?
Gloomy Sunday.

Gloomy is Sunday; with shadows I spend it all.
My heart and I have decided to end it all.
Soon there'll be candles and prayers that are sad, I know.
Death is no dream, for in death I'm caressing you.
With the last breath of my soul I'll be blessing you.
Gloomy Sunday.

Suicide notes were also reported from America, once the song hit the stages there. For example, we find among the news that "Hobart college students claimed today that the tragic melody of Budapest's 'Gloomy Sunday' prompted the suicide yesterday of Philip Cooks Springfield, O. student." (Mansfield News Journal, May 23, 1936.)

Now my question is: can a song be so sad that people take their lives hearing it? Or is it just the spirit of the times, the pre-war decadence?

Pictures of Hungarian women

2007-05-03T01:56:00.000-07:00

Pictures of three famous Hungarian actresses, namely, Erika Marozsán, Zsazsa Gábor and Mari Törőcsik. I am not sure why Hungarian male actors are less known in the west, does it have to do something with colonialism? Or the western world is just not that much interested in Eastern European men...

Erika Marozsán leaning on the piano in desperation. From the film Gloomy Sunday.

Erika Marozsán riding on a bicycle. Also from the film Gloomy Sunday.

Zsazsa Gabor back in the old days, young and full of promise.

Zsazsa Gabor today, a few decades and husbands later.

Mari Törőcsik in her twenties in an old movie.

Mari Törőcsik today, still an active actress.

Budapest, the Danube and the Parliament in retro

2007-05-03T01:34:00.000-07:00

This is an old postcard of Budapest from 1938. World War II was just starting but the people were still living a high life. In fact, it seems that these were the golden days of Hungary, sort of like Shanghai before the Japanese occupation. Here on the picture, you can see the Danube with a steamer gliding upstream, and the Parliament in the background. Pest is as flat as today, only today we do not usually see black smoke rising from behind the buildings.

A view of the Danube and the Hungarian Parliament.

Magyar Posta: Hungarian stamps

2007-04-30T11:02:00.000-07:00

During the Communist era, most people were acquainted with Hungary through its stamps. Many stamp collectors had items with the enigmatic "Magyar Posta" inscription, usually pronounced by their owners as "mag-why-er pos-tah". No serious philatelic collection could be without a number of these colorful stamps showing pictures of dogs, paintings, steamers, etc. Below are a few samples from these stamps.

A Hungarian stamp from 1981, showing a painting by Picasso. Art was always favored during the Communist regime, especially music and fine arts.

A picture of Ferenc Deak, the "Father of the nation."

A stamp showing the Lighthouse of Alexandria.

A block with the theme of Arpad's conquest.

Szabadsag-ter in old Budapest

2007-04-29T04:24:00.000-07:00

Found another old postcard with a picture of Szabadsag-ter in Budapest. The postcard is from the beginning of the 20th century, I think.

I am not sure of the orientation but I think that today the American embassy is on the right hand side.

Best sushi in Budapest

2007-04-28T22:57:00.000-07:00

There are a number of options for eating sushi in Budapest these days. Unfortunately, most of them are expensive and not good.

At one point, I frequented a sushi restaurant called Wasabi, on Szepvolgyi ut. They had a sushi buffet for a reasonable price, the only problem being that the sushi was not so good, mainly because of the rice. I am not sure why people think that rice is not important when they make sushi, after all, the larger part of a nigiri sushi is rice. So rice is very important! At Wasabi rice was not only bad, it was getting worse every time I went there. So I stopped going after a while.

Later, Wasabi opened another store on Podmanicky utca, near Nyugati Railway Station. Because I live nearby, I decided to go and try it. The food was horrible, much worse than in the other branch where I stopped going. And it was not cheap, either. So I was getting bad food at a high price: since then I have not set foot on the premises. Wasabi restaurant is definitely out, no more chances.

At Takebayashi restaurant on Belgrade rakpart (to the south of the Elizabeth bridge) the quality of the sushi was much better. But it was also a bit more expensive. Luckily, they had a Sunday buffet where you could eat as much sushi as you wanted. Unfortunately, they did not have the sushi laid out but you had to order it from the waiter and then wait over 45 minutes to get it delivered. The next round was another 45 minutes and then I gave up. Don't know if this was on purpose to limit the amount of sushi you ate for the set price or they were not ready for the 6 customers but I was quite upset when I left the restaurant. Have not been back, will not go back. Still, I have to admit that the food itself was not bad.

To make a long story short, my best choice today is a place called My sushi from where I order sushi to have it delivered. Sure, there are problems. Sometimes I get more sushi than I ask for and sometimes less. But the quality is great and the prices are OK too. The rice is fantastic, I always order some extra separately.

Google recruiting in Budapest

2007-04-24T11:37:00.000-07:00

Information leaked out that Google was recruiting programmers at Budapest Technical University. Vint Cerf came to Hungary to give a lecture but apparently this was not his only purpose in Budapest. According to gossip, April 2, a number of other Google employees came with Cerf with the aim of conducting job interviews. The interview was not publicized but spread among programmers by word of mouth.

Liberty square in Budapest

2007-04-21T12:25:00.000-07:00

Just came across this photo of Szabadság-tér, or Liberty square from about 1900. This is where the American Embassy is today, although the building is not on this picture. On this photo, you can see the Parliament in the back. To be honest, the square looks pretty much the same today, perhaps with less people on it.

Street graffiti in Budapest

2007-04-20T08:19:00.000-07:00

These are photos of street graffiti I took while waiting on the tram along the Danube. It was a beautiful sunny day and it was great to be alive.

Graffiti in the city varies a lot. Sometimes it is crude and boring, sometimes really artistic and exciting. The funny thing is that the kind painted over newly renovated buildings is almost always dull, not sure why. But the colorful ones along the tram tracks can be very interesting.

Graffiti in the underground station of tram 2 at Vamhaz-ter, near the Central Market.

Graffiti from the same wall as above.

The same underground station only on the other side. This was taken at the same time as all the others but because of the light it seems as if it was late night here.

This piece of graffiti is under the Chain Bridge, along the tram tracks.

This is just a vandalized tram sign by Academy of Sciences. You can see the Chain Bridge in the background.

Fined for driving without a sticker

2007-04-18T06:21:00.000-07:00

I just received a moving violation fine for driving on highway 1 without a vignette. I really could not recall doing anything like that or even going anywhere that did not fall within the immediate neighborhood of Budapest. When I do drive on the highway, I always buy a sticker.

The ticket said that if I pay it within 15 days from receipt, I will only have to pay 12,000 Ft but later it escalates to 60,000. Now what if I am not even in the country? And why am I being fined in the first place?

These were my thoughts but then I remembered the only possible explanation. I was driving someone to Biatorbágy and missed the exit. I drove until the next one and there made a U-turn. Until Biatorbagy the highway is free but after that you are supposed to buy a vignette. Now I don't see how I am guilty here but is there anything I can do?

More pictures of Budapest

2007-04-18T05:26:00.000-07:00

These are some more pictures from the cleaning my hard drive project. They were done last year. Looking back at the city from a distance of several months, it looks a lot nicer than it usually does in the present time.

Some buildings near the Parliament.

More buildings near the Parliament.

Ditto.

The left side of the Danube, taken from the Chain Bridge.

A close up of the Matthias Church on the Castle Hill.

A shot from the Chain Bridge where I was standing. You can see the Four Seasons hotel in the distance.

The Hungarian Academy of Science, with tram #2 running by.

The Parliament from the Chain Bridge.

The ride side of the Danube, as seen from the Chain Bridge. You can see the Margaret Bridge in the distance.

Air tickets out of Budapest: False advertising?

2007-04-14T22:17:00.000-07:00

I was passing by Octogon and in the window saw an advertisement for a ticket to Japan for 130,000 forints. I thought to myself, wow, that's a good price! So I went in and asked about the price and was told 270,000, plus tax. Now that's more than double the advertised price, what is going on?

The lady said that those prices were for April. Fine, said I, get me a ticket for April for 130,000, I will fly to Japan tomorrow. Then she was on the phone trying to find out what had happened. Not getting me a ticket for 130,000 but trying to figure out who put that price in their window. I glanced down at the business cards on her desk and realized that she was the manager of the travel agency so she should have known about the prices in her own office.

After she spent 10 minutes on the phone while I waiting, I gave up. Just wanted to move on with my life. But here is my question. Isn't there some sort of regulation against false advertising here? Or is this not considered false advertising?

Last summer I went into the tourist information office at Deak-ter (or Erzebet-ter, I never know where the boundary lies) by the long distance bus station. I saw the ad in the window saying that you could go with a bus to Prague for a ridiculously cheap amount. At the time, we did want to go to Prague so this looked promising. Inside they told us, yes, they would be happy to take us to Prague but for 3 times the amount. Yes, this was with the same bus but those discounted seats were already sold. Since I was not in a great hurry to get to Prague, I said fine, get me on the next bus on which the discounted seats are still available. But I was told that these discounted seats were booked for a long way ahead.

As it turned out there were only 2 such seats on the bus (maybe per month) and these were always booked. Always. To my question why would they advertise something they could not deliver, the guy said with a happy smile, "Otherwise you would not have come in!"

Now isn't that nice! What a clever thought...

Shooting on the tram: Friday the 13th

2007-04-14T21:54:00.000-07:00

Last Friday someone was shot on one of the Combino trams in Budapest. I have not actually read the news about it just overheard people talking about it. Apparently, there was an argument and one party drew a gun and shot the other one in the face.

Combinos are the new Siemens trams that have been acquired last year amidst a lot of public debate. They travel along the routes of trams #4 and #6, passing just outside my window.

Anyone has any updates on what happened on that black Friday? Was the shooting fatal?

Spring and ice cream

2007-04-01T23:23:00.000-07:00

This was a lovely weekend and finally as the sun finally came out for more than a few hours. Once of the sure signs of the coming good weather in Budapest are the ice cream vendors who finally decided that this time the sun was going to stay.

And, indeed, it is Monday morning and weather is nicer than ever. And there is ice cream all over town.

A word about ice cream. In recent years ice cream in Budapest was getting worse and worse, as large international companies pushed the family business out of the market. Now virtually every ice cream stand sells plastic brands such as Carte d'Or and Movenpick. There are only a few shops left where home made ice cream is still made according to tradition-long family recipes.

Which ones are the good ones? I would recommend the small pastry shop on Wesselenyi utca at the corner of Klauzal uta. Or there is one on the corner of Dob utca and Nagykorut.

Anyone knows any other good ones?

King Leonidas and the brave 300: Persian attack

2007-03-24T05:20:00.000-07:00

Just watched the movie 300 and, while enjoyed the visually satisfying scenes, could not help noticing the film's modern parallels. When you make a movie today about the Persians threatening European, and Western in general, civilization then you are obviously assisting the audience in forming their opinions in our modern world. Movies are a powerful medium which can influence people on a magnitude other, more truthful or careful, media cannot even dream of. Who can deny the pleasure of cheering together with the Spartans in massacring the oncoming Persian army, mostly consisting of faceless monsters and beasts.

But let's look at the implications here. The Persian civilization today is Iran and the Greeks can be easily equated with the West. In this fight between these superpowers of the ancient world a small number of Spartans leave their country and go abroad to defend their land against the approaching army of evil. Now that sounds very familiar if you think about American politics of the past decade. The story King Leonidas and his brave 300 is even better than that of Alexander the Great where the king invaded the Persians in their own land, bringing them the benefits of the civilized world. No, King Leonidas is no invaders, he defends his country against evil. OK, he has to leave the country to meet his enemies halfway but he is still defending Sparta.

Added to this, there are lots of satisfying images of violence and rage, etc. A great movie with a stupid and dangerous message to today's youth.

Picture clearout: Winter in Budapest

2007-02-23T11:22:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of Budapest I took during the winter. Not this winter which had no snow whatsover but 2 years ago when at times you could not see the other side of the street from the snowfall.

This is snow by the side of a church on the Buda side.

This is a shot from the same spot, with the Royal Castle in the back.

A street on the Pest side.

The front of the Dohany utca Synagogue from my car window.

The back of the Synagogue at night, from my window.

Cars on the street at night.

The street in the morning. Budapest under snow.

The back of the Dohany utca Synagogue during the day.

Picture clearout: Balaton

2007-02-23T11:12:00.000-08:00

Here a few pictures of Lake Balaton from 3-4 years ago. It was a beautiful lovely day and we took a trip to Balatonfüred.

A park on the shore in Balatonfüred.

The swans in Balaton, waiting to be fed.

A distant view of the shore with some ducks in the foreground.

The pier.

The sun over the water.

On the pier.

Hungary and the Hungarians

2007-02-23T10:52:00.000-08:00

I was cleaning my hard drive and found a bunch of photographs of Budapest and the people living here from way back. I will start posting some of them so they do not go to waste.

Hungarians eat vegetables. Although Hungarians are notorious meat and potato eaters, they also like fresh vetegables and pickles. Especially pickles.

They also love fresh fruits.

Hungarians drinking. An entrance to a grocery store that sells, among other things, beer.

An opinion about the elections...

Hungarians waiting for the tram.

Cats tortured and murdered

2007-02-10T00:36:00.000-08:00

Last night I was surprised to hear on the news that four cats had been found tortured and murdered in a provincial town of Hungary, if I remember correctly, in Debrecen. The TV network station reported that the cats had been brutally tortured, killed, then tied together into a single bundle. They also said that the cats were most likely not killed on the spot where they were found and that the police was investigating the crime and looking for the killers.

Now don't get me wrong, I love cats and all but this does not seem to constitute a news of the same magnitude as a hundred people getting killed in Iraq, does it? And to have the police forces trying to catch the murderers seems a bit too much. Or is it just me? Is it still something worth putting into the evening news on national TV?

Budapest unrest: Quiet morning

2007-02-04T07:18:00.000-08:00

After yesterday's wind storm, there were no people today around the Parliament. I drove by around lunch time and police were letting cars come near the Parliament and the Museum of Ethnography. There was a smaller group of demonstrators, about 20 people, with a flag but other than that there was no sign of protests. The tourists seemed really happy that they could access the museum.

The barrier around the Parliament was rebuilt as a double fence. The inner one is a wire fence with an open end so it essentially acts as a barbwire. Obviously, police were careful not to put an actual barbwire around the Parliament -- that would have been too symbolic.

Budapest riot police, waiting...

2007-02-03T03:19:00.000-08:00

On the picture below you probably cannot see this small group of riot police standing around in Alkotmany utca, right next to the Parliament. So here is a bit larger photo that shows them. I did not dare to go closer and snap my camera in their face so this is as good as it gets in terms of picture quality.

Budapest unrest: Calm morning

2007-02-03T03:08:00.000-08:00

Drove by the Parliament this morning to take a peek at what's happening and saw nothing but police. Law enforcement units closed down the roads leading to the Parliament, and built a double barrier blocking access to the building. I did not see demonstrators or any other signs of trouble. There was some riot police too, waiting quietly. But the overall number of police officers was very small, compared to what was happening last night. I really hope that the whole thing is over and life will be back to normal on Monday.

But then again, it was really cold this morning, and I begin to suspect that the weather plays a major role in politics. What would have happened if on the morning of the French Revolution there was suddenly a hail storm? Perhaps people would have stayed home and the world would have continued the way it was. After all, this fence around the Hungarian Parliament has been there for over a 100 days and this is the first attempt to actually dismantle it physically.

Budapest unrest: Implications for the people living here

2007-02-02T10:55:00.000-08:00

So now Budapest is in turmoil again. We sure are not getting bored here, are we? But what does this all mean for us?

Well, first of all, it took me an hour to get home from the Buda side. I live right by the Parliament now and got stuck in serious traffic. Police were erecting new blockages as I was driving, and I was beginning to feel trapped. Eventually, I maneuvered home between groups of police officers dressed in riot gear.

Then there is the question of my car which is parked outside my building. Last year's crowd was indiscriminately burning cars, some in our street. Obviously, I do not want my car damaged by anyone, regardless of his or her political beliefs.

Then there is BUX, the Budapest Stock Exchange. As any political unrest, this is not good for business either. Because the actions of Fidesz reached the general public only later in the afternoon, the BUX closed without taking much notice of the events. However, if the riots escalate further during the weekend, as it was undoubtedly intended on the part of the initiators, the stock market will go down Monday morning.

What else? Ah, yes, the general mood in the city. People are getting viscious with each other. You can feel the tension and any small disagreement at the grocery store or on a street corner immediately escalates into a violent confrontation. I hate an atmosphere like this, it is just no fun to be outside anymore.

Budapest unrest: Riot police on horseback

2007-02-02T10:39:00.000-08:00

In response to the rapidly growing unrest, and in anticipation of even larger problems, Hungarian police forces have brought in horses to the Parliament square, obviously intending to ride them later in the day.

It is clear that police is expecting something on the magnitude of what happened last Fall when tens of thousands of angry people stormed the TV headquarters and then violently roamed the streets. Police at the time was both helpless and clueless. This time they want to be prepared. According to news reports, even officers off duty and on holiday were called in today.