From The Land of Paprika

Saying Good-Bye to Pécs

2009-12-15T05:20:00.004-06:00

Well - early tomorow morning (2:30 a.m.) I take the shuttle to the Budapest airport to return home via Milan, Italy and Newark, New Jersey - 18 hours after my 7:40 a.m. flight departs. I spent yesterday and today on a last few good-byes and stuffing my two suitcases full of all my junk.

Had coffee with Liza, an American student from Salt Lake City, whom I met my first week here. Delightful young woman who has lots of traveling in her future. She and I both compared our great adventures in Hungary. Met my friend, János, to say farewell - he gave me some homemade paprika sauce. Yum - can't wait to try it. And met Zoltan at Cooltour Cafe for a last red wine - thanks for the wine Zoltan and the DVD of a new Hungarian film. I know Bill Pryor will be happy to watch all my Eastern European DVDs when I get home.

Today I went by the bookstore to say good-bye to Levente and his great girlfriend, who have always been so kind to me. Sad to leave them. Levente had one last tip for me - a new cafe selling home made cakes and pastries - so I just had to give it a try before I left. As usual, his advice is golden. Had a yummie chocolate torte with cocoanut and a citrus filling swirled into the batter.

Now I'm working on final posts to my blog - and waiting for Ági to come and help me cart my luggage down the construction zone, which is my street.

Christmas Differences

2009-12-15T05:11:00.003-06:00

Always hard to judge cultural differences on a brief trip. But I think I've observed some differences in the Christmas holidays. First of all, there are two distinct celebrations - December 6 (Advent) and the December 25 - which are celebrated. Father Winter or Father Christmas (more recently Santa Claus) brings children gifts on December 6th. So the Santa figure is not associated so much with December 25th. There were concerts in the cathedrals at both Pecs and Zagreb on Advent. The holidays around December 25 are similar in some ways - on Christmas Eve there is a midnight Mass (in a largely Catholic country), families get together for dinners on Christmas Day and the day after Christmas which is also a holiday. The Christmas tree is not put up and decorated until December 24 - and then it is left up until January 6 (12th night after Christ's birth) Children get presents on Christmas, but these presents come from the baby Jesus. So the Christmas holiday seems more focused on the birth of Jesus and family. The town and stores are decorated - you may have seen my post on the Arkad, the shopping mall which looks very much like any mall. But the decorations are not as extensive or gaudy as in America. They are simplier, primarily strings of white lights and garlands. The holidays seem to me to be more peaceful here - not quite as stressed, though I hear that women get stressed doing all the holiday cooking - same as home.

Trip to Villány Wine Country

2009-12-13T06:51:00.009-06:00

Last night Lászlo Tarnay arranged for a trip to the wine country with Aron, Lászlo and Krisztián, colleagues from the film department at the University. I had a wonderful time. Áron was kind enough to drive us all – no small sacrifice since the driver can not drink. The wine cellar served a hearty dinner with great wine, of course, and, afterwards, we all went into the wine cellar for a tasting. I’m afraid that I lost count of the number of wines we tasted – eight in the cellar, I believe. Then we returned upstairs for dessert – two different kinds of retes – a type of Hungarian strudel. Wow, what a great evening. I had a fine time talking to Krisztián about all the Eastern European DVDs he’d given to me to watch. I have to take the time here to thank everyone for making my semester very pleasant and welcoming. Especially, my thanks goes to Lászlo Tarnay – what a wonderful guy. Without Lászlo I would never have had this opportunity to live and teach in Hungary. This has been something that I have wanted to do for awhile, and Laszlo made this happen for me. I will always be grateful to him and have wonderful memories of this semester in Pécs. Here are some shots at dinner and in the cellar. You can see behind Laszlo the cellar wall has coins stuck to it. The moisture is such on the brick walls that you can put a coin or paper bill onto the wall and it will stay. So a shot of the guys at dinner; Laszlo T. in front of the coins, Áron and Lászlo, Krisztián and me, and in the cellar.

Ági's Birthday Dinner

2009-12-12T05:41:00.006-06:00

On Friday Ági and I went to Tettye Restaurant to celebrate her birthday. Great food and even better conversation. I have to say a word about Ági as I get ready to leave Hungary. She is just an amazing woman, and I am so thankful that I had an early chance meeting with her. I know that our friendship will continue after I return home. In fact, I just got a text (everyone here refers to them as SMS) from her - informing me that she has obtained a camera for her computer so that we can video chat! This women is one of the kindest, most generous people I have ever met. She is also funny and smart. It is because of Ági that I saw Plitvice Lakes in Croatia, hiked up Zéngo Mountain, and went to the extreme sports park. Wow, come to think of it - she nearly killed me!! She has really been a big help with any difficulties I've had. Just yesterday, she loaned me a flashlight so that I can walk down my street at night without stepping in the mud puddles. That will really come in handy tonight when I return from the trip to the wine country after dark and possibly slightly impaired.

Ági is just the kind of person who always seems to think of other people first. I am inspired by her thoughtfulness and unselfish character. Here is Ági at her birthday dinner. And shots of our food. A fish plate (carp, pike and catfish) and turkey breast stuffed with plums. I thought the Hungarian flags were cute.

Countdown to Home

2009-12-11T05:18:00.003-06:00

Well, in five days I’ll be returning to Kansas City, Missouri. As I contemplate leaving, my feelings are mixed. In one sense it is sad to leave Hungary, but it is also great to go home. Here's my list of what I will miss - and what I want to return to. Except for the number one on the list – they are not in any particular order.

What I Will Miss In Hungary

1. The People – without a doubt this is number one. I will make a separate post to thank them because the list is so long.

Why I’m Happy to Return Home

1. The People! Of course, the biggest thing I’ll miss here are great friends that I got to know even better on this trip and new friendships I’ll retain in the future. But I miss my family and friends. I miss my husband, Mike, who has been so supportive of this whole trip and encouraging me when I encounter any problems. I’ll be happy to see my son Ryan, who is home right now – and though Taylor is in Utah, I’ll still be closer to him than now. And I can see my sister and Steve again, my brother and Judy, my mom, maybe that new baby of Jeff’s – and all the friends who have been so great about sending me emails or posting to my blog – especially Bill, Georgia, Linda, Laura, and Janine. I would have felt more cut off from my life without these communications

Back to what I’ll miss in Hungary – here’s the list

1. The People

2. The Architecture – hey, in Kansas City I think a 100 year old building is old.

3. Public Transportation – love not having a car. Budapest’s Metro and Zagreb’s tram system are also awesome.

4. Life Outside – outside cafes and sidewalks full of people make a city lively.

5. Restaurant service – here you can stay and talk to friends as long as you want. Waiters will not bring you a bill until you signal or ask for one. It’s great – no interrupting your conversations; no hurrying you to clear the table for the next customer.

6. All the great film festivals (Cinepécs and Zagreb) and wonderful concerts I’ve seen here – free or pretty cheap.

A r A really good cup of cappucino

8. Buying fresh food from the market – wow, I forgot apples were actually juicy.

9. Feeling safe walking alone at night.

10. Learning some language. I have learned a few more Hungarian words – And I have improved my Croatian.

Glad to be Going Home to

1. Family and friends - as I mentioned above.

2. A Non Smoking Environment. I did not realize how our smoking laws provide us with clean air to breath. Some of my favorite cafes here have nausia inducing smoke choking the air, especially in winter when the doors and windows are closed.

3. Family Christmas Dinner– I can not imagine missing a family Christmas dinner – I was sad to miss Thanksgiving and speaking of that…

4. Turkey – I want to make a whole roasted, stuffed turkey with all the trimmings because I really missed that.

5. Cooking and my kitchen in general.

6. The Plaza library. I haven’t done as much reading here

7. My Washing Machine!! Enough with doing laundry in a kitchen sink.

8. Internet Access at Home. No more walking to a café to use the wi fi.

9. Reading the newspaper. I miss my morning coffee and newspaper reading to start the day.

10. A Sidewalk and paved street outside my condo. My apartment here has had the street torn up for a month. When it rains, I have to walk through mud. Since the street lights have been out at night I negotiate this in the dark. (Of course, this is not typical – just that there is an unusual amount of construction and renovation because Pecs is the 2010 Capital of Culture for Europe) Still, I am glad to leave the construction mess behind.

Going Away Dinner

2009-12-11T05:10:00.007-06:00

On Wednesday the students in my documentary film seminar invited me to one of their homes for a farewell dinner. Ours was a small class, so we got to know one another through the semester. Thanks to Réka for hosting. To Ádam, Lili, Márton, and Réka – my sincere thank you for a delightful semester and an awesome going away dinner. We made galuska together – so I see now how to make these tasty homemade noodles. I guarantee I’ll be cooking these back home. A wonderful dinner – topped off by Lili’s special dessert. Yummie. And, of course, there was a little wine drinking. And, most of all, great conversation and laughs – and more wine drinking. We certainly got to know one another even better after this evening. Well, if these students represent the future of Hungary – then Hungary has a bright future. The thanks these students gave me was really touching – a beautiful thank you card – and they even gave me a sealed card for February 6^th – my Hungarian name day!!! So I shall look forward to the day I can open that card. And I take home with me many fond memories of this class. Here’s a look at cooking galuska

Big Band Jazz Orchestra Playing the Beatles

2009-12-08T06:45:00.003-06:00

Sunday night I went to the Studentski Centar to see the HGM Jazz Orchestra concert. They have a new CD of Beatles tunes. Here is a sample from the concert which was packed. Lots of families and bus loads of young people were in the audience.

Winter in Zagreb – Zima u Zagrebu

2009-12-08T06:25:00.003-06:00

I was really surprised returning to Zagreb in December. Because I have been here in fall and spring, I expected all the outdoor cafes would be closed – hey, it’s winter (zima) and it is fairly cold to be sitting outside. I was shocked. The main square Trg ban Jelicica was packed with people and the outside cafes were full. Wow, that would not happen in my city. At the very first sign of 60 degrees, no one is sitting outside, let alone in 40 degrees. Fahrenheit of course. I did see some outside heaters, but I noticed that many people were outside who were not under heaters. For the holidays there are kiosks selling food, Christmas ornaments, gifts, souvenirs, jewelry, and of course hot wine. So folks are outside shopping and visiting, as usual. The city looks very festive and beautiful. In the square is also a large tent for people to sit inside and have a drink or sausage, yet still see outside through the clear plastic sides. At the outdoor stage I saw several performances of children’s dance groups, as well as a good band. Everyone stood outside in the evening to watch these groups perform. So here is a look at Zagreb in the wintertime. I always love the energy of this city.

Special Note: In the concert at the end of the video there is a guy playing a bass?? But it has no outside shell. I tried to give you a close look at it. Has anyone ever seen this instrument. If so, what is it called?

Visiting Friends and Family in Croatia

2009-12-08T06:23:00.003-06:00

This is a picture of my cousin, Nick, who lives in Karlovac. He came to pick me up at my hotel Saturday morning. In the winter, he grows a beard – which I have never seen before since I’ve visited in early fall or spring. He is always great company and I enjoy getting updates on his family since our last visit a year and half ago. He took me to a traditional Croatian meal – blood sausage with sauerkraut and mashed potatoes. I was a little afraid of the blood sausage at first – but it was delicious. I also saw Jadran Boban, a Croatian filmmaker, who gave me some DVDs of Croatian films to take back for the Kansas International Film Festival. I’ve really excited to get to watch them – and since it is a rainy dreary day in Pécs, I’ll probably get a chance to watch one this evening.

Advent Concert at Cathedral

2009-12-08T06:15:00.003-06:00

Saturday night there was a concert of Christmas songs at the Cathedral in Zagreb – a beautiful location to listen to traditional Croatian Christmas carols – here is a small sample.

Back in Zagreb - Practicing my Croatian

2009-12-04T15:17:00.004-06:00

OK - just arrived at the Hotel Central in Zagreb. Wi Fi in my room - I feel spoiled. Or is that the beer? Pivo in Croatian. You know they have big bottles of beer in Europe - I found that in Ireland, in Hungary and here in Croatia. I ordered a Croatian beer - and, wow, it was velik (that means big). Although my Croatian language skills remain pathetic, I have to say I have been very excited to speak Croatian and be understood in the last few days. Thursday at the University (Pécs), I was walking out of the library and heard two men speaking - could that be??? Croatian? So, being the shy type - I spoke to them (in Croatian) I could not say much, but I did say that I was going to Zagreb Friday and had relatives there. It was just so exciting - but cut short when these men had to run to catch their bus. So - fast forward - today I am taking the long, dreaded train trip to Zagreb. I have to layover at this little town in Hungary - Gyékényes - and I notice a young man who has been hanging around about as long as I have at this station. You could make a movie here, and it would be one of those art films where nothing ever happens. This tiny dimly lit cafe where a few station regulars hang out and smoke cigarettes and drink beer, and the same lady works there (sadly, I figured I have been in this place a dozen times now, really). Anyway, so I asked the guy if he was going to Zagreb. I always like to know that there is someone else going to the same place, and then I feel like I won't miss the train because I will see which one they get on. So, he does not speak English - and tells me he is from Montenegro. Humm - what do they speak there? And he asks me, lo and behold, if i speak Croatian - he asks me this in Croatian. Wow, what luck. So I tell him - in Croatian that I can understand a little Croatian and speak a little. This was great. What a nice guy. He carried my luggage onto the train and sat in the same compartment. We had a conversation, and since he did not speak English, we had to rely upon my poor Croatian. And as limited as it was - we could communicate. He works in Pécs and was traveling home, and I was able to tell him that I also worked in Pécs. I could ask him why the custom agents searched his bag and not mine. I could not remember the word for baggage but I said Why yours, not mine - and pointed to our luggage. So he knew what I was asking and told me it was because I was an American. Interesting. Since the customs lady asked me if I had anything to declare - liquor, cigarettes, etc. and seeing that they were searching his luggage, I fessed up that I had a bottle of alcohol which I was taking to Nick for a gift, as well as a box of Hungarian chocolates for his wife. OK - this sweet guy even feeds me Hungarian cookies. And I can say in Croatian that I will try them - and "something to eat." My meager skills still allowed us to say enough that we could understand what was going on. When we got to Zagreb, this sweet man carried my luggage off the train for me. We then said good-bye. With this confidence - I walked across the street and checked into the Hotel Central. What a great location - stayed here before - a good place and the staff is always friendly. Probably many of my American friends would freak out at the size of the room. I did the first time I stayed here. The single has room enough for a bed and a small space to walk between the bed on one side and the wall - a tiny corner with a small desk and TV and a compact bathroom. Here is a picture.

So I walk in and tell the man at the front desk in Croatian I have a reservation and I switch between English and Croatian while speaking to him - when i know the Croatian words, I use them. But the funniest thing was when I asked him if they had internet access in the rooms - he said there was wi fi in the rooms. I said - Awesome in English. And I thought he did not understand me because he asked me - what was awesome - a computer. And I explained I had my computer and was really happy that they had wi fi - and he said - very exasperated - Jesus Christ!! And I knew what he meant - and laughed - here I had come to Zagreb and I was excited about, no not the city or the country - but having wi fi in my room. What an idiot, he probably thought. But actually we talked some more - and I told him in Croatian, well my husband is not here - so wi fi lets me talk to him. Ok - so, I'm settled in my room, but decide to have a beer before I go to bed at the bar downstairs. I wind up talking to the waitress - I'm the only one in the bar - and watching some Croatian talent show with her. That's where I got the big beer. How do people drink those things? Well, I did. But wow, I'm sleepy now. I was able to ask her in Croatian - how much do I owe you? And I can understand my numbers. She seemed pretty pleased with my few Croatian phrases. So maybe I'll have more changes to practice. Both of these people speak English quite well - but they were very willing to listen to me and respond to my Croatian.

Concert at Hotel Palatinus

2009-12-04T15:11:00.002-06:00

Last night Ági and I went to a concert at the Hotel Palatinus. Jenő Jandó on piano and Béla Drahos on the flute. Here is a short video from the concert. We had some nice wine before the concert and some great dessert after. And always good conversation.

What is American Food?

2009-11-29T04:50:00.003-06:00

When you live somewhere else, not only do you learn about that culture, but also you learn about your own. I realized for some time now that I have a hard time identifying food that is uniquely American. So I'm asking my friends, or anyone else reading, to comment. It is interesting that it has taken people from other countries to point out to me what they think is an American dish that is quite different from theirs. So Anni from Finland thinks that our pies - cherry, apple - are a uniquely American dessert. I thought maybe french fries, but she says they are from Belgium. Well what do you expect? I think pizza is probably one of the most commonly eaten foods in the states, but that certainly isn't American. What is? Hamburgers and hot dogs come to mind - are they American? How about fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy? Another student pointed out that our pancakes are unique. So does anyone know if that is an American invention What Hungarians call pancakes, we call crepes - a thin batter with a filling - and often a dessert. It's nothing like our pancakes. I wonder if jello is an American invention? So let me know what is your idea of American food.

Kino Café and Thanksgiving Dinner

2009-11-27T08:11:00.002-06:00

On Tuesday (Kedd) I got an email from one of my students that the film department was having a party at the Kino Café, which is attached to the Urania Theatre. It started at 11 p.m. – wow, past my bedtime. But I took a nap, set my cell phone alarm, and went to the party. I saw several of my students there – here’s a photo of Lili and Adam and I at the party. Thanks for the beer, Adam. I left after 1 a.m. Marton told me the next day he left at 3 a.m. and things were still going strong. Well, too late for the old woman, but I am always warmed by the friendship shown to me by my students, present and former ones, who include me in their festivities.

Speaking of former students, I was delighted to get an email from another former student, János Berta, whom I met for coffee at the Café Paulus. I am overwhelmed, that in a country so far from home, I have so many people with whom I can share a drink and conversation.

And on Thanksgiving Day, despite the horrible events at the University, I was happy to be able to have dinner with my friend and colleague to whom I am indebted for being able to spend the semester in Pecs – Laszlo Tarnay. What a great dinner for Thanksgiving and such a pleasure to have good company, not be alone on Thanksgiving. In addition to being a brillant and generous man, Laszlo is a good cook – others will tell you the same. We had a wonderful Indonesian curry dish and a dessert recipe from his mother (and grandmother’s) cookbook – a chocolate pancake dish. Wow, this Hungarian speciality is amazing. Note to friends: despite all my daily walking – don’t expect me to come home having lost weight (as I did in Morocco). I am eating too much good food here.

Tragedy at University

2009-11-27T03:16:00.004-06:00

Yesterday while I was in class, at another building on campus, a university student shot and killed another student, wounding three others. This was a shock to me as both the town and the country seem safer than the States. It was also a shock to my students, and I am told this is the first ever shooting by a university student in the country. I had just made my post on the globalization of cultural products, and I hate to think that the idea for things like this come from the news reports of simliar incidents elsewhere. Some parts of western culture are not good to import.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2009/1127/1224259546010.html

The Árkád and A Word on Homogenous Culture

2009-11-25T07:59:00.002-06:00

I think I have been here long enough to get some idea of how ubiquitous American culture is in this country, and probably others as well. American music is frequently heard playing in restaurants and shops, and folks I talk to are well acquainted with American movies and movie stars. They watch American TV shows – and talk about liking Sex in The City. Do you imagine that they really believe Americans are like those depicted in these shows? What really strikes me is not so much the presence of American cultural objects – Homer Simpson on the side of a car; Mickey Mouse on a t-shirt – but the absence of Hungarian ones. I did not notice this quite so much until I began to look for some small items to take back to the states as gifts. I was having a very difficult time finding anything that is uniquely Hungarian to take back – despite being immersed in a very rich cultural world of sights and tastes. Beside Hungarian food and drink items that could travel - paprika or palinka – I am having a hard time. I don’t mean souvenir spoons and plates and coffee cups with a Hungarian flag on them, but normal items that people, not tourists, would use. When I tried to find a t-shirt or baby clothes with Hungarian written on it, I was stuck by the fact that almost everything was in English. How can that be? So many people here do not even speak English, but they are buying clothing stamped with English words. Even the Christmas ornaments in town are blazoned with “Merry Christmas” not Boldog Karácsonyt. I pointed this out to my friend, Ági. After awhile, she, too, began looking for clothing with Hungarian words and remarked that she had not realized that everything was in English. Well, most of this stuff is now produced in China or Thailand – and I guess these cheaply produced mass market goods are not translated into each country’s native language. So, I am wondering, if all over the world these goods with English words are in every store. We are all buying the same products – there is nothing unique about them. The Árkád (mall) here is like any other mall in any town in the world. It has the same type of shops, a food court, escalators, an information desk, a parking garage. You walk in and you are immediately at home. It is now decorated for Christmas and all the shops are selling Christmas items. They even have special kiosks in the middle of the mall that have opened in the last few weeks – selling Christmas gift items. It’s just like the Oak Park Mall at home. Only they are not selling Hickory Farms, they are selling Belgium chocolates. Here is a video of Christmas (not Karacsonyt) at the mall – the young dancers are dancing and pantomiming to “All I Want for Christmas” Can you see the decorations in the mall are quite like home – EXCEPT, it did seem out of place to have a gingerbread house with a witch outside (Hansel & Gretel?) in the Christmas setting. I don’t know that I have seen that in America – at least not connected to Christmas. It would be more like Santa’s toy shop or elves.

More Shopping

2009-11-24T11:09:00.001-06:00

My dear friend Ági took me to the outskirts of the central city to see the shops of Metro and Tesco. This is a big contrast to my city shopping experiences. Metro is just like Costco! At the entrance you have to insert your membership card to get in. Then you are in a large, warehouse-like store where the products are stacked to the sky. Ági had taken me shopping so that I could find some small gifts to take back to the States. Then next stop was Tesco, which is just like Wal-Mart. I wonder if it also has the same effect. She was helpful in pointing out food items that were typically Hungarian. I had seen one item in a restaurant that I wanted for my husband, and she found it for me. It is a hot sauce – Erős Pista. Translated it means Big Steve. I found that so funny because Steve is my brother-in-law’s name that I also bought a jar for him. I am a terrible shopper and dislike these big stores, not only for what they represent (multinational corporations) but just for the experience which generally leaves me leaving without purchasing anything because I am overwhelmed by the choices. So I see that there are several completely different ways to shop in Pécs – much the same as in the States, though I do not think we have anything that is really equivalent to the markets here.

Grocery Shopping in Pécs

2009-11-24T11:06:00.002-06:00

Pécs has modern grocery stores – where I buy coffee, sugar, etc. These are not much different than stores in the states. The ones I go to are smaller than supermarkets in the U.S. but that may be because I go to the stores around the city center – there are Tescos (the European equivalents of Wal-Marts) on the outskirts of the city. The products might be different – and the packaging is sometimes different. For example, you can buy mustard and catsup in tubes that look like toothpaste tubes. You can buy milk in soft sided containers. And laundry soap as well. The check out counter is different. There are no baggers. You bag your own groceries and almost everyone carries in the bags that they are going to be using. But the most significant difference to me is the quantity of items that people buy. I am sure some people drive to the grocery stores – especially those stores on the outskirts of town – the Tescos. But I have never seen anyone leave the grocery and get in a car. People are walking home or getting on the bus with their groceries. Which means that folks do not buy more than one or two bags of groceries at a time – only what they can carry. I am the same way. I buy only what I can put in a bag and stick in my backpack. It is a different way of shopping and planning meals. Of course, I am not stocking a big pantry here. But I have found that I like the idea of thinking – oh, I’ll make cabbage sausage soup this weekend – what do I need to buy for my dinner? I buy my ingredients, maybe a bottle of wine, (OK definitely a bottle of wine) and that is about it. Consequently, I shop more frequently here than I do in the states. And between the grocery and the market – the food is fresher and used up quicker. A word about bread. There are so many bakeries in this town. I buy only fresh bread and in small amounts that I use in a day or two. Fresh bread is so cheap and so good. There are also wonderful pastries. I have tried many. My favorite is a nutella filled croissant with the tips dipped in chocolate. Oh, my. The strudels (retes) are also quite good – especially cherry and apple.

The Market in Pécs

2009-11-22T07:40:00.002-06:00

One of my favorite places in Pécs is the market where I shop for fruits, vegetables, chicken, sausages and flowers. The large indoor space is a bustling concrete floored hall, furnished with simple tables where a variety of small vendors lay out their produce and products. The market in Pécs is open every day. Unlike the supermarket where you pick out all your food and pay at a central location, here you pay each individual seller for his/her products. It is, at first, daunting to the English speaking tourist. But I have found everyone friendly, helpful and patient. I either pick out what I want and hand it to them – or in the case of chicken and meat – point. Paying can be the most challenging. This is made easier when the vendor has a calculator and can show me the numbers or can write down the numbers for me. I love looking at all the fresh produce and have found everything tastes great from the apples to tomatoes to fresh figs. The fruit and vegetables vendors occupy the middle of the hallway. The meat and poultry shops are on one side of the building, while fast food grills selling a variety of breads and cooked sausages and meats are on another. Along one wall are the women who sell sauerkraut and various pickled products. There is section where people sell flowers, beautiful flower arrangements, and plants. And there is small section for mushroom sellers. I am amazed at the large variety of mushrooms sold here – I have never seen some of these mushrooms before. Going to the market makes me aware of what is in season. Although you can find some vendors who sell bananas – obviously not a fresh Hungarian product. – the market offerings differ with the passing months. I remember the first time I saw a fresh fig in the market – wow, my favorite fruit. And in the coming weeks there were lots of people selling fresh figs. Then, only one or two. And finally my last fig purchase was a pathetic looking lot in a small plastic margarine tub sold by an old woman. Still they were tasty. This week I see lots of squashes, pumpkins, fresh spinach, and for the first time Brussel sprouts. So you can pretty much tell what is in season, though you can still buy fruit and veggies that must be shipped in. Some of the folks who sit in the market selling their wares have only a meager offering in front of them. These older ladies might have only a dozen or so pears, a couple bags of walnuts, maybe a few dozen eggs to sell. Others have a much larger variety. I go to the market with a list and walk around the hallway first to look at the offerings. Who has the nicest looking apples? I buy only from the women, not the men vendors. And I try to buy from the old ladies that only have a few things if they are selling something I want. It is just such a great experience: all of the products displayed, the smells, the sounds. So I buy most of my food items here. This is a look at the market from my camera tucked into my shirt pocket as I walked around and stopped to buy.

Név Nap - Name Day

2009-11-18T09:14:00.004-06:00

Some times I notice small differences in customs that might not be so important, but it strikes as me as interesting. The wall calendar I bought here had names written on each day – which I did not understand until someone explained name day to me. I think name day is a very charming idea. Hungarians celebrate both a birthday (much like Americans) and a name day. That is, every day of the year is attached to certain names – so all Hungarians named Lászlo have a name day on 27 Június (June) and all those named Lajos have a name day on 19 Augusztus. Apparently, the birthday is a bigger celebration than the name day. On your name day you receive greetings and good wishes from your friends and family, maybe a piece of chocolate. It is an occasion to remember you. I really like the idea. Think about it – remembering the birth date of all your friends or colleagues might be difficult. But, with name day, all you have to remember is your friend’s name – and you automatically have his/her name day. I wondered if any name was left out, but apparently not all the names are written on these calendars, and indeed even new names are added, though I’m not quite sure how. So everyone has a name day. I like the idea – it is not a big fuss – as one student told me he got an SMS (text message) from his mom and relatives on his name day. By the way, did you know that Hungarians do not have middle names – typically only a first and last name. Which is written last name first – so Hamilton Dorothy would be my written name.

I have taken this photo of the calendar for the month of Február. On 6 of February I am celebrating my name day. Dorottya is on the calendar as I hope you can see. And my real name is Dorothy, so my Hungarian pronunciation would be Dorottya. Notice to friends and relatives.

More Hungarian Politics

2009-11-18T09:06:00.003-06:00

Coming home the other night, I ran across this protest so I took video of the one protest sign. They were off the main square in front of McDonald's. I had no idea what they were protesting - all the construction in town! No one seemed to mind that I was taking their photos. Today I asked my students what the sign said - basically, these folks are protesting the current government, which seems to be unpopular with just about everyone these days. The sign says that they've suffered for three years under these liars. Apparently Haguz is a curse word in Hungarian - so more accurately, the students said it would translate to "lying bastards." You can see that the group was quite small.

Ballet and American Corners in Pécs

2009-11-18T04:35:00.003-06:00

My good luck continues. The weather here is in the 60s – delightfully and unseasonable warm. Sunday night I attended the ballet with my friend, Ági. I had wanted to see the inside of the beautiful theatre building - the National Theatre of Pécs. The performance of Giselle was a modern interpretation that I found very interesting – like Giselle meets West Side Story. Giselle’s jilted boyfriend could easily be a Jet! I forgot my camera, so unfortunately can’t show you video of this charming evening. Here is the outside of the theatre, which is quite beautiful inside as well.

Last night I moderated a film screening for the American Corners in Pécs. The film was Doubt. Very enjoyable evening where I met more great people, particularly a young Hungarian student eager to practice his English. American Corners is a program that exists all over the world to acquaint people in other countries with American culture. The program here in Pécs and the staff are very impressive for their welcoming demeanor and professional programs – including a book and DVD lending library. I was pleased to be invited to participate in their programs. I forgot to ask Zsuzsa, the director, if she was going to have a Thanksgiving dinner – it is coming up. I will very much miss my turkey dinner this year!! Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays – just because of all the food and the family gathering together. If I can not have the family gathering together, at least I might have the food. Pumpkin pie, stuffed turkey, cranberry sauce – oh, my.

I Set Myself on Fire Today

2009-11-15T08:28:00.002-06:00

Here is a photo of my burned sweater; you can see the holes and the scorch marks.

I’m generally impatient – so because I have to physically hold the gas knob on my stove in for awhile before it will stay on, I usually hold it with my hip while I try to do something at the same time – chop onions, or get out paprika. Today, I was heating up my chicken soup and getting out a bowl, when I looked down to see that I was on fire. It was quite a sight, and had I not been a bit alarmed to see flames jumping from my sweater, or had just had a moment to think, I might have grabbed my camera to capture it. But here is a video showing how this happened.

Filézett Pontzhaláyé Tésztával

2009-11-15T04:32:00.002-06:00

I had this fish soup with pasta at one of my favorite restaurants. It has a daily menu with 2 choices - and this sounded good. When you walk into the restaurant there are 4 tables with 4 chairs each. It is a place where shopkeepers and workers get a quick lunch. I only know about it because Levente told Mike and I about it on our visit to Pécs. If you are sitting at a table, whoever comes in the door will ask to sit with you - since there are so few seats. So I had ordered and an older Hungarian man came to sit with me. Good thing - because normally the soup (leves) is served first and then the entree. This came out at the same time. So I gestured to him, asking if I was supposed to put the pasta into the soup - and he said igen, yes i was. But he also stopped me from putting in all of it at once. This was a declicous, hearty soup and the pasta was great. A few minutes later, he showed me the jar of spicy paprika sauce that I could stir into my soup - it was so cute the expression on his face that he used to tell me that it was hot. He made sure that I did not put too much on my spoon. It was, indeed, very tasty. I must bring back a jar of that for Mike.

I Get Lucky on My Tour

2009-11-15T04:17:00.003-06:00

Pécs is under construction. Sometimes it seems the whole town is torn up to renovate the buildings and streets in preparation for its designation as the 2010 Cultural Capital of Europe. Opening ceremonies are in January. My friend Zoltan told me that the city was giving tours of some of the biggest renovation sights, so I looked at the website and saw that one of the tours was half block from my apartment – the street of Museums, where, not surprisingly, a lot of museums are located. I met the tour group at the corner where they gave us a nice cup of hot tea. Amazingly, this young woman recognized me – I had pizza with her, probably 5 years ago, with one of my then students Anna Gereb. She was Anna’s friend. That is the only time we met, but she recognized me. I was stunned at this coincidence. So Edit was able to translate the architect guide’s comments to me. How lucky I am!! She now teaches English in Pécs and was with her brother Attila – you catch a glimpse of them on the video. Now, warning, this video is not very pretty – we were not allowed inside the buildings they are reconstructing – so you can see the exteriors that are being renovated. I post them here because I want to remember these when I return. I think this whole area will be transformed. It is very ugly now – because the streets are torn up – and the scaffolds are everywhere. I have been in most of these museums before on previous visits, so I will be interested to see the changes, inside and out.

Hungarian Train Troubles

2009-11-13T08:49:00.002-06:00

First let me say – I generally like the Hungarian train system – MAV. But lately, I’ve had some interesting experiences. When I was in Budapest 5 weeks ago, there was a train strike. No trains for one day. Since I was getting ready to leave the city and my friends, Mandi and Greg, had left the day before, I thought – well, good thing I did not have to get back to work that day. Then my friend from the US, Susan, and I bought tickets to go to Budapest last week. The ticket agent at the train station said something about Dombovar in Hungarian, but we did not understand. When she realized that we did not speak Hungarian, she just handed us our tickets and left it at that. So we get to the Pécs train station to catch the train to Budapest the next morning, and there are no trains anywhere in sight. I know something is wrong. When we asked, they pointed to a row of buses. Apparently, what the ticket lady told us was that the train station was repairing its tracks and we would have to take a bus to the nearest train station in Dombovar to catch the train!! O.K. this adds half hour to the trip, no big deal. And I realize I will have the same situation on my return two days later.

So I go to catch my train back, and the train isn’t at the platform listed on the departures board. I finally figure out where to catch my train, board, and figure I am all sent until Dombovar. About ten minutes after the train departs the Keleti station, it stops. And it stays stopped. I have taken this trip before, so I know this is not normal. Folks are restless. Finally, a conductor comes through the car to explain. Luckily, the lady sitting next to me speaks English and tells me our engine has broken down, and we are waiting for them to bring a new engine. O.K. Good thing I did not wait to catch a train to get me back just in time to teach my class. I’m fine. So, after what seemed a long time, we start moving. But we only get to the outer Budapest train station – Budapest-Kelenfold – and stop again. This is a normal stop, but it should be short and it isn’t. The natives on the train are definitely restless – you don’t need to speak the language to understand. Frustration sounds the same in every language - really, it does. Finally, I am told that the second engine also has a problem. In the end, we are one hour late to Dombovar. I’m lucky – no connecting trains – just have to catch the bus which is waiting for us. The young woman across from me has missed her train connection, and what’s more, she was also returning to Budapest that night – just delivering a project – and returning. Now she will miss the train back as well. Here is a look at the graffiti on the train tracks that I photographed while waiting for the engine repair – just a little bored I guess.

Hungarian Politics

2009-11-13T08:47:00.002-06:00

Interesting to try to talk to folks about Hungarian politics. There is a right wing neo-Nazi party, Jobbik. I’m been asking my students and friends about it after Bill Pryor sent me a link. Everyone says it is an extreme party that is very nationalistic and is anti-gypsy. With the economic times the way they are, this has an appeal to some folks, who blame the gypsies for crimes in their areas. Gypsies also tend to have a lot of children, and I detect a real concern that in the future the Hungarians will be the minority of the population. My students told me that they do not talk politics – that it is a taboo, because the emotions are so strong that people lose friends and break with relatives over political issues. So they do not want people to know their political persuasion. Interesting. Some view Jobbik as a bunch of crack pots who are extreme, but basically have no real power or threat. Others see them as a dangerous group that is gaining ground, especially in certain areas. They apparently dress up in military-like uniforms – these paramilitary groups were banned – but they just changed the name and still do this. Well, one day in Pécs I came across these posters on the wall in the main shopping area – advertising Jobbik. Susan and I also saw a poster outside a restaurant/billard parlor in Budapest. The current government is quite unpopular – blamed for the poor economic times. Everyone I have spoken to expects the opposition party to win the next election. But they don’t hold a lot of hope for change, as it seems that each time a different party wins, there really isn't much change.

Sightseeing with Susan in Budapest

2009-11-11T12:12:00.005-06:00

Went to Budapest with Susan for a few days. The weather was dreary, raining most of the time. We still managed to visit great sights - Heroes' Square and the city park, the castle district and Fisherman's Bastion, Andrassy Ave, the House of Hungarian Art Nouveau and had a dip in the thermal baths at Szechenyi, topped off with a relaxing massage. We attended a performance by the Budapest Philharmonic at the Hungarian State Opera House, a beautiful historic building designed by Mikós Ybl. My friend, Judit, met us one night for drinks. Here are some sights and sounds from our trip.

View from TV Torney

2009-11-11T12:00:00.002-06:00

View from the TV Torney

Susan and I took a bus up to the TV tower in the Mesck Mountains to see the spectacular view of the city and the surrounding countryside. But when we go to the top of the tower – there was only fog. The bus comes every two hours, so we had coffee and a bit of food at the café in the TV tower – overlooking this total whiteout. Here is a very funny view of the spectacular sight. Also had hot wine by a wood burning stove waiting for the bus to come where we met two friendly Hungarian architecture students who had hiked up to see the view as well.

Sightseeing with Susan and Remarkable Cucumber Salad

2009-11-11T10:56:00.003-06:00

Great to have Susan visit me from Kansas City. Took her to some of my usual haunts – the market where I shop, the evil Árkád shopping center, wi fi at McDonalds, some restaurants where I eat cheap food. She explored while I’m teaching class and is finding her way around the city pretty well. She also had her share of “adventures.” Her first night in Hungary – we went to a restaurant for dinner. Susan ordered a cucumber salad to go with her entrée. Imagine her surprise when the waiter brought out a big plate with 8 large pickles fanned out in a circle. Susan remarked – well, they were cucumbers at one time. We toured the early Roman cemetery with burial vaults at the Cella Septichora Visitors’ Center – impressive Roman ruins that are truly amazing and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Toured St. Stephen’s Cathedral, as well as the church in Széchenyi Square that used to be a Turkish mosque and still has much of that time period intact inside and out. When we were in the cathedral, someone began to play the organ and that is the music you hear over the cathedral images. Agí made us dinner so we could taste some traditional Hungarian items Lescó, a tasty stew with a tomato-paprika base, Unicom, a Hungarian liquor with 23 herbs, and Dobos tortas, a beautiful layered cake with glaze on top. Here’s a look at some of the city sights.

Balkán Világzenei Fesztivál

2009-11-07T07:31:00.002-06:00

My friend and colleague from Kansas City, Susan Lawlor, is visiting me in Pécs. Last night Susan, Agi and I went to a concert of three bands who played here as part of the East West Balkan Conferences and Festival. Here is a short sample of the music

More Weird Stuff

2009-11-01T06:06:00.002-06:00

It has only been a few days since I posted on my trip to Zagreb, and I received a link to the Zagreb tourist page which featured my post. I am just amazed at how this all works. No wonder my Croatian journalist friend does not blog - the whole privacy thing just freaks her out.

Here's the link - Zagreb Tourist Site.

My Hungarian Haircut

2009-10-31T11:33:00.002-05:00

My hair was getting shaggy, so I got a haircut at Dudás Hajas Szalon. Pretty modern I thought and wow they served me cappucino while I waited. Afterwards, I met my friend Zoltan for coffee, and he told me I had chosen the MOST EXPENSIVE salon in Pécs to get my haircut. By American standards, it was moderate - a $30 haircut. Before I return Mike is encouraging me to get some red hair dye – which seems to be a popular Hungarian hair color. So here is my haircut video.

Where are the Laundromats? $50 load of clothes

2009-10-31T11:31:00.001-05:00

I find this strange – but there are no Laundromats in Pécs. You know, a place where people who don’t own washing machines can do their laundry. I looked everywhere and when I asked friends here, they all said the same thing – everyone has a washing machine or access to one (apartment buildings). For a country that seems to have a much poorer lifestyle, fewer conveniences and luxuries, I was surprised. I found a couple places in town that do laundry (mosoda). I took a medium size load of close to the Arkad mosoda – 2 pairs of jeans, some tshirts, a towel – and asked how much it would cost to get them washed. It was $50!!!! I could not believe it. Who could possibly afford this? Apparently, these mosoda are used to wash special clothes (an expensive dress; wedding dress) and usually have a dry cleaner at the same place.

So I have been doing my laundry in my sink since I got here. I hooked up a small clothes line from one of those bands you wrap around your luggage – or use to tie something on your car. Jeans take a long time to dry – I have to hang them in the shower first so they don’t make a mess dripping all over the floor.

Szilvás Gombóc and Hot Halloween

2009-10-31T11:24:00.003-05:00

Today I got to try a very common Hungarian dish – Szilvás gombócs which are plum dumplings. Many restaurants here have a daily menu that is posted outside. It is generally a soup followed by a choice of one of two entrees. These meals can be very cheap and a good way for me to try different Hungarian foods. Often these smaller restaurants do not have the daily menu translated in English, so you can either take your pick – or try to figure out a few words. I have learned the hard way (chicken livers with pickles – no joke) to try to figure out which choice seems better. There is a big incentive for me to learn Hungarian “food” words. And it has worked well so far. I have a favorite place one of my friends showed me – that has soup, salad and entrée on its daily menu – under $4.

So today I saw a sign outside a restaurant that said Lencseleves and Szilvás Gombóc 560 F. Wow, I had to go in and try. I knew from the name the type of soup was lentil. It was a lentil, pasta, meat soup – very hearty. And afterwards I was served a plate of Szilvás Gombóc. I do not know if this would be a typical lunch at all, since the dumplings are much more like a dessert. Here’s a picture. However, despite the powered sugar on top, the dumplings are not real sweet dough. They are filled with warm plum filling. Like an apple dumpling, but not as sweet. Very filling actually because it is a pretty hearty helping of dough. And quite tasty.

I have noticed that as the weather gets cold, the cafes start to serve and advertise hot alcohol drinks – like hot wine. I’ve had this before and love it. And it seems very common – also in Croatia, Mike and I had a hot drink – rum punch that I liked very much. So, today, I was passing a local coffee house and noticed they were advertising several hot drinks, so I stopped to try. I ordered the Hot Halloween – seems appropriate – and here it is – I’m not sure what is in it – although I wrote down the ingredients to ask one of my Hungarian speaking friends. It did have rum and an orange slice, but the other ingredient, the waitress could not translate to English. Tasty.

My McDonald's Confession

2009-10-28T09:34:00.003-05:00

I do not go to the McDonald's in the U.S. Not only is the food bad, but I support local restaurants and coffee shops - not Mickey D's and Starbucks. If we don't stop supporting these huge businesses, there won't be any small ones left. So I have always avoided the McDonald's that is located on the main square in Pécs. I had a little coffee shop that I was going to for wi fi or I would go to the square by the National Theatre where there is a hotspot. For some reason I have not been able to connect at the little coffee shop for some time now - the signal is weak and it never turns on. And it is getting too cold to sit outside in the square to use the town hotspot. I have had mixed results going to restaurants nearby and getting on to the web. Soooo - I find myself sitting at the McDonald's which, I must admit, has a very good wi fi connection. This McDonald's is different from those at home - maybe it is a European thing. There is the typical counter where folks go get their burgers and fries, but in the back there is a McCafe where they serve expresso and cappuccino. I sit in the back and get a cappuccino and use their wi fi. I was at university today hoping to use its wi fi- but some cable is broken (probably all that construction in town) and no internet, in some buildings, no electricity. So, darn it, I tried - and now I'm back at the McDonald's. What a traiter - I hope no one sees me here. But the place is packed - what is wrong with these people? OH, yea. I am now one of them. But I don't see any computers - so what is their excuse.

I Love Zagreb, Croatia

2009-10-27T04:37:00.004-05:00

Just spent 3 days in Zageb, Croatia. Beautiful city. Great People. I am still amazed at the lively street life that exists in Zagreb (Europe in general?) even when the weather gets cold and rainy. People are still outside walking around; still sitting in the outside cafes. Of course they have more clothes on and are under the umbrellas, but in this weather no one in Kansas City would be having coffee outside.

I attended the Zagreb Film Fest (that’s a separate post), bought cheese in Dolac marketplace, went to a couple of museums, and visited with friends – old and new.

I met my friend, who works for Croatian public television covering cultural events – just think they have a reporter whose sole job is to cover film, books, music, art openings. I won’t put her name or information on the blog as I know how she feels about privacy on the internet. Anyway, I first met her on the train from Zagreb to Pecs about 5 years ago and have kept in touch. We spent half a day just catching up – had coffee and then went to a local restaurant for lunch.

Talking Croatian politics – did you know that their prime minister pulled a Sara Palin? He resigned; said he did not want the job anymore. Although there was speculation about the cause, he gave no reason. Apparently, it was quite a shock. Croatia now has its first woman prime minister, whom he appointed. There are some investigations into corruption in government and folks speculated he may have been involved. The government is under pressure from the EU to clean up the corruption if Croatia wants to join EU. And you may have heard that last year a journalist who was reporting on this corruption was killed – with a car bomb in Zagreb. So interesting conversations.

I went to the Croatian Artists Center to see its current exhibit. Absolutely amazing video installations. Strange video of performance artist Hermann Nitsch, involving butchering a cow – and naked people drinking blood and having cow inards all over them. I can’t describe the piece really well. There were also some disturbing videos of anti-gay demonstrations in Belgrade – very ugly, violent stuff. With a Serbian priest talking about how bad homosexuality is in the world. Just a reminder that these issues are not only in the United States. But lots of thought provoking work. Fabulous.

I also got to the Museum of Arts and Crafts 40 minutes before they closed and saw an interesting exhibit of mosaic chairs and paintings from Vladimir Meglic. The permanent collection in this gallery is overwhelming and can’t be seen in such a short time – everything from clothing to furniture to watches and clocks, glass, photographs, art deco objects. The basic initiative of the museum is to preserve the material culture of past life in castles, to give a look at the everyday life of Croatian nobility and middle class over the centuries. It has the largest holdings in Croatia of applied art from 14^th to 20^th century. I did not get to see it all, but it was worth the visit. Me and a Japanese tour group. This Muzej za Umjetnost I Obrt.

Some just some general shots of my time in Zagreb.

Duck Pizza

2009-10-27T04:02:00.004-05:00

I thought this was just a cute pizza shop sign in Zagreb, but they seriously did have duck pizza. I wanted to try it – but they didn’t have any duck pizza left – for those buying just a slice of pizza. Here is my veggie pizza instead – pretend its duck.

Zagreb Film Festival

2009-10-27T03:50:00.003-05:00

ZFF is a fabulous film festival. I was lucky to catch the last couple days and meet Jadran Boban, a Croatian director, who had been to the Kansas International Film Festival, with his film The Ghosts of Zagreb in September. But, of course, I was not in KC in September, so we met for the first time in Zagreb. Great guy. Here we are sharing a beer at the cinema cafe.

The Zagreb Film Festival uses six different venues in the city. Europa cinema was one block from my hotel, so I went there to catch a couple films my first day in Zagreb. I saw a Canadian film, I Killed My Mother, and a film from U.K., Somers Town. All the films have English subtitles – thank you ZFF!! And on the last day of the fest, I caught the Romanian film The Happiest Girl in the World.

The crowds are truly impressive. Here is a video that shows the cinema and the café outside where folks are gathering for the fest, the inside as they are lining up – oh, my - that shot in the theatre was a 3 p.m. Friday screening. I was shocked at how many people came at that time of day.

SNEAKING INTO THE FILM FESTIVAL Saturday night, I did not buy a ticket in advance. The theater is large, I reasoned. But it was sold out. So I snuck in without a ticket – but I won’t give you the details to protect my sources. I had made friends the day before at the festival.

The festival has great graphics and you see its distinctive character and logo in all its advertisements. Before each film it had a cute short film of its “mascot” jumping out of an airplane, Bond style adventure. Very clever.

Jadran took me to a cinema nearby that shows ONLY documentary films - Docukino. It was packed. Can you imagine a cinema in Kansas City that shows only documentary films. Hey Brian and Ben - how about devoting a screen in one of your theatres???

Riding Horses with Bette and Feri

2009-10-21T13:32:00.003-05:00

I met Bette when she was a student in one of my film classes on a trip to Hungary six or seven years ago. She is an amazing women, and I'm glad we have kept in touch. She now lives outside Budapest in the mountains with her boyfriend, Feri. He is also amazing. He is the musician in the post on my first night in Budapest below. He's also an artist. I was able to see some of his artwork that had been in an exhibition and is was stored in the house. Very interesting drawings - on the dark side and thoughtful - often incorporating found objects.

Bette and Feri train horses and give riding lessons. Feri competed in show horse jumping. I spent a few days with them in the mountains and got a look at a very different side of Hungarian living. The house in the photo is where they live - and you can see the setting where the house is in the first shot - and the mountains and the pasture where they keep the horses. And yes that is me on my first night there - leading one of the horses from the day pasture into the area where they stay at night. I can see that it is a lot of work taking care of animals. Bette and Feri work in a different manner from traditional horse trainers. They believe that humans should study horse behavior and use the natural instincts and behaviors in training hores instead of trying to get the horses to adapt to the humans. They know a lot about animal behavior. Bette has gathered an amazing amount of research and is writing a book on the topic.

I also helped them redo their electric fence in the night pasture - that is the fence you see in the video. The white lines contain thin electric wires for the current. The view of the countryside at the end was taken from top of the horse that I rode - and you see Feri also in the video.

Bette and I went to the market and bought food for dinner. She taught me to make hot wine (awesome - and Bette and I were shocked when we realized how much wine we drank together that day), a traditional basic soup, and stuffed cabbage. Wow it was great. Get ready for some good food and hot wine when I come back in December. Sorry I did not take a photo of our food.

I really enjoyed my time with Bette and Feri since they let me see how they live, and I got to help out occasionally. The horses are beautiful animals and so are their two dogs.

Public Thermal Baths in Budapest

2009-10-21T13:11:00.003-05:00

To Americans the idea of a public bath is uncommon - I don't think we have anything like these and I was a bit skeptical of going, even though I went to the baths with Agi. Then when I realized that I forgot to bring my bathing suit to Budapest, I really thought - forget it. Bette told us you can rent one at the baths. Does that sound sanitary to you? Mandi bought a suit while we were out sightseeing, but I figured I'd get the full experience and rent a suit. The lady threw 3 suits out on the table and I picked the pink one (they are all basic one piece tanks) and held it up and she nodded that it would fit. Well, it was not bad. OK - if you think I am going to post a photo of me in the baths - FORGET IT. But here is a look at two of the outdoor baths I went to with Mandi and Greg.

The first shot in the video is from the famous Szechenyi Baths - that big pool with the steam coming off is part of the largest bathing complex in Europe. The heat comes from a thermal spring that was discovered in 1879 - it is the deepest/hottest one in Budapest - at 75 degress C (not Farheinheit). It was pretty cold while we were in Budapest - I had three layers - a turtle neck sweater, my lambs wool sweater with hood I bought in Ireland, and a coat on. So I could not believe that we were walking outside - barefoot in a swimsuit to get in this pool. But it was great - and all these people are just lounging in this hot pool outside in the cold. There are jets in the pool that massage you and also some overhead sprays. I saw the men playing chess in the pool - that is a tradition that i had seen in photos many times.

Now here is the funny part - see that huge building in back of the pool. Well the baths are a big complex and when I told Bette two days later that we went there - she laughed when I told her we were only in the outdoor pool. Apparently this complex has MANY other pools, saunas, etc inside - but we did not know it. So when I return, I'll have to check it out. I know Mike would love this place. He wanted to go when we were in Hungary before - sorry, honey, you were right.

Well, we liked the thermal baths so well, we were going to go to the Lukács baths the next day where the guidebook said there were mud baths. Sounds interesting. But when we got there - no mud baths. So we decided to get massages. There was only one person giving massages, so while Greg went first Mandi and I got in the outdoor pool which is the second one on the video. It's was not as hot as Szechenyi. So we wandered around this maze of a building and found 2 other outdoor pools - both cold - YIKES - and 3 hot pools that were much smaller. Still it is so cold when you get out that i don't think it is worth walking around. The massage was terrific - lots of sore muscles from carrying my backpack and walking up the Bascilica stairs. And I rented a suit here as well - getting to be an old pro at this.

Sightseeing with Greg and Mandi in Budapest

2009-10-21T12:43:00.004-05:00

OK - these are just a few sights from my travels with Greg and Mandi in Budapest. I was surprised that I could be so comfortable with people I don't know well, but they were so adventurous and fun loving and warm. They made me feel very welcome hanging out with them. It's more fun than seeing Budapest alone. Greg - was clearly the guide - my horse owning friends, Bette and Feri, would call him the leader horse. We saw many of the major sights on the Pest side of the city, including the Parliament building - my favorite of all the architectural wonders here - especially seen from the Danube river (the last shot of the short video here) I can't believe how well Greg could find his way around the metros, trams, buses and streets of Budapest - which can be very intimidating. So he has inspired me to use more of the public transportation in Budapest - which came in handy on my last day in Budapest - THANK YOU GREG. Toward the end of this short video, you'll see Greg at the top of St. Stephens Bascilica - the largest church in Budapest. The climb to the top of the 96 metre high dome around a spiral staircase was a work-out - you can also see a shot of Greg on the way down that staircase. Much easier going down. At the top - we could see Mandi waving to us from the square -check that out. Oh, and that gold ornate box contains the most important religious relic in Hungary - the mummified arm of King St. Stephen!!!

First Night In Budapest

2009-10-21T12:34:00.003-05:00

Arrived in Budapest on Oct 15 by train. Found the Red Metro line and the 11th Hour Cinema Hostel where I met Mandi and Greg. Mandi is the daughter of some very very good friends of ours - Mike and Cherie. Although I'd met Mandi before, I can not say that we knew each other. She and Greg are living and teaching in Germany and emailed me they were traveling to Budapest so I met them there. We had dinner at a restaurant across from the hostel. These guys are really awesome and proved to be great to hang out with in Budapest. They were amazing. I have a Hungarian friend, Bette, who invited us to a concert that night at the Filter Club - definitely a local hangout - no tourists here (oh, that's right we were there). Bette's significant other, Feri, is the lead singer in this band. when I got there - there were two more former students and another professor from the English dept in Pecs, whom I'd met before that Bette had invited to the club, so it was like a reunion. This was a great night first night in Budapest - a funky local hangout, wonderful music, and good conversation about languages and Hungarian politics. Here's a short video of Feri's band. Check out his band's website and download some tunes www.dyas.hu/in-english/

Cinepécs Film Festival

2009-10-14T09:05:00.002-05:00

Another great line-up of films for the last two days of this festival. I saw five films in a row on Saturday. Wow, what a marathon. With a quick stop for a bowl of bean goulash and a beer in a nearby cellar restaurant between films. It’s hard to pick a favorite film. I loved the film Belgrade Phantom – a hybrid documentary/drama. Interviews with witnesses to the events were effectively woven together with a dramatization of the story of a young man, during the Tito regime in Yugoslavia, who stole a white Porsche and drove around the central city square in Belgrade evading police night after night. He becomes a folk hero as people crowd the square to see him each night, while the police become increasingly desperate to stop him. I also liked the Croatian film Land of Wonders with a cast of characters all damaged by the war in different ways. The Romanian film, The Other Irene, was a tale of a man’s search to find out the truth behind his wife’s death, fighting an unsympathetic bureaucracy. This film won the top prize at the fest. Sunday I went to four screenings, including 3 short documentaries about the gypsies that were in Hungarian with no subtitles unfortunately for me. There was fascinating documentary called the Political Economy of Capitalism that followed 6 workers who formed a company together. It was sad, brutal tale of one man’s eventual take-over of the company from his former co-workers and partners. That evening the festival organizers closed a traffic tunnel, put up two big screens and projected an Emir Kustirica’s film (Time of the Gypsies). They had food and drink followed by the awards ceremony in the tunnel. There’s a picture of the tunnel events below. A very cool ending to the festival. I believe I saw 15 screenings during the 4 day fest. Hope to bring some of these films to the Kansas International Film Festival next year to a U.S. audience.

CinePécs Film Festival

2009-10-10T02:00:00.003-05:00

This four day film festival highlights the work of first time directors in central and east Europe. I've have seen some wonderful films from Slovenia, Poland, Austria, Bulgaria, and Bosnia so far. I'm looking for films that I can bring back to the States for the Kansas International Film Festival (KIFF) next September. I'm very impressed with the quality of the films and the festival in general. Screening at 10 in the morning and continue until 8 at night. A concert every night follows the last screening. I haven't made it to the concerts yet. I am impressed with how many people have turned out at the screenings I've attended. And looks like lots of students which is quite encouraging. I see many of my students here and also professors from the university. As far as the films - I'll just mention a few. Vladimir Balko's Soul at Peace was a great film. The story of a man, getting out of jail, struggling to reconnect with family and friends and build an honest life, was at once an intimate portrait of a Slovak village and its daily life and problems, and at the same time a univeral story of aging men, friendships, betrayals, and just the fates that life hands out. The director was a very humble man who apparently worked in documentary film before making his first feature drama. I was also moved by a Polish film, not in competition - Reliable System. A female director who was able to create very moving characters, particularly the lead actress, as an aging woman trying to redeem a past mistake. The interconnected lives, especially of the older man who is charmed by this lovely neighbor, makes for multi dimensional stories about life and loneliness. Fortunately, the festival organizers have both English and Hungarian subtitles for most of the films, extending a welcoming hand to festival goers by announcing films in both languages. It is much appreciated by me - as I am able to see these wonderful films. The whole festival is well organized in every aspect - I'm very impressed and off this morning to see more films.

Hike up Zengó Mountain

2009-10-05T11:21:00.003-05:00

Saturday I joined Ági for a hike in the mountains. She emailed me that it would be a 10 K hike. I converted – the whole metric thing, you know – 6 miles. I can do that. Met her at the bus station Sat. morning. She said, well, this is one of the more difficult routes – we’re hiking up the highest mountain in the Mesck range!! WHAT? You didn’t say that in the email. “Well, it isn’t the Alps” she laughed. “And look how many people are older than you.”

So I got on the bus to Pécsvárad with the group and our leader who was dressed in Alpine like short pants with great long socks. (see him below) Through the town we walked and up a hill to a church to set out on our path through the woods – after raiding a nearby fig tree that was loaded with ripe figs!!! Yummy. The hike up was strenuous at times – think of climbing stairs for one hour. I actually had this thought that if I had a heart attack up here – that was it – I would die on this mountain in Hungary, because I don’t think there is any way a helicopter could get to me – and don’t know if they have Medvac anyway. But we took frequent breaks, so I managed to survive. At the top we stopped and unpacked our lunch. The leader passed around some home made wine. I knew this guy was my kind of group leader.

There was a watchtower at the top which we climbed up for a view of the surrounding villages. Then the hike back down was, of course, much easier than the hike up. When we arrived at our destination village there was a festival going on. So half the group set out for the bus stop to catch the bus back, and the other half went to the festival.

There was music and dancing and a cooking contest. Here’s how it works. You buy a festival pass – and get 3 tickets to exchange for food, and one for wine. (I asked Ági if we could get 3 for wine and one for food) Anyway, you go through each of the booths and choose which food to buy with your tickets and whoever gets the most tickets at the end of the competition wins. The food was great – I had a cabbage and pork dish with apples, a cabbage and pear dish (hey, I have Croatian blood, I love my cabbage) and a plate of food from the Croatian booth – I had to vote for them. While eating we watched the performances.

Ági met one of her former students, nice guy named Andras, and we wound up going to his house to visit his mother. Ági had not seen her for a few years, but taught both of her sons in high school. What a gracious lady. She gave us an apple, then expresso, then this absolutely fabulous walnut cake with an amazing crème filling that her 83 year old mother made and which probably was a gazillion calories, and a glass of wine!!

Well, we missed the second bus back as we were eating and drinking and visiting, but got lucky and caught a special bus that was taking a group of school children back to Pécs from the festival. What a great day – I got lots of exercise in a beautiful setting. (Of course, the walnut cake cancelled out all my exercise) Here’s a very short look at my mountain hike and the women dancing with wine bottles on their heads at the festival – how do they do that?

Eating Ostrich and “French Toast”

2009-10-04T02:50:00.003-05:00

Struccuccok is ostrich in Hungarian. I went to one of my favorite restaurants, Korhely (messy place). Picked one of the ostrich dishes – here it is. Well, it does not taste like chicken!!! More like a steak. It seems pretty common here to have some type of meat dish with either gnocchi or rice on the side. No veggies. I’d say this was a pretty tasty dish.

This morning I’m having breakfast – espresso and “French Toast” Well, the French toast arrived – it is like taking an Italian loaf of bread, cutting it, dipping it in egg and frying it – and then sprinking parsley on top! No syrup or jam with it. Just dry toast. Humm. Well, it’s ok – but being the sweet tooth that I am, I prefer mine soaked in sugary syrup.

HOLY SHIT

2009-10-02T10:22:00.003-05:00

If you have been following my blog - all two of you - from the beginning, you know that when I first arrived in Pécs I stumbled across a beautiful outdoor wedding by the Cathedral. I shot some video and posted it.

Well, I just got an EMAIL from the groom. How in the heck did he find my blog???? Anyway, he wanted to know if I had more video - as he'd like a copy. Imagine that!!!

Interesting Architecture

2009-10-02T09:51:00.002-05:00

Wanted to show you a bit of Pécs. Not the monuments on the postcards, but apartments, shops, and streets in the town.

Chinese Restaurant with Eminen and Kanye

2009-10-02T09:20:00.008-05:00

I told Ryan before I left for Hungary that there were no Chinese restaurants in Pécs. He said impossible. Well, almost, but as it turns out, he was correct. I found one on a side street wandering around the city. There is also an Asia Buffet in the mall – but I don’t count that as a restaurant – and I generally don’t count anything in the mall as part of the City.

Today I decided to have lunch at the Golden Rivers restaurant. I figure each country has its own version of Mexican or Chinese food. After all, American Mexican restaurants don’t serve traditional Mexican food, but our Americanized version of it. Well, I think the menu at the Golden Rivers had many items that would be standards in our Chinese restaurants – sweet and sour chicken, typical versions of spicy chicken, pork, duck, beef, and shrimp. But I’m not sure you’d find duck liver – a whole section of duck liver dishes –in a Chinese restaurant, maybe I’m misinformed. There was also venison and turkey, something called cuttlefish, and a dish on the Chief’s Specials called squirrel carp. The dessert section had Fried banana, apple or pineapple and ice cream boiled in oil. I’m not sure if these are Chinese.

I ordered a safe choice from the lunch menu – sweet and sour chicken which did turn out to be similar to what I might get at home: breaded chicken pieces in a sweetened sauce with pieces of carrots and peas, served with white rice. It came with a spicy egg drop soup. I would say the quality of the food was a step down from the Hen House deli – very average.

As far as restaurants here, the inside was pretty fancy really. A gold and maroon theme and lots of Asian details: carved dragon chair backs, Japanese geisha placemats, Asian theme tablecloths, hanging lanterns, a pagoda style roof over the bar, real bamboo in a vase at the table. And, what’s this? the music, was that Eminem? singing about wonder why I dress like Elvis? And then Estelle singing American Boy – with Kanye West. How odd that the whole restaurant is full of Asian things, but the music is in English.

Anyway, I was too full to try the ice cream boiled in oil – but I must go back and see if that is like our Fried Ice Cream. Here's a pic of the sweet/sour chicken. I never did figure out what that black thing was - looked like greens, collards, but was definitely not - maybe some type of seaweed.

My Birthday/Visit to Thermal Baths

2009-10-01T10:08:00.000-05:00

This past weekend (Sept 27) was my birthday. Kinda cool to be in Hungary, kinda sad to be away from family. Ági was wonderful on Sunday. She took me to the big flea market that I always wanted to see. I’ve never been to the Swap N Shop at the I-70 Drive-In in Kansas City, but I imagine this might be similar. On Sundays at a large area in the suburbs of Pecs, there are booths with everything you might need to buy from clothing to car parts. There is even a section with live animals: dogs, cats, bunny rabbits, and chickens I saw. There are antiques and second hand items as well as new clothing, furniture, tools, etc. There is also a section with fresh fruits and vegetables. I bought a broom for my flat, a sink stopper, and some grapes and pears. Agi then took me to a friend’s house, Aniko, where I got to pick fresh figs off her tree. Yummie. I love figs and I confess I ate the whole container of figs by the end of the day. I know, I have no self control. Ági took me to a beautiful restaurant, the Owl’s Castle, for lunch. Up in the hills behind the central city, we sat outside overlooking a vineyard and the city. Good food and a glass of wine. Then I went home and walked around the festival. Today, in addition to the regular booths, there were crafts of all sorts – a lot of pottery, beautiful wooden bowls, folks selling different types of honey, more wine vendors. I then got ready to meet Agi, Aniko, and Julia for a trip to the thermal baths in a small nearby city. I’ve heard about the popular thermal baths which are supposed to be good for your health. Naturally hot spring waters. There were two different baths – one was much hotter than the other. Basically, it looked like a big swimming pool with seats, and felt like a hot tub. People, mostly older it seems, sit around in the hot waters and relax. It was quite nice. We got thirsty and had a beer afterwards. Then back to town in time for me to have a video chat with my family. So it was a very full day. I did not have time to really wallow in my “away from family” blues. After the video chat, I went by the last night of the festival, watched some folk dancing and tango dancing, and bought some great cheese. I had bread, cheese and my figs for my birthday dinner. It was a great day.

The Őrőkség Fesztival

2009-09-26T03:19:00.002-05:00

I have been taking in the sights, sounds and tastes of the Heritage Festival all week. You have already seen some concert footage and the funnel cakes. This wide variety of cultural events is combined with much eating and drinking. I am amazed at the thousands of people who turn out every night for concerts ranging from traditional folk music to blues and jazz and hard rock. On the promenade there are two levels to walk – one has wineries selling samples and bottles of their wines. On the level below, there are all sorts of food vendors – cooking, mostly on grills, and people sit at long tables eating and drinking. At another square in town during the heritage days there is a dance festival with a wide variety of dancing from folk to modern to hip hop. There are also performances at the National Theatre of ballet during this time. And art galleries have special exhibitions openings. So it’s like a week long First Friday. Here are a few clips from some of the performances and sights to give you an idea. I start with the Croatian band that performed here – a short clip in Croatian and then the Croatian guy singing Pink Floyd. That was the only song he sang in English. The "barbershop type" group sang all their songs in English – mainly Beatles and Eric Clapton – I give you here a version of Hello Mary Lou.

Mecsextreme Park

2009-09-25T10:34:00.002-05:00

On Sunday, as part of the visit by the Croatians to Pécs, I went to this adventure park on the outskirts of the city. Mexsextreme Park is hard to describe because I’ve not seen an equivalent. Set in a wooded area, it seemed anything but extreme. In addition to typical playgrounds and a petting zoo, there was a horse riding area that was a small, dusty arena where the park staff escort children on horses around in a circle. A small park map directs you to the rides –which, thankfully, had English translations. But, within the park, there are minimal signs. So it is not overdeveloped and glitzy - nothing like Disney World. There seemed to be an extensive pathway through the woods that would make a nice hike. My intial reaction was that it was nice place to take young kids.

Agnes was feeling ill this morning, so she did not go on the trip. That left, as adults, the two Croatian teachers, myself, and Szilvia. The four of us decided we would do the bobsled and the zip lines, so we set off to find the bobsled. The Bobsled ride consists of small “cars” that travel through the woods on a metal track which basically runs on gravity. Each car’s passenger, with the use of hand brakes, sets the speed. I first went on the sled with Marina. She let me be the brakeman. I was pretty conservative, as Marina seemed a little scared. Then Szilvia and I deicded to go a second time, each in a separate car, so that we could go the course faster. I took out my camera at the beginning of the course to get a shot before it got going faster. As I was leaving the ride attendant was yelling something at me in Hungarian . I don’t know if he did not want me taking pictures (they sell those tourist photos of you snapped at the fastest point on the ride) or if he was worried I would drop the camera. He could have been telling me to slam on the brakes, your car is defective and about to flip off the tracks. Anyway, there a short snippet below to show you the bobsled. It’s not exactly extreme, though it does get going and was quite fun.

By the time Szilvia and I got off, the others had moved on, so we left to find the ropes course. We wandered around, found the parking lot again, doubled back to the bobsled, went back in the direction we came from – took a slight left turn down into the woods and we could see the course. I found this puzzling – you park buy a general admission ticket to the park and get a map to the rids and all seems like a mini-Disney wannabe, but the rides are not really marked with any signs. Anyway, we arrived. The other ladies were not there (apparently, they took off down one of the paths in the woods and got quite lost – but would arrive here later). I was not sure about the ropes course – there is all this gear and helmets. Humm, well, Szilvia persuaded me to go with her. A group of the students were now joining us.

After getting your gear, the staff gives you some instructions on how to use the clips and such and there is a small practice course to try it out. Szilvia had to translate. The practice course was not far off the ground – maybe 5 or 6 feet – where I learned to clip onto the cables. Basically you are going from one tree house like platform to another clipped to a steel cable so that if you slip you won’t fall, you’ll just dangle by your harness. At the end of the practice course was small zip line – you attach both your clips and this pulley like thing to the cable, step off the platform and slide down. Ok. It did not seem too bad. There is a kids course to one side where the height of the course seems to allow an adult to basically walk around with the kid – only 5 feet off the ground. I thought about going over there.

So I start the course – you have 2 clips and you are always supposed to be clipped by at least one to the cables at all times – and, thankfully, the cables are color coded. Red means use the two clips. Red with stripped yellow and black means use the two clips and the pulley system. When I started, I was only 5 or 6 feet off the ground. Each section is a different challenge – a single steel cable that you walk across like a tightrope; swinging logs you walk across – a zip line that you ride from tree to tree. OK. But as you get along the course, it gets very high up. AND THERE IS NO CHICKEN EXIT. What happened to the chicken exit – when you get up really high and you think CRAP what am I doing up here? And I realize, OK, where are all the adults. Agnes isn’t here. Marina and Ana are watching – but not putting on gear. Yes, there is Szilvia, but she isn't even 30 years old. There is no way to turn back and no way to get off and the course gets increasingly higher and more difficult. Oh, my gosh. What am I doing up here?

At one point I had to clip to a steel cable and hang upside down like a possum and pull myself through a tunnel. One zip line was so high off the ground, I just could not believe I even stepped off that platform. Actually, once I stepped off the zips were the most fun, because it is no work really. Walking on a single steel cable high up on the ground is just amazing. I can’t believe I am doing this – I place my feet perpendicular to the cable and, of course, I am holding on to the overhead cable to stabilize. Going slowing – the last thing I want to do is fall off and dangle up there – how would you get back on. I don’t see any staff around – so who would help you. The thought that I would just dangle, kept me determined to not fall. The hardest part for me was this rope grid that looked like something out of Army recruiting video – be all you can be. That was the time I felt most unstable and knew I could fall. And it took a lot of upper body strength so I was just determined to get to the other side – but this took me longer than any of the other parts. The course was long – maybe 45 minutes or more, and finally I got to a point where there was a sign – and 2 ways to go. One was obviously a zip line to the ground. That’s what I took. The sign said – end of beginner’s course (Szilvia translated) and you could see the course go on with all sorts of weird challenges – some that looked like torture. No, seriously, it looked like something in a movie that you have to get through and fight off dragons to save the princess – with dangling bags that can knock you off the cable and was that barbed wire? – probably not, I only imaged that. But there was no way I was going further, I felt relieved I had made it this far. I actually felt a fair bit of accomplishment. I was certainly the oldest person up in the trees. And my kids would have loved it – as they are far more adventurous with bungees and skydiving. This was nothing. I wish I had more video – I took a short bit at the very beginning – when I had no idea how hard the course was. But I survived my time at the Mecsextreme Park. And, by the way, the park has this weird logo that is a mad looking bunny rabbit – like a cross between Bugs Bunny and Rambo – like a bunny that could attack you and rip our your heart with its teeth.

Hey, if this post was long the ropes course was far longer!

Croatians in Pécs

2009-09-21T05:29:00.007-05:00

At the same time that I am visiting all of the sights of Pécs Heritage Days, I have been having a wonderful time with a group of visiting Croatian teachers and high schools students. The great folks at the People to People International, Agnes, Szilvia, Hans and Julia graciously invited me to attend. On Friday, Agnes took me to the local Croatian school where I met the Croatian visitors and toured the school. On Sunday we visited several nearby sites. We toured the cave at Abaliget – bats and all – no photos were allowed inside. The cave was seriously creepy in parts, and one of the kids said it looked like something from a movie. I had to agree that you felt like you were going deep inside an island where the villain in a Bond movie would have his laboratory – up steep stairways.

We went up the watchtower at Lake Orfu and toured the mill. Then had lunch – goulash and pancakes at Racz Tanya. And the restaurant gave us a shot of palinka before lunch – now that’s my kind of appetizer!! Of course, only the teachers got the palinka, not the students. But the drinking age here is 18 – so actually some of the students are old enough to drink.

Here's a photo of the view from the watchtower, and above a picture of me, Agnes, Marina, Julia, and Ana at the top, and some shots of the charming little outdoor room where we all had lunch together. I got to practice some Croatian and learned some new words. It was great. Ana and Marina are the Croatians.

Hungarian funnel Cakes Kolács

2009-09-21T02:22:00.004-05:00

OK, I don’t know about you, but when I go to a carnival or similar event in the U.S. and see funnel cakes, I just about gag. Hot, fried dough with sugar on it. There is always a big line for funnel cakes, but I snub my nose at this confection which I deem unworthy. I don’t know if these are the Hungarian equivalent, but I had to have one. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. The dough is wound around a metal spit and cooked over a charcoal grill!! You’ll see below. Then cinnamon, sugar, or ground walnuts – or all of the above – are sprinkled over the hot dough. The metal spit is cooled just enough to allow the finished dough to slide off and it is packaged and given to you. Just like having hot Lamar’s doughnuts, I guess. So I took a video of the process, bought one, and ate the whole thing.

At the Festival

2009-09-21T02:15:00.002-05:00

As part of the festival days, the Barbican is lit at night with special “light paintings.” The Barbican is a circular, castle-like, bastion from the 15^th century that is part of the old wall around the town. It’s near the Cathedral and square where most festival activities are taking place. Here is a shot of the Barbican in the day time and at night with the special light paintings.

Kiscsillag Concert

2009-09-21T02:04:00.002-05:00

Pécs has a big Heritage Festival in September, so Thursday after having coffee with some of my students, I stopped by the opening day activities. Much tasty food and beer, with long tables set up for people to eat, and wineries from the area with booths to taste and buy wine. A big stage is set up in front of the Cathedral. I went to the Kiscsillag Concert. From the response of the crowd, it seems they are well known. Google - they have a web page and My Space page. The square was packed, and with the lighted Cathedral as a backdrop – what an incredible place for a concert. Here is a short look at a Hungarian rock band. At the end of the song, the lead singer says "Co SEE" This is a shortened version of the Hungarian word for thank you - Kősőnőm.

Cooking in My Flat

2009-09-14T03:37:00.005-05:00

I shopped for groceries and cooked my first meal in my apartment. That’s a bigger deal than you think. Here are the photos of my cabbage sausage soup.

Folks have asked me about the cost of groceries. I have not done a lot of shopping yet – but the items in the photos cost as follows in American dollars: the ½ of a cabbage – about 50

cents; the onion – about 15 cents; the sausage – little less than a dollar; the loaf of bread – about 75 cents; and the bottle of cabernet – a bit over $5. So, yes, the bottle of wine was the most expensive thing about the meal – hey, I have my priorities. But I did not drink the whole bottle.

I did enjoy cooking on my little gas stove with the kitchen window opening into the courtyard. While I was cooking, Gabriella (my landlady) brought me 3 tiny new kittens to look at through the window. She does not speak English, but I think she gets that I like her animals. I regularly feed the bunny rabbit – sometimes it is right outside my window, so I lean out and give it lettuce or cabbage.

Going to Croatia

2009-09-14T03:00:00.003-05:00

Friday when I met my new friend, Ágnes for coffee, she told me she was going to Plitvice Lakes in Croatia. I remarked that I had always wanted to go there – had heard it was spectacular. She had booked a day trip with a local travel agency that had a few seats left on the bus leaving at 3 a.m. Saturday. The very next morning. I was surprised when she asked “Do you want to go?” But I thought Why Not? I would be alone for the weekend anyway, and this would be a great opportunity. Ági took to me to the travel agency where I booked the trip. So, I got some kuna (Croatian currency) at the exchange office. Ági booked a taxi to pick me up at 2:30 a.m. since the tour bus stop was too far away to walk at that time of the morning. So, I set my cell phone alarm and got up at 2 a.m., caught the taxi to the McDonald’s parking lot!!!! And got on the bus. It’s a six hour ride to the Park – so we slept most of the way there.

Well, no wonder this is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. An amazing place with a unique geography. Tavertine is a porous carbonate rock formed by the sedimentation of calcium carbonate from water. The amazing color of the lakes come from this process. And the chemical process is ongoing, changing the landscape literally day to day. It produces geological formations, especially waterfalls among the lakes and streams. There must be hundreds of waterfalls. And it’s all set in a beautiful forest – apparently a portion is a virgin forest.

We walked about 5 hours throughout the day on the paths – many of which are built right above the water. There are too many to walk in one day – it is a very large place. A word about the fish – wow, the water is so clear that you can see the fish all over the lake. And I saw all sizes of fish in the lake – apparently there is no fishing allowed. But I did not see a black bear – they are supposed to live in the park. Botonists have identified over 1200 species of plants, 55 of orchids alone, and over 300 species of butterflies have been recorded.

So here’s is a short video look at the park – I made while hiking the trails. I kept the video in chronological order, so that you could “walk” the path that I took. It was a great day – but long 6 hours over, about 5 hours of hiking, 30 minutes for lunch – well, actually, mostly for a beer, and 6 hours back.

In fact, about the beer break. Ági and I got so immersed in our conversation and pivo (beer in croatian) that we forgot to meet the group as it left for the next hike. But we took the path and knew we would catch up, as they did not walk very fast. There were quite a few older women on the trip - yes, even older than me. I was surprised they walked so far as I can not imagine many Americans that age making such a long hike.

Lovers Fence

2009-09-11T13:13:00.003-05:00

The Story: Two lovers put a padlock on a fence in Pécs, locked it and left it there as a symbol of their everlasting love. Or so I think that is the story. Here are photos of both the original fence and one a few yards away which couples started using when the first one was full of locks –thousands of lovers still come to place their locks here – and they just keep adding onto the space. This is a block from my apartment, and I see many people taking photos of this famous place and couples placing locks there.

Potty Train - And Other Language Misunderstandings

2009-09-11T13:00:00.003-05:00

No matter how well you try to translate from one language to the next or to figure out what something means in a different language, there are bound to be misunderstandings. Here are a couple of mine from my first week living in Hungary. I went to the drug store to buy a few items: shampoo, body lotion, toilet paper That evening I rubbed the “body lotion” on my legs and feet, thinking the consistency was a bit different. The next morning, after my shower, I was putting lotion on my legs and hands when I noticed that there were tiny bubbles coming from the top of the container. When I put my hands under the sink and ran water, I realized that I had been rubbing liquid soap into my skin instead of lotion. OH, well. Another great one was when I went to a restaurant here and the menu had a list of Spaghetti dishes. I looked down the list and ordered what I thought would be a spaghetti dish that had an oil and garlic based sauce. I wound up with a huge plate of plain spaghetti for dinner. Yes, it did have oil and garlic on it – but not anything else. It was probably meant to be a side dish (garnish it’s called here) to go with some type of meat dish.

Lest you think this goes only one way – here is a cute one. I met some very nice people at a local People to People Meeting the day after I arrived. They are planning to host a group of Croatian high school students in a couple of weeks. They had a list of the planned activities that looks like a lot of fun. On the list was a guided tour of Pecs via the “Potty Train.” Hum, I asked how did the train get that name. It seemed that one translation of Potty was little – so this is a miniature train or a toy train. I said that in English “potty” was not used as a word for little, but was a word for toilet that was often used with a child, hence potty training. I hope I did not embarrass anyone. I thought it was funny. Here is a short video of the “Potty” train – taking a group of young people sightseeing through the town.

Pécs Wedding

2009-09-07T12:58:00.003-05:00

On my first weekend in Pécs I was standing in front of the beautiful St. Peter’s Cathedral and noticed a small crowd of people looking over a railing that overlooks the Christian Mausoleum ruins opposite the Cathedral. A couple was getting married in this ruin of a small chapel. This video begins at the Cathedrel, as I walked down the stairs toward the ruins to see what was going on – so that you can see what I saw. I, along with the others surrounding the rim, watched as the couple got married.

What I Left Behind

2009-09-06T06:16:00.006-05:00

This is not for my U.S. friends, as you already know my family, but for anyone else these are the precious things I left behind and miss.

These are the shots I took with my new little HD camera before I left home.

Settling In

2009-09-06T04:41:00.004-05:00

I arrived in Pécs, Hungary on Wednesday, September 2. Flights from Kansas City to Houston to Amsterdam to Budapest uneventful – just long. My shuttle service picked me up at the Budapest airport and took me right to my apartment door. What a great deal. On the ride with me – several students attending medical school at the university where I will be teaching – one each from Norway, Sweden, and Germany.

My landlady, Gabriella, was out-of-town, but her friend Agnes showed me to my flat. Anyway, I had been up around 25 hours – except for naps on the plane – so I was pretty tired. Well – seems Gabriella has three dogs and they barked constantly all night – oh, my – until 3 a.m. when Gabriella apparently came home from her trip. I admit I was a bit worried thinking I would never be able to sleep at night – seriously the dogs were very loud and constant – but those dogs have been great since Gabriella came home from her trip. I hope she does not travel much!!!

I’ve been settling into my flat – I’ve posted photos below. It has been great for me to arrange things and get a few extras to make the place more useful (an electric coffeemaker) and more comfortable, but probably boring for you to hear about.

I have already had some adventures. First, of course the dogs. But that turned out ok. Then there was the “body lotion” I bought at the drug store. I thought the consistency was a little weird and it felt sticky the first night, but the next day – after putting it all over my legs – I realized there was a little bubble at the opening of the bottle. I went to the sink and put my hands under the water – and lo and behold – yep, it’s not lotion, it’s soap. So I had been walking around with soap rubbed into my skin. Well, I could always use some nice smelling hand soap.

I’ve had a great meal of korhelylevés (levés means soup) and this soup is made of smoked sausage, saurkraut, and smoked pigs knuckles. I have heard it called “drunkards soup” as it is supposed to be good for the hangovers. It was wonderfully tasty – full of paprika and with sour cream dumplings on top. I’ve had only 2 gelatos so far – trying to control myself – one mango and one grapefruit. Heavenly

And I had a real cappuccino (hard to get in Kansas City, I think). Here is a very short video of my first cappuccino in Hungary – look how they put a heart on the top in the foam. Heavenly.

My Apartment in Pécs

2009-09-05T08:47:00.002-05:00

Kathy Melua Video

2009-07-26T20:33:00.001-05:00

I love this video. It demonstrates the enduring appeal of silent film stars Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin in American popular culture.

My New Digs

2009-07-26T20:19:00.001-05:00

In five weeks I'm moving to Hungary to teach at the University of Pecs. My host, Laszlo Tarnay, has sent me photos of the house were I will be living. Perfectly charming and in the center of town. Take a look: