The Kim Files 5

Sunday was a bit more relaxed. We went to the Museum of Fine Arts, where Ron is a docent. He gave us a spectacular tour of the 19th century and Spanish Galleries. We breezed through the Dutch gallery and then went to see the temporary exhibit of Israeli treasures, some from over 9,000 years old in addition to a piece of the Dead Sea Scrolls and masterpieces by Rembrandt, Chagall and Rodin. We had guests arriving; Ron took off for home to greet them, while Kim and I went to Gerloczy restaurant for an early dinner. We had tickets, we thought for a concert of Cuban Shephardic Jewish music at 8:00 pm. When we got home, an e-mail from the guests stated they would not be arriving until 8:00 pm, so Ron and Kim went to the concert while I volunteer (happily, I may add) to wait behind. As it turned out, the concert started at 7:00 pm and it was a different concert. The guests arrived, I spun them through the apartment and ran out. When I arrived, I was disappointed in the concert since I expected more Cuban culture to be displayed, but it was only afterward I found out it was the wrong tickets. Afterward, we went to Arriba for a burrito.

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The Kim Files 4

On Saturday, we took the train to Vac, a 30-minute train ride from Budapest where one of my students offered to play tour guide. As soon as we arrived in Vac, the skies opened and it poured rain. Not one of us brought an umbrella, so the first stop was umbrella shopping three stores away from the train station. Linda, my student, was returning from Lake Balaton and was running late. We wandered around the town on our own until she arrived, peaking into churches, stopping for a pastry, and then to Momento Morti. While excavating the Dominican Church, they found 60 crypts with mummified corpses. Each crypt was beautifully painted. Some of them and the corpses were on display. Very interesting. Linda found us there and took us to a cafe where the walls are covered with the work of a famous Hungarian childrens writer and illustrator. The work is amazing and not only themes for children. Another place to return to. Linda was funny; she had notes she referred to as she was touring us. She insisted we stop at another pastry shop as the owner won many awards. After twisting our arms for 10 seconds, we cried UNCLE and gave it, had another coffee and shared a pastry. He deserves all of the awards he has won. Not only were the pastries artistically placed in the cases, they tasted like winners with each bite. We tried stopping at a favorite restaurant Ron and I had discovered before, but they had to close for a funeral, so we went to another. It was okay, just. Just as we arrived at the train station, there was a train to take us back to Budapest. We immediately made our way to the Ludwig Museum of Contemporary Art where the Robert Capa exhibit was showing. They had over 400 of his photographs on display. It was shocking, but I was able to enter free with my teacher's ID card. Imagine that! The exhibit was incredible and we spent hours browsing through, though much less time on the permanent exhibits. We succumbed to getting falafel platters and eating it while watching the movie The Accidental Husband, which was a retched movie. Uma how could you?

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The Kim Files 3

Friday was Castle Hill day. We spent most of the day exploring the castle district. After meandering around the Budapest Museum, the Hungarian National Gallery, and oohing and ahhing over the views, Kim and Ron went into the Arany Sas, or Golden Eagle Museum. Been there, done that, no reason to do it again. No stop on Castle Hill would be complete without a stop at the Retesvar, my favorite strudel place in the city. None of us were disappointed. From here we went to Fisherman's Bastion, but in a capitalist move, the filled it with restaurant tables and chairs to force tourists to eat or drink to enjoy the views. We did find spots to by-pass this and had a great time. Ron took Kim into St. Matthias Church. Covered in scaffolding until 2012, it is still impressive, but unfortunately, the little museum inside with the history of St. Stephan's crown is also closed until 2013. That is one of my favorite parts of the inner church. Not to show religious favoritism, the two of them went to the Medieval Jewish Prayer House. The middle-aged woman guide was rather rude bordering on obnoxious, making me miss the little old man who was so pleasant upon my visit. Kim being a musician was sent off to the Museum of Music, while the two of us waited for her outside in the shade and coolness of the entry on a marble bench. After going home for a rest, we returned to the hill for dinner at Rivalda restaurant where we dined in an old monastic courtyard under the stars while musicians serenaded us with violin and saxophone. I had thought that we could go to the upper level of the Bastion for a well lit view of the Parliament building, but they were still charging to enter at 9:30 pm. They had told me that it was free after 9:00 pm. Instead, we went behind the President of Hungary's office, where the view was magnificent, not feeling like we missed out at all.

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The Kim Files 2

We started our Thursday with a tour of the Dohany Synagogue, Memorial Garden, and the Jewish Museum. Though I have done this a few times in the past, it had been some time since the last, so I thoroughly enjoyed another go. We had two excellent guides, but the one in the museum spoke like a tightly wound rubber band coming undone. We really thought he would pass out from lack of oxygen; he never seemed to take a breath. From one end of the spectrum to the other, we took Kim to the House of Terror, but we waited for her. Having been there a multitude of times, we did not feel a need to return. To sweeten the memory of the day, our next stop was Lukacs Cukraszda, a pastry shop which did not get a stellar review in my last book. The manager sent a letter to my publisher stating he was highly offended by the review. His claim is that the pastries are so outrageously priced because they are the same quality as what you would get in Paris or Rome. Well this is not Paris or Rome and the salaries are nowhere near them either. However, giving them a second chance for a new review, we did find the service better, but the prices still too high. Dinner was a reunion of sorts. Besides the three of us, two former students and the son of a friend joined us at Crazy Dszungel restaurant. This delightfully decorated place has different theme rooms with motifs of jungle, desert, pirates, under the sea, and so on. The menu is extensive, the food is fabulous, and the service is excellent. Of course, this was only outshone by the company, which was five stars on its own.

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The Kim Files

As I have mentioned, our friend Kim has come to visit after not seeing each other for about 12 years. We are still not certain exactly how many years it has been, but her daughter who is now 26 years old, was only a pre-teen when we last saw her. Kim is what friendship is all about. When I was living in CA we spent a lot of time together doing things both fun and supportive of each other. When I had a partner dying, Kim was there for me every day without fail. She was my rock and support. I never needed to worry about being alone or even explaining my feelings; she intuitively knew what I was feeling and how to best support me. When it was time to plan the memorial, Kim was there helping me along. We cried together and laughed together. When somehow our lives diverged, I felt the loss and mourned it, but never understood why it happened. There was never a moment in those twelve years that I did not wish it were different. As I have mentioned, we picked up where we left off without skipping a beat. Magically, that gap in time has dissipated, bringing us back the old times. Neither of us can drink bottles of wine and laugh hysterically like we did in years gone by, but we have found that we never did need that wine to laugh and enjoy each other to the fullest. Our agenda has been full. Having Kim to take around has been a great help for my researching my next book. Monday, after her arrival, she decided to by-pass a nap to get in sync with the 9-hour time difference. We went to the Kossuth Museum Boat restaurant for dinner, sat on the outside deck overlooking the well-lit Castle Hill across the Danube. The stars peeked through enriching a perfect view. Tuesday, we ventured to the Museum of Applied Arts to show her an example of Hungarian Secessionist architecture from the outside, but the museum was not open until 2 pm, so we missed the Ottoman style interior. We went instead to the Central Ervin Szabo Library, one of the most beautiful I have seen. From there we ventured down Raday utca stopping to shop and get a quick bite at Pink Cadillac restaurant. Later that evening, we went to Paprika, where we were given dinner on the house. Szentendre was our Wednesday excursion. After taking the HEV there, we wandered around the town. I reviewed the museums, restaurants, and shops once again, but we had plenty of time to browse new shops and galleries. It saddened me to find my favorite store, a unique puppet shop had closed, but was replaced by the Old Goat Gallery, which is wonderful. I am adding it to the book. Of course, we had to stop for a langos at my favorite stand there, and I brought her to the Blue Folk shop so the woman there could enchant her with her stories. Kim being a shopper, I found some great little stores that I had not discovered before. Normally, I am with those who have an aversion to shopping, so getting off of the beaten path to look for fun things is not on the agenda. Now I will have to return alone to make some purchases. We took the ferry back to Budapest, something Ron and I have never done before. It was lovely and peaceful. I imagine in the autumn, it would be spectacular. For dinner, we went to Wasabi, the Running Wok and Sushi restaurant. All food is delivered on two conveyor belts with hot items on top and cold on the bottom. They removed the doors on the top, so the food was only tepid, but still it was fun and a new experience for Kim.

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Whoopi Goldberg and Hungarian Gay Rights

Someone we know was successful in getting Whoopi Goldberg to do a Public Service Announcement for the Hungarian Gay Pride to be held next week. I was able to upload it to YouTube for this friend. Here it is.

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Budapest wages on par with... Bucharest

By Adrian Courage

For once, you can be forgiven for mixing up the Hungarian and Romanian capitals as a report by global financial firm UBS reveals that Budapest wages are on the same level as those in much maligned city of Bucharest. Worse still, only workers in Sofia, Bulgaria earn less money, writes index.hu. Budapest wages are just 16% of those in New York, while living expenses are 42% of those in the American city. Wages in Prague, Bratislava and Warsaw are considerably higher than those in Budapest at between 20% to 30% of those in New York, the city used as a basis for the comparison. Meanwhile, living expenses including rents are much closer to the average in Budapest, clocking in at 41.8% of those in New York, roughly matching other countries in the region. Of course, what the report doesn't mention is the wages used in the comparison may not reflect what wheeler-dealing Budapesters actually earn.

News reprinted from All Hungary Newsletter August 27, 2009

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Reunion

We have our friend Kim visiting from Bremerton, WA. I worked with Kim in Modesto, CA and she and I became fast friends. We were extremely close for a number of years, but she was working on a Masters, I on my doctorate; things fell apart. After almost twelve years of separation, neither of us were sure what happened, but she did come across Ron on Facebook. We reunited via e-mails and she is here now for our reunion. We have picked up where we left off, or left off from the best parts. It is like we were never away from each other. Showing her Budapest and today, Szentendre has been a blast. Last night we went to Paprika Restaurant, one of my favorite restaurants in Budapest. They recognized me as the author of the Frommer's book and comped the whole meal for all three of us. That was a real treat. Off to another dinner.

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A Fan

I am a BudaBaB fan! After losing my camera in an auto accident in the Czech Republic, Ron loaned me his own camera so that I could photograph Budapest on my last day there. It made such a difference to the quality of the experience. But the best part of Budapest was Ron and Ryan and the BudaBaB. Beth Besson

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Esztergom Video: Thanks to Villy

I thought we had finished with Esztergom, but Villy sent me this video that Villy made. It is an amazing piece, so I am sharing it here. "A small compilation of what my hometown has to offer. Esztergom (pop:31k, est: 972) lies on the right bank of the river Danube. It's the first capital of Hungary, the seat of the Constitutional Court, and the Roman Catholic Church of Hungary. Home to many monuments, priceless artifacts and museums."

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Cheeseburgers

This is such a clever sight showing different cheeseburger 'recipes'. Quite fun to navigate through, but now I have to cook a burger, so type at you later. http://cheeseandburger.com/

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Dinner Table, Ottoman, or Computer?

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The Goodies Missed From Living Abroad

Americans on antidepressants doubled in the last ten years. This makes sense, we had Bush for eight of them, and then the economy dumped. It just about adds up. Where does this put the war on drugs? www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-08-03-antidepressants_N.htm

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Least Expensive Destinations? In South Eastern Europe | Tourism-Review.com

Hungary did not make either list... Least Expensive Destinations? In South Eastern Europe | Tourism-Review.com According to a survey by Eurostat, there were wide differences in price levels in 2008. The survey was conducted in 37 European states including the 27 EU members. 10 Most Expensive European Countries: 1. Denmark 2. Norway 3. Switzerland 4. Ireland 5. Finland 6. Iceland 7. Luxembourg 8. Sweden 9. France 10. Belgium 10 Least Expensive European Countries: 1. Macedonia 2. Bulgaria 3. Albania 4. Bosnia and Herzegovina 5. Serbia 6. Montenegro 7. Romania 8. Lithuania 9. Poland 10. Slovakia

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Last Word on Esztergom

Okay, Villy has taken me to task for not appreciating Esztergom and in all fairness I want to publish the last comment on the subject. Let me say this about Villy's comment. She or he is correct and did make me think if I were not a tourist or acting like one under a tight time schedule, I would most likely have found more to savor. It has also reminded me of times that I have had to defend a place that I loved from some ingrate who did not see it through my eyes. With that said, Thank YOU Villy. This is the end of the topic for published posts now. I do appreciate feedback - positive, negative as long as it is constructive. "Ok, ok! So you weren't impressed by the tallest building in Hungary, one of the biggest churches in Europe, the thickest walls of Central Europe, coronation jewels, treasury with the most decorative chalice in the world, relics and remains of numerous saints and kings of Hungary on display, one of the biggest codexes in the world (110 kg), the only surviving Renaissance building of Hungary, the third biggest Christian art museum of the world, including the biggest collection of medieval Italian paintings outside of Italy itself, the interactive Danube Museum named European Museum of the year a couple of years back, had no interest in the Mindszenty Museum, the former house of 20th century poet Mihály Babits, that has all the autographs of almost every influential poet, writer or journalist in the country, had no interest in a 1000 year old castle, with 500 year old frescoes, the only surviving Ottoman mosque this far along the Danube, the only major cave open to the public in Komárom-Esztergom county, brand new spa, the biggest ecclestial library and archive in the country. It's not well known, but the town even has an underwater museum in the Suburbs in a lake. You mentioned that you didn't attend the vine-show, you probably didn't stay until night to see the guitar festival (Al di Meola was playing on Sunday). So either you didn't know about the above or you were not interested in any of them. Just let me ask you this: What does a town with a 30k population have to offer where you come from? Look, I don't mean to be rude, I'm just pissed off, cause this is my town you're talking about, and it's not true that this is a one-horse town, and whenever I go somewhere new I look up a few places to see there, OR I go there not knowing sh*t, but I'm definitely not saying that the town had nothing to offer besides the one thing I actually visited. "

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Villy Wrote

"...and really the only reason for going" Villy wrote: "Shows how much you know. Maybe you should catch up on your reading man, because the town has a bunch of museums and tons of monuments other than the cathedral." As the saying goes, one person's junk is another person's treasure. Villy must have missed the part that we WERE in there, not just reading about it. We did find some museums other than the cathedral, but really were not all that overwhelmed with interest. If you find them fascinating, I am happy that they fill your needs.

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Geotacs Responds to Video

Geotacs stated in response to the old lady driver video: so cool! inspirational indeed! thanks for sharing!

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Esztergom

In the name of research, only for the book, we went to Esztergom yesterday. Really, there was not a spark of desire to return there. Afterall, we had been there once seven years ago in the dead of winter, how much different could it be now? Michael Gans and his latest 'friend' joined us for the 1 1/2 hour train ride. How could I have forgotten the train took so long? On a positive note, the train was new and beautiful. From the station we took the bus to the cathedral, the highlight of the town and really the only reason for going. This is the seat of Hungarian Catholicism. As I gathered the data I needed, the others played tourist. It worked well. Strangely, Michael repeatedly stated how poor he was and how he could not afford a thing, but yet he was able to pay the way of his friend the entire trip. So it really worked my nerves when we went to a restaurant that Michael suggested, but when the bill came, I had already tallied our items on my phone's calculator using the menu for guidance. When the bill came, I gave it to Michael, along with our portion and told him how much additional I had included for a tip. He still perused the bill like an etomologist who just discovered a new variety of a pesky insect and wanted to know why his portion was so expensive. Well, it is because you gave your friend free reign to order whatever he wanted and you, dear had two diet cokes. After he did the math, he was still a bit disgruntled, but it passed. I cannot say the town is lovely. There are pockets that are, but for the most part, the cathedral is the draw. If you are not interested in this, then it is not worth the time/energy to go at all. Later, we decided to stop at the main square. They happened to be having their own wine festival, but we were wearing down and opted for a coffee instead. Again, we went through the same tired routine when the bill came. When he complained that he was too broke to pay our bill, I retorted that I understood that unless he were dating us, we would not get a thing from him. He is leaving on Tuesday, eventually to go to Victoria, Canada to pursue his fourth Masters degree. In some ways I will miss his company, but it will be a relief to my blood pressure. After almost twelve months, we still have not been invited to his place. Reciprocity does not seem to be in his vocabulary. Now that I let out that loud "MEOW", I feel much better.

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Important Guest

We have a guest from Sweden, who is living and working in NYC. As we talked, it turns out he is an actor/writer/director. His name is Casper Andreas. A number of people make this claim, but I did find him on IMDB www.imdb.com/name/nm0028220/ . Quite impressed, plus he and his partner Ryan are really sweet guys and fun guests. Ryan is a medical doctor. One of Casper's films will be shown at the Gay Film Festival here in September.

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Want Cleaning With That?

We have an area run in our living room. It is 2 meters by 3 meters. For the longest time I have wanted it to be dry cleaned, but our favorite Shirt Express would not do anything that large. The owner told us to "just try" another cleaner. Easy for him to say, being Hungarian. Other dry cleaners do not speak English, so that involves getting a translator and then transporting the carpet. Our darling Balazs and his roommate Tommy took pity on us a year ago and made it their mission to get our carpet to the cleaners for us. That was a year ago. Being Italian, but much out of practice, I took me a year to guilt Balazs into getting the thing to the cleaners. He called a cleaner for their opening times, came over and picked up the carpet, refusing taxi fare to get it there. He carried the carpet on his shoulders and off he went. When he got there, the place had closed five minutes before his arrival. Rather than return it to us, he continued walking around until he found a cleaner that was still open and dropped it off. Approximate cost for cleaning, 5,000 Huf. Quite a deal. When he went back a week later, they told him it was going to be 9,000 Huf. He asked why? They responded with "We did not know it would have to be cleaned on both sides." Not only is it brighter, but it is 3 inches longer than went it left. Welcome to Hungary.

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Inspirational Video

This is just a great inspirational video I had to share.

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Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?

People think I am joking when I tell them of our experiences in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. Well, I was not joking. Get a load of this.

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Fun Travel Video of the Day

Avoid Heathrow Airport!!!

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Anxiety + Relief = Mixed Emotions

My final doctor visit today to get cleared for surgery. Because I could pick my own date, I chose September 11th out of the air. There was a bit of strategy involved, but not much. We have a friend coming to visit that we have not seen for over ten years; it would be shameful to disrupt her stay with a hospital visit. She is a nurse manager, so she may have found it novel. Anyway, she leaves on the 3rd. I wanted a Friday to recuperate over the weekend, so I could go back to school on the following Tuesday. I begged the doctor to let me go home the same day, but hospital "law" (his word) is an overnighter. Now that I have a date, there is plenty of time to alternate between repression and consuming fear.

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Tough Tourism Times

As I research everything for the next edition of the book, I have been surprised at how many of the luxury hotels have actually dropped their rates projected for next year and beyond. Even some restaurants have lower their higher end entrees to lower prices since the last time I reviewed them, but certainly not enough since we pay for all meals out of pocket. The Hungarian Hotel Association has continually stated that the occupancy rate for hotels has been steadily under 50%. As I make my way from hotel to hotel, marketing managers are telling me they have cause for a celebration if they book a large group at one time. The Restaurant Association had similarly grim news predicting that 30% of all restaurants in the country would close by the years end. I thought it was Hungary, but came across these two articles today in a travel site. The first talks about how it is all over Europe, tourism down, people are just not spending.

http://www.tourism-review.com/article/1748-etc-european-tourism-in-decline This one is specifically Hungary's woes. Though the link is misleading. If it were only 12, there would be no need for concern.

http://www.tourism-review.com/article/1749-hungary-welcomed-12-less-tourists

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Jibs and Jabs

I returned to the doctor again today. During that thirty minutes I waited for the doctor, when I was really trying to concentrate on my Joanne Harris book, The Evil Seed, I could not help but observe the staff. After spending twenty years in a medical setting, I am still intrigued by how things are done in different places. As I am sitting there, a man arrives with a metal cart with large covered metal bowls of various sizes. It was unclear whether this was the staff's breakfast, the patient's lunch or organ transplant delivery. Here one never knows. So, he pushes his cart to the side of the nurses' station, where two women, presumably nurses push up a cart of their own. Cart races down the hall? Exchange carts? Not that either. The three of them took everything off of the one cart and put it on the second cart, allowing the man to take his own cart back to where he came from. Now I was sitting right next to them. The carts were identical. Unless you had a the Hubble telescope, no one could tell them apart. Cart envy? Who knows? After waiting thirty minutes, the doctor comes up to me like he is going to share a big secret. He asked me to come back on Thursday, baecause he had to return to the operating theater. Hey as long as it is not me in the operating theater, I am fine with that. Then I got to thinking, will it be me in there soon? Will there be a bunch of interns and residents staring at me from a bird's eye view? That thought made me a bit nervous until I realized I will never see any of them again...hopefully. Though this seeing the doctor every two weeks has become a habit. We may have to continue this long after the surgery.

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