Getting That Jingle Bell Feeling

The Budapest Christmas Market opened a week earlier than usual this year. Generally, it opens on the first Sunday of Advent, but this year it beat Thanksgiving. Having been sick, I have been putting off hoofing over there, but today was warm enough and I needed the fresh air.

After eleven years, there are few surprises from one year to the next. I could probably diagram where each booth will be and what they will sell there without leaving home to do it. Can we say “predictable”? If you are around here at Easter time, the same booths, the same sellers and the same merchandise reappear then too. They are like the crocus appearing out of the cold earth.

Why do I bother going at all? Well, for one thing, it is tradition. Yet, I have great hopes that one of these years there will be a major surprise in store for me with a new vendor. I was pleased to see that one of my favorite shops in Szentendre has opened a Christmas booth here. They make and sell the best hand puppets I have ever seen. I love them.

There are the usual booths selling baskets, gourmet chocolate, which I have tried and did not find appealing at all, and of course tons of food. It always makes me chuckle heartily that the crowds fill the food booths and chow down like they have not tasted this food in their lives. 

I do pay particular attention to their conversations as they stand around the elevated tables stuffing their mouths in between a big chomp into a sausage. Each time I observe, the majority of diners are speaking Hungarian. Doesn’t mama cook for you anymore or did she send you here so she could get some peace for a change?

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Meeting Katie

Today held a great treat for me. As many of you regulars know, I have had posted comments from reader Katie. Katie lives locally for the time being, but is planning on making the great escape to greener pastures. Having mentioned the UK in one of her notes to me, I ASS-U-ME-ed that she was from the UK. Her disparaging remarks about about Hungary and Hungarians led to the veracity of the assumption.

We decided to meet and share war stories using Szentendre as a midway point for each of us to be equally inconvenienced by travel to mid-way spot. Katie knew what I looked like, but even a search on Facebook did not produce a person living in Hungary, but rather one Katie Mc... from Ohio and the 4 others that had to be befriended before they would share their country of domicile. Note that those Midwesterners are so friendly they will list their country and State and if you ask kindly will probably offer their address, phone number and have coffee waiting for your arrival.

I dragged Ron along with me to Szentendre and we found a young blond, attractive woman standing in front of the TourInform office just as we had planned. My first thought that went unshared was "How impressive that a young woman would be reading my blog." Sorry, Jennifer, but you are in the friend category, so you don't count. I was go to bring my camera, but when we left Budapest, it was pouring rain, so I left it behind.

We quickly decided on the Marzipan restaurant/museum/cafe for a coffee and dessert. Within minutes of placing our orders, the conversation started and never begs for a filler, it flowed like Niagara Falls, never missing a beat. The second surprise after finding Katie to be so young, was that she was not British, but Hungarian. Born and bred here, but having lived in 4 other countries, she has had it and is ready to move on. But I don't want to share much about her life, because I never asked her permission to share it at all.

What I do want to say is that Ron and I had a delightful time. We pummeled her with questions, but Katie kept saying "I have talked enough; what about you?" Then I would start to tell a story while noticing Katie smiling. When I would hesitate, she jumped in with "I know, I read it in your blog." It really struck me as funny as in ha! ha! and disconcerting for a moment, in that someone who was a stranger sitting across from me, knew so much about my life. After a moment, the feeling passed and I was fine with it. After all, I write it and put it out there. When this blog first started it was meant to be a way of communicating with former co-workers and friends who repeatedly said, "E-mail and keep me up-to-date on all of your adventures." Little did they anticipate then that it would be years and years of updates. Little did I realize I would gain a following. I will write a note about that later.

After 2 1/2 pleasurable hours in the coffee shop, Ron and I both needed to stretch. Katie offered to walk with us to the shop I wanted to stop at to buy a ceramic sun for one of the guest bedrooms. I wanted the moon too, but could not bring myself to spend that much money at one time. On the way back, we stopped at my favorite store in the town, Hand Pets. Hand Pets are handmade puppets that utilize all five fingers. They come in adult and child sizes. The designs, the quality and the imagination that goes into these have landed them in all of my tour books. My inner child cries and throws an inner tantrum each time I see them, wanting one and then adding to the collection. My outer child, Ron, has learned to parent those instincts, so I have none of the five finger models. Two guests who found the store because of me, bought a bunch for their grandchildren and bought two of the goats for us. Mmmm...the expression 'old goat', getting goat puppets...what is the message here?

Katie then walked us to the HÉV or suburban train. Leaving the coffee shop did not inhibit the conversation in the least. When we finally said good-bye, it was like saying good-bye to someone we had known for ages.

We wish you the best in your new adventures, Katie!!!

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Katie, Katie

Katie wrote in:

If you mean it and I can find time in all the planning I would be pleased to meet you. I have been an avid reader of yours since the first madness descended on me to move here.
Over that now and back to not so perfect but way more tolerant England. Can't comment on the US because I have never been there but I find this place really maddening. An idea just popped in my head, I live near Szentendre, so if you are interested I could show you around and have that cup of coffee. :-)

Change experiences, although I don't think anything short of a lottery win would make me want to stay here.
BTW which dental practice have you used and do they do cosmetic dentistry? Tried to look for it in the archive but hit a few dead ends. Thanks.
Take care now
Katie


Hey Katie,
I am coming on to spring break soon starting on March 31st. If you are still around then I would love to meet you for a coffee. There is a shop in Szendendre I have been wanting to return to. You know the town is in my travel guide? I was there recently to show it to a friend and update the info for the 8th edition of the book. 


Either way, if you are free then, let's get a coffee.
The dentist I went to is Haifa on Akacfa, but I would check with MedicalTours Hungary for other options. You can check them out here.

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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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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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Joys of Running a B and B

On the heels of reenacting Prison Break-Hungarian style, we welcomed two older couples traveling together. Often, people suggest we write a book about our guest, but in reality, for the most part, it would be deadly dull. The vast majority of our guests are delightful at the time they leave, we are sincerely sorry to see them leave us. This foursome, though nice enough are starting to wear thin. Here is an example of a conversation regarding my computer monitor, but you have to understand my monitor can flip 90 degrees. It can work as a horizontal or vertical display monitor. Since I grade so many papers on the computer, I keep it in the vertical position to decrease the amount of scrolling I have to do. The two husband love to hover over me when I am at the computer, like two children waiting for a cookie. A: "I have never seen a monitor like that before. Have you ever seen a monitor like that before? L: "I have a monitor like that and it does the same thing." A: "That is not what I asked. Have you seen a monitor like that before?" L: "Of course I have. I just told you I have one myself. Of course I have seen one before. I own one. What's the matter with you?" Or another example: A: "We stayed in one of the hotels you recommended in the book for a night when we went to Szentendre. Would like our review?" R: "Yes, I would love to know what your opinion of it was." A: "That is what a review is." This type of back and forth goes on non-stop, but tomorrow it is over. When they came home last night raving about a Kosher restaurant they went to, I did not dare tell them that it is not Kosher, though it is a Jewish restaurant. I have been there and asked for guests as well as for the book. After almost six years, I can only say that the juicy material would never fill a book, but at the moment, just a hefty pamphlet.

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