Final sign-off

Well everyone, it's been a great run. I have really enjoyed trying out this blogging thing while living here in the Pest. However, my time is coming to an end in less than 12 hours and so too the blog will be coming to an end. Let's hope that someday my world travels and blog will pick back up again.

However, before I call it done, I should fill you in on what has been going on for the last few weeks - well besides the working part.

Erynn and Jenn came to help me celebrate my last week in Hungary. We made one short side trip to the Hungarian countryside for some wine and relaxation. Eger was the perfect spot. We took a short train ride and ended up in a quaint town where they are known for the wine. We spent the afternoon drinking wine, maybe a bit too much, and then let all the stress leave our bodies in the modern Turkish bath. It was perfect. Oh and sideways Jenn may have made an appearance.

We also squeezed in a few of the Budapest tourist attractions that I hadn't yet accomplished - Margarit island, Terror Museum, hike to Gellart hill, Cave Church, etc as well as visiting a few restaurants and bars that I have been wanting to try. I think Erynn, Jenn, and I can all agree, if you visit Budapest please go to Cafe Kor for dinner and then go to Doblo for a few glasses of wine. It was an almost perfect evening.




Thanks Budapest! It's been a great run.

Parallel universe

I am going to start this post with a quote from my sister regarding the pictures I sent her from this weekend "Erynn is living in a parallel universe where her little sister smokes hookahs with dark men in Istanbul."

There are so many stories to tell from this weekend it is hard to pick just a few to bore you with.

1. bathrooms
2. friendly turks
3. bazaars/salesmen
4. Turkish bath

1. Ok for this first story it is important to note my deep hatred for public restrooms. Please keep in mind that last summer despite feeling like I might explode on our trip home from Ocean City, I seriously considered going another hour just because I didn't want to touch a gas station bathroom. It was only because Cecilia was getting fed that I finally talked myself into braving it - I didn't die. That was a training ground for Istanbul....

While out on our grand tour of the city on Sunday, we stopped for lunch in a Bospherous-side restaurant for fish "hygeine" sandwiches. While we waited for our meal to arrive Alex and I headed for the bathroom, or what we thought was the bathroom. As I opened up the stall, I saw something like this
only no toilet paper and water, or at least what i hope was water, covering the floor. Needless to say, I was about ready to walk out and just hold it the rest of the day but I braved it with the help of some kleenex from Alex. My quads got a work out and I conquered a small part of my public-restroom-phobia.

2. I think Turks must be the friendliest people - even more than Midwesterners. Twice when asking for directions to our next location, the person instead of just pointing us in the right direction, personally escorted us there expecting nothing in return and sometimes when the location really wasn't that close. In addition, we met 2 guys while having a drink on Sat night who drew us this itinerary for our grand tour on Sunday and then later offered to be our personal tour guides for the day. I couldn't have imagined a better way to tour the city than with 2 locals who really wanted us to just like their city. Alex and I really couldn't believe that they were being that nice. And parents, I know you may think this sounds sketchy but I promise my girl radar was on and they were truly just nice guys I mean look at this map - how couldn't they be nice.
3. while touring the bazaars on both Sunday and Monday, the shop owners were very creative in their attempts to get you to come inside and to not haggle you too low. A few examples would include "Can I please help you to spend your money?" or when haggling with a store keeper he looked very pitiful and asked me in a very sad tone "Are you trying to cut my profit?" to which I replied "Yes, yes I am" - ha. I also liked the line of our Turkish delight salesman to me, "I offer a special just to the beautiful blue-eyed girl... (pause while he looks more closely at my eyes) I mean green eyes." I loved the bazaars and while I know that I would get annoyed if I had to handle those crowds more often, it was so much fun to do it once!

4. Alex and I ended our stay in Istanbul with a trip to a Turkish bath. The bath in Istanbul was much different than the baths here in Budapest which are more like giant jacuzzis and no real "bathing" goes on per se. Instead I got a full scrub down (literally) from a large Turkish woman. It was just the way I needed to end the weekend - pure relaxation.

I am hopeful that someday I will make it back to Turkey for a longer stay. It was a great way to spend my 3 day weekend!

exhaustion

As evidence of my pure exhaustion this week - note it is only Thursday and I took Monday off - I arrived to work this morning with my sweater on inside out - excellent. Luckily my male co-worker pointed out to me that my tag was flipped up and when i tried to correct it - I realized nope that tag is on the outside. HA.

is it nap time yet?

Maybe it is a good thing we carpool to work every morning. I am not sure I am capable of driving.

one word... A-mazing

So many more details to come but this weekend was just what I needed. Beautful city, cool travel companion, friendly people, good food, new friends, and so much more. Here are a couple pics and there will be more to come.

best friends

It's commonly* known that Maryland has the ugliest flag of all 50 states AND that they Love to display it at every opportunity (ie all police cars, all license plates, half of the road signs, freaking EVERYWHERE).

Jenn in her love of MD and its flag wanted to make sure I did not forget the beauty of the flag during my stay in the Pest. She and the best friends I could ask for sent me a care package including the lovely MD flag and St. Patty's day decorations. These are the just the things my barren apartement needed.

Please note my expert "hanging" skills.

In the theme of packages, my cousin Jordan sent me flat Stanley in the mail and he arrived today as well. He is supposed to visit me for a picture and get mailed on to the next location. However, he is going to make a pit stop in Istanbul with me this weekend before he finds his way back in his envelope headed for the US. He is getting to use the chair in my living room that I haven't gotten much use out of thus far. I like guests :)

*and by commonly I mean, "I" think MD has the ugliest flag

it's snowing..

again... supposed to get 20 cm of snow - oh bazmeg

only in the Pest

Can I just say that my morning today began with taking a "detour" to avoid what Budapest calls traffic, aka 4 cars waiting for the same light, finding that the alternate street we had chosen was blocked by a car which had been hit by one of those movable columns, driving in reverse down a public street for no less than 200 yards to escape that mess, nearly hitting no fewer than 4 cars in that process (after each near miss the driver - Tamas - would say "oh, no problem"), and then ending up right back where we started our detour only 15 minutes later.

I can't wait to not carpool to work anymore.

Learning to cook Hungarian style

Even though I have never spent less time in my adult life in the kitchen than while living here, I decided that maybe I should learn to cook some traditional Hungarian food. Thanks to Alex there was a big group of us to enjoy the process

our menu:

Team Red: Hungarian Goulash
Team Yellow: Chicken Paprikas, Nokedli, and Cucumber Salad
Team Orange (clearly the best team): Somloi

Evidence that Susan really does know how to cook despite her proclamation that she can't:
The crowning glory of team orange:


I think this might have been the point when Chad burned the onions and his team demoted him from pot stirrer.



All the food was really good. The somloi was actually the best version I have had thus far while here. I can't wait to try this on my own but it might wait until I have a sharp knife, garbage disposal and a meat selection I am not afraid to purchase.

Bye Bye now.

Last night was Jo's last night in the Pest - tear, BIG tear.

We had our final group dinner at Trofea and then moved on to Szoda. I am not sure how I am awake right now as the party didn't end until almost 5 in the morning.

Can I just say, MC Hammer, Hungarian rap, and Right Said Fred were all played in the span of less than 15 minutes. Top that all off by the fact that apparently half the Budapest PwC office was in the place. Good times!

Have a safe trip home Jo. Bye Bye now.

OCD?

I may be a little OCD. Please don't judge. I have now twice in the span of less than 2 weeks removed enough of the keys on my laptop in attempts to clean the filth out from underneath them to forgot what order to put them back in. I just can't stand seeing the tiny specks in between my keys. It all starts with one key removal and then I just can't stop. I keep telling myself just one more before you get confused. However, I am unable to stop myself. AND eating at least one meal a day in front of my computer really doesn't help matters - can I add a can of air to the list of things I am eagerly anticipating when I return to the States?

First day of Spring?

More Prague

Vienna round 2

Before I start again with the end of my Prague misadventure, I want to talk a few minutes about my week last week in Vienna (well the outskirts of Vienna with nightly late night trips in to our hotel).

First, we stayed in a "real hotel". Well it was real except that I could literally brush my teeth while I sat on the toilet

Second, while I ordered most meals from a German menu, i still more times than not at least had a vague idea of what might show up in front of me - it was nice. However, I think the perfect moment of ordering in a foreign language was the last night for dinner when David, one of the Hungarians, ordered a cheese plate for dessert - which is on the dessert menu. When it showed up, he had a look of utter disappointment on his face and looked up to the waiter and said, "I thought I ordered cheesecake :("

Third, I was totally expecting to struggle to order a non meat dish on Ash Wed last week and instead all of the restaurants we ate at had an entire special menu dedicated to just fish items - NICE. On a related note, I still haven't decided on a lenten promise. I can't figure out something to give up or something to do. I normally would do something food related but let's be honest, my diet is already severely restricted - not sure I can afford to futher limit my options. TV - well I have mostly given that up too. Diet coke - yeah that too is not an option. Elizabeth suggested giving up hot showers - um NO. God, do you really want me to freeze to death?? I am taking suggestions.

Fourth, posted signs with incorrect English translations are hilarious. This sign was posted in our hotel's "parking lot". We are not reliable for values in your car. haha.

Last, I thought I didn't like nutella. I think I was wrong. I had the Austrian version of Nutella on a Croissant for breakfast one morning - ummm yeah I think those who describe it as crack might be right.

Misadventures in Prague

I think there may be several lessons learned from our trip to Prague/Praha (in no particular order):

1. Street food always smells good, always hits the spot, and is generally the best bet
2. Taking public transportation you are not sure about can lead you somewhere you never meant to be
3. Prague has a vibrant drug life with African men all too willing to help you join in the fun
4. Being on time is a key tenant of travel
5. Even if you look like a tourist while doing it, you must look up and enjoy the sights ahead of you and behind you
6. Staying in the city center is a must when travelling for a short weekend

This weekend was a blur. We started with a 4:45 am taxi ride to Kelati station and this time we knew exactly where to buy our tickets and made it on time to our train. The ride to Prague is about 6 hours and we made it there with almost an uneventful train ride except for the second to last stop we realized we had been riding in a reserved cabin and had to vacate quickly to let the angry and unsympathetic Germans who had reserved their seats into the cabin. We were then off to our hotel on the outskirts of Prague to drop off our bags before touring the city for the rest of the afternoon. While the metro in Prague is quite simple and very easy to understand, the bus system is not very user friendly - especially for those who speak no Czech.

So in our first adventure with the bus - we took a bus from the metro station closest to our hotel and then rode it literally one stop up to the top of the hill and then had another 10 min walk to the Hotel. At the very least when we arrived we had a clean cheap ($20 per person) room that would more than do for our accommodations. While walking back to the bus we had previously taken, we noted that bus 224 stopped right in front of our hotel on both sides of the road. Keep this in mind for the next part of the story.

We then made our way downtown and to the Astrological Clock Tower and Old Town Center. We climbed - literally climbed - all the way to the top of the tower - I am guessing it is about 10 stories high and had an awesome view of the city. By this point we were all starving and ready for something more than the bread and cheese we had eaten on the train earlier in the morning. While we were thinking of sitting down and eating something as we walked across the town square the lovely aroma of street food overwhelmed us. We were all convinced on this one stand serving Kilbasa in a French roll. In the words of Jo - oh my sack(sec)! These things were AMAZING. It hit the spot like nothing else has while I have been here. I could not have asked for a better meal. Of course we could not stop there - oh no. The trdlo - dough cooked over an open fire with sugar and cinnamon covering the outside - and hot wine were needed additions to complete the meal.

Full and warmed, slightly, we headed off to cross the river over the St. Charles Bridge. The views at dusk were amazing but it did remind me that I love Budapest's bridges so much more. I guess I do think that Budapest has something particularly unique and beautiful that only it can provide. The St. Charles bridge does have something unique in that it has several ornate statues covering it and a flea market of sorts all across the bridge.

We made our way across the bridge to find some sort of festival going on. Although we were clearly late to join in we stopped for a dark beer in a pub in the square to figure out our plan for the evening. The beer was great and we solidified our plans to go back to our hotel, change for the evening, and head back out for dinner and drinking/dancing.

And so began misadventure #2 in the Prague public transportation. We arrived at our metro stop and the first bus to arrive was the infamous bus 224. We decided what the heck - we know it eventually stops at our hotel because we have seen the bus stop. We hop on and ride to the top of the hill and the bus turns the opposite way of our hotel. Damn - we are going to have to ride this all the way around but I do see another bus 224 cross our path so I know it eventually goes the other direction. We ride the bus waiting and waiting for it to make its loop until it makes its way to a different metro stop and then stops telling us we have to get out. What a disappointment. We have at this point probably been on the bus for at least 30-40 min and we are further from home. So, we get back on the metro and start over again - but this time we take the tram up the hill - this sort of goes off without a hitch except that Laura and Jo get off the tram one stop too soon and I ride all the way to the top of the hill and wait for them to arrive for our 10 min trek through the unplowed sidewalks back to our hotel. By this point I am freezing, tired, a little cranky and really want to call it a night but in the back of my mind is the thought that I can't come to Prague and waste my time sleeping in a hotel.

Laura, Jo, and I primped for about an hour, reheated ourselves and headed out. I must also mention at this point that no fewer than 100 16 year olds are staying at our hotel with very few chaperones. We stopped at nearly every floor on the way out of our hotel as we listened to screaming giggling teenagers who are likely to be doing these shenanigans for the next few hours - I am glad I went out and did not try and sleep! I guess in an attempt to torture ourselves we decide to again try the 224 bus to take us back to the station. We go to the sign to figure out what time it will arrive and it suddenly appears. We hop-on and in less than 2 min we arrive at the metro station - couldn't have been easier. Still have no clue on why the first damn bus never went to our hotel.

We have a few recommendations from Jo's secretary for places to drink and eat and head off to find these places. The first stop looks ok and we enter the bar to find.super cheap beer - $1.50 for a 16 oz beer. We also order a bit of food but none of us are all that hungry after our street food feast earlier in the day. We finish our food and beer - another delicious dark beer - and head off to the next place. Laura and I had looked on the map to determine which tram would take us closest to the next street location and thus begins the saga of public transportation #3.

To be continued…..

Bocsanat

First, I must apologize. My posts have been non-existent for the last couple of weeks. Work has been crazy and my life more than limited. I am hopeful I can return to previous pace in the upcoming weeks. Please keep checking in - I miss you all!

Superbowl

We are going to watch the Superbowl tonight at a TGI Friday's. Even South African Jo is going. So in an attempt to fit in, he was searching for Black and Gold gear to show is support for the Saints....

I think he should have bought this one

Calories

Although I am sure I would not like what I would find out, I really wish food here had calories and fat grams listed on the packaging.

Women's Day

I knew I liked Hungary. They celebrate a Women's Day - not just Mothers - but ALL Women. Just want to let you all know that it is customary to send women you know and love flowers and chocolate (especially those living in Hungary) on March 8.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

If I do say so myself, I am somewhat of a chocolate chip cookie expert - I make pretty darn good cookies. Therefore, since cookies, in particular, chocolate chip cookies seem not to exist here, I told my team I would treat them to homemade chocolate chip cookies.

On the way home from the countryside last week, I checked to make sure that they had all the ingredients and asked what to look for in the grocery store. Baking soda = bicarbonate szoda, brown sugar - yes, we have that, vanilla - check we have that too! I was beginning to think this would be a piece of cake - or well cookie. :)

Hurdle 1: I went to my local "Match" on Friday night pretty much knowing they would not have what I needed because shopping there is more like shopping in a convenience store than a grocery store. Anyway, so no surprise no vanilla - they were out, no brown sugar, no baking soda BUT they did have eggs, butter, sugar, and flour.

Hurdle 2: I made my way to Tesco - the local Walmart - via Metro. I started my search for brown sugar. I couldn't find anything that looked like brown sugar. I did find brown....sugar. The kind of sugar that looks "raw" but no molasses added brown sugar. I move down the "baking aisle" and find baking soda - CHECK!! and then find what they call vanilla - this tiny bottle of clear liquid - ok but still no brown sugar. I then spent the next 30 min finely combing every aisle of this store and STILL did not find brown sugar. I did however find the "American" food section which did have a bag mix for chocolate chip cookies which I decide to take as my back up plan. Finally, I ask a store clerk who claims to speak a little English but really i think she speaks about as much English as I speak Hungarian, nem-nem-nem. A random dude in the store tries to help me but he just points me to the "brown" sugar.

So, I decide to purchase the "brown" sugar and experiment a bit. I get to the check out and try to pay for all of my stuff - Oh I forgot - I had also decided to get a hand mixer - an old school hand crank mixer since mixing cookies by hand is a bit difficult. However, the checker gets to the hand mixer looks at it and sets it aside. I tell her, "No, I want to buy that". She points to the barcode on another item and then wags her finger and points at the mixer - I took that to mean since it did not have a barcode I could not buy it - so frustrating.

Hurdle 3: I get home from Tesco and unpack my stuff - all my stuff that is EXCEPT the vanilla which is apparently magically missing. These cookies are going to be terrible :(

So - I am sitting here making cookies from a bag and praying these turn out to at least give these Hungarians a "taste" of the US and not wish to never see another cookie.

PS My team also told me that the word "cookie" in Hungarian is the word a small child or a parent talking to a small child would use for the male anatomy. haha

My favorite part of Budapest

Trying to channel Mike Shoemaker in this one.....

egen, egen, egen, nem, nem, nem

Is it possible to start to hate certain words? Perhaps because I have a VERY limited Hungarian vocabulary but I have a strong dislike for the words egen and nem (yes and no). It's not the word said just once but for some reason, Hungarians tend to use these words in triplicate, say them as one word, and utter them at an immensely fast pace - egen-egen-egen or nem-nem-nem. still not quite sure why I find it just a bit irritating.

blunt Hungarians

I have heard that Hungarians tend to be blunt honest people. I am not sure I had truly experienced that until yesterday...

while sitting across a conference table waiting for our conference call to start, my manager looks over at me. First she compliments my earrings telling me that they are beautiful. I say thank you, my parents gave them to me - they are my favorite too. She then quickly and naturally rolled right into, "You need to dye your hair." pointing her finger at my straggling gray hairs.

While I have spent my entire life wishing I had the thick, curly hair of my father, I love my hair for all its faults. I love my straight, super fine, crazy lot of hair. I am not ready for the curly gray hairs or the hair dying that will have to start in the near future. However, it was hilarious to me that she felt comfortable suggesting such things to me, in front of the client no less.

anyway, off to Castle Hill today with the guys in the midst of a freaking blizzard - I thought it didn't snow that much in Budapest?!?!?

There is a Blackberry Fairy

so....

Guess who has a functioning BB again.... ME!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am so happy. SO SO SO happy. I am connected again.

PwC failed to switch on my international plan. So today I finally got fed up enough to stick through customer service and within 30 min I had a phone again. YES YES YES.

Cavanaugh or pink hotel

Back out at Szarsa (said: Sarcha) for the week. I am not quite sure how to describe this place. It is a mix of dorm room and "hotel". Let me give you some details:

1. twin bed with no box spring: Cavanaugh
2. "cleaned" (ie bed made) daily: hotel
3. deeply slanted ceilings leaving portions of the room and bathroom to feel cavelike and unusable: Cavanaugh
4. chocolate on pillow - on the first day at least: hotel
5. less than 60 square feet of space: Cavanaugh
6. only one channel on TV (well in this case, one English channel): Cavanaugh - though I would prefer WNDU to CNN world
7. real metal key with room number printed on it: Cavanaugh
8. low water pressure in the shower: CAVANAUGH
9. shower "stall": Cavanaugh - at least I can't slip and break anything while getting in this thing
10. dim lighting from poorly placed light: Cavanuagh - wish I had the sauna lamp to help out here
11. neighbors: Cavanaugh - I was awoken last night by the sound of my neigbor snooring... need i say more?
12. excellent food: neither hotel or dorm - I look forward to dinner every night, generally accompanied by Palinka (to be discussed in a later post) and always so good

There is a "Hungarian" charm to this place. However, I do miss my real bed :(

Anywhere but here

I had one major goal for the weekend.... get out of the Pest. It's not that I haven't been loving it here, I have. However, it is about time I start to knock off some of my travel goals.

After a longer night than I had planned on Friday night, (when I glanced down at Peti's watch and noticed it was 4:30 am, I knew there was a problem) Jo, Ari (the new kid from the NYC office who will be here through July) made our way to Kelati train station in hopes of catching a train to Bratislava at 9:30 am. Unfortunately, we managed to miss the train by 5 min. At this point we knew we didn't want to wait for the next train to Bratislava later that afternoon. Jo, in his attempt to be heard through the thick window of the ticket office, shouted loudly to the ticket agent, "tickets for ANYWHERE BUT HERE". I am sure any English speaking person in the ticket office was sure we HATED Budapest. We did finally determine that a train left to Vienna in about an hour. So we bought our tickets and headed off to Vienna. I thought I was going to get my passport stamped but alas - dumb EU - no stamps added.
Once we arrived in Vienna with no map and no pre-knoweldge or research as we had not planned to go to Vienna we rode the underground to St. Stephen's Cathedral. It put St. Stephen's Basilica in Budapest to SHAME. Wow. so beautiful.

Next we wandered downtown a bit to find a cafe for some "coffee". We somehow managed to wander into just the right place - teeming with locals and excellent coffee. The coffee was the best I have had since leaving the US. I could have had 2 or 3 more. We got a few tips from the girl sitting at the table next to us and headed in the direction she gave us to see more architecture and beautiful buildings. Although I had no idea what I was looking at, it was awesome. I will have to do some research this week to figure out exactly what it was we were seeing.
We then wandered through the shopping district for a bit and found dinner at an excellent restaurant. By that point it was time to head back to the train station. It was a long day but so well worth the trip. I am eagerly anticipating a return trip to Vienna but this time I will be prepared with a bit more knowledge of what I want to see in the city.

Act IV - mallS Act V - monks and wine

Act IV - mallS

EEP, I am going to have to call you out in this post for putting me through one of the more tortured shopping experiences of my life in the Proper Topper where we spent no fewer than 90 minutes deciding on a winter hat in a store that at BEST is 50 square feet.

However, I think that experience has been topped by the amount of time I have spent with Jo looking for a winter coat and camera in 3 different trips to shopping malls. On Saturday post injury, we wandered West End Mall for almost 2 hours. Even once he had found a dirt cheap but nice coat he decided to pass because he "hadn't seen enough options yet". I was thinking - dude, you need a winter coat, this one is nice just get it. We returned to Mammut Mall on Sunday morning for an hour or so before we headed to Castle Hill. I pray he found a coat and camera this week so I can be freed from shopping in anymore Budapest malls for awhile

Act V - monks and wine
After my mall trip and brief tour around Castle Hill on Sunday, Julia (said you-lee), my manager, and her friend Zsuzsanna (i still don't know quite how it's said - something like zju-zanna) picked me up for a trip back into the countryside to a Benedictine monastery that dates back to 996 AD. Random fact learned on the tour - the Turkish (who invaded and took over the monastery at some point) did not like statues or carvings of human faces. They cut off all the noses in the monastery as they thought this would keep the faces from breathing and kill them. Totally weird.

While the monastery was cool, particularly the library, the best part was the wine tasting. Apparently Benedictine monks are not allowed to drink. However, these monks were given special permission to drink as they ran a winery but were only allowed to drink their Hemalina - or just the amount that kept you from being drunk. However, as this was a different amount for each person, there was no set limit - just Hemalina. Well anyway, now there is a wine named after this "limit".

And so ends the saga of last weekend. I made it home in time to welcome Joe from my home office to town for a few weeks and then repack for Szarca.

Act III - Relaxation and Pain

Act III - Relaxation and Pain
After looking around Great market Hall and eating lunch, I moved on to my final destination of the day - Gellert baths which was across the Liberty Bridge (green and beautiful - see above). I have been wanting to go to one of the many baths in the city but had hesitated as I was unsure about going by myself. The Gellert Baths have separate male and female sections for the thermal baths which I decided was better when I would be there alone. However what I failed to consider was that as a result of the single sex-ness of the bath, there was a LOT of nudity. I am a prude American - what can I say. There are just things I would rather not see and know about a complete stranger. (Note as a result of the nudity - no pictures are allowed inside. Sorry - maybe I will have pics of the next bath) I did however have a great relaxing time. I went in the sauna and in the steam room and tried both thermal baths. It was a quick 2 hours later and I decided it was time to be on my way.

By the time i got home I was ready for a HOT shower and this is where the pain began. My bathtub/shower has a very high side and deeply slanted sides and back and NO slip resistant bottom. So one step in and I had somehow slipped managing to bang my knee and stub my toe. I screamed in horror and sat down in the bath holding my knee which i thought was the more offensive injury. Little did I know that in about 30 minutes my damn toe would be black/blue/red and throbbing. I think I broke it :( and it wasn't even doing something fun and adventurous. Maybe I should make up a story about it. Like: I was rock climbing in the Swiss alps and suddenly a mountain goat appeared out of nowhere and while I was trying to climb out of its way quickly, I slipped and broke my toe OR I was riding on the back of a moped of a cute Italian man in Rome (don't worry mom, I would never actually do this) and he turned a corner too quickly and i put my foot down to stop us from falling and broke my toe. Then at least i wouldn't feel so stupid for having a bum foot week 2 into my mostly walking trip.

to be continued.....

Dear Turkey and Cheese sandwich

oh how I miss you :(

Can I just say I ordered "quesadillas" for lunch today and they were served atop french fries and accompanied with "guacamole" which was more the color of mustard than guac and I am not sure it actually contained any avocado at all. I am also not entirely convinced that there was any cheese in these quesadillas.

Lunch is not my favorite meal here. :(

Act I - Car Crash, Act II - Mummies, Langos & Ecuadorians

Act I:

My weekend began with the trek back from Szekesfehervar. Krisztina was our lucky driver. The drive actually went pretty smoothly given that the bus system had been on strike for several days and there were more cars on the road than usual. However, the smooth sailing ended once we got back to the PwC office. While I have NO clue how to drive a stick shift, I do know how to park a car. Let's just say there were no fewer than 3 new beauty marks on our lovely fiat by the time Krisztina got the car into its assigned spot. I am just glad I will never be asked to drive here - apparently Hungarians don't believe in automatic :)

When I got home, Jo and I went for dinner in our neighborhood and had a great meal at Minyon. However, as we were eating a bit late, we all but got kicked out as they turned our table into the dance floor. As Jo is from South Africa and his parents own a farm, I was asking him for cool wild animal stories. Of course two of the stories he tells me involve large Hippos nearly eating him alive. I mean really - who has Hippos in their backyard and multiple experiences that involve a near death experience with them. The night ended with Jo and me aimlessly wandering our neighborhood to try and find an open coffee shop. We ended the night empty handed :(

Act II - Mummies, Langos, & Ecuadorians
Jo had to work on Saturday so he left me on my own to explore. Naturally, I planned a jam-packed day. I wanted to go to St Stephen's basilica, Budapest's version of Eastern Market - well Eastern Market on steroids, and then finally make my way to Gellert baths - one of the Turkish baths in the city. I got all the way to the basilica before I figured out I had left my directions at my apartment - oops. St. Stephen's Basilica is known best for the relic of St. Stephen's hand. I'm not quite sure that the eerily green, mummified hand is all that spectaculor but I can now check it off my list of dos while here.
Next, I headed to the great market hall in search of lunch and maybe a bit of shopping. As I rounded the corner to the market, I could hear a roadside "band" playing and had a deja vou feeling. When the band came into view, I recognized their bags. Here was a random Ecuadorian band. I walked up and talked to their PR guy and turns out the band is touring Europe. How random and small world - Ecuadorian band in Budapest. As I walked into the Great Market Hall, it was a bit overwhelming. Stalls and Stalls and Stalls of the same thing repeated over and over again - fruit & veggies, bread, meats, and paprika. Upstairs I found my new favorite food - Langos. I guess I could describe it as a cross between a donut and pizza. I realize that sounds gross but it was sooooooooooooo good. Heart-clogging, hip-widening GOOD.
Yes, Lauren, that is Coke light - don't kill me. While I haven't totally kicked my DC (now CL) habit, coke light is certainly less tempting.

I think the most note worthy part to the Great market Hall is that the place was teeming with bars. I mean literally bars - the kind where men stand at 11:30 am on a Saturday and play cards with the Beer maid.

to be continued......

Full weekend

This weekend was jam-packed. I think it will take me a few days to fully document the awesome-ness of this weekend - with one minor set back.

So to give you all a taste of this weekend and the stories to come, I can sum up the weekend with mummies, langos, saggy boobs, a black & blue toe, monks, and wine!!

I am too tired to do this all justice, so stay tuned! I promise to tell you all about it :)

I am back out to Szekesfeharvar and Szasa for the week!!! BUT this time I am bringing the camera - it is already packed so that I can document its unique charm.

Holidays in the Pest

For anyone looking to come visit, I learned that I have 2 separate 3 day weekends before I leave here. March 15 and April 6.

Welcoming all guests!!

4 Hungarians, 2 Germans and an American walk into a bar ( or restaurant)

Tonight we had a cross team dinner with another PwC crowd that is also staying in the awesome Szacsa. I am sorry all for not bringing my real camera this week, so the oversized clock (aka my now defunct blackberry storm) will have to do for this event. The trout really was the whole friggin' trout. Head, tail, bones and all. Oh, and this is Krisztina. She is my only teammate whose name I don't butcher everyday. While she throws an extra z in there, it is said the same way or so I am lead to believe.

Anyway, dinner was great fun tonight. I was the only native English speaker at the table but it was fun to get so many different opinions and to talk with other non-Hungarians to see their perspective on life here.

I also tried Palinka, sour cherry flavoured, tonight. Whew - it was so strong. They served if from this fancy pour-er thing into these teeny-tiny "wine" glasses. I will have to take a picture of that too.

Oh and P.S. random fact of the day: Szekesfehervar used to be called Alba when it was under Roman rule 1500-2000 years ago. I am really wondering why they couldn't just keep calling it Alba. WaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaYYYYYY easier to say and spell. Just saying.

Loud Noises

I know it isn't rational but whatever experience I have here, I generalize that ALL Hungarians do things a certain way. All Hungarians blow their nose as loud as possible and all doors in Hungary are non self closing and require excessive force to close.

The men who work in the building I am currently working in frequently blow their noses so loudly it sounds like a chorus of off-key french horns. Awful and disgusting. Is this a Hungarian thing? A European thing? Or maybe just men who work all day in a noisy bottle cap factory who think it is acceptable to let everyone know they have too many mocos in their nose - thing?

Second generalization: Non-self-closing doors require violent force to close. I must be accustomed to doors that automatically close behind me gently as I am often startled in this office building by the noise of someone SLAMMING their door. Even the bathroom door requires you to shut it behind you or the door will stand wide open for all to see. I guess this could be good on a day when you are angry and just need to get your frustration out - WAPAHH SLAM - aggression towards door instead of a person. I don't know but as someone who currently sits in silence pretty much all day, I could really do without the heart attack once an hour. Why don't they have those nifty automatic close devices? Is that really all that modern an invention? Just wondering.

Word a day

What if I try and learn at least one Hungarian word a day - say it and spell it? If I manage to keep it up, I would know over a 100 words. I think that would be pretty impressive. I have told my team I want to give it a try. So, since today is my 7th day in the country that means I have to know at least 7 words:

1. igen - Said: E-gen Means: yes
2. nem - Said: Nem Means: no
3. czirke - Said: Chir-key Think cross between chicken and turkey Means: Chicken
4. Szekesfehervar - Said: Sekesssh-feharrrrr - var Means: The name of the countryside town I am staying in AND Szekes (with chair) fehar (white) var (castle) Does this one count as 4 words???
5. jeges - Said: ya-gesh Means: cold
6. ebed - Said: A-bayyyd Means: lunch
7. Pusci - Said: Pussy Means: Kiss
8. Fak - Said: Fuck Means: Trees
9. Elnezest - Said: El-knee-zesht Means: Excuse Me
10. Koszonom - Said: Ko-so-num Means: Thanks
11. Egeszsegedre - Said: egg-as-sheg-a-dre Means: Cheers
12. Csak Lassan - Said: Chalk La-Shawn Means: Easy Tiger I am doubting I will ever have a need to use this one.

Do I get a prize for being ahead of schedule???? I guess this allows me a few cheats down the line. :)

Szekesfehervar = Seekkkesssssssh-faharrrrr - var

I am going to be living in a "hotel" (read: cross between a bed and breakfast, swiss chalet, and bad motel) out in the middle of nowhere for a couple of weeks - well at least during the week. I am not so keen on that plan but it does mean less of a commute and both meals paid for.... Something tells me this will be nothing like staying at the pink Marriott.

Tonight, I made an improptu meal of broccolli and pasta with frozen red onion (oops, guess the fridge is a bit too cold) garlic, and paprika for Jo and myself. It was ok for my first meal made in the apartment with a busted wine opener and no garbage disposal.

After dinner, Jo and I went in search of a wine bar. The first one was closed. Who knew that Monday night was the only night it wasn't open? And then we found one even closer. It is a bit like Proof but more casual food and less high-tech storage devices.

The bar tender was black and spoke fluent Hungarian. Is it wrong that I really wanted to ask him about how he ended up in Budapest? He is the first black person I have seen since being here and had he not opened his mouth I would have assumed he was American - dumb American me :)

Webcam

The webcam is up and working using googlevoice. If anyone wants to chat, let me know!

Puszi Puszi ...... which sounds like Pussy Pussy

Yes, this is how people say "kiss, kiss" here. Kinda makes you laugh.

I had dinner tonight with another secondee from the US - Atlanta and her American friend that also lives here. They had some more insights into the things I will miss from the US - ziploc baggies, febreeze, the ease of just walking in and out of the grocery store with the things you need and want. However, they both also told me that I will enjoy the experience and be glad that I did it.

Sore feet

Jo, my new South African friend, and I went out touring. We started with a mission to see the Danube. Check.

Then we decided to walk across the bridge to Buda. Check. I took a few pictures but the cloudy day doesn't do the bridge justice.

It really seems like 2 different citys - one hilly and one flat. We walked through a park on the Buda side and introduced Jo to his first snow. It was disgusting dirty snow leftover from the snow on Tuesday and Wednesday of last week but there was enough in a pile left from someone's snow man to make a few snowballs.

We continued to wander on the Buda side and found a mall!! I finally bought a webcam (Check!) and might get to try it out tonight - maybe. By that point in the day both Jo and I were pretty tired so we opted for a metro ride home instead of walking all the way back. Jo seemed pretty wary of the metro system as he had never ridden one before. However, the metro seems to work more or less the same as the metro at home - entry is a bit different and I am not sure how you transfer between lines BUT I know I can at least ride successfully. (CHECK!!)

We ended our adventure with a coffee from what I am guessing is the Hungarian version of Starbucks - coffeeheaven. I wish I could just skip work all week and continue to explore.