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.