So I realize I'm about 3 months behind on this post....but better late than never! As you know, I spent the winter holidays in Europe. My first stop was the Netherlands (not Holland--that's like calling the entire US, South Dakota, as explained here, THANKS, Steven! :) After a nice stay there, I ventured on to Hungary to visit Budapest, Szekszard (Peter's home town), and a few other villages as day trips that I'll get to. Since I'm a few months late on this post, I'll do my best to piece it together from notes I took and pictures posted.
Day 1:
Peter and I had a super early flight from Amsterdam to Budapest so we cabbed it to the airport and tried to find breakfast but most everything was closed. We took turns watching the bags while the other person went to eat. I found something and came back. Peter left, and never returned....giving me a heart attack and making me look like a crazy woman calling out into the men's bathroom looking for him while I watched our flight board, fearful we would miss it. With 2 minutes to spare, he showed up and we caught the flight. He was lucky; I would have killed him :) We were flying the Dutch budget airline, Transavia (equivalent to Southwest when it comes to the cattle-call fight to get a seat), so we were lucky to get seats together and were both able to sleep a bit on the short 1.5 hr or so flight.
Upon arriving in Budapest, we caught a cab and set off for the apartment. It was fun to hear Peter speak Hungarian since he's usually to shy (or dumb?) to speak it around me, claiming he can't remember it...he didn't have a choice this time and it was cute! :) My first sights of the city were of KFC on every corner. It was about a 45 minute drive to the apartment that his family owns, where he and his brother lived during college. His parents live a few hours away but were kind enough to prepare the place for us a few days prior so that there were clean sheets, towels, water, etc. We were exhausted and starving and weren't sure which sensation to satisfy first. In the end, sleep won (as well as cold since we had to wait for the heat to kick in) and we napped and bit before heading to town for food. We walked to a local market, his old stomping grounds, and happened to catch the last day of the Christmas market, which was fun to see. We ate lunch--Peter sausage and such, and me a fried fish with potatoes. I was craving mashed potatoes but had no such luck. Peter had to order it all. It was a new dynamic for us with him having to handle all transactions because of the language barrier, but I think we handled it well. I, at least, found it fun, not sure how he felt about it.
After lunch, despite the FREEZING temperatures, we decided to see a few sights since we were only in Budapest for a few days. We grabbed the tram and rode to see the infamous bridge on the Danube river that connects Buda and Pest (we were staying on the Buda side, most tourists go to Pest). We were able to ride for free that day, and all week after, since Peter had 2 tickets for us and we "forgot" to validate them. His kind plan was to blame it all on me and have me play the dumb tourist who didn't understand. I was completely on board with this plan. It was a cloudy and, did I mention, COLD day so we hopped of the tram, took a photo, and then hopped back on to head home. That night we were too cold and lazy to head out for dinner so we ordered a pizza. It wasn't the greatest, but it was nice to order it and stay warm.
The next day, we had a lazy morning watching movies before meeting one of his old college buddies. for lunch. We tried to go back to the same market to try some more traditional food, but it was Sunday and it closed early. So, we went to the mall instead and ate at the food court. I had a soup, I think it was broccoli or asparagus, can't remember. After that, we went to Best Byte, the Hungarian version of Best Buy, so Peter could get some Christmas presents for his family. I called it an early night while Peter had a boys night with some more college buddies.
Day2:
The next day, we left for his hometown, Szekszard. We caught a cab to the train station and had to SPRINT to catch the train. I think I broke a world record that day, including carrying my suitcases. Luckily, we had pre-purchased our tickets online and only had to print it and run to the train. I'm still not sure how we made it; I honestly almost gave up at one point I was so out of breath. But, we made it and then spent a good 10 minutes trying to catch our breath in the doorway before venturing into the train to find our seats. Everyone was headed home for the holidays so it was packed. We had seats across from each other but Peter asked someone to trade and we were able to sit next to each other and watch a movie on the computer for the ride. We had to change trains once and while waiting to board the 2nd train, Peter ran into 2 girls from his high school who were also heading home.
When we arrived to this town, we waited in the cold for his Dad to come pick us up. Luckily, his town is small so we didn't have to wait long. Before the trip, I wasn't sure how communicating with his family would go since I speak about 10 words in Hungarian and I was unclear about their English abilities. Thank goodness for me, their English is much better than my Hungarian and we had no problems communicating throughout the trip. They were SO kind and welcoming to me and I am so grateful....I'll get to that.
We were greeted at home by his mother and a delicious home-cooked meal she had made--vegetarian and gluten-free just for me! As it turned out, she and his grandmother cooked 3 meals a day, EVERY DAY like this for our entire stay. And, they cooked separate just for me and had researched recipes and stocked the house full of gluten-free items just for me---so sweet! I can't remember what we did that night. I'm assuming not much of anything since we were tired from traveling.
Rest of the days:
Okay, at this point, I'm just gonna type what I do remember, with the disclaimer that it may or may not be in exact order. But you'll get the gist of it all the same. His family's apartment if very nice. It's up on a hill, with a large balcony to take in some gorgeous views below. I love the European efficiency with all of the built-in storage and utility of every inch of space. I especially liked how all the appliances have the same wood finishing as the cabinets so that they all blend in and you have to know where the fridge and dishwasher are or you'll have to open each cabinet searching for them.
We had planned to drive to pick up his Grandmother the next day but we woke up to find his mother had already gone since it was snowing a bit and she was worried about the road conditions. His grandma is just what you would expect from a grandma--sweet, huggable, and an amazing cook! She showed up with about 7 bags of food, both cooked and uncooked, including batches and batches of gluten-free cookies, bread, and other goodies for me! My favorite were these little breadstick things (I can't remember their name) that Peter kept trying to steal from me. We both gained about 500 pounds on that visit since she and his mom cooked amazing meals for use each day and wouldn't let me lift a finger, literally. We would wake up, eat, nap, wake up, eat, rest, eat, and then sleep. Oh, and I can't forget the wine, wine, palinka (a traditional moon-shine liquor with an alcohol content between 38-86%--I think ours was more like 200%), and more wine served for breakfast, lunch, and dinner at the Biczo house :) Wasn't half bad.
A few of the nights we met up with his childhood friends in the center of town for drinks. They were all really nice and it was fun to get a glimpse into his "previous life." His town is really cute. We could walk to the center and home in a few minutes, and although hilly and cold, I didn't mind it. We walked because we wanted to, but also because there's a really strict drinking and driving law--you can't even have one drink in your system. When asked about the differences between American and Hungary, the best I could come up with was that the bathrooms at home have the toilet, sink, and shower all combined. Here, the toilet and shower are in separate rooms. They couldn't fathom why we would still call a bathroom a bathroom if it didn't actually have a bath/shower. Peter made fun of me that this was all I could think of until he helped me out by offering a difference in size of cars, buildings, everything. Oh yeah, those are different too.
While I enjoyed hanging out with all of his friends (except for a few overwhelming moments when everyone was speaking Hungarian and I was left clueless), my favorite night was when he and I went to his favorite Italian restaurant in town. He had been raving about their pizza since I met him and I'm happy to announce it lived up to the bragging rights. They also had a delicious pasta and dessert. (This night was followed up with some good old-fashioned ice-skating, also fun. We arrived just before closing time and only had 20 minutes, which we thought might suck...but turned out to be plenty. Those things are not comfortable)!
With all the drinking and eating, I was happy to go to an exercise class one day with his mom. It was at his old elementary school and was a good workout--both for my body and my brain since it was all in Hungarian. It was fun to figure out what she was saying and I was quite impressed with my ability to figure it all out. I think I may have even followed her instructions better than some English-speaking instructors. It's amazing how much communication really is non-verbal.
Day 1:
Peter and I had a super early flight from Amsterdam to Budapest so we cabbed it to the airport and tried to find breakfast but most everything was closed. We took turns watching the bags while the other person went to eat. I found something and came back. Peter left, and never returned....giving me a heart attack and making me look like a crazy woman calling out into the men's bathroom looking for him while I watched our flight board, fearful we would miss it. With 2 minutes to spare, he showed up and we caught the flight. He was lucky; I would have killed him :) We were flying the Dutch budget airline, Transavia (equivalent to Southwest when it comes to the cattle-call fight to get a seat), so we were lucky to get seats together and were both able to sleep a bit on the short 1.5 hr or so flight.
Upon arriving in Budapest, we caught a cab and set off for the apartment. It was fun to hear Peter speak Hungarian since he's usually to shy (or dumb?) to speak it around me, claiming he can't remember it...he didn't have a choice this time and it was cute! :) My first sights of the city were of KFC on every corner. It was about a 45 minute drive to the apartment that his family owns, where he and his brother lived during college. His parents live a few hours away but were kind enough to prepare the place for us a few days prior so that there were clean sheets, towels, water, etc. We were exhausted and starving and weren't sure which sensation to satisfy first. In the end, sleep won (as well as cold since we had to wait for the heat to kick in) and we napped and bit before heading to town for food. We walked to a local market, his old stomping grounds, and happened to catch the last day of the Christmas market, which was fun to see. We ate lunch--Peter sausage and such, and me a fried fish with potatoes. I was craving mashed potatoes but had no such luck. Peter had to order it all. It was a new dynamic for us with him having to handle all transactions because of the language barrier, but I think we handled it well. I, at least, found it fun, not sure how he felt about it.
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| Eating my first local meal in Hungary. |
After lunch, despite the FREEZING temperatures, we decided to see a few sights since we were only in Budapest for a few days. We grabbed the tram and rode to see the infamous bridge on the Danube river that connects Buda and Pest (we were staying on the Buda side, most tourists go to Pest). We were able to ride for free that day, and all week after, since Peter had 2 tickets for us and we "forgot" to validate them. His kind plan was to blame it all on me and have me play the dumb tourist who didn't understand. I was completely on board with this plan. It was a cloudy and, did I mention, COLD day so we hopped of the tram, took a photo, and then hopped back on to head home. That night we were too cold and lazy to head out for dinner so we ordered a pizza. It wasn't the greatest, but it was nice to order it and stay warm.
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| Views of Pest from Buda. |
Day2:
The next day, we left for his hometown, Szekszard. We caught a cab to the train station and had to SPRINT to catch the train. I think I broke a world record that day, including carrying my suitcases. Luckily, we had pre-purchased our tickets online and only had to print it and run to the train. I'm still not sure how we made it; I honestly almost gave up at one point I was so out of breath. But, we made it and then spent a good 10 minutes trying to catch our breath in the doorway before venturing into the train to find our seats. Everyone was headed home for the holidays so it was packed. We had seats across from each other but Peter asked someone to trade and we were able to sit next to each other and watch a movie on the computer for the ride. We had to change trains once and while waiting to board the 2nd train, Peter ran into 2 girls from his high school who were also heading home.
When we arrived to this town, we waited in the cold for his Dad to come pick us up. Luckily, his town is small so we didn't have to wait long. Before the trip, I wasn't sure how communicating with his family would go since I speak about 10 words in Hungarian and I was unclear about their English abilities. Thank goodness for me, their English is much better than my Hungarian and we had no problems communicating throughout the trip. They were SO kind and welcoming to me and I am so grateful....I'll get to that.
We were greeted at home by his mother and a delicious home-cooked meal she had made--vegetarian and gluten-free just for me! As it turned out, she and his grandmother cooked 3 meals a day, EVERY DAY like this for our entire stay. And, they cooked separate just for me and had researched recipes and stocked the house full of gluten-free items just for me---so sweet! I can't remember what we did that night. I'm assuming not much of anything since we were tired from traveling.
Rest of the days:
Okay, at this point, I'm just gonna type what I do remember, with the disclaimer that it may or may not be in exact order. But you'll get the gist of it all the same. His family's apartment if very nice. It's up on a hill, with a large balcony to take in some gorgeous views below. I love the European efficiency with all of the built-in storage and utility of every inch of space. I especially liked how all the appliances have the same wood finishing as the cabinets so that they all blend in and you have to know where the fridge and dishwasher are or you'll have to open each cabinet searching for them.
We had planned to drive to pick up his Grandmother the next day but we woke up to find his mother had already gone since it was snowing a bit and she was worried about the road conditions. His grandma is just what you would expect from a grandma--sweet, huggable, and an amazing cook! She showed up with about 7 bags of food, both cooked and uncooked, including batches and batches of gluten-free cookies, bread, and other goodies for me! My favorite were these little breadstick things (I can't remember their name) that Peter kept trying to steal from me. We both gained about 500 pounds on that visit since she and his mom cooked amazing meals for use each day and wouldn't let me lift a finger, literally. We would wake up, eat, nap, wake up, eat, rest, eat, and then sleep. Oh, and I can't forget the wine, wine, palinka (a traditional moon-shine liquor with an alcohol content between 38-86%--I think ours was more like 200%), and more wine served for breakfast, lunch, and dinner at the Biczo house :) Wasn't half bad.
A few of the nights we met up with his childhood friends in the center of town for drinks. They were all really nice and it was fun to get a glimpse into his "previous life." His town is really cute. We could walk to the center and home in a few minutes, and although hilly and cold, I didn't mind it. We walked because we wanted to, but also because there's a really strict drinking and driving law--you can't even have one drink in your system. When asked about the differences between American and Hungary, the best I could come up with was that the bathrooms at home have the toilet, sink, and shower all combined. Here, the toilet and shower are in separate rooms. They couldn't fathom why we would still call a bathroom a bathroom if it didn't actually have a bath/shower. Peter made fun of me that this was all I could think of until he helped me out by offering a difference in size of cars, buildings, everything. Oh yeah, those are different too.
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| Peter's friend playing foosball. |
While I enjoyed hanging out with all of his friends (except for a few overwhelming moments when everyone was speaking Hungarian and I was left clueless), my favorite night was when he and I went to his favorite Italian restaurant in town. He had been raving about their pizza since I met him and I'm happy to announce it lived up to the bragging rights. They also had a delicious pasta and dessert. (This night was followed up with some good old-fashioned ice-skating, also fun. We arrived just before closing time and only had 20 minutes, which we thought might suck...but turned out to be plenty. Those things are not comfortable)!
With all the drinking and eating, I was happy to go to an exercise class one day with his mom. It was at his old elementary school and was a good workout--both for my body and my brain since it was all in Hungarian. It was fun to figure out what she was saying and I was quite impressed with my ability to figure it all out. I think I may have even followed her instructions better than some English-speaking instructors. It's amazing how much communication really is non-verbal.
Since it was Christmas time, I was able to learn about many Magyar (Hungarian) traditions, which I loved! For starters, they don't put the tree up until the 24th. In Hungary, you decorate the tree and open presents on the 24th. They believe Jesus was born on the 24th and the tradition is for the grandparents to take the kids on a walk while the parents put up and decorate the tree. When the kids come back, baby Jesus has brought the tree and presents for them. Since we are "big kids" we stayed to help decorate, which in Hungary, includes making and hanging ornaments from Szaloncukor, a traditional hard candy. Once decorated, they attach sparklers to the tree, light them, and sing a traditional song while they burn. It was really nice. It was also nice to learn a new board game (although it's American) and kick their butts playing it :) Best of all was seeing all the photos from Peter's childhood, including all of his summers in various European countries, which I suppose to them is no different than spending a summer in Florida or North Carolina to us. Still, I was jealous.
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| Szaloncukor candy for hanging on the tree |
I had smuggled a 60 lb. Gingerbread house kit from the states into the country so I was also able to share some American traditions (although we never did that at my house growing up. Shhh....don't tell them that). We all had a blast doing it, especially his dad! :) His family went above and beyond to spoil me on Christmas. I got lots of lovely gifts, including traditional Hungarian clothes, linens, and a famous book, The Pastor Boys. I finished reading it a few weeks ago in Guatemala, and although good, I wish someone had warned me it was quite sad. On a happier note, it was fun to practice my Hungarian pronunciation with all the names in the book! I also got some hand-made jewelry from Peter, which, of course, I loved.
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| Not half bad! |
Since his family is all spread out, including some cousins in Germany, we had the big family "dinner" (also eaten around 2pm like at my house), a few days later. It was really nice to eat all the traditional foods and meet all of his cousins and extended family. I loved the fact that at dinner, there were 3 languages going on the whole time--Magyar, English, and German!
Although our time was short and packed with family and holiday time, we managed to make a few side trips for sightseeing as well. One day, we went around his own town and saw the vineyards (it's a famous wine area) and sites, including his old hanging spots. We also took a day trip to Tapolca, a small village a few hours away. It's where his dad grew up (I think), and it has a beautiful lake in town and caves that we had all to ourselves to explore in small canoes. After a good picnic lunch in the car (it was raining), we continued on to Abrahamhegy, a small lake town where Peter's grandparents had a cabin and Peter spent his summers here growing up. We visited their grave sites and their house that his Dad and Granddad built. On the way home, we jammed out to Beyonce and Pink (both of which were on Peter's playlist).
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| Canoeing in the caves at Tapolca. |
As with all good things, our time in Szekszard, had to come to an end. Peter and I drove his grandma home to her town about an hour away (can't remember the name) and I enjoyed amazing stories about her youth under the Soviet rule, including a few years where she was separated from all her family in another country! Her house also contains a picture with bullet holes and a glued-together sofa from a bomb. She and her house were walking history and fascinating! The next day, his parents drove us back to Budapest. We took advantage of having a vehicle and stopped at the grocery store to stock up on food. We said a sad goodbye to his parents and then cooked a delicious meal. It's our own invention and our favorite one to make and has shrimp and cashews. Yum. Now I'm hungary (pun intended, sorry, but I had to throw it in here at least once)!
Back in Budapest, we met more of Peter's college friends and explored the city some. They were great tour guides. We climbed to the top of the Citadella to see views of Pest, saw more Christmas markets, and ate more yummy things like kurtos kalacs (kind of like a churro & not at all gluten-free but worth the headache), and warm wine (gluhwein) . When I couldn't stand the cold any longer, we ventured over to Pest to see some sights there and then find a warm pub to defrost in. We visited several that night in order to see different vibes. We also met up with one of my buddies, Kriztian (aka "chief"), who I met while in New Zealand--it was a great mini-reunion!
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| Peter with a kurtos kalacs. |
New Year's Eve was a blast in Budapest, although bittersweet since it was my last day of the trip. We spent the majority of the cold day inside watching movies and then headed out to meet up with his friends. We pub-hopped a bit and played foosball (they are crazy about the "sport" here!). I think I was the only one who noticed when it was close to midnight. There was not ball dropping or countdown like at home, which made it seem a bit anti-climatic and chaotic to me since we were all basing it off of different clocks. Nonetheless, when someone's watch said 12, we all cheered, hugged and kissed, and they sang the national anthem. We had to end the night kind of early since I had a red-eye flight the next day.
Hope I remembered most things--how's I do, Peter?!
A GIANT THANK YOU TO HIS FAMILY FOR THEIR
FABULOUS HOSPITALITY!!!!
A GIANT THANK YOU TO HIS FAMILY FOR THEIR
FABULOUS HOSPITALITY!!!!
Random things I learned about/while in Hungary:
*Buy bottled water with PINK lids---this is the non-carbonated kind
*Buda and Pest were two different cities, now combined to one. Pest is the flat, more touristy side and Pest is the hillier, more local side. (Did I get that right?)
*Tesco is their version of Target and T-mobile is a German company
*Hungarian men are useful. More than most countries, I saw them shopping, cooking, cleaning, watching kids, etc.
*Hungarians are misunderstood by most of the world, and about themselves as a miserable, Eastern-Europe style. In fact, they are quite friendly, happy, and completely Western-European. Don't hate me Peter, but even I thought it was more Eastern-European before I got there. I stand corrected. To be fair, the part I just wrote was quoted from our Magyar friends so it's not just me.
*Hungarians are very affectionate people. They love to laugh, have fun, and are not PDA-phobic.
*Almost all of the younger generation speaks English, and much of the older generation as well.
*Hungarian teenagers went through the same terrible Nirvana grunge, rebellious stage as Americans (I saw the proof in Peter's photos--it was classily horrible)
*They re-use their plastic bags at the grocery store and shop every day for food (do this is the Netherlands too)
*I observed many young people helping older people on public transportation and admired that
Weirdest things about Hungary:
*They are one of the only countries who kiss cheeks on the left first when greeting. It can be dangerous if you go the wrong way!
*Kindergarten is actually what we call preschool (because of those Germans, technically it is their word so I suppose maybe they are right)
*Their knives are upside down! Peter doesn't believe me and thinks I'm an idiot and can't use a knife. But, at home (and anywhere else in the world I've every seen for that matter) the sharp part is always the curved part. Here, the sharp part was the straight part so I kept trying to cut things with an upside-down knife. I do know what I'm talking about, Peter. Here's Proof!
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| See? Round side is the cutting side! |
****On a semi-related note, Heathrow airport SUCKS! ON my way home, I had a layover there and it was the longest, worst travel time ever! I had to take a bus, then another bus (like not just in the airport, but on a highway), then a tram just to get to my new gate. All of which I believe took almost an hour. Then, security was the worst I have ever been through, they searched almost every single person's back and hand-searched mine for so long I thought I was going to pee in my pants. It was not fun. If at all possible, don't go there.
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