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Posted on July 28, 2009 by Jessica Jewell

No, that’s not Budapest. It’s Ohio. Not too far from my parent’s house, actually. A kind of place where you see signs like this:

While I’m not back in the buckeye state yet, I’ll be there pretty soon, so Budajest will be on autopilot for a few days. Next week I’ll be back to posting, and hopefully can turn over the reins to Györgyi who can share some of her thoughts on America: that crazy, foreign place she’s never been to. As for me, I’ve been away for 13 months. I’m not sure yet how living in Central Europe has changed the way I see things, but it should be interesting to see it through slightly new eyes. Though I know one thing to be true before I’m even back at home–the Great Lakes beers will have never tasted so sweet.

Friss Pisztráng at Siesta Cafe

Posted on July 27, 2009 by Jessica Jewell

Györgyi and I had a fantastic day yesterday, which we weren’t really expecting since all we’ve been thinking about it is buying the things on our list and packing to leave this week. But suddenly, yesterday, things fell into place and we had a really quintessentially beautiful Hungarian summer day. We woke up at about 5:15am. The above picture is a view of our neighborhood at that time, and I swear I never get tired of look out over a peaceful thirteenth district skyline.

Even though we weren’t going to run, since we had covered a really long distance the day before, and hadn’t rested in about seven days, we just couldn’t help being lured out by the cool, almost crisp weather for a short jog. This picture above is from the Margit Bridge looking the opposite way of Parliament on the Danube. Go that way and you’re heading toward Slovakia and Austria. Everything is so quiet and peaceful at that time of day. It’s important, when living in a big city or a city with tourist attractions, to find times when you can just be out there among things without many people scuffing it all up. Early morning is definitely the time go to.

So we did some early morning shopping at the Mountex for a few last minute clothing items and essentials, and then decided to go to Szentendre to find a gift for my Mom that I haven’t been able to get anywhere yet and kept putting off. And I really wanted Györgyi to be there b/c there is always what I call the I’m Hungarian and local discount of a few thousand forints, especially when buying touristy things: linens, porceline, etc.

Szentendre is a great little side trip for anyone visiting Budapest. You can take the city train there, or a car (it’s about 20 minutes drive from the city) and it’s a cute artsy town filled with galleries and shops from the many artists who have settled there over the centeries. It’s very busy in the summer, but we found a perfect seat in the center of the square to have a leisurely cappuccino.

I was never a big afternoon cappuccino drinker in America. Actually, I can’t recall ever having an afternoon cappuccino in America. But now it’s a regular occurance, and I’ve come to recognize the virtues of just being still for a few minutes. Europeans know this very well. I think Americans could definitely benefit from the slowing down it takes to sit and have a quiet afternoon drink. Of course a glass of wine or beer is also perfectly acceptable.

So we sat for a little while and then decided, since we hadn’t eaten since early morning, that we were starving. And we had the perfect idea of where to go:

The Siesta Cafe, which we had been to last summer, is, in my opinion, the best place to get fresh trout (friss pisztráng) in and around Budapest, baring your own ability to catch it on the river, season it, and cook it. It. Is. Just. Amazing.

The Siesta Cafe is about 15km past Szentendre on the side of the road (between road and Danube actually) on the way to another must-see little Hungarian town, Visegrád, where you can see the Danube Bend. This place is a classic roadside fish joint. Plastic chairs and tables and a guy in a little wooden hut frying or grilling up fresh trout and assembling fresh salads and fries. They catch their own fish and serve it up fresh every day. It’s absolutely my favorite kind of place.

I had the trout on the left, which is covered in fresh pesto. And Gy had the one on the right, which is encrusted in a parmasan crumb before fried. We both had the recommended side, which is a gigantic salad covered in a spicy honey mustard dressing. Yes, it’s ice burg lettuce. No, there are not a lot of nutrients or fancy garnishes. But it’s just perfect.

Served with a little bit of fresh lemon (in addition to our lemonade and Heinekens) it was the perfect meal. Right now, I can say it confidently, that it’s my death row meal. We were so engrossed in our eating that we pretty much only said oh my god and this is so amazing the whole time we sat there. People were talking around us, other were walking by the river, we could hear the sizzle of the new fish going into the oil, but we were just there, enjoying ever moment of it in exquisite silence. I can’t wait to take my parents there next summer (and probably go again in September when we get back).

We didn’t stay too long after eating, since there were lots of folks eyeing our table. We drove back to Budapest (about 30-35 minutes), stopping along the way to buy some peaches and some jams from a guy on the side of the road. It was the perfect summer Sunday, and since I’ve been so pre-occupied and stressed about packing and flying, it was a totally unexpected and amazingly pleasant surprise.

If you’re in Budapest Spring-Fall, you must go to the Siesta Cafe (and make a reservation if you can). They don’t have a website, but we snagged their contact info and location. In addition, I might also say that if you are visiting Budapest, you owe it to yourself to see some of the Hungarian towns, the real Hungary. As I was, I’m sure you’ll be happily surprised by what you find.

The Siesta Cafe

Dunabogdány, Kossuth Lajos u. 129.

Tel. +36 30 9141502

I can see the warning signs

Posted on July 24, 2009 by Jessica Jewell

The owner of the company (Makrai Futár) who organizes all of the drivers for Györgyi and her BIG OIL friends and colleagues is also named Barnabás. I write “also” as if our Barnabás holds the patent on the name. But the human Barnabás is a great guy and even helped us move into our new apartment. And at Christmas his wife made gingerbread cookies in the shape of taxis. So cute. Anyway, he is learning English, and once he was practicing with an English tape while driving Györgyi and Zsolt to Szeged. (For you second language learners out there, you know how ridiculous and terribly unuseful those language tapes are at giving you practical phrases.) So Gy and Zs overheard Barni in the front of the car in studied recitation: “I can see the warning sings of a big storm blowing up.” They joke about it often, applying their best Hunglish accent, and have used this phrase in relationship to just about everything imaginable, except when it’s needed– because who would ever say that, right? But for some reason when I was thinking of how to start this post, thinking about the bridge fair and the mega-storm that happened a few hours later, the only thing that came to mind was I can see the warning signs of a big storm blowing up.

On weekends during the summer, the Lánchíd Bridge closes to car and tram traffic and opens up for craft stalls, food and drinks. Last summer we went a few times, especially when walking home from one of the bars or cafes, as we always had to pass through on our way back up to the castle district. We hadn’t been this summer and were expecting similar mayham last Saturday. It was really shocking how few people were actually there. We didn’t think it was that hot at midday and 100 degrees to keep dedicated tourists away. But then we were told by the earing lady (who was a little nutty) that there was a huge storm on its way and they were planning on shutting the bridge down early, as to not repeat a tragedy of a few years ago during the August 20th fireworks display when the government didn’t shut down the festivities and a huge storm came through and a bunch of people were struck by lightning and killed.

Her hair was warning sign enough. The wind dashing up the Danube was so strong that at its highest gusts even our stubborn little Barnabás had trouble standing and walking.

But we figured we’d stay a little and enjoy browsing through the stalls without being interrupted by thousands of other people. There’s not usually anything terribly special or even all that Hungarian there. Things you find at a lot of crafty stalls in Central and Eastern Europe. But the atmosphere is always really nice, and on a Saturday afternoon, it’s a cheap way to kill time and people-watch.

But between people stopping to admire Barnabás, everyone was a little bit wary of when the storm was going to arrive. You have to understand that it really does not rain here in the summer. Really, it’s almost always sunny during the summer, which has been such a shock to me as an Ohio native. So when a storm is coming, people get ready for it. Because when it rains, it really rains. Not quite as bad as when I lived in Georgia and folks stocked up on milk, bread and batteries when there was a forcast of freezing mist or a hint of snowflake in the air, but close.

So, we did the responsible thing and bought a few more gifts, a beer of course and a icy elderberry drink.

Then we decided to head off the bridge with the rest of the people who were sort of lazily walking home as well, or back to their hotels. (In the pic above, you can see the fabulous Four Seasons)

And anyway, the heat was really getting to Barnabás. As soon as he got a chance, he dashed under the metal arm of the bridge where he found a little dog-sized square of shade, and spilled onto the floor refusing to walk more. So, that was our final warning sign to get to the Palace (Györgyi’s office) and grab him some water before driving home.

And a coffee for me. Because I don’t ever refuse a chance to hone my coffee/drink photograph modeling skills. I’m sure some day it will pay off. Big time, guys, and you’ll all remember these first pictures, which will be dubbed my “early” period. Seriously, why do I do this with my head and face when I’m holding a beverage? I read too many trade catalogs when i was a kid, I guess.

We made it home just in time to see that low-level cyclone forming over the rakpart. And since we were home, and not stuck on a bridge in the city center (having paid attention) we were able to actually enjoy that big storm blowing up all around us.

The Great Zsinagóga בית הכנסת הגדול של בודפשט‎

Posted on July 23, 2009 by Jessica Jewell

I wanted to cover all of the languages relevant to this post. Thanks google translator! Last Saturday we went to the Great Synagogue (Dohány Street Synagogue). I said earlier that I was a little ashamed that I haven’t been yet, especially because it’s one of the most significant sites in the city. But then again, once you make a country your home, it seems like you stop traveling it. It’s sad but sort of true. I lived in the US my whole life, until now, but I can count on both hands (and a few extra fingers maybe) the places I’ve visited, tourist-wise.

De mindegy (but, all the same…). The Dohány street Synagogue is really a beautiful site, and if you come to the city and want a list of things you should definitely see, especially considering the historical significance, you should see the synagogue and its adjacent museum. The synagogue is the largest synagogue in Europe and the second largest in the world. The interior seats 3,000 people (about 1500 for men on the ground floor, and 1500 for the women in the rafters—okay, gallery).

It was built in the Moorish revival style (hence the onion-shaped domes) and was quite unique at the time, though the current building isn’t exactly the original. Actually because of the Moorish style, a lot of people think that it’s a mosque at first. The original was bombed by the Arrow Cross Party in 1939 (pro-Nazi’s) and during WWII it was used for German communications and stables. Keep in mind, Hungary was on the side of the Axis. Ooops. During the Siege of Budapest and subsequent air raids, the synagogue was nearly decimated. A full restoration did not take place until 1991, which is what we see today.

And, fun fact, the American Estée Lauder (Josephine Esther Mentzer) who’s mother was a Hungarian-Jewish immigrant to the states, funded much of the restoration ($5 million).

Thanks Estée!

I didn’t really feel comfortable taking pictures of the cemetery for some reason, unlike in Prague when I was straining my arms into all sorts of uncomfortable positions to get around the iron bars since the cemetery was closed for Shabbat. But the graveyard here is the same as it was during WWII. Around 2,000 people who died in the Jewish Ghetto during WWII are buried there.

In the courtyard is Raul Wallenberg Holocaust Memorial Park where there is the stunning memorial by Imre Varga for the 400,000 Hungarian Jews murdered by the Nazis. It is a weeping willow tree and on each name there are inscriptions of names of the victims.

The experience was quite heartening and I’m glad we were finally able to go. When we were there, at opening (10am), it was already pretty crowded, so go early. They have tour guides who speak just about every language imaginable and the museum highlights many artifacts from the traditions of the region and provides much documentation (photos, newspapers, and placards in English) of the plight of the Hungarian Jews during WWII.

Dohány utca 2-8., district VII.
+36 1 317 2754

Lists and Storms

Posted on July 22, 2009 by Jessica Jewell

The last few days have been totally nuts around here. I’ve been making lists over and over again, adding, crossing off, questioning whether I realllllly need those Jcrew capris from two years ago that I only wore for that one I-might-need-these occasion, in case there might be another I-might-need-these occasion while I’m home next week. Especially when in the back of my mind I know that I’ll probably end up wearing one pair of cropped climbing pants and a black tee for three weeks straight.

Luckily on Saturday, after a sweltering few days in the city, a huge storm came through Budapest and brought with it a little relief from the hot and humid weather. The storm was dark and violent and totally relieving. Hopefully we’ll be out of here before the city starts to get painful again. While I like the heat, I think it will be more tolerable on a bike through the valley. Or at a bar sipping Great Lakes.

So, the posts have been light this week, but I still have the Lanchid Bridge fair and the Great Synagogue to write about this week. And I will. As for now, back to my lists, and I’ll leave the storm for you:

Better Than Expected

Posted on July 17, 2009 by Jessica Jewell

I took about fifteen pictures and I still couldn’t get my little dinky camera to focuson the onion and not the pot, but I’m sure there’s a metaphor in there somewhere. Still, as you can (almost) see, we have onions!!! Well, maybe they’re still too small to call them onions, completely, but the fact that this little white onion that is now the size of half a pea actual grew, under my care and supervision, from a seed, is really kind of cool, I have to admit. I haven’t seen any peppers yet, but there is so much going on in that little pot, I’m sure something will bloom soon enough.

Even though the city is fully buzzing with tourist season and summer in the air with the smells of warming bricks in the castle and blooming lavender, it’s still seemingly taking forever for July to work its way past me. Probably because I’m so furiously counting the days until I get to go home for a little bit. I keep asking myself, when did I become such an Ohio girl? I can’t remember ever loving Ohio when I grew up there. And then suddenly when I became an adult I felt such a draw back to it. Some people call it the curse of the Cuyahoga, that if you ever live in Ohio, you’re doooomed to live there again. But I don’t think of it as much of as curse. And a lot of people I know would agree. Sentimental people like me, probably, with a little nack for the melancholy, or perhaps the poetic heart that feels calmed by family dinners outside in the clean air, bike rides in the valley and beers at the Lizard to follow them. Farmer’s markets and farmers. And I could go on, which is why I’m so looking forward to my trip.

Until then, I’m going to try to occupy my brain with other tasks, first and foremost with surviving the incredibly hot weather (about 100 F the last few days). I have to plot a long run for tomorrow, buy some clothes for the trip, and maybe, by next week, have everything in order so that I can start the slow and hopefully stressfree process of packing. Not much for weekend plans. But it’ll do for an early summer day.

Taking the Wine to Go

Posted on July 15, 2009 by Jessica Jewell

As there are only a few more weeks until I go home to America, I’ve been slowly compiling my little stacks of things to take home. Unfortunately, there’s nothing more Hungarian than the wine, and basically it’s what everyone wants. We recently went to the wine shop and were determined to not buy more than six, as we’re only taking two bags to America. Of course we bought ten, so we’ll see if I survive the stress of packing.

Luckily, according to the US Customs website, there is no limit on how much alcohol you bring through the border, only you have to pay a tax for anything over 1 Liter. But I don’t think it’s that much.

We are bringing, of course, the classic Tokaji desert wine, said by many experts to be the finest desert wine in the world. And we have a few other bottles from the Tokaji region, though they are not the sweet, desert wine.

I’m probably the most excited to take home the Eger Bikvér wine, which is commonly known as “bull’s blood.” The reason for the name? In 1552 Turkish soldiers (approximately 150,000 of them) tried to siege the Eger castle (defended by a mere 2,000 Hungarian troops). During the siege, the Hungarians drank a lot of the red, Eger wine thinking that it would give them strength for the battle. From the distance below, the Turks thought that the Hungarians were drinking goblets of bull’s blood (especially since it was spilling all down their beards and armor) and were so demoralized that they abandoned their siege, which resulted in stopping, for a brief time at least, the Ottoman Empire’s advancement into Western Europe.

Of course most of the wines making the trip are just simple wins that everyday people enjoy. This rizling, for instance, from the Lake Balaton region, which is light and fruity and perfect for summer. Most of all I’m just looking forward to sharing some of the great Hungarian wine culture with the people I know, especially my family members who, despite some of them being Hungarian, never realized what a great tradition of viticulturists they come from.

The Vacant City

Posted on July 13, 2009 by Jessica Jewell

a mid-run stop behind Parliament for a few photo ops

We had a really calm and peaceful weekend, which was such a change from the last few weekends, and also from what I remember about last July. But I chalk it up to the difference this time of year between residential Pest and tourist-laden Buda. On Friday night I decided that I wanted to get out of the apartment, having been working at my desk all week long. Even though a little rain was falling in the city, we opted to walk the ten blocks or so to Pozsony (the restaurant, not the city– Bratislava). We both ordered a chef’s offer, Györgyi had chicken fried in breadcrumbs, and I had pike perch parisian style with fries. Since we opted to sit outside, Barnabás was also in attendance, and he had a little of everyone’s meal.

Saturday we were on the road at 5am for a early and amazing long run. We ran from our flat in the 13th district up to the castle and around and down the castle a bit. It was such easy and peaceful run. It seemed like no one was in the city at all, just a few older locals and the workers setting up the Lánchíd Bridge for the festival. Each weekend in the summer, the Lánchíd is closed to car traffic and is instead lined with vendors and artists and musicians. But that early in the morning, it was just the men in their socialist-inspired work overals, setting everything up.

Of course we snapped a few pictures of Barnabás for his site and slowly meandered our way back down the first district to the river. It was wonderful. The temperature has been very cool and for some reason I haven’t really noticed the crowds as much. It seems like everyone in our building is on holiday right now, as the parking lot is only about 10% full. And elsewhere in the city, at the fruit and veggie stands on Pannónia utca and in the Lehel market, people are just taking it easy. Even though I’m a few weeks away from my own travels, I’m taking it easy too. It’s a good time to be here in Budapest.

Dóm Cukrászda

Posted on July 10, 2009 by Jessica Jewell

I know, more ice cream, borrrrring. Or as Hungarians call it fagylalt or fagyi (sounds like “fudgie” so it’s easy to remember). And you should remember it because if you’re in Hungary, anywhere in Hungary, you’ll see a gelato stand on just about every corner. It’s cheap, it’s summery, and it doesn’t matter who you are or what time of day it is or what outfit you’re wearing. You’re the odd one out (especially on weekends) if you’re NOT eating ice cream. And I blame Györgyi for my new love of ice cream cones, as if I need another thing to give up. But there could be worse things, I suppose.

We had a kind of lazy end to the weekend, which included one last ice cream at Dóm Cukrászda. Györgyi convinced me to go to her favorite place, which is–no coincidence here– next to the apartment house where she grew up. Then we had to take some new pictures of the flat so that she can advertise it to a new round of medical students in the fall. Then we went back to Budapest.

Because the American oil execs are in Györgyi’s office this week and weekend, we’re not sure what we’re going to do, so I find myself on this early friday morning not really sure what to write for my weekend plans. We’d like to go to the Great Synagogue (how many times have I written this now?…) and we’d also like to go to Eger to get some Bull’s Blood wine to take home. But since it’s summer and I’ve resolved to try to take it easy and not work myself up into a total frenzie before the trip home, I’m just going to leave it up in the air. As long as I avoid most large crowds of tourists, have a good little lunch in th Jewish district, and eat another ice cream, I think I’ll call this weekend a success.

Ópusztaszer

Posted on July 9, 2009 by Jessica Jewell

Run Along the River and the Quintessential Cafe Breakfast

Saturday started out really lovely. We went for a run along the Tisza at about 7, which is kind of late for us but we were up late after swimming and with the opera and some student revelers in their early July party mode at the banks of the river. Though even at 7 when we went out, there were still some people sitting in the park benches with their wine and beer, trying desperately to ignore the sun and go home.

After running, we decided to go for a quick breakfast at Acappella Cafe, which is in the city center as well. We had cappuccinos and some pogacsas (which are little salty cheesy scones and very popular here) and a few sweet tea cookies. It took me a little while to get used to the European breakfast, but now I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Antique Books and the New Synagogue

The sun was starting to really warm everything up, so we decided to leave and pop in quickly to the antique/used/collectible bookstore, Antikvarium. It’s at this store that I found a first paperback edition of Sylvia Plath’s Colossus, and a few other really oldies in subjects I adore in really oldie books: science and religion.

After the book store we went to take a morning picture of the New Synagogue. It was built in 1900 in the Moorish and Secession style. Unlike Budapest’s Great Synagogue, which is the second largest synagogue in the world (only smaller than Temple Emanu-El in New York City), Szeged’s New Synagogue is the second largest in Hungary. It’s quite beautiful and I’m glad that we saw it because it’s kind of peacefully hidden in a quiet little neighborhood street.

Ópusztaszer and the Many Attila the Huns

So Györgyi has been wanting to take me to Ópusztaszer since I arrived last year, especially because it’s only about a thirty minute drive from Szeged, but we didn’t finally go until this weekend. Györgyi told me that there is a cool painting there that we should see, so I was picturing it as this little town with a painting somewhere, no big deal.

What she failed to mention was that the whole place is a massive living history museum stocked with replica houses, farms, animals and actors who get dressed up in period clothes. In addition, we happened to go there when there was this huge archery competition, in which (mostly) men and boys of all ages got dressed up in different outfits from different periods of Hungary and walked around shooting targets with the bow and arrows. It was totally bizarre and kind of rad.

Of course at all festivals there were the colorful characters selling their folkarts and working the crowd, and everywhere there was the smells of the fair foods—fried meats, breads, sweets, etc. And when we went to the replica of an old Szeged farm, we got to see Mangalica pigs. They’re so cute and so delicious.

Probably the most interesting thing is that everyone has these whips here—the Hungarian cowboy whips, that probably could take an arm off if used incorrectly. But people were cracking them all over the place, demonstrating their skills with them, and throughout the whole park you could hear the crackle as the whip breaks the sound barrier. A kind of dangerous cool, so much so that I really started to envy their outfits and found myself kind of wanting one.

We ended the day at another fish restaurant for dinner, and like most nights in Szeged, found ourselves walking back to the Virág Cukrászda for a glass of wine to watch the sun set and the mass of people in the square to trail off to their seats at the open-air theatre.

It’s just how summer goes here and I adore it, just as I did last year, though now it seems a little more usual. After the cafe, the last stop is the confectionary for a scoop or two of gelato, to enjoy while walking back toward the river and apartment. Though I don’t recall what flavors we selected, I do recall very fondly how the streets were lit by the low lights of the Dóm, and how wonderful it was to be there with the sounds of the operetta lingering in the air.

b u d a j e s t

Monthly Archives: July 2009