Category Archives: District XIII

New Bike

Posted on by

So I finally got my dreamy, Italian city bike on Saturday. I was debating about the colors, but when I was in the shop, I just couldn’t resist the powder blue. Now she may not be as hip as Györgyi’s California beach cruiser, or one of my brother’s billion dollar mountain bikes, but riding through the deserted 13th district, past the watermelon vendors and public gardens where people were napping in the sun, seemed to make the city even more summery and spectacular on the back of the city cruiser.

July 4th weekend was really nice. It seemed like everyone in our district was away at the lake or pool so the streets were quiet. I made some typical American food along with a few personal bourbon peach pies, which I served with Vanilla ice cream. I’m not a religious person but if I had to have a ceremony, the personal peach pie would be heavily featured in the rite of communion.

I woke up on Sunday morning to find these little darlings.  Growing in salute of America’s birthday, no doubt.

Back to the Grind

Posted on by

Now that Brian has left, we’re all (well some of us) back to working hard. Or harder than anyone should have to in the summer. There are only nine more weeks until my family comes for a visit and those nine are going to sail. I’ve got about a billion articles to write and another billion documents to edit. Ms. Györgyi Sára is in the middle of an office move. And Barnabás is, well, exhausted by everything. So exhausted, in fact, that he can’t even haul himself into his bean bag bed to sleep during the day.

His photo shoots have been pretty demanding though. Several different counties. New tricks. And on top of everything it’s foxtail season and danger is everywhere.

Since my last attempt at growing herbs failed miserably (well they are growing very very healthy looking non-native weeds), György bought me these little idiot-proof pocket garden packets in Vienna. One cilantro and one pepper. I have really followed the directions to a T on these so I hope they are going to produce lots of salsa-making ingredients.

Despite our disparate schedules, crazy hours, and lack of sleep (well, for most of us), we’re still managing smiles.  It is summer in Europe after all.

The Visitor

Posted on by

As I mentioned in my last post, my brother, Brian, came to Budapest to visit me for two weeks.  He just went back to Colorado Springs yesterday, and I finally had a little bit of time to take a look at the pictures we took. It was a fully-packed two weeks and we all had a great time. We spent the first part of the time exploring Budapest. And since he is a History teacher, we made sure to see the relics and museums of the various conflicts, occupations and revolutions.  We did some touristy things and some non. By the end of the trip, he knew his way around the market, how to order a cappuccino and scones, and the value of sausage and palinka.  We had a wonderful party with friends in Szeged, and at the weekend he was even able to eat a shnitzel in Vienna.  We ended our trip with a four day adventure in Bovec, Slovenia, which is by far the most beautiful place I’ve seen. He went mountain biking, while Györgyi and I went on a white water trip. The next day we all went on ATVs in the mountain passes. I know I could drag out a blog post all week long and the next, probably, just to tell every detail of his trip. But I think the pictures will do a better job with the story. To see the set from the last two weeks, just click on the picture below.

Patron Saints & Fog

Posted on by

DSCN2447

It was a very foggy six am this morning, so thick, in fact, that we couldn’t even see across the river to Buda.  Even as I sit here now  at nearly 9am at my desk facing the river and the water tower on Margit Island, I can’t see the steady-moving river.  Probably by eleven, the sun will burn most of it away.

DSCN2437

Despite the humidity, it was such a peaceful run today.  It had that quality of dream-running, which every runner knows by sensation rather than the visual details.  The heart is pounding, legs moving, lungs expanding and contracting, and yet somehow the view is blurred by the pale sheet of dreaming.  Like mist.  Or, like this morning’s fog.

And because it is Friday we decided to take a different route home, in order to swing by the bakery to get a few fresh kiflis (simple crescent bread with salt on top).  And I don’t know if it was the the different route through old 13th district, or whether is was because of the fog, but I saw so many new things I had never seen before.

DSCN2445

Street signs, old cafes just turning on their lights and preparing their pastries, vegetable stands where owners with their 4am hair lightly water and sweep the stoops.  And on Visegrádi utca this strange little inlaid statue of a saint pouring water onto a burning building.  It looks like it says Saint Flora, but she is the patron saint of the abandoned, converts, single laywomen and victims of betrayal.  So maybe they cut the name short or smashed it into the bottom, just out of sight.  Saint Florian, who is the patron saint of chimney sweeps and fire fighters.  The date:  1935.  And the building was built up again, perhaps damaged again during the war and other occupations, and still stands today.  It’s amazing what you notice in the fog.  Probably because your eyes are just waiting for a cleaning and then you really take in what is available to be seen.  And I know that there is an undisciplined tendency to use words like “perfect” on Fridays, but it was a good morning.

This weekend is the cheap movie weekend here–film days–film napok.  Almost all movies throughout the city are 500 forints per ticket ($2.75) regardless of the time so I think that we’re going to go.  And if the weather holds, we’re going to try to explore the pest side of the river closer to Elisabeth Bridge.  And if the weather doesn’t hold, I won’t mind it.  I’ve really enjoyed the rain in the last two days and what has been lingering in the air after it falls.

Storms, and waiting for them

Posted on by

DSCN2144

It’s been a weird few weeks of weather here in Budapest.  I’ve spent falls a lot of places now, from the Ohio valley and Indiana forests to Georgia pine country and the Hungarian plains.  And I’ve learned to accept that the weather is not going to be how I remember it growing up in Ohio, which I must argue has probably one of the best autumns in the whole universe.  It’s been sunny and cool in the mornings now, and sunny and warm in the afternoons.  And in the evenings the sun skirts down the shingles of the old cotton mills and electric works and a magnificent orange settles right at my eye line where I watch it from my balcony.  And still, I can’t help but want a few storms.  It must be the Ohioan in me that thinks, in those moments of beauty, where’s the rain?

We had a few clouds here and there, but nothing too significant.  The picture above is from two weekends ago when a huge system moved across the Danube and into the heart of Pest.  It was awesome to watch.  We didn’t get any rain at all, from where we sat two blocks down, but we could see the whole storm bunch and move across the city.

DSCN2152

A complication of the no-rain — coupled with the fact that this is a pretty old city with more than its share of particles floating around the air –is that my allergies are going haywire.  To top it off, you can’t get a good, heavy dose of speed-laced cold medicine anywhere in the country, something that you know is working because your heart feels like it might explode at any minute.  (Mom– please send mucinex asap).

But I’ve taken it in stride by playing many rounds of Cranium.  For those of you who have never played Cranium, you need to leave your computer right now, drive to the nearest store, and buy.  it.  immediately.

DSCN2049

Even though these things have nothing to do with Hungary or Budapest, it is what I have been doing over the last few weeks, so I thought, why not, I’ll post it for everyone in the world to see.  If it isn’t already obvious, I am the world’s worst drawer.  The picture above is my attempt to draw “lipstick.”  Now, granted, I had to keep my eyes closed while drawing, it’s still pretty awful.

DSCN2047

To make matters worse, Györgyi is apparently one of the world’s greatest clay free-sculptors.  Riding Saddle, no problem!

DSCN2060

No one guessed or appreciated my sculpture of the DNA double helix.

Anyway, that’s all I have to write about.  I’d love for it to be the case that I would always have glamorous tales of travels to recount, but just like everyone everywhere, I have weekends where I’m stuck in at home, playing games for geeks, and waiting, patiently for a few fall storms.

The Vacant City

Posted on by
a mid-run stop behind Parliament for a few photo ops

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.

DSCN0513

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.

Pozsonyi Kisvendeglő

Posted on by

It’s definitely almost summer now that the open air tables are available at Pozsonyi Kisvendeglő.  On Friday we didn’t know where to eat, so we decided to go to Pozsonyi for a light lunch.  Of course we called and reserved the last available outside table.  Since it’s one of the most popular authentic Hungarian restaurants in the city, it’s best to always have a reservation, regardless of the time of day.

Image0138

I always order soup when I go there, and the matzo ball soup is definitely one of my favorites.  Here you can see one of the matzos, which I haven’t broken up yet.  I should have taken the picture before I got my spoon into it, but I was too hungry and excited.  Seriously, though, unless you have a huge appetite, this soup is really plenty of food for a meal.  Plus, the matzo balls are the size of baseballs and the whole dish cost only HUF 550 ($2.70). That’s serious recession-lunch prices.

Image0139

Györgyi had the daily menü, which came with a mushroom soup as a first course and then this plate of chicken and rizi bizi–rice and peas.  Again, it’s the perfect lunch portion and recession friendly, costing just HUF 800 ($4.00).

Even though the temperatures were hovering around the mid-80s, Pozsonyi utca was shaded and carried a little breeze through the tables.  And since we were sitting outside, Barnabás was able to come with us.  He had a few fries, slept a bit, tried to eat a pigeon.  Just your average Friday in District XIII.

Now, Pozsonyi Kisvendéglő does not pay me to write about them, nor do they need the extra business.  But I love this place and want you to try it if you haven’t been and live here, or if you’re just visiting.  Order the daily menu or a soup and a pilsner.  Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.  So here you go:

Pozsonyi Kisvendéglő

1137 Budapest, Radnóti Miklós utca 38.

+36-1-787-4877

Cumulonimbus

Posted on by
a look from another time

a look from another time

This weekend was a weekend of opposites.  After three solid weeks of uninterrupted sunshine, storms came racing in from the west, bringing with them patches of violent hail and rain, and even more dramatic cumulonimbus clouds that were hiding the sun in patches and casting amazing light throughout the city.

First of all: Barnabás broke his middle toe on his back right foot.

perfect time for a nap

perfect time for a nap

We don’t know how it happened, except that when he’s outside he runs and plays so hard — just like a little boy — that he probably just twisted it or something somewhere and then suddenly he was limping.  Anyway, he’s going to be healed in three weeks, according to the vet, and when he was being held down by a big vet tech wearing the socialist blue workers’ overalls, he actually fell asleep.  He was getting a cast and he started to snore.  I didn’t think it was possible for him to get any more attention than he already does, especially around town.  But now, with his little red cast, old women are practically throwing strings of kolbasz at him from their apartment windows.

So, he’s fine, and it hasn’t discouraged him from taking a leave of absence from his statue/famous monument/landmarks photography opportunities:

his eyelashes are blowing in the wind

his eyelashes are blowing in the wind

On Saturday morning, we walked through the thirteenth district, which I adore more and more the longer that I live here.  The difference in architectural eras is so pronounced that it’s just such an adventure to walk up and down the streets.  On the one hand, you have buildings like ours which are luxury apartment buildings, new and modern and very “western” looking.  And you go one block (or simply across the street) and you can find an old building with character, a building where people may have flats that have passed hands for several generations.

dscn7969 dscn7979

dscn8069 dscn7971

Yes, like in every district, there is the soviet-block style housing, but it’s actually few and far between, and mostly you see new construction on modern apartments mixed in with really old houses and schools (some that still have the words for the separate women’s and men’s entrances).

Saturday afternoon, while the rest of the city and all of her tourists were out enjoying the stunning break in the weather, we went into work.  It’s okay though, because Györgyi’s office is arguably the best office in the whole city in terms of the view.  Opening up the latched windows, you have a direct view of both the Lánchíd Bridge and Castle Hill.

dscn8025 dscn8039
We would have left sooner, but we spent about an hour posing Barnabás in various boardroom “unfortunately, we’re going to have to make some cutbacks” shots.

as you all know dscn8053

When we left, the sun was just starting to set, sending out the most amazing shadows over the city.  And since we worked so hard on oil conference stuff, we finally rewarded ourselves with the first gelato of the year.  In addition, Barnabás met a little white dog named “turo” (which means cottage cheese) who followed him for about five blocks.

dscn8066

I really don’t know what flavors Györgyi had.  I think white chocolate, tiramisu and something with walnuts, but I can’t be certain.  Mine was plum and chocolate.  So basically, it was a pretty average Saturday.  Yes, average is really great.

Taco Night sans Cilantro

Posted on by
full sky / empty plate

full sky / empty plate

As a kid growing up on Misty Lane, Wednesday night was TACO NIGHT.  Just like Thursday night was Spaghetti night and Friday night was Pizza night and Saturday morning we were allowed to have a donut from Acme.  (My God, can you imagine—a donut every week?)  But there was comfort to this routine and I know that my parents still have pizza night every Friday, though since my brother moved away and the twenty-first century assault on carbohydrates ensued, they probably no longer do Taco or Spaghetti nights.

Last week when my mom sent me the package of things from home, I allowed myself to crave tacos again, something I’ve been suppressing since the moment I realized that your average Hungarian likens salsa to BBQ sauce and thinks cilantro is a Mexican singer:

So last night I brought back TACO NIGHT and I must say it was a sweeping success.  Wednesday night is also wine night here and the combination of the two in addition to the incredible evening weather made for an amazing night.

tacobite firsttaco

Györgyi has never had a proper taco, which I find to be deeply emotionally and spiritually disturbing.  But she really liked it.  Much more than the Oreos I made her try at Thanksgiving and the jalapeno poppers we ate one time in January.

We sat on the balcony, which looks out over the thirteenth district.  It was the first night where there wasn’t even a chill in the air, and so watching the sun set over the river and slowly sink down the old apartment windows was beautiful.

endofnight

I would never have thought to start up a taco night in combination with wine night, but since my mom loaded up my box with taco seasonings, I’ll be able to keep the tradition alive for a little while at least.  Now, if I could only find cilantro.