Summary of Hungary, in lists of three

Hi everybody,

One final post, a summary.  This has been kicking around as a draft for pretty much a year (god . . . seems like much, much longer), but the upcoming Budapest trip of a friend of a friend has convinced me to finally put this together.  Anyways, I thought about writing up a giant summary but that would have been like a 20-page essay and no one wants to read that.  However, as I learned while writing Proposals for 6 months, information is much more easy to digest in list or bullet form.  Further, as I learned from years of fairy tales and folk stories, lists are best in threes.  So, here we are, Noah's trip to Hungary, in lists of three (not necessarily in order):


Three favorite places in Budapest:

1. Sketchy Chinese Market:  You had to know that this would be on the list.  Hell, this would be one of my favorite places in the city of Seattle (behind perhaps only Martial Sports, a few bars, and my bed) . . . to find it in the middle of Budapest (after I'd been craving good Asian food for a few months) . . . absolute heaven
2. Feny utca (Moszkva ter) Market:  Not as large a the Central Market, not as busy, not as sexy, but so much more legit in my mind.  I ended up here once a week if I could, every Saturday morning in order to buy my weekend groceries.  Can you think of a better way to begin the weekend than wandering around, grabbing a bite to eat here and there, and picking up some nice produce?  Oh, and by the way, any place where you can get a few deciliters of wine for like $1.50 and sip it in the middle of a crowded market . . . well, no word for that but awesome
3. Rudas Baths:  Again, I don't think there was really any way this wouldn't show up on the list.  I was psyched for the baths before I ever got to Hungary . . . and fell in love with my first visit.  I think on one occasion I spent like 5 hours just hanging out . . . warm, warmer, hot, hotter, hottest, ice cold . . . and then repeat.  Makes you feel alive like nothing else

Three best dishes:

1. Pork trotters stuffed with sausage and wrapped with bacon at Remiz:  You guys remember my post about csulok a while ago?  Yeah, this was the dish that made me fall in love with it.  Imagine that silky smooth and gorgeously meaty texture stuffed with spicy sausage, wrapped in bacon, and then put up on the grill until it turns into a log of meaty deliciousness . . . a bit of mustard, a side salad and a glass of wine . . . can't beat that.
2. Catfish Dorozsmai at Tabani Gosser:  No pictures sadly, and really no way to describe it.  My mother, when she visited, really had a problem dealing with the dearth of fish--more specifically, of saltwater fish.  That said, done properly a nice freshwater fish like catfish can be pretty damn tasty, and at Tabani Gosser they do it damn well (Father Frank turned me on to this place and it became one of my absolute favorites).  The stew is of course spiced with paprika and thickened with sour cream, with all manner of onions and peppers and tomatoes thrown in there for good measure.  The whole dish is served on top of a bed of square noodles that are boiled and then presumably thrown in the oven for just that right combination of chewy and crunchy.  Soft, smooth, rich in flavor and with just a hint of spice . . . I went back for this dish three times
3. Langos at Szentendre:  How did I not write up a post about Szentendre?  Weird.  Anyways, Szentendre is a small community about 45min North of the city by train.  It was founded as an artist's colony, but let's be honest by now it's mostly just a tourist trap.  But that's ok--no matter how many tourists, there's still something awesome about wandering around cobblestone streets or along the banks of the Danube, visiting everything from old churches to the marzipan museum.  Oh, and down a very tiny (literally about two shoulder-widths) alley there is a tiny stand that has the reputation of serving the best langos in Hungary.  How good is it, you ask?  Well let me put it this way . . . it was so good, Alessandro almost ordered a second one.  And yes, I rode all the way up to Szentendre, a 45min trip, essentially solely to go back a second time
4. *Honorable mention:  I never thought this would make it on the list, not being too much of a sweets person (more on that later), but I can't stop thinking about getting myself a makos-meggyes retes (poppyseed and cherry strudel) and an espresso at Retesvar in the Castle District . . . took a few side trips up over the top of the hill for that . . . and all for $2.50?  Just can't get that out of my head.  Fantastic

Three food items that Hungary taught me to like:

1. Peppers: Never really liked peppers, gonna be honest.  I can tolerate 'em, they rank above a number of other things, but still . . . can't explain why, but it's just that taste, that flavor that lets you know it's a pepper--be it red, yellow, jalapeno whatever--that's the flavor I don't like.  And yet, in Hungary they manged to do them right.  Part of it, of course, is the fact that Hungarian peppers have a nice kick of spicy with actually very little of that "pepper" flavor, and part is just that they're damn good at cooking them:  Stuffed with pork, stewed with onions and paprika and meat, or even sliced for garnish.  Not gonna be going for the green peppers at the salad bar any time soon, but I've definitely learned to appreciate the buggers
2. Espresso:  Yup, that's right, I'm a convert.  Still don't particularly like coffee, and I certainly don't need the caffeine to get me going in the morning, but in the right mood (or with the right accompaniment) it can be pretty tasty.  Maybe it's the aesthetic, maybe it's the slight bit of masochism, but something about a small cup of something very bitter and very, very hot . . . ooh, that just hits the spot
3. Sweets:  Like I said up there, I've never been much of a sweets person.  And yet, I found that the bakers and cooks in Hungary won me over.  The ubiquitous meggy (sour cherry) that shows up in everything from brandy to cold fruit soup; the quickly acquired taste of turo (similar to a cottage cheese)--I had a sweet turos retes (strudel) for breakfast in Moszkva ter station for breakfast at least one morning out of three.  And even since coming back, I find myself craving sweets more than I ever did before going.  Don't worry, waistline's still looking pretty good for it ;)

Three favorite stories from Hungary:

1. Szechenyi Bridge:  Also known as the Chain Bridge, the first (and still most absolutely beautiful) bridge over the river Danube--the architect that designed it has only one other surviving bridge in the world, the other being the Marlow Bridge spanning the Thames.  But the financing came from Count Szechenyi, the richest and most affluent citizen of Hungary.  See, back then, the only way to cross from Buda on the West side to Pest on the East side was by ferry.  One day, Count Szechenyi was in Pest when he received word that his father, in Buda, was on his deathbed.  Just as he went to cross, a terrible storm came up and delayed his passage for an entire week.  By the time he made it across, his father had passed.  So, vowing that nothing like that would ever happen again, he spent his own personal fortune to build this first bridge.  Cool, huh?
2. Pork, Delicious Pork:  You know me, I like food, and I also like history.  Two great tastes, that taste great together!  So, a fun question:  Why is the most common meat in Hungary pork?  See, Hungary (and the entire region) was of course ruled by the Ottoman Empire at its height.  As the Empire declined, the Turks retreated across the land on their way back to modern-day Turkey.  Got it yet?  Well, see, as they left, they took everything of value with them--including the livestock.  And the Turks were, of course, Muslim.  Meaning the common people of Hungary had all of the cows, sheep, chicken, etc. taken . . . but the pigs were left behind.  To paraphrase . . . the different between a story and history is that stories end, but history keeps affecting the world all the way to present day :D
3. The Execution of Lajos Batthyány:  Already discussed earlier, but the death of the first Prime Minister of Hungary, is still pretty awesome.  He was the first Prime Minister, before Hungary was actually a nation--just a province in revolt from the Austrian Empire.  He was arrested and sentenced to death for treason.  Unable to be hanged because he had attempted to commit suicide in prison by slashing his jugular, he had to be executed by the firing squad.  He dropped to his knees and his final words were "Rejoice my homeland, come on you huntsmen!"

Three asofterworld comics to sum up my time in Hungary ;)


Three albums inextricably linked to Hungarian memories:

1. Weezer, Pinkerton:  I will always remember listening to this album sitting in Blaha Luljza ter waiting for my friends to meet me to take them to Sketchy Chinese Market.  See, I generally shoot for being 10-15 minutes early when I'm going to meet a friend somewhere . . . Europeans, on the other hand, especially Italians such as Alessandro (and Italians-by-adoption such as Bek) seem to think "10am" means more like "10:30am at the earliest" . . . but I'm ok with that.  Really, not complaining.  Sitting there on a sunny Sunday morning (on a few Sunday mornings, actually) listening to Pinkerton . . . not a bad way to start a day off
2. Bloc Party, Weekend in the City: I hadn't given much thought to Bloc Party in a long while, or even listened to the entirety of Weekend in the City (I know Silent Alarm was critically lauded and all that, but what they called "innovative" or whatever sounded like pretty generic indie to me . . . I have the same problem with Arctic Monkeys, incidentally) . . . but then a song from this album appeared in a significant dream I had on a Thursday night.  So I downloaded this onto my mp3 player at work on Friday and that night we took off for Lake Balaton.  Alessandro, Stefano, Daniel and I spent the weekend partying it up lakeside in a town built for 20-somethings, but every spare moment, from the train ride down to cooking dinner for the guys Friday and Saturday nights I had this album on
3. NIN, Pretty Hate Machine: Ahh, Trent Reznor.  What would we do without you?  I remember putting this album on during the walk home from the palinka festival.  See, I was placed in a position where I was forced to decided between another round of palinka (I'd prepaid, ya'see) or leaving early enough to catch the last bus home.  So yeah . . . I ended up walking home.  But hey, totally worth it.  Put on my headphones, popped in Pretty Hate Machine (can you believe that album is over 20 years old??) and strolled through a clear May night.  Not bad, not bad

And there we have it, presumably my final post on this blog.  Thanks to everyone who read it (and even taking the trouble to read this post a year later, hehehe).  It was . . . certainly an experience I will never forget.  Someday, I will return

Cheers,

Noah out

Missing from the archives

Hey everybody,

As I was looking through the archives, I realized that some posts are not showing up--they're in my private "edit posts" section but not available when you browse by months.  Usually it's anything posted in the first week or so of each month.  Very annoying

I looked it up online, apparently this is a common problem.  Also, apparently it's an old problem that they've more or less given up on fixing?
http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/blogger/thread?tid=3153d3417ae9f9e4&hl=en
Whatever

Anyways, I'll try to get that fixed, but in case I can't here are the posts that aren't showing up:

April:

• Budapest Central Market Hall
• Trip to Romania . . . kind of
• A few days can make a big difference . . .
• Pics from around the neighborhood

 May:

• Balaton Region Wine Festival

June:

• (hint: Its a Hungarian Composer)
• Central Market, part 2!
• Cool chess sets :)
• Random Book Festival

July:

• Marquis de Salade

Anyways, yeah, that's kind of annoying.  Hopefully I'll be able to get that sorted out, but I thought I'd post up here as well

Should be putting up a final, summary post in a few days, as soon as I have a spare moment to sit down and write it ;)

Later,

Noah

Souvenirs

Hey guys,

So, as I went around doing my final shopping and packed up my suitcases, I developed a theory that you can tell anything you need to know about a person based on their choices of souvenirs, mementos, and general purchases while living or visiting abroad.  Makes sense, yeah?  So, I thought for what will probably my penultimate post on this blog, I'd test this theory out on myself

Here is the list of the things that I did not bring out but will be taking back to the States with me (excepting presents for other people, etc. etc.) . . . the list is surprisingly short, really.  I guess most of my purchased were food XD
Anyways, here we go:

• One English-language Hungarian cookbook (with pictures!)
• One padlock (lock remaining in Hungary, keys returning to Seattle)
• One copy Anna Karenina (in English)

(items purchased at SCM, cuz, you know, they were cheap):

• One nice, going-out shirt, black
• Two ties (for $5 each!!)
• Two collapsible batons
• One butterfly knife

(and finally, my last-minute, I'm-not-leaving-Hungary-without-these purchases yesterday):

• Two jars pickled peppers
• Two bottles Villany-region red wine
• One kilogram paprika (the spicy kind, of course)

So, what do you think?  Can you tell everything you need to know about me based on this list?

Hmm . . .

Yup.  Pretty much

Noah out


Addendum:  For a truly complete picture, I suppose you should have the other side of the coin--things brought with me, left behind:

• One rice cooker, left for Tamas and his family
• One frisbee (a Professional Tractor disc, to boot), left as per Bek and Alessandro's request, that they may continue playing without me

Ok, now we have everything you need to know about me ;)

New favorite cut of pork

Hey everyone,

Time for one last food post!  Specifically, a post about my new favorite cut of pork--the pork knuckle (also known as pig trotters, ham hock, etc.)--or, in Hungarian, csulok (with the "cs" pronounced like "ch", and probably some funny dots over the vowels but whatever) . . . it's actually more or less the ankle bone of the pig, where the feet attach to the leg
It's traditionally a "cheap" cut of meat, for obvious reasons--it's kind of hard to get at, and cooking it is a pain.  But really, isn't that the whole point of cookery?  Anybody can make a top-quality tenderloin taste good, but making something tough and boney taste good takes some doing.  However, when you do it right . . . oh boy.  I am endlessly indebted to the nation of Hungary (and, to a lesser extent, the Czech Republic) for opening my eyes to the deliciousness of this bad boy

The trick to csulok is that it has to be cooked a very long time.  The tough meat becomes tender, and the fat (which is, as with all animals, chiefly located between the meat and the skin) permeates the meat making it moist and delicious.  Even the skin get a wonderful flavor when you slow-cook it, although the texture is a bit more of an acquired taste
Anyways, slooooow cooking.  This means one of two things:  Roasting or stewing.

For roasting, the traditional method is to do it with a spit over an open fire.  Don't have any good pictures of this preparation, sadly, but we had a fantastic version of the end result in Prague:

Alternately, you see them oven-roasted as well.  This is a bit harder, and sometimes gets overcooked with the meat losing a bit of its juiciness which is a damn shame.  Regardless, I've had some very good versions of this, in all manner of presentations:  Removed from the bone and arranged in slices on a plate, stuffed with sausage and wrapped in bacon then served as a giant log (oh yes, more on that in a later post), or just plopped down on top of some potatoes in a giant clay planter.  Yes, you read that right:

Our food came in a clay planter.  It was delicious.

Finally, I did mention stewing above, and that's a special preparation all on its own.  A little less approachable, as the texture really maintains that kind of gluey-ness that I imagine would be offputting for some. But man . . . I had a csulokporkolt (pork knuckle paprika stew . . . I mean, what else would it be in Hungary) at one of my favorite little neighborhood places . . . absolutely to die for.  Wish I had a picture.  Or the recipe XD
The paprika really cuts the meatiness and the csulok itself gives the whole dish a wonderfully rich texture.  I know it's not as sexy (very much a peasant dish) but it's warm and homey and come next winter I'll definitely be trying my hand at it (oh hell, I'll probably be messing around with the recipe a week after I get home)

Later,

Noah out

Sziget Festival

Hey everyone,

So, on Wednesday I got to go to Sziget Music Festival, a show so large it makes Bumbershoot look tiny.  The weather was great (not too hot+sunny, without getting cold until way late at night) and the whole place was packed.  The first show was at 3 but we didn't end up making it there until 4:30, partially because I had to work a half day but mostly because Tamas and Maddy slept in (oh, did I mention that Tamas is visiting with his girlfriend?  Tamas is visiting with his girlfriend!  Hooray!).  Although we wandered around a lot, we spent most of our time at the Main Stage, which had a good (but pretty eclectic for a "main stage") lineup for the day:

Flogging Molly--They were, of course, awesome.  Irish rock in a giant crowd, coughing on the dust of hundreds of people dancing drunkedly and rowdily (we showed up late, most had already been drinking for a few hours).  They actually put together a very good set, mixing in some of their slower acoustic pieces with the uptempo Irish rock . . . though I would have been happy to show up at the very beginning of the festival, I gotta admit this was a pretty sweet show to kick off the day

Rise Against--I was happy I got to see this band at a festival . . . I certainly don't like them enough to buy a ticket just to their concert.  But I actually did enjoy Siren Song of the Counter Culture, which was a very respectable punk album ("Rumors", linked above; "Paper Wings"; "Dancing for Rain" . . . all pretty fun songs) . . . but I'm gonna be honest, I haven't really paid any attention to them since that, so I only recognized a handful of the songs they played.  But regardless, it's still rock and that makes for a pretty good show whether or not you know the words.  Oh, and just when I was giving up on them playing anything from Siren Song, they finished their set with a pretty awesome version of "Give it All" . . . and really, being one of hundreds of people jumping up and down in perfect unison to the breakdown (that immediately regressed back into a giant mosh pit once the chorus started again). . . pretty awesome, pretty awesome

Interpol--This was, for sure, the band that made me decide on Wednesday as the day to come to the festival; they're one of my old favorites.  However, I will say I was skeptical--I've always thought of them as "chill" music, wasn't sure how they'd work in a giant concert.  And indeed, there were some people that were determinedly trying to mosh to songs that really weren't the type . . . that was a little silly, not gonna lie.  That said, the giant speaker really gave some feeling to their baselines, which was totally awesome.  And they did manage to bring the rock pretty hardcore for the final song of the set . . . I certainly didn't leave disappointed

After that, we wandered around the whole festival for a while.  I wish we'd spent some more time at the World Music Stage, cuz Afrocubism, a worldwide-reaching supergroup, was definitely a ton of fun, but we wanted to see as much as possible of the festival.  Like I said, that place is huge.  In addition to the Main Stage and the World Music Stage, there was a giant techno/dance tent, a metal stage, and all manner of smaller venues for small Hungarian bands, variety shows, art installation and really just about everything

Anyways, totally worth the money, pretty much the best possible way to spend a Wednesday evening.  And yes, I had to be at work at 9am the next day . . . but it was worth it

Noah out

*Busy* weekend: Sunday

Hey guys,

[note: This is the second of two posts, the first being . . . you know . . . "Saturday", so you can scroll down and read that one first!]

Ok, so after that busy Saturday, strangely enough I couldn't sleep so I didn't get started quite as early on Sunday.  Still managed to pack a lot into my day, that's for sure.  Here we go:

• Woke up at around 10am and worked out again.  Like I mentioned in my Saturday post, I was definitely feeling it from my lack of frisbee muscles (mostly deltoids and hip-flexors) . . . we threw for like 2 hours, which once upon a time wouldn't have been a problem but I was feeling a bit sore in muscles I'd forgotten that I had ;)
• Met Alessandro to go back to the Sketchy Chinese Market (or "SCM".  Yes, it has a real name.  But I prefer this one).  He was actually a bit late, but it was a gorgeous day so I just wandered around Blaha ter for a bit, checking out shops and enjoying the sunshine til he showed up

[roughly 12noon]

• Originally the plan had been for me to just go by myself to make sure that it's open on Sundays (thus giving me flexibility in planning for my last weekend, coming up soon) but Ale wanted to come along--fortunately the place is open on Sundays (my face would have been red if it weren't), and was packed!  Ale absolutely loved the place, for obvious reasons.  I actually ended up purchasing more than I'd planned--in addition to a nice button-up shirt (I may write up a separate post about that, Ale is still laughing about "the best haggling experience ever") I finally found a really nice butterfly knife to replace the one I left as a present for one of my frosh friends at Caltech.  But yeah, really nice--smooth joints, well-balanced, just the right tension on the catch . . . for only 1500ft!  (like $8 . . . the only place I know of to get good butterflies in Seattle charges like $25)  I probably could have gotten even lower, but honestly, I was so surprised when he first quoted me 1800 that I forgot my haggling skills XD
• After shopping we went and had lunch at that pho place again.  It was a little warm but I still went for the pho . . . let's be perfectly honest, it's basically just a vessel for their fantastic hot sauce, and that's easiest to do with a noodle soup.  In addition, cuz it was hot they had mung bean drink again!  I don't know if you guys know what I'm talking about, basically a bunch of crushed ice with mung beans and lotus pods in syrup poured on top . . . have to drink it half with a straw and half with a spoon . . . anyways, pretty much the best thing ever on a hot summer day.  Heh Ale wasn't quite so adventurous, he stuck with mango juice ;)

[roughly 3pm]

• After SCM, we went up to City Park (near Heroes Square, from my previous post) to play frisbee.  Like I said, Ale's really into it!  We didn't play for quite so long cuz he was a bit sore as well (and the sun was pretty hot today--I think we figured out the trick on Saturday by going in the early evening when the sun was a bit lower).  We also just wandered around the park, which was very pleasant.  Too bad it's not more centrally located or I imagine I'd be there more often
• We went from the park back to Ale's flat in Kalvin ter.  It's a really nice place!  Not a huge space, obviously, but plenty large for one person (decent kitchen, bathroom/laundry room, living room, and big loft for a full bed and a desk).  Also he's right off of this really nice pedestrian area, with a decent grocery store and a couple of nice little restaurants/cafes/bars . . . while I do like the peace and quiet out in the hills I'm a little jealous
• While at Ale's I borrowed his computer to check my email.  Cuz, you know.  I get twitchy if I haven't been online for more than 4 hours.  Also, we'd had plans to meet up with friends for dinner . . . turns out, instead of wanting to go out, Judit and Stefano just invited us over to their place!  You know me, I loves me a home-cooked meal, so that was an awesome prospect.  However, it did mean that I wanted to head home so I could shower, put on nicer clothes, and pick up a hostess gift

[roughly 6pm]

• On the way home, I connected through Deak ter:  The route is Kalvin -> Deak (M2); Deak -> Moszkva ter (M3); Moszkva -> home (155).  However, I realized that instead of taking M3 from Deak to Moszkva, I could take the 16 bus . . . which goes over Castle Hill . . . which, though touristy, happens to contain my favorite retes (strudel) shop in town . . .
• So yeah, took a detour to visit Retesvar on top of Castle Hill.  It's actually just around the corner from St. Matthias Church, the gorgeous fairy-tale-esque white church I've posted up here before; I wish I'd found it sooner.  Although Castle Hill is touristy and thus pricey, this place is down an alley and tricky to find, so I think they lower their prices to compensate.  Retes is only 250ft, and an espresso is 240 . . . so I can get a delicious pastry and an espresso for like $2.50.  Bargain, ne?  So yeah, picked up a makos-meggyes (poppyseed and sour cherry . . . just trust me, it's delicious) retes and an espresso and sat in a nice shady alley to munch on it.  The 16 bus runs every 5 minutes that time of day, so I hopped right back on and headed home
• Stopped at home to shower and change (in fact, wore the shirt I'd just bought that day!).  As alluded to earlier, I needed a hostess gift since there wasn't a time to cook a dish of my own to bring.  Fortunately, if you recall, I had just purchased a highly recommended bottle of wine!  Problem solved.  This means that I won't have a bottle of wine to welcome Tamas into town . . . oh well, he'll manage
• Made it out to Judit's apartment, although there was some general confusion as no one meeting at the station knew where she lived and there was all manner of complicated maneuvering involved . . . after hanging out for like a half an hour, Stef came out and got us . . . why he didn't do that earlier is still a mystery, but whatever XD

[roughly 9pm]

• Dinnertime!  Judit is Hungarian and Stef is Portuguese, so we had a mix of the two for dinner.  Needless to say, awesome.  Judit made a fantastic pot of gulyas (goulash), and I got to learn how to make those noodles/dumplings I love so much (apparently it's just flour and egg with a touch of salt, and I played with the dough enough I think I can recreate that texture).  In addition, Stef prepared this really great Portuguese dish . . . basically a multi-layered sandwich filled with salami and chicken and melted cheese, over which he poured a spicy tomato-based sauce . . . I should really write him for that recipe, cuz it looked simple enough but was super tasty
• After dinner (and wine and palinka and suchlike) we hung out talking, listening to music, taking pictures, etc. etc. . . . also, Judit has this fantastic 7th floor apartment with a balcony, and the night was cool without being cold with a nice breeze . . . anyways, long story short, I lost track of time and almost didn't make last bus home!  Caught it just in time though, rolled in at midnight and crashed

Hell of a day, hell of a weekend.  If all goes according to plan, next weekend should be just as busy.  Only 7 days left in this country, gotta make 'em count

Noah out

*Busy* weekend: Saturday

Hey guys,

Wow, been a busy weekend for sure.  I finally put my foot down and said that I just don't want to be out until 5am anymore . . . messes up my sleep schedule and generally means the entire next day is shot.  Now, when I get my day started at 10am, I can fit so much more in . . .

Learning from Riley's mistakes (over at livinglikeriley.blogspot.com, yes I'm giving you a shoutout because I figure the more readers you have the more likely you are to post!) I'm not going to wait until I have everything written up in detail because that will take days, weeks, months (i.e. I probably wouldn't be in Hungary any more) . . . but here, in bulleted list form, was my weekend:

Saturday:

[roughly 9am]

• Woke up at 9ish, worked out (I like to work out in the mornings on weekends because it gives my schedule much more flexibility--especially when you consider that I can't work out on a full stomach, it's pretty tough fitting the workout in if I don't do it first thing in the morning) and then hit the road
• Went to the market in Moszkva ter, which is still one of my favorite places in the city.  Didn't buy much, just a bit of produce for the week.  I'm hoping to make it back there to buy things to take home (i.e. like a kilo of paprika).  Also had a langos.  Cuz . . . duh
• Went to check out this Italian cafe I've heard of near Margit bridge.  Actually, it had been listed as just North of the Buda side of the Margit bridge, but I couldn't find it . . . this turned out to be a blessing anyways because it was an excuse to wander around a very charming neighborhood for a half an hour or so.  Didn't find the cafe, though . . .
• Walked across the Margit bridge, which is always a joy.  I will miss long, lazy walks across these bridges.  On the other side, I wanted to check out a place that supposedly sells delicious honey-nut cookies; I'd tried to find it last time I was in the neighborhood but couldn't.  Armed this time with the exact address I finally found it (tiny hole-in-the-wall place) . . . however, it's closed on weekends this time of year.  But never fear!  I'll actually be back in that same neighborhood during the day on Tuesday!  Problem solved

[roughly 12noon]

• Walked back over the Margit bridge with the intent of looking for that cafe one more time.  Finally decided to check on the same street (I was positive of the street address) but on the South side of the bridge . . . and there it was, like a half a block away.  I'm glad I didn't give up, cuz this place was totally a find.  I ordered a beef carpaccio, despite my misgivings about the price (1800ft, or around $10) . . . turns out the price was fully justified because the plate was literally a foot in diameter!  Anyways, that was delicious, and including a glass of champagne for 800ft was a pretty impressive bargain considering how much I ate--how often do you get an opportunity to get full off of carpaccio?  May have to remember that place . . .
• Finally made it out to check this Korean/Japanese market that I've wanted to visit for like a month.  They're way out in the Buda Hills, like a 20min bus ride, and they're not open on Sundays . . . but man, I wish I'd come earlier!  Really great selection, including some things that would be tough to find even in the states.  I eyed some mugi-cha (barley tea, delicious served chilled) but the only pack they had was really large, way more than I could drink in my remaining time.  I did, however, pick up a box of House brand tofu (which is, incidentally, the brand I most commonly buy even in Seattle!).  Not only that, but I got a bottle of aloe drink!  (the intention was to drink half on the road and save the other half for later . . . yeah, that didn't happen)  Reminded me of constantly going to steal glassfulls from my friends in downstairs Page.  Ahh, memories
• Back to Moskva Ter, or actually all the way to Battyany ter because I didn't have to change busses to get there and it's a short walk.  In addition, en route from Batthyany ter to Moszkva ter is a highly recommended wine shop.  I stopped in (lucky thing I did, they also are closed on Sundays) to get some advice on wines to bring home--specifically, I think I want to grab a bottle or two of Villany reds.  Although Tokaji is the true flagship of Hungarian wines, I can get that in the States; the Villany reds I've to which I've become so partial are much less likely to be available.  I eyed a particularly good-looking Cab Sauv for later, but my only purchase was a bottle of Portuguesier that the shopkeeper recommended for only 1200ft (less than $7!  Man I love this country).  I'd hoped to save it for when Tamas and his girlfriend come in but . . .well, more on that later

[roughly 3pm]

• Stopped in at the supermarket to pick up a few things.  In addition to some ground pork (so I can make mapodofu with the aforementioned tofu and the rest of my Szechuan bean paste so I don't have to bring it home) I picked up a bunch of supplies for around the house (detergent, garbage bags, etc.) that I've been meaning to pick up but haven't because I rarely come to the supermarket (I try to do most of my produce shopping at little markets--better prices and way more fun)
• I was planning on heading home, but just as I was about to get on the bus I was spotted by my friend Lucilla and her visiting friend Cristina (they didn't even know I lived out this way) . . . they were planning on going out to the Buda Hills--there's this place where you can take a chairlift up the "mountain", then it's a short hike to a gorgeous observatory tower.  I did have a bag pretty full of groceries/wine/etc., but a coincidence like that can't be passed up so I joined them (I had a towel to wrap the meat and tofu in, so it stayed cold no problem).  The chairlift ride was a ton of fun and the view was absolutely spectacular.  It's only a couple hundred, maybe a thousand meters high, but it's the highest point in the entire region so the 360 degree view was pretty spectacular.  Definitely worth the mini-hike
• Anyways, while we were up there, I got a call from my friends inviting me to come hang out with them on Margit Island.  It's August so it stays light out until late (in fact sunset wasn't until 8:10 that night--how do I know this?  Having a Muslim friend during Ramadan tends to bring these things to your attention).  After a quick trip home (fortunately it was on the way) to drop off my groceries and pick up my frisbee, I met them at Margit Island

[roughly 6pm]

• Met with Bek and Alessandro on Margit Island.  As I said, I made sure to pick up my frisbee at home--Alessandro in particular has really taken a liking!  We spent a few hours tossing the disc around, in fact met up with two other players and the five of us threw for a while.  I'm a bit out of practice (haven't played competitively for more than a year now) but disciplined myself to make real pivots and good throws, especially on my backhand (and had the sore muscles the next morning to prove it).  Real psyched to get playing once I get back in the States!
• Went to dinner with the guys at a great little place Father Frank showed me--a real hole-in-the-wall neighborhood Hungarian joint.  Actually though, I gotta say this was my least favorite visit there--Alessadro and I both made the mistake of ordering interesting/exciting dishes instead of sticking with the Hungarian classics, and they were only so-so.  Lesson learned.  Still, even when the food is only ok it's great to have dinner with your friends!  Most importantly, everyone got full for a very reasonable price--even Bek, who had been fasting all day.  Mission accomplished
• Finally made it home at like 10:30-11.  For those of you doing the math, that meant that accepting that brief stop just to drop things off, I was gone for like 13 hours!  Man, that was a loooong day . . .

Anyways, holy crap, the original intention was to write up my Sunday (which was not quite as busy, but still pretty packed) but I just now realize I've already written up like five pages on Saturday alone!  Moral of the story--plan properly and be willing to spend long hours, and you can pack a lot into a day

I'll write up Sunday in a separate post sometime in the next few days.  Until then,

Noah out