Szia and Czesc!

As mentioned, my last two weekends (three actually, but more about that later!) were spent in two drastically different places, similar only in their incomprehensibly complicated languages and the fact that they are both nothing like Berlin.

Budapest and Wroclaw. In the first, one cannot ignore the long history of a grand empire; the statues of the strong catholic kings of the past bordering the “heroes square” answers the question as to how a country of 11 million could have maintained such a national identity throughout WWII and the iron curtain. And then there’s Wroclaw, struggling to create a national/Polish identity after years of being, well, German. The city center is beautiful, but when we went to the “city museum” in the old town hall we learned nothing, nothing of Polish history aside from a stint about a city-theater and nothing about the German occupation aside from a portrait of Friedrich William III sort of hidden in a corner.Of course both of these perspectives have fascinating histories. And needless to say I had a great time in both places. It is unfathomable how much there is to see within a few hours from here.

In Budapest my knowledgeable host Mr. Milan Kidd provided me with a little snapshot into his life abroad. He lives in a really lively part of town called Blaha on the flatter, Pest side of the city. Incredibly well located, we could get to it in roughly 40 minutes from the airport via train and tram after I arrived Saturday morning. Not being able to understand a thing in the crowded-tram was certainly disorienting, but Milan said “bocsánat” (excuse me) in my place when I knocked into little old Hungarian women with my bag pack. He shares his apartment with two incredibly funny French guys (who were really patient with me when I mixed my French and my German!) and two Hungarian students, one with a really heavy British accent when she spoke in English.

Budapest is in and of itself a highlight. But, to make it all easier to

 explain I’m going to mention just a few of the things we saw and did during my visit. 

On Saturday afternoon, Milan and I took the tram to the bridge to see the unbelievable parliament building over the Donau. It was my first sunshine in a couple of weeks (remember, Berlin in the winter = grey). In a span of about five minutes, everything sort of disappeared from view; we could barely see ten meters away! The snow clouds literally came out of nowhere and dumped thick flakes all around us, hiding both Buda and Pest in fog. Our first snow of the season, and we were not dressed for it, particularly Milan, who, as expected, sported his thin but well-made (shameless promotion) and waterproof Five gear.

Here's a before and after shot:

The snow came and went throughout the weekend. On Saturday night we followed Milan’s roommates to a bar right around the corner. The place was smoky and full – the perfect atmosphere for a jazz concert. The band, called Cabaret Medrano, just had a sort of character that I cannot quite describe. The pianist was astounding, along with the drums and all that with a sprinkle of accordion made for a really unique and sultry sound. One guy was so excited as he was playing the trumpet that he just started jumping up and down. And the fact that I could not understand the lyrics made it unbelievably exotic. Milan’s girlfriend Dori translated a few lines for me, but some lines she did not want to repeat in English; she said in general the lyrics were quite vulgar and incredibly funny. Ask me for the CD sometime, I’d love to share it.

After a long (but great) day of wandering around Buda, seeing views from the castle, and successfully avoiding snow squalls, we went out to a Bavarian-Hungarian restaurant with some people that I had met in Heidelberg. I was incredibly excited to see them again, and surprised, too, that getting together worked out so well (we planned it a couple of months in advance). Eva and Andros were with me in my language course in Heidelberg, and Reka was a fellow 

camerawoman for the International Ferienkurs “video production”. But also I couldn’t help but be proud A) to speak some German again after a few days of not being able to understand what people were speaking around me, and B) to be the one to introduce Milan to some cool Hungarians rather than the other way around. Spaetzel follow me everywhere. My favorite German food is Kaesespaetzel and of course there is a Hungarian equivalent, galuska, which I had for dinner. The food was too heavy for dessert, so we went to a cheap bar nearby and played some fooseball (csocso, sounds like chocho). It was sad to say goodbye, but somehow I’ll see Eva and Reka again soon.

We made plans with Andros, who is already an orthodontist and only teaches during the day, to go skating the next afternoon. The snow was still falling heavily, which made for slow but steady gliding on the ice. The rink was beautiful, under lights since it was already dark out, and with a large castle made for a past World Expo in the background. Although it was Milan’s first time skating, he picked it up right away. I was the one that fell, probably in the midst of trying to show off my sweet (and nonexistent) ice hockey skills.

While skating:

Later that night Dori brought us to a “Tea House”. I leave that in quotes because it was more like a tree house than a tea house, literally three levels of carpeted platforms with ladders. It was sort of like a structure for cats to play on except that it was human-sized (obviously), with dim lighting and oriental textiles hanging from the ceiling. There were shelves to take your shoes off by they entrance. Very cool, and of course the menu featured about ten pages worth of every tea imaginable: black, green, herbal, even white and red. The cookies, as Milan found out, were rather disappointing, but the ginger-peach and white tea that we drank while lounging on pillows certainly lived up to expectations.

Of course I left Budapest with a long list of places that I still want to see, not to mention places that I would enjoy revisiting, and exploring a little more. We hardly spent time in the touristy sections, since Milan has a nose for the more worthwhile off-the-beaten-path locales. I really want to spend more time in Buda, with its staircases and steep cobblestone streets (that are no place for high-heeled boots in a snowstorm). Another big thanks to Milan, whom I will hopefully see again in the spring, either in Budapest or here in Berlin.

A few words that are useful to know in Hungarian (and some that are not so useful):

szia - hello/goodbye
koszonom - thank you
kosi - thanks
kerem - please
nem ertem - i don't understand
lassabban - slow down
ajto - door
ajto takmukodtetesu - remotely operated door
boscanat - excuse me
bosci - sorry!
szamitogep - counting machine, aka computer
etel - food, always important
meggy - sour cherry, not so important
sor - beer
forralt bor - mulled (hot) wine

and the most important of all:
EGESZEGEDRE!
Cheers!

PS - excuse the lack of accents... my computer does not let me put accents on consonants at the moment.
PPS - I recommend asking Milan how to pronounce any of those words. The letters do fool you.

Milan freezing on an island in the Donau: