Thursday July 31 Day 16:

There was a thunderstorm during the night. So everyone woke at about 1 am. There wasn't that much rain but it was noisy.

The air was fresh in the morning and the temperature quite nice. It was about 25-6 C at mid-day.

I have been cutting back on breakfast only peppers, tomatoes, toast and jam with green tea. This seems a more reasonable breakfast although I did have some cold meat too.

We went over to Irma's place and met Joe who had a stroke about 4 years ago. He and Irma were in Canada for over 25 years and then moved back to Hungary and built the house. It is more typical inside of a Canadian home. A large kitchen, small dining room, large family room and bathroom (Canadian style...toilet with sink and tub). The up stairs has 3 large bedrooms another big washroom and a balcony that can be accessed from 2 bedrooms. They have screens on the windows, Canadian style. Where I am staying does not have any screen on any doors or windows. Except for the odd mosquito it seems to work just as well.

We sat at the table with Joe at the end against the wall. Irma served French Rose wine to us and a special wine (only a bit) to Joe(he was able to pour his own). We had cheese and a cake dessert with “megg” (sour red cherries...they are not sour but do have some pits still in them). It was a very delicious dessert.

We tried to get Joe to speak English and eventually he mixed English with some Hungarian which even I could understand. He spoke haltingly, but that was expected. Gradually he seemed to gain some energy (he is fairly frail). You could see that he had improved considerably by the time we left. Irma was her bombastic self.

Gyorgyi and I went back to the house where she made a lovely zucchini and broccoli with the main course being spaghetti with a creamy cheese sauce. I asked Jancsi in Hungarian what was the type of cheese in the cream sauce and he said, “disznu” (wild pig)... we had a good laugh. My Hungarian is not that bad that he could not understand.

I had finally after 5 years got Skype to work on my netbook (ASUS). I Googled around and finally got an answer that worked... it was so simple yet unlikely. I Skyped Guy and Robbie(in Canada) and it worked perfectly (although we lost Guy's picture after a while). The sound which had not worked at all for 5 years was fixed and worked perfectly. Maybe I will be able to get Nancy to log on Skype when I get her password figured out.

BUDA side of Budapest

The highlight of the day was about to come when we went to the centre of Pest (Buda is the one side of the river where the hills are and Pest is the other side of the Danube River where it is flat). There is a new device on the Pest side called the Sziglet Eye belvaros. Yes it is a ferris wheel based on the idea of the one in Vienna with enclosed compartments. When Gyorgyi asked me if I wanted to go on it I said I had to because the opportunity may never arise again. So we all 3 went on it...3 revolutions only at a cost of 2400 HUF (about $11 Can). I have some video and put the other pictures below.

Szigeti Eye

Jansci and I on the Sziget Eye

I bought us a beer to celebrate afterward and we did some shopping.

We had till 6 pm on the meter and were 10 minutes early.

Supper was the rest of lunch with some nice Szekszardi wine.

Gyorgyi's ankle was sore so she was in some pain.

Another episode of “Wind at my back” or what I call it “Wind down my leg” and we head to bed. A tiring walk which was estimated at about 5 km.

Wednesday July 30 Day 15:

Just got back from an almost 600 km trip to eastern Hungary. It is just after 8 pm.

Storms are brewing in West Hungary where I was last week. No rain here yet. We travelled non-stop because they were afraid of running into the storm.

We visited Andrea and her husband Attila and 3 year old son Mark. Mark was more than a handful for 1 person most of the time.

Gnorgyi described Nyiregyhaza as a small town.... well it is 3 times bigger than Oshawa and has a downtown about 100 times nicer than Oshawa. There is a huge walking-only area that has beautiful flowers and very clean. I found it hard to believe that there was only 145 000 people there. The buildings down town were also very nice and new or refinished.

It was a hot day about 30 C but most of the day there was a nice breeze.

We ate outside at a small restaurant the adults got gyros and Mark got fried pork on rice. Our meal was very good and very inexpensive.... about $3 each.They were on special.

We took a bus (all 6 of us) to an area where there was a beautiful park and 2 lakes; originally it had been a mine site that was reclaimed. Much nicer than yesterday's area.

Time for ice cream ! I can't resist a double of two different kinds. One is always lemon and today the other was malna (raspberry). This icecream was the best so far and the biggest scoops. I treated everyone, the least I could do and it was very inexpensive.

They had a bike path and a runners path around the lake. The bike path was made by small bricks (that you find in driveways)and the running path was narrower but had a special surface like they have in the runner's lanes in good stadiums. Lots of money went into it.

We passed a large zoo too. We did not go in.

We went back to their small apartment and Attila tried to get my pictures downloaded to his computer. There must have been a problem with the cable since we could not do it.

We watched the weather on the Internet and found that storms may be hitting Budafok(Budapest suburb) at about 8 pm. So off we went and Jancsi spared nothing on the way back. We got back at 7:40 pm.

Time for supper ! We finished the pork guylas from yesterday. Even better the next day.

Just in time to see another “Wind at your Back” circa 1997 ! almost all in Hungarian. Funny to watch. Relatively easy to understand. It was filmed in Bowmanville... maybe I said this before.

Tuesday July 29 Day 14:

Where are my glasses ? I had to ask my friends if they had seen me wearing them last night. They seemed to disappear. Gyorgyi suggested they had fallen into my luggage bag. Well, she was right. Found them. I do have a back-up pair too, but the new ones are nicer.

Next I realized that I had forgotten to phone Gyongyi and tell the relatives I had safely arrived in Budapest. I did this about 7 am as I figured someone would be up. Gyongyi answered the phone and I offered my apologies. When I got off the bus there was a lot of commotion and then a large rain storm. Anyway I made the call.

Breakfast was large as usual and Gyorgyi cooked virsli (veal hot dogs). They do give me gas but I ate them anyway. I still had left over gas form the fish soup and fried pork.

Gyorgyi took the bus to go shopping for more food; but she forgot to get some bread crumbs. Jancsi and I went to get them. This was a mistake. Walking down the hill and up the hill is quite strenuous and I was still feeling the effects of the fish soup.

The door bell rang and an older lady from up the street was there. Irma has lived in Canada since the 1970's but came back to Hungary with her ailing husband. He had a stroke and is in very poor health. She speaks good Canadian English and uses many familiar words... She is very energetic for someone near 80. They have children and grandchildren in Ontario. She has 2 lake-front lots on Georgian Bay not far from Wasaga Beach. One lot has a small cabin and she hopes to knock it down and build a permanent house with 3 bedrooms etc. Quite a lot of work. Her husband will not be going with her to Canada. When he passes, she will go back to Canada.

She enjoyed quite an interesting life. Many trips in the Winter from Toronto to Miami or the Bahamas or Hawaii and cruise trips. We will visit her at her home in a few days.

Ebed or lunch will be very large today. There is a bogracs planned with gombots (these are plums surrounded in batter, cooked in boiling water and tossed with nuts and bread crumbs. Then to eat they are sprinkled with icing sugar and cinnamon. Irma and I help a little with the preparations.

Jancsi prepares the bogracs. The ingredients are different in that pork is used instead of beef. This is a quicker meal. Onions as usual start and then a tomatoe is cut up with a pepper and added. The meat is added and after a few minutes cooking water, salt, pepper and a lot of paprika is added. Then cut up carrots and parsnip is added. A branch of 'loveage' (a plant available all over the world, I have a lot of it) is added. More water and after that has cooked for some time, cut up potatoes are added (½ hour before the end). Finally, dumplings are made in the pot.

Meanwhile the gombots are completed and lunch served with cold beer and bread.

We are then off to Tata.

Tata is on the way North to Vienna along M6. It is a small town smaller than Whitby. There are some nice shops and we dropped into one that makes chocolate; apparently world renowned.

Then it is on to the Falglat (ice cream store). The price is ½ of the usual – 200 HUF for a double scoop. I didn't think it was up to the usual though.

Here it was overcast for most of the morning and cool 23 C. But in the afternoon it warmed up to 25 or 26. It is very humid because there is a lot of low pressure around.

The rain started very quickly and we ducked into a small restaurant. The menu was unbelievably low; and we notice people eating large servings. We regret cooking before out trip.

There was a lake and it was kind of a tourist area but my rear end was acting up so walking became very painful. (not hemorrhoids)

We came back to Budafok, I took a quick shower and put on some polysporin and felt better. We then went food shopping at INTERSPAR; not like COSTCO but like the average METRO.

We made a quick stop at Orsi and Gabor's because they had extra figs to give to Gnorgyi. I tried a fresh fig but I did not care to try a second one. Fresh figs are completely different.

Back at the house we had a cold cut and vegetable supper. I ate too much, or maybe it was the milk (which I don't normally drink) and suffered from gas through the night. At 1 am I woke up Gyorgyi because I was looking for the UNICOM. There wasn't any so she gave me a ½ shot of a brandy. This helped and I fell to sleep quite soundly.

Monday July28 Day 13:

The morning was cloudy and it had rained a little during the night. It was coolish but warmed up to the mid 20's by noon.

Breakfast was the usual large one but with a new bread spread called “padizsankrem zoldsegkrem”; it is a plant cream and tastes very good on toast or bread. Palinka came after. Tamas is feeling better, so he says and he is off to work without a breakfast, Gyongyi tells me he will be back before I leave.

I pack my bags and the big one seems like a ton.

Tamas is back and has a small gift and a heavy one from Laci... a large bottle of his honey. The other gift turns out to be my swimming trunks. I knew they would turn up. We took some farewell photos before leaving Garabonc.

Ebed or lunch is a nice tyuk soup with noodles and carrots and burgers which are made from pork instead of beef. There is also fried potatoes. I am served a large beer and it eventually gets drunk.

We go to the bus stop which turns out to be different from where I got let off. However, it is correct. Tamas wanted it confirmed and telephoned the company earlier. However, the bus stops at the same stop where I was let off. I guess people want to get a better seat by getting on earlier.

The bus is about 10 minutes late and by the time it leaves Zalakaros, it is 20 minutes late. I had a reserved seat and it was marked reserved so I took it. The young man beside me left at the first stop past Zalakaros he was replaced by a young lady with a laptop. I began to type notes and continued until the rest stop. The driver said “ot perc” - 5 minutes, so everyone scrambled for the rest rooms.

When I got back on the bus, I asked the young lady beside me if she spoke English... she did. So it worked out that I had someone to talk with for the rest of the trip...about an hour. She worded as an HR manager (Human Resource) for a Swedish hardware company in Budapest. I believe her name was Kira (unusual). She got off at a stop before the terminal.

I telephoned Gyorgyi and Jancsi just before I got to the terminal. They were already there waiting. The usual warm greetings followed by a quick trip to the car. On the way to their house all hell broke out.. rain. It was over before we got to their place.

Over a couple of drinks we had a small supper which got bigger with time. We started off with cold cuts, cheese, olives, some canned oysters and progressed to the lecso and rice. Part way through, I knocked my wine glass off the table. However, with my quick reflexes I was able to catch the wine glass. The wine was all over the floor and some on my leg... not harm done.

We go for a “short” walk which seems very long. Gyorgyi's ankle must be up to it.

We watched a little TV which turned out to be an hour of the Canadian series “wind at my Back” circa 1997. They have been following the series with interest. The end credits name Bowmanville as the place it was filmed. I told them that it was near Oshawa. This was never a series I watch and it is interesting to see that Hungarians find it very interesting. It is set in the 1920's or 30's in Canada. The characters words have been translated into Hungarian.

Off to bed. Interestingly, it is very dark by 9:20; darkness seems to fall quickly.

Sat.,July 26;

Agy makes breakfast for us, she does not eat anything apparently for breakfast...Nancy knows that I think breakfast is important.

After breakfast Laci drives me to Peter's a friend's place in the “out-back”. The road is small then smaller then 2 ruts and finally we are there. There is a fence, more like a wall; a double locked gate leads to over 100 beehives. A dachshund 'guards' the place and makes a lot of noise. Peter only does this for a living, and I guess it is enough. Peter, who was not there is in his late 40's or 50's.

We put on protective hats with screens, but as usual it is not necessary. The 'house' or cabin is triple locked. Laci has all the keys since he helps Peter occasionally. The sound of the bees is quite calming, surprisingly. After everything is locked up we head out...but less than a km down the road I realize that my camera bag is still there...back we go down the worst part of the road. This place is several km from the main road and it is surprising that they would need a large fence. Laci says that the noise of the bees usually is enough to discourage people.

I ask Laci if we could go to Nagybakonak to see the cemetery where our relatives are buried. Lacy says it is only 5 km but it is more like 10 from the beehives.

It is now quite warm (hot is over 30 C) and sunny. The cemetery is not as I had remembered it from 1996 or 8. It is larger and has a nice gate and entrance.

We look for the graves and first find Janos and Ibi's grave. It is quite new (2005). I am surprised that Ibi is buried there, since there was such an unhappy situation when Janos died. We also find the grave of Imre Jakabfy who was Gyongyi's great grandfather, Irma's grandfather. We also found Laci's and Gyongyi's father's grave very close to the others.

I was actually looking for an older stone left by my grandfather for Eva Deli, my grandmother's mother. When we can't find it, Lacy phones Irma to see if she knows where it is. But as is common, old markers are destroyed since there is no one to keep up the plot... 75 years is common. So I am fortunate to have pictures from 1996 or 8 and the words on the stone. I now have new info on Imre who was one of my grandfather's brothers.

We are off to Laci's house. He shows me the GE factory where he works, only a 5 minute walk from his house.

We sit down in his garden and enjoy a cool one. Christian, Agy's son drops by and I meet him. He is tall like Agy. I did not meet his girl friend.

. Near 12, Gyongyi and Tamas arrive. Ebed or lunch is upcoming. Soup is the first thing, there is halaszle (fish soup) and chicken soup. I have the halaszle. I like it but it does not like my digestive system. After the soup there are meat dishes (can't remember at this moment), then desert, the same great desert as yesterday – rolled cake in chestnut(gesztenye) jam (not like the chestnut we have in Canada) and chocolate covered cake with cherries in it. The latter is my favourite already. I forgot to mention that we start meals with the usual palinka and have wine or beer with the food. Does it sound like we drink a lot....maybe different drinks but usually not a lot of each. Palinka is usually in a shot glass. Palinka is stronger than whiskey more like vodka.

Tamas and Gyongyi both drink, which is unusual, but it is a long time before we leave anyway.

There is much talking in the afternoon inside since it has gotten quite hot.

Laci and I go for a swim in the pool; it is not large but very refreshing.

About 7:30 we head back to Garabonc. You guessed it... more to eat.

About 9:30 we call it a night and head back to bed. I tell them that I would like to take some pictures of the “hedgyon kerte” the hill garden in the morning.

Friday July 25:

I wake up with a very sore back because I stayed up late and typed on the computer the night before.

After the usual breakfast, Tamas drove me over to Laci and Agy's house on Magyar Ut in Nagykanizsa(50 000 people).

They have a lovely small house, very picturesque and clean. A lot of work has gone into the house since they first purchased it.

Laci showed me the garden. It has changed drastically in 4 years. Many grapes have moved and there are NO beehives. They are now out of town about 10-12 km away.

We have a few drinks before lunch(ebed). There is halaszle (fish soup) for lunch...just in case we do not catch any fish. There is toros testa – noodles with cottage cheese and fried bacon on top. This is traditionally served with the halaszle. Very rich. Then there is dessert, chocolate covered cherry cake and also a chestnut (gaston ?) filed roll cake. Coffee and that makes for big meal.

We relax for some of the afternoon or should I say recover from lunch. Laci will show me his beehives before we go fishing.

The hives are about 10 km out of town down a two tire road. The hives occupy about a plot 30 m by 30 m. The lot is surrounded by a 2 m fence. There are about 20 hives there. I am dressed in a beekeepers outfit (head-to-toe).

The bees are first smoked when the hive is opened. This makes them listless. They don't attack and I wonder why we are dressed so much. Laci says these are European bees and not agressive...definitely.

After looking at several hives Laci finds the Queen in each to make sure they are there. One queen for each...makes a family. There are lots of “baby” bees but not much honey at this time of year. The fall will bring honey. Laci has notes on each hive. Robi also has hives here. Much work went into clear-cutting the trees.

We are off to pick up Robi. He is about 5 km away in a small village. He is ready and has all of the fishing gear we will ever need. There are 3 collapsible chairs as well.

Laci has picked up some “bait” before we went. A plastic bag with grain and the fly larvae.

The lake is another 5-10 km down a very beat-up road. It is the same lake we went to 4 years ealier.

After setting up, it is close to 5 pm. The rods are very long but the 2 hook is tiny. There is a basket to hold corn nibbles and the grain which has been wetter. There is a small basket on the fishing line to hold a little of the grain/corn mixture. We use some larvae on the small hook.

We cast the lines out to where we can see carp.

The first few fish are mudcats about 4-5 inches...tiny but they are taken off with gloves.

After a while I am casting well. Robi uses a bobber and hook.

More small mudcats. We switch to corn nibbles with honey on them.

Finally, I catch a kaseg of some length. Unfortunately these fish are very boney and not worth keeping. Pictures are taken.

Nothing bigger is caught. It rains a little off and on for a bout 1 hour total. A few friends of Robi pass by. One stays to fish, he is after a BIG fish (a pike of sorts). He uses one of our smal kasegs for bait.

At 8:30 pm we are off to home. It takes us about an hour.

I will use Agy and Laci's large bed. I sleep very well and my back is much better by the morning.

Thursday July 24:

The time is going quickly; but still much to do and see. Breakfast was the usual large one.

There was some problem with the telephone but it got ironed out somehow.

We were then off to Egervar... I thought it was near Eger and said that would be too far... but it wasn't there.

We travelled North and West past Zalaegerszeg. We stopped at a little town in the middle of nowhere. There was a large white fort...in the Renaissance style. There was a museum in which you were encouraged to touch, feel and sit. Very unusual for any museum.

After espresso we entered the museum taking a Schindler lift to the second floor.

The first display was a touch-screen which took you back in history to about 1250 and came up to 2013. This was an excellent idea and very well done.

BTW signs were in 3 languages...Hungarian, German and English ! Nice !

There were other touch-screens and pictures of the many forts built in the Renaissance era in Hungary and vicinity (more than 20).

There was also an art display and you could purchase a painting for as little as 160 000 HUF...$800. However, they were too big for my suitcase and budget.

There was one room where all of the important people would sit around a large table. We sat at it as well and on the other chairs around the room.

It is interesting to see what can be done with a tactile museum.

I purchased some gifts in the gift-shop before we left. (surprises).

Ebed or lunch was at the “rozsakerte etterem” - rose garden restaurant. We ate outside amongst the flowers. The weather was sunny and the temperate about 22-25 C.

Gyongyi ordered a fried cutlet with fries while Tamas and I split a big dish with many types of food – steak and egg, a fried potato pancake, another fried item which was chicken and peppers. There were also lots of fried vegetables (zucchini, mushroom, onion) and some cold vegetables...cucumber and red onion. We managed to eat most of it but there was some left over pancake. Of course a cold beer helped the food down.

After lunch we walked across the road to visit a very old church... it was built around the time Columbus sailed the seas. The inside was very ornate but we were prevented by heavy iron gates from getting too close.

Into the car and off to Sarvar (Mudville in English). It was another hour North and East through some very forested roads.

A VAR is a fortress and we went in to visit. It was much larger than the previous fortress. There of course was yet another museum. You were NOT to touch anything and no photos (unless you paid a premium... we did not). To make sure this happened, each area had a person watching.

Much Hungarian history here from about 1400's to the 1940's. Signage was in Hungarian and German only ! This type of museum was of the “old school”.

Lots of pictures and interesting furniture and dishes and cutlery.

The best part was in the basement or dungeon area. This was in Hungarian and English so it was easy to follow. Much of this exhibition was of treasure and gold artifacts. Some Aztec, some Roman, Greek etc.

Off to the restaurant for a cold beer before we left. The driver, remember, never drinks alcohol. Tamas in this case.

We must be back by about 6 pm so Tamas spares nothing in getting there. We did stop for bread and some cold meat at Tesco.

I watched the speedometer hit 140 kph at times. Tamas car is a very nice VW with a diesel engine and great tires. The road is quite windy in spots and it felt at times like we were in an auto race. Good fun though.

We got back just in time to start a cold beer and welcome Violetta, Szabolcs and the kids. They are off to Majorca by plain tomorrow. Szabolcs' parents are going as well as the children.

Just when I thought the eating was over, we had a “small” supper. Bacon with garlic on top and sauteed in a bit of lard and wine. Very tasty on bread. I will make this when I get home. Finish it off with a large slice of watermelon and yet a little more beer and you can see that sleeping will not be a problem.

I am off to Laci and Agy's tomorrow for some fishing and halaszle (fish soup) no doubt; whether we catch anything or not.

I have stayed up late typing and uploading because it seems there is no other time.

Wed. July 23:

It is very nice this morning. A cool breeze, some clouds but no rain.

A few facts I have not mentioned before.

Gas is the equivalent of over $2.00 a litre. Even benzene or diesel is over $2.00 a litre (over 400 HUF)

I have been getting English TV news on D-W (Deutche-Welle) on the Journal. BBC doesn't seem to work at all. The CBC from Canada does not work...at least on Linux. I guess the German TV knows how to do it. This is the only TV I watch... an hour a day is probably the most I have watched. No movies ! Just making them.

I found a problem with my 64 Gig SD card. Linux did not see it; however, after a little research on the Internet, the problem was solved. I had never heard of exFat before. At first I used Windows 7 but now I don't need that either....as if I ever did. I have been trying to get the relatives here to switch to Linux. A lot of them still use Windows XP with many pop-ups warning of out of date software. Eventually, they will learn.

I spent most of the morning updating the family tree. So many gaps to fill-in but many answers here. I now have 132 people. I have also made some corrections. And I am learning more about the program in general.

Breakfast was the usual with one except hot virsli (veal hot dog).

Ebed was lecho(with kolbassa) and potatoes; very traditional.

A did my crossword on the swing outside; the first time I have had to do it.

At four pm we were off to Attila and Bea's. After a few drinks (palinkas) the children (Panna and Adam) wanted me to join in with Attila for some “foci” ...soccer with the kids. I was out of breathe and hot after a time and I asked for a time-out then we had supper.

Bea's supper was like a lasagna but instead of noodles there was thinly sliced potatoes. There were hard boil eggs in it as well as salami. There was also an excellent cucumber salad, which I couldn't get enough of.

After supper it was video time... Mike and Sheilah's wedding and videos from out visit in 2010.

Bea's parents who live next door invited us to view their “zoo” or farm animals. Rabbits, doves, pigs, a mule, geese, ducks, chickens (50+) and finally the two horses that provided the children with a thrill with their galloping (no one was on them).

We headed back to the house for some relaxation and bed.

Tues. July 22:

Today it definitely looks like rain. All three of us Tamas, Gyonyni and me head of to the Badacsonyi hill. It is about 50-60 km from the house. The first step is to go through Keszthely avoiding traffic. We get on the road to the East and after an hour we stop for a little walk in a very nice “look-out”. There is a golf course close-by. I will take a picture or two for my gold friends. Not many golfers on the course...maybe it is too expensive or there just are few golfers. The weather is not promising either.

When we get to Badacsonyi we part at the bottom of the main hill. I though it was a joke and we would only walk a little. I was wrong. We walked up the hill; not sure how far; maybe 2 km.

At the top of the hill, which is not the actual highest point. There is a very nice-looking restaurant. We get there about 11:30 am so there is hardly anyone seated. We get a nice table with a great view. Each of us orders something different. Tamas orders a mix of pork called the “robbers” plate I think. I don't know what Gyongyi ordered, it tasted like a potato meat mix. I had the chicken paprikas with galuska. There is too much gasluska and only a chicken leg and thigh. The gravy is more like beef gravy. There is a little sour cream over top of one side. If I did not know how to cook this dish, I might be tempted to think it very good. It is OK. The white wine from the area is excellent. Not really dry but not sweet either. They brought a loaf of bread but it was not very fresh. Too bad the food did not match the view.

We left the restaurant just as it was becoming crowded. Also we could see large shower-heads on the lake. There were a few drops of rain on the way down but really nothing to get worried about.

Once in the car and heading west toward the house, there were several down-pours. This was serious rain. Once near the house we could see that it had not rained as much here.

We were off to Violetta and Szabolcs' house. Originally they had though they would move in with Szabolcs' parent. But they would see that it would be a great change, so they stayed put. I told them it was a good idea.

We watched some of the videos of Mike and Sheilah's wedding and some other videos from 2010. I now realize that I could have taken a lot out and still got the idea across. Oh well, the next videos will be better. We had just a few drinks; never the designated driver.

We went back to the house and had a light supper of Canadian bacon and bread. I prefer bacon cooked longer and without the grease on it...but when in Rome.

I was off to bed about 9 pm and had a good sleep. It rained most of the night.

SMALL PICTURE ALBUM


Langos is a popular item here...Called Beaver tails in Ottawa


Children and Adults get ready for Sunday's Large Lunch(ebed)


Adults eat at the main table under the roof


Children eating first course chicken soup


Main course- Gulyas, fried pork, rice, dumplings

Monday July 21

Another hot day but some change is in the air. It got very windy at noon. Tamas is off to work so we are myself and Gyongyi.

We are off to Keszthely (pronounced cast eye). First we walk the main square and pedestrian street. This leads to the Festetics Kastely(castle).I have been there twice before so we only walked the grounds and took a few pictures. I was having technical problems with the camera so I tried to fix it unsuccessfully.

I bought a few postcards but it was then that I realized that I had NOT brought any addresses as I usually do. So, if you were expecting a post card, SORRY! I still could not use my Hungarian money since the bills are too large and the store could not or would not change it.

What would a hot day be without a falgy (ice cream cone). So I got a double (two scoops maybe two kinds). It was Italian gelato as it turns out. Very good.

We were then off to get stamps for the postcards. So of course we went to the main post office. Here we had to pick a number and wait... we didn't. We decided to stop at another post office in Zalakaros.

Next stop was the lake side for a walk. We saw all kinds of ducks and swans. We walked out to the end of the peer where tourist boats park. On the way back to the car, we stopped for ebed (lunch). We ordered 2 pizzas and 1 beer. The pizzas were huge and hot and tasty. I treated for lunch to get some change for one of my large bills. It was not expensive. Waiters will assume that a slight over-payment is the tip.

After arriving at the house and filling out the postcards, it was off to visit Irma (my aunt(?)). On the way back we stopped for stamps and mailed the postcards. I dated them so that when they arrive, people will realize when they were sent. All 3 postcards had the same address...guess where they were going ?

Next off was a large grocery store. After a quick cell it was off to Irma's apartment.

Irma was waiting outside for us and Istvan was close-by. Lots of warm greetings.

The first order of business was something to drink...vodka flavoured as yellow melon. It was sweet. Istvan offered us his son's white wine. It was not strong but wet. Out came some cakes.

First it was time to see the videos of Mike's and Sheilah's wedding. Everyone was interested but as the speeches proceeded it was evident that my translations would be too slow. More wine helped.

Second order of business was the Family Tree. We made several changes. I took some pictures of pictures that I did not have. More wine... now the bottle was empty. Istvan and I were the only ones drinking. The designated driver never drinks.

My Hungarian was improving. There were lots of laughs as I “minced” or used the wrong word and some tears as the pictures proceeded, tears especially when Jozsi's picture came up. (He passed away in the middle of the night from his 1st heart attack just before his 70th birthday in 2013.)

The evening passed very quickly and so did the wine. We were on bottle 2.

We left and got back to the house about 7:30 or 8 or 8:30 pm. I fell into a deep sleep and didn't wake up till after midnight or so. A couple of aspirins did the trick.

Sorry for the first set of posts. I wasn't aware of the problem until Mike mentioned it.

Everything runs together.

This will not happen again, again, again.

Sunday July 20 arrives and it is still quite hot. However, a nice breeze kicks up in the morning so that it is wonderful in the shade.

The usual large breakfast is served but I was still full from last night.

Tamas and Gyongyi are preparing a large ebed for the family for noon hour. Tamas and I go up to the hill farm to gather fresh vegetables and the large pot for the bogracs; but the pot is not there. Back to the house and Tamas finds it.

I watch Gyongyi cook the beef in the bogracs. It is done differently from what I do. There are only peppers added to the beef along with the usual things. I will put my version of bogracs on my web-site (tomikaj.com) later in August.

About 10 am I am dressed and ready for church which is in Zalakaros (3-4 km), Szent Laszlo's church is new and not very big; however, by 10 am it is almost packed. What is unusual for many is the projector at the left side. It shows appropriate prayers but mainly the words (in Hungarian) for the hymns. I saw this used about 20 years before but instead of a computer they used a slide projector. There is no ornate statues but everything is modern and well done.

The priest (pap :pron. Pop as in popcorn in Hungarian) is in his 40's. He has an unusual 'tic', his eyes look left or right for no apparent reason; like someone is there that he knows; There are a few changes in the standing and sitting but most are the same. I had a Hungarian mass book from Canada so I could see some of the responses. Everything is in Hungarian. After communion a man came to the front to speak... very fast. I caught some words about television. He handed the priest a booklet in which there was a picture. I comprehended that Szent Laszlo's church was on TV recently and the book was a remembrance of that occasion. The priest thanked the man and there was some applause (clapping). Finally, there was a final hymn but no one left till the Blessed Virgin's picture appeared on the screen. At home, people are scrambling to get out before the hymn finishes like there is no tomorrow.

I looked around for Tamas who said he would pick me up after mass. I followed the crowd and saw a very familiar face waving to me... Attila (who is very tall and easy to spot) was waiting form me. After warm greetings we drove back to Garabonc.

Almost everyone was there getting ready for ebed (lunch).

- chicken soup

- fried pork like schnitzel

- nokedli (dumplings)

- rice

- beef guylas (bogracs)

- chocolate and strawberry topped desserts (home baked by Agy and Bea respectively)

- beer, wine, coffee (espresso, capochino)

After ebed we sat around and chatted about life in general and the cost of this and that in Hungary and Canada,family. Everyone wishes Nancy well and wishes she was here.

Before the first person left I took some photos (I will include one here)

Everyone helped clear the table of all of the various items and there seemed to be enough for everyone to do. Gyongyi had a large pile of dishes. The dish washer was kept busy the rest of the afternoon. I had a nap to help digest all of the food and drink. It was a hot day but there was a very good breeze that kept everything bearable.

I took a few hours in the afternoon to take a nap.

Supper was some of the food left from ebed. Tamas was not hungry but I had a good amount. One of my favourites is the pickles made from sitting in a jar with some bread, dill weed, salt, and garlic. They are very mild and tasty. The cucumbers are not the same as you might grow for a salad. They have a softer skin.

We went for a “setanyi” a short walk in the evening and then came back to the house...it does hasten you digestive tract as only Nancy can attest to. Enough said.

Saturday July 19th. It has been 15 years today since my mother passed away. God rest here soul. I just realized this.

I am writing this on Sunday since Saturday was so full and tiring. Breakfast was usual. I slept in till 8 am. Showered.

Violetta arrived in the morning and I went to the ATM to get some Hungarian Forints. The only problem is they are large bills. In my walk, I was short about two blocks of the ATM.

We had a nice ebed – vegetable soup and some meat and rice dish. Ebed is large.

I did some work on photos and other things during the afternoon. Gyongyi told me that we were off to see a concert in Zalakaros for their anniversary but I did not know the singer Zoltan Bereczki.. He is very dynamic pop singer now but has been around for some time as an actor, stage-singer,dancer, etc. I had never heard about him but he is on youtube as well. Here is a link you can judge for yourself. However, he performed on stage without all of the other props that you see in the video.

:zene Zoltan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iIoCdMoZXs

Gyongyi served the left-over stuff pepper; it was very good as usual .

We went to Zalakaros about 7 pm and walked around the vendor area. We bought some langos (salt and garlic) and some wine and beer. We saw Agy but before she saw us I went up behind her in the langos line and said something and she knew who it was when she turned around. We thne met up with her husband, Laci; there was the usual warm greetings. We all headed to the area of the singer.

Bersczki Zoltan or in English Zoltan Bersczki gave a free concert for 1.5 h, never stopping. A song some talk and then another song. Although all the songs but one were in Hungarian; they were superbly done. The crowd and us loved it.

The one song in English was, Michael Jackson's “Billy Jean”. Zoltan not only can sing but dance as well. He did a superb performance of Michael Jackson. He finished but not without and encore demanded by the crowd.. The air was electric. Once he came out into the crowd to sing so we got a very close-up picture of him. I took a lot of video so that I could get the wonderful singing too.

When he finished, we went back to the vendor area. I lost my friends for about 10 minutes but found them watching a man performing on the pan-flute.

Again we all sat down and had more beer and wine (except for the designated drivers). Laci and Agy shared and langos and Tamas and I had a pogacsa (a small fried bun with almonds) each. We shared many funny stories about my travel and others as we sat with our drinks and food.

At about 10 pm music announced the start of the fireworks; it lasted 15 minutes and was very well done. I videod it but will use only the best later.

After the fireworks we headed back to the car and to Garabonc. Tomorrow brings the whole family to the house for ebedre (lunch).

Although we were finished and in bed, there was much commotion on the street that kept the dogs busy barking. It didn't stop me from sleeping since it was a very long and exciting day.

The lovely Bus to Zalakaros The men's piszuar..guess what ?

day 3: Again slept very well until 7 am... haven't slept so long. I did take another ibuprofen about 2 am. Gyongyi (not the same person as Gyorgyi !) prepared the traditional Hungarian breakfast...Hungarian peppers, salami, jam, rye bread, juice. cheese and coffee (espresso). This will be the last time I mention what we had for breakfast unless there is a change. Following breakfast Gyongyi drove up to the hill farm. It really is on top of the hill overlooking Kis Balaton To( little lake Balaton). There was a very nice breeze. She picked fresh carrots, potatoes, peppers and parsley. The grapes are tiny this year and may not yield a big crop, if any. There are also apple and pear trees. Lots of apples but fewer pears. The house in the garden is very nice. Kitchen, washroom, living room and a lovely bit outdoor porch. The basement houses the grape making stuff. It was interesting to hear that a lot of the owners of the other houses on the hill were Germans. The cost of these 2nd houses is prohibitive for some Hungarians. It was a very interesting drive back through the hills and dales. Once back, Gyongyi started making lunch (ebed- pron eh-bed). We are having stuffed peppers in tomato sauce. This is the same recipe that I use at home. The taste is identical. Tamas returned just before lunch (ebed) and had my cell-phone working. He got a new sim card. I tried it out and it works beautifully. It is a very warm day, about 30 C and sunny. A small breeze. At about 2:30 pm, I decide to go for a walk... to Zalakaros to the bank. It is hot but I go...sunscreen and a hat. It is a hot trek. I get to the bank to find out that they closed at 1:30 pm on Friday and won't be open till Monday 7:30 am. I stopped at an ice-cream place (szukor...something-or-other) szukor means sugar. I ordered a faglalt (ice cream cone)... lemon with strawberry on top. I misunderstood the waitress. She said 200 HUF (Hungarian Forints) for each. I had only 320 HUF. Fortunately they took euros. So I got some HUF and euros as change. I ate the ice cream in the air conditioned store. I cooled off a bit. I went out and tried to see if there was an ATM nearby... couldn't. I started the long walk (about 3 km) back. I spotted a small store that sold everything and bought a Magnum ice cream bar. Only 470 HUF compared to the 2.5 Euros I paid in Helsinki (1 euro = 305 HUF today). So I continued on my walk back happily eating the Magnum bar.

A cold beer was waiting at the house !

About 4 pm Violetta, Szabolcs, and children (Virag 8, David 6, and Rebecca 1.5) arrived. There was much talking and exchanging of stories. Violetta speaks fluent English and Szabolcs pretty good English.

Gyongyi was busy making a small meal (supper is usually much smaller than the luncheon meal). She made deep fried Zucchini. I watched her. Zucchini peeled and cross cut with the seeds removed. Each ring (look like onion rings) was dragged through flour, then beaten egg, then through bread crumbs. She used sunflower oil to deep fry the rings. They were eaten with either mustard-mayonnaise or mustard. They are really good.

Of course we started off with palinka and yet another cold beer.

After supper we sat outside and had one more beer with peanuts and chatted about the tragedy of the passenger airplane that had been shot down over the Ukraine.

I am off to blog at 9 pm and pay some bills at the Internet banking site. I had no problems this time.

Nancy wrote that she was having trouble with a bowel blockage. I hope things are OK for her. I wrote a couple of emails to her.

July 17: I woke up at 1:49 am Hungarian time. It was so quiet after the plane trip. I took an ibuprophin and slept till 7 am... really refreshing. Jancsi left for work at 4 am...didn’t hear him Violetta and Nancy both emailed me. I am sure that Nancy was up early as the email arrived to me before breakfast.. Thanks.

Gyorgyi and I had a lovely breakfast of tomatoes, Hungarian pepper, chicken slices, apple juice, coffee, cherry cake, whole grain bun, chicken spread and some salami and plum jam. Sounds like a lot but I took a little from each. Gyorgyi has diabetes so must eat a low sugar diet so everything was geared to this but it was excellent.

I transferred my baggage to a smaller bag(Gyorgyi loaned me hers) so we could use the bus service better. Gyorgyi went to buy bus tickets because it was less expensive to buy ahead of time.

With a phone call to Jancsi we were able to find the power converter(that I left in their care 4 years ago) so I can safely charge my computer etc.

Jancsi was able to get my phone working but found that the phone number rang someone else. My sim card has expired. So I will need to buy a new one...not a big expense. (actually Tamas is doing that for me in Nagykanizsa)

Gyorgyi took me to the terminal via 3 different buses. The public transportation system in Budapest is awesome. No extra waiting. Each bus was 2-4 minute between. Fortunately, there was a violent shower only during the bus trip. We had a short walk to the bus terminal and we were early by 30 minutes..

A WC visit cost 120 ft (70 cents) but was well worth it. Maybe Toronto can learn from this... lots of people have to GO !!!!! and Go !!!

I found the bus headed to Zalakoros (near Tamas and Gyongyi) home (1-2 km).

The bus takes M7, the main highway. I have a window seat but no one beside me...very nice and it is air-conditioned. It left the terminal at 2 pm exactly. The trip was very fast, much better than the train which stops at every little town and has not air conditioning... they can air conditioning here "klima" (pron. klee ma). It is easier to say.

Tamas was waiting for me at the station in Zalakaros and we greeted each other very warmly. It has been 4 years between visits.

Gyongyi was waiting at home for us and we arrived in 5 minutes from Zalakaros. After several "palinkas" and some cold beer we had a lovely supper of a gulyas and lovely rye bread and corn. They cannot understand or try corn with butter on it. They use salt and pepper but never butter.

After supper we sat outside, it was warm and eventually we had a little shower. But a few beers helped us endure. We were under a cabana anyway.

After several attempts to get on the Internet using Tamas's new password, we succeeded. I wanted to send an email and do some blogging but I was so tired I fell asleep at 9 pm (here).

july 15:Thanks to Guy for driving to the airport. Nancy came this far on the trip. We arrived about 7 pm and since I had a printed ticket we just had to put the bag on at the baggage-drop. The hardest part was finding the Finnair kiosk. I said my good-byes and got into the security line. The line was about 45 minutes. At the final stage they confiscated my wine bottle opener...argh ! I Do look like I would "screw" with the crew ?

I got some booze at the duty-free and I was off for the gate--gate 30 almost the last one. I decided to have something to eat... a beer (22 oz) and a vegetarian felafel with fries. The felafel was awful but the fries were good. I couldn't even finish the beer in an hour so I walked across the aisle to the boarding gate. I struck up a conversation with an older guy(maybe I was older)who was going to Croatia. But I got called to the gate because there was a problem with my ticket. The bar code could not be read so they had to check my passport yet again.

The boarding was slow and I could see we would not leave on time. In fact we left about an hour late from Toronto...but the pilot said he would make up the time on the way to Helsinki. Supper was served when we got to altitude. Supper was not inspiring...chicken “fingers” which were really thin. We did get 1 free wine drink.

I was seated beside a pretty 20 year old girl...OK OK, it wasn’t my choice ! She was travelling with her family (seated in front of us). They were going back to Finland after a 2 week stay in Canada. They had spent 5 years in Canada before. But they now live in Finland 200 Km from Helsinki. She spoke very good Canadian as well as Finnish.

Kiitos ! Finnish for “thank you” was the only word I can remember.

We talked for an hour or so and then it was off to sleep. I had a 2 year-old behind me and her mother could not stop the kid from kicking the back of my seat. I did not get any sleep until the brat fell asleep.

July 16:Morning brought breakfast... a very hot egg omelet with thin potato under it. It was better than supper.

We arrived in exactly 7 hours at Helsinki. It was raining and cool (10-12C). We needed a bus ride to the airport terminal... it was hair-raising ! It was 12:30 pm their time (7 hours ahead).

They had to make sure that the bottles of booze were OK before allowing me in. I suggested they taste it... they didn’t but opened one to see. These were all sealed and stamped DUTY-FREE. They let them through.

I roamed the terminal and had an ice-cream bar. It was a small terminal but full of people from every nation. There was a rest-area with genuine Finnish furniture. Very nice.

My plane was supposed to leave at 5 pm for Budapest. It was 5 minutes late, but the pilot said he would make up the time; he did !

We zoomed into Liszt Ferenc airport very fast; he used the whole runway to land...with the brakes used generously. Usually, flaps are used to slow down the plane first.

A long walk to the baggage area but a short time to get the bag.

Our good friends Gyorgi and Jancsi met me at the gate and we were off. Since I was early and they were too, it worked out perfectly.

The temperature was 29C and sunny.

My right ear was still ringing. At their home I had a lovely soup made from zucchini and rice-chicken dish. Good cooking. Iszlik (eez-lik=good tasting)!

After a couple of cold beers and a shower, I was in bed at 9 pm their time or 3 am Canada time.

July 14th

Tomorrow(July 15) I am off to Budapest via Helsinki on Finnair.

Sounds strange but this was the quickest return trip and time of any I have seen. I booked through cheapoair.ca. Things went well and they seem pretty good so far. I have my seat and boarding pass.

Will post again when I get there.