We have arrived in Keszthely, were we are convalescing for a few days before moving on to Serbia to meet family and catch the gig of the winner of the "Hungarian Idol" TV show. Thanks to our friend Bethoven-bacsi, we have front row seats for this gig. I am going out to buy my lighter tomorrow!
We have spent our day here checking out Peter’s friends vineyard (OK, raiding his wine barrels) and walking about downtown Keszthely. The vineyard is on the hill out of Sarmellek. You travel down some really scary, narrow back roads, with kamikaze drivers barreling towards you only to veer out of the way at the last minute, and there you are. The vineyard is 4 rows of grapes, a small building with some really great oak barrels and a couple of rooms to store equipment or hang out (there is a small kitchenette). Peter siphoned out 10 liters of wine while Zia and I picked black currants out of the neighboring tree. The wine was killed that evening by Peter, Vera and Zia, while I enjoyed the greatest pilsner I have had in my life (on which more in a minute).
The vineyard next door is for sale. It produced about 1,000 liters of wine last year. For budding entrepreneurs, it is 8 rows of grapes, a guest house in need of a "little work," and all the barrels and equipment you need to start turning grapes into wine. You can own it all for $9.000 dollars. There is a caretaker working the next field who will work this one too if you wish for a little less than $300 a year. Your only problem is to find a friendly wine importer to get your hooch home and you could be an absentee landlord with a great vacation home!
Downtown Keszthely is a great place. It is an intriguing mix of old classic architecture, communist period block apartments, and new remodels and updates. Every tour book would have you believe that there are only three things here, the waterfront, the museum, and the Castle/Mansion (depending upon which version you read). We have not ventured into the museums yet, but have visited the waterfront and the Castle. Lake Balaton is a shallow, naturally-fed lake. As a result it is very warm, and perfect for swimming. We have not done this yet as I need to get a new swim suit. Seems mine is too conservative for local taste. I am afraid to find out what that means, but Zia seems to be looking forward to it.
Which leads us to our first contest. There are several Shakespeare productions presented in Hungarian in the grounds around the Castle, needless to say in Hungarian. This has lead to some very interesting translations of the titles of the plays. Below are the English translations of the Hungarian translations of the original English titles. First person to get all the titles right gets some trinket that we will snag for you at the local black market. The titles are:
Errors happy games
grumpy chick
Water Cross or Cross in Water
Happy attempt
Have fun!
For our beer loving friends. I have tried 4 different beers in the last couple of days. Here is what’s good and what is not-so-much. Starting with "Kozel," a Slovakian beer contract brewed in Budapest. This rather disappointing entry is 4% according to the can (most beer around here comes in a can, a situation that is supposed to improve in Germany). The nose is the "wet cat" smell of commercial, mass-produced pils. There is a pretty well balanced fore taste that completely and strangely disappears on the back of your tongue. Think Budwiser without the chemicals and you wouldn’t be too far off. Entry number two is "Edelweiss Weissenbeir." Brewed in Germany by the Hofbrau Kaltenhausen, this is a pretty typical wheat beer. The nose is a nice blend of hops and bananas, the taste is malty and bubble-gummy, with just a hint of yeast tang on the back of the tongue. You could drink a lot of these, a great session beer. Entry number three I can tell you nothing about. Seems my notes are a bit unreadable, but I can tell you it was a pretty average pils. The real find so far is Firstenberger. WOW! You are greeted at the glass with the pleasant fragrance of Saaz, you get drawn in and take a sip, only to get sucker punched with a really big pils, perfectly balanced, that just rolls across the tongue, leaving you looking for more. And yes, there is more (which of course explains why I remember nothing of entry number three). Possibly the best Pils I have ever had! (But the trip is still young.)
All of this great bier is complemented by Vera’s culinary delights. Who knew there was so much great vegetarian food in Hungary? Last night was Mushroom Paprikas. For all of you culinary folks, according to Peter, the five fingers of classic Paprikas are Meat (or substitute), water, onion, paprika, and salt. Regional or culinary alterations (sauerkraut, spices, etc.) are then added to "make it your own." When asked what the proportions of the main five ingredients were, and evasive answer was given in reply. I was informed that the mushrooms were steamed in wine before they were added to the mix. I am not sure what the dish this evening was called, but in the classic version it starts with onions and Hungarian light green peppers sautéed in a mix of equal parts olive and sunflower oil. Diced tomatoes are then added and cooked on low heat until the fluid is released. Water can be added if there is not moist enough. Like the Paprikas, it is served over rice. The version that Vera made this evening was augmented by the addition of Eggplant and Zucchini, salted to help release water, just before the tomatoes were added. Very tasty!
More later...
Dave
*****
Hi all this is the very tired Zia ... Dave was smart and was taking naps but stubborn me well NOT. So here I sit waiting for Kyra ( our Daughter and grand daughter Jaden ) to arrive.
She drove all day to get here and had her Grandpa worried sick... she is in final stretch as we speak.
I am having a great time my parents love Dave , hell what’s not to Love . More from me tomorrow or something like that the letters are running together and the GIANT mosquitoes.
Kisses to ya all ( cause that’s the custom here )
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