6/30 & 7/1/2011 Niedernhall - Kesthely

An 11 hour car ride is our fate today - from Niedernhall to Kesthely, Z's folks home base. As it is raining and there is lots of construction going on, even my stint behind the wheel on the Autobahn wasn't much fun. I only made 120 MPH twice, dang it!

We rolled in around 9:00, or 21:00 as the locals tell time. I had five palinkas, "my palinka," Vera's palinka (Peter had pulled out the wrong bottle, and she needed her glass empty for the correct one), the correct palinka - twice, and then one more to keep Peter company while he snuck one in while Vera was in the bathroom. All of this washed down, of course, by the beer chaser that Vera put in my hand shortly after "the correct" palinka, volume one. As the calorie count was low today, shortly thereafter I poured myself into bed. A draining experience indeed.

*****

7/1

In "there goes the neighborhood" news - according to the local newspaper, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have bought a house in nearby Tihany. Angelina just finished a film project there and liked the town.

*****

Today was spent getting ready for the arrival of Z's daughter and her family - Kyra's husband, Greg, our granddaughters Jaden and Sophie, and Greg's parental units, Janet and Wayne.

The morning involved visits to several local stores. The competition is getting fierce, and the quality at some of them is falling off. Hardest hit is our beloved Lidl - with the quirky middle isle with all the weird stuff on it. The quality of goods has fallen off, and the middle isle is pretty bare.

The afternoon was spent cleaning, cooking, and, in my case, reacquainting the trumpet with my face. Peter is making goulash in the kettle on the fire. Vera is making dumplings on the stove, and they are taking turns making palacsinta (crêpes) = Jaden's favorite food group.

*****

After dinner, we put together there was a "Wine Thing" downtown. It's a kind of traveling circus of the local vineyards, moving from town to town around the lake all sumer (Balaton is one of the major wine producing regions in Hungary). You buy a glass for 300 Ft. (about $1.50), and then float from booth to booth buying "tastes." A "taste" is about half a glass, and will set you back between 120-800 Ft. ($1.00 - $4.00 USD). There are street musicians every block or so. The hottest ticket, crowd wise, is a group playing Hungarian Renaissance music on period instruments - a hurdy-gurdy, wood flute, a dumbek or two, and a bass drum anointed with various percussion "toys." Of course, their popularity could have something to do with the belly dancer fronting the group.