Hi all,
We went to the big semi-annual market in Topolya this morning. (An indication of how far things are going to have to go before things stabilize here politically can be found in the city identification signs that proudly display the name of their berg in Cyrillic, Serbian, and Hungarian...with spray paint if necessary. Needless to say the other guys version is frequently "X-ed" out.) The market covers about four city blocks and has all kids of stuff. Clothes, tools, replacement parts, livestock, produce, toiletries, etc., you have to see it to believe it. Things are pretty cheap and a certain amount of bartering goes on.
On the way home we passed a wrecked building. Peter told us that it was wrecked by a guy who swerved his car to miss a bicyclist and lost control of his car. He, miraculously, was in great shape when they loaded him into the ambulance and took him to the hospital. You know, check and release. Regrettably the attending nurse was drunk and fell on top of him. Broke three ribs.
Lunch this afternoon is at the home of Lajos (Loy-osh) and Bori. Bori is Peter’s sister. Also in attendance were Zia’s cousin Lali, his wife Adrianna, and Feri, and his wife Ani. Lali and Feri are a couple of self-made business tycoons. Lali, whom Zia refers to as the "Bicycle King," started his business by driving to the Hungarian/Serbian Border, selling his car, buying 28 bicycles, and paying school children to ride them across the boarder into Serbia, where he sold them for a handsome profit. He then sowed the money back into his business (see www.Capriolo.com, nice bikes with parts from all over the world). Feri, in addition to doing some form of work "for the government" that gets him diplomatic immunity that he won’t talk about ("If you get in trouble with the police, don’t do anything stupid and I can fix it." A comfort...), also runs a very profitable grocery store chain. These guys are a couple of characters, and I can easily see them getting into mischief as kids, although Zia assures me that is not the case.
From there to Feri and Ana’s Villa for kaffee mit schlag, champagne, an inground pool for the kids, and an opportunity for the tourists to gawk at some world class woodwork. The family have this guy on a retainer that is an artist with wood. The centerpiece of the house is a stair case constructed with branches to match the trophies hanging from the walls. All very rustic and amazing to look at.
Home to sleep off the schnapps, beer, champagne, etc., and then off to see the "Hungarian Idol." The warm-up band was a local group (the lead vocalist is a sister of the Idol) that did such varied Hungarian Folk Tunes as "Sweet Home Alabama," "All Right Now," "Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door," and the classic, "House of the Rising Sun" (I’ve been around many a poor boy, and God I know I’m one.). To be fair, their English is was better than my Hungarian, and they spent their entire set competing with the big screen showing the World Cup Final. (Italy beats France after double overtime and penalty kicks to much rejoicing. France hasn’t been popular here since the world wars.) The "Mega Stars," as they are referred to in Hungary, wisely waited until after the game to start their set.
Now I thought that we were just seeing the winner, but in Hungary the whole troop lives and dies together, and when the show ends, they all go on tour together. They are a very talented group of Karoke artists, and pretty entertaining to watch. The hometown hero is now referred to as "Mega-Magdi." People around us consider her to bring honor to the region and the whole community is proud of her. Tough to imagine that kind of community support for an American Idol winner. The crowd response was good for pre-80’s pop tunes, but the absolute best response was for rock covers of Hungarian and Serbian folk tunes!
Dave
Showing posts with label Hungarian Idol. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hungarian Idol. Show all posts
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Friday, July 07, 2006
July 7, Keszthely... and a contest
Hi all,
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.
The Castle is outfitted with great frescos and a really cool bit of statuary/fountain stuff. Peter told us a great story of the Count that owned it promising Empresses Maria Theresa of Austria that he would pick her up one winter in a horse drawn sleigh. It did not snow that winter, so he had laborers lay down salt from here to Vienna so that he could keep his promise. We will be visiting the Castle a lot this summer, as there are many cultural events held there.
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 )
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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