Monday, June 13, 2005
A Hungarian village & Budapest by Night
Hungarian flag next to the European Union flag in St. Andrew, a charming vilage along the Danube River, just outside Hungary. I took trip there today to enjoy the sunshine, some more Hungarian food and a little shopping.
This street sign was on display where we ate lunch. It says "May 1st Street" and is a relic of the Hungary's Communist days (May 1st being of course a sacred laborer's day in Communist ideology). When Communism fell in Hungary, street names like this were changed to help usher in the new era. But for a period of time, the new street names stood side-by-side the old street names until locals got used to the change. To signify the old, soon-to-be-erased names from the new, red x's would be spray-painted over the Communist street names.
This was my desert after lunch today. It's called "turos gomboc" and features two cottage cheese dumplings smothered in a sweet yogurt sauce with powdered sugar sprinkled over the top. Thank goodness I'm competing in the Eurogames tennis tournament in Holland later this week. Maybe I'll be able to shed some of the calories represented so bountifully by treats like those above.
Another insane (and weirdly delicious) Hungarian specialty I tried today in St. Andrew. OK, let's see, its pasta noodles covered with yogurt and sweet cottage cheese, with chunks of bacon fat sprinkled throughout. It's called "turos csusza." How do they come up with such concoctions, anyway? And for those not in the know, that's the Hungarian flag.
Hungary - Day 3 - Sunday, June 12 (Happy Birthday lil' sis' Krista!)
Budapest's "Chain Bridge" over the Danube. See the lions? Csaba says legend has it that the bridge's designer dared anyone to find something wrong with his "perfect" bridge. When an observant citizen pointed out that the lions had no tongues, the bridge designer was so devastated that he killed himself.
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