beautiful buildings prt 3

This is the roof of the National Archive building in Buda - next to the Fisherman's Bastion and part of the UNESCO World Heritage area in the old city

Buda Barriers - some of the doorways and door handles in Buda old town - they are pretty impressive (even if it is a weird thing to post about!)

The commute to and from work isn't too bad either

sometimes, going to work can be a chore but the route that I am able to take never fails to cheer me up either on the way in or after a bad day - who can ask for more of a view when living in a city - here's a selection of some of the best shots I have been able to capture

It is also a fully working river with traffic from Bavaria all the way through the Balkan region and down to the Black Sea - with some very large barges ploughing back and forth

Toki Pompos (I think that's how its spelt)

This is some form of Hungarian pizza specially eaten around Christmas - lovely and recommended by the guys at the radio station!!

Beautiful buildings prt 2

This is the design and textile musuem on Ulloi utace (the airport road) and just 5 mins walk from the flat - apparently when someone asked the designer why he had made the roof so beautiful or ornate, he replied that even birds appreciate beauty. Bet he had never had a pigeon and a new car come face to face!!

Prague Visit

Just been in Prague for 36 hours - it was only supposed to be for 36 hours but the first plane we were on this morning got turned round after about 15 mins in the air as the de-icing system wasn't working and then we had to sit aorund for 4 hrs pretending to be happy to pay 135Kr for a beer which when we had been out in the city centre the night before had been 26Kr - airport inflation is pretty high in Prague obviously

Stayed in the most bizarre hotel last night - one that certainly helped to expand on the image of Prague as a gothic city - the photo attached is of what I found in my room when I checked in! Not what I would normally expect to find in a hotel room on a business trip but might insist that my room has one from now on!!

Rupert and I were invited to join the office Christmas party which we duly did - except for the first 45 mins, we were at the wrong party - right building, wrong floor which was a lightly odd - we had a suspicion we were in the wrong place as the others there didn't look much like the media types we had spent the day with but we figured we might just have been unfashionably early!! Anyway having made our excuses we got to the right one in the end - just in time for the team karaoke sessions which was the final activity in the office power league (football, darts, skating, curling, go karting etc) and when you see the head of finance and 3 other very senior buyers recreating some Czech equivalent of Boyzone then life in the office is never going to be the same again - very very amusing

Woke up this morning to find about 6 inches of snow on the balcony of the hotel and it didn't stop the whole time we were stuck in the airport - but get back to Budapest and there is not a cloud in the sky and certainly no sign of snow - can't explain that really although someone did try and tell me it was because of the mountains!!

Budapest Buildings are beautiful

The architecture in the city is really amazing and here are 2 buildings that I saw the other day and thought they were worth sharing

One is the main synagogue which is still in use today and is one of the largest in Europe - just off Museum Kurat

The other is the entrance to an office on Andrassy which is just mindblowingly detailed - pity that I couldn't get into the building itself as the hallway which I could just glimpse through the small window was wonderfully ornate and well worth checking out

I have got itno a terrible habit of walking around looking up to take in the buildings - only problem is that I am starting to lose counts of the numbers of grannies I have knockered over, dogs I have trodden on and pieces of street furniture I have walked into so might have to stop before I do myself a mischief!!

Merry Magyar Christmas

The Christmas markets have arrived and started to appear across the city - the main one being on Vorosmarty Ter, in the city centre and next to the top cafe in the city called Gerbeaud which is akin to having tea at the Ritz. There is a massive Christmas tree in the middle of the square and then everything happens around it

It is a great concept, with local food and drink to sample as you look at the various trade and craft stores that are there offering traditional
Hungarian clothes (some great hats), toys, Palinka (yuck), jewellery (complete with working blacksmiths) - the secret is to to buy a mug of Forallt Bor (mulled wine) which you pay a deposit on, or keep, and then to wander about having a look at what is available/on offer, stopping to get the mug refilled at relevant moments and then stuffing your face with barbecued meat, stuffed cabbage, Langlos, Turkey 'pizzas' and various other local delicacies.

Not great to get there in the middle of the afternoon as it is rammed with people - both Hungarians and tourists but definitely a must if you find yourself in the city at this time of year.

Possibly the most amusing thing on display was the 5 Street dance Santas - very, very good and clearly doing well out of the crowds with their display

Away from the market, the streets have started to get the Christmas lights turned on with the main boulevards wrapping the trees with sparkling lights which is pretty spectacular whilst Vaci Utca (Oxford Street equivalent) has some very tasteful lights - no Disney characters in sight!!

Shameless Self publicity

After going to yet another party - it is a hard life but someone has to do it - this time for the great local fortnightly 'whats on' title called Funzine - I was asked to go for an interview on one of the local radio stations that has an English language show called Legal Alien every Tuesday evening where they interview expats and find out what they do and what they think about Budapest and they wanted someone fresh off the boat to come and talk about first impressions of the city and never being one to hide my light under a bushel, I accepted the offer and gave my thoughts to a rapt, enchanced audience of Hungarians and certain interested parties listening over the internet in France and Bristol (thanks to my loyal fans - you know who you are!!)

Great expereince - I was expecting about 5 mins and was given about 45 mins interspersed with songs to have a chat with Mark and Jennifer about life in Hungary, Budapest and the rest of the world is like, what working here is like and why I came to Budapest.

After only 6 weeks, it was lucky that the interview/show was in English, otherwise it may have been a very short conversation - but there was mention that I may be asked to come back after a little longer time in the country to see whether my opinions have changed etc - especially after the winter!!

Thansk to Mark and Jennifer for the opportunity

Footie food

Having been invited to join Jim and Gordon for drinks on Friday evening last week, I suddenly found myself being asked to come a long to the football club dinner at a Serbian restaurant just near the Great Market - true to the typical serbian hospitality that I enjoyed several years ago in Belgrade, beers come until you leave or pass out - whichever comes first - no is not an option when the barman looks at you but managed to avoid too many of the slivovicas that were doing the rounds although did get roped into Palinka - I still do not get the fascination with this drink! The food was amazing - platters of pork, chicken, pickled vegs and potatoes all consumed with vast hunks of bread and spicy red pepper sauce - lovely.

On Sunday, I was required to repay the invitation and joined the team for a training session in Vasas Gym which has a great outdoor astro pitch - true to form, I looked like a fish, not only out of water but rather which had never seen water!! Someone through a ball at me to control on my chest and volley back so I caught it instead - at which point, Jim suggested that maybe people should only roll it along the ground to me instead - the shame and humiliation of the rugby boy.

The team are a really multi-national group - Brits, Irish, French, Iranian, Egyptian and Hungarian to name but a few - all living and working out here from artists and journalists to professional rabble rousers!

Will have to see if I am invited to attend again!

Magyar Mullets

The Mullet is a live and well in Hungary - and did I see a beauty the other night. In a bar called Casablanca, don't ask, the new boss thought it would be a laugh (and he needed a pee) but he has just spent 9 months in Moscow so anything resembling kitsch has an unhealthy draw for him. This place claims to be inspired by, and according to one newspaper review stuck on the wall, be a modern incarnation of, the bar in Casablanca, Rick's Cafe Americain - yeah right about as close to being like Rick's as McDonalds is to 5 star Michelin cusine!

The mullet and tasche combo playing the piano was truly amazing, as was the piano because it was in fact a little plinky electro keyboard not even an a western saloon sit up piano. It must have taken years to cultivate and did look like it had grown a human rather than the other way round - think Keegan playing for Hamburg, with a Jackie Charlton comb over and a tasche like some Latin American despot and you have something close to the resident pianist in Casablanca (Budapest) - Sam the Piano man he was not!

Around the walls there were photos of the owners and also the 3 volumes of his autobiography - it looked a ripping yarn. We figured he might have been a big star under communism but his star was know on the wane and the custom appeared to have been based on drunk, nostalgic Russians and 2 Brits, one of whom was bursting for a pee - the only reason we went in in the first place.

Having also been to have dinner at what we were told was the best curry house in Budapest, OK so the list can't be too long, and when I ordered something completely different to my companion and they looked so similar that the waiter couldn't tell them apart, we knew it was going to be a slightly odd evening anyway.

By all account, Hungary is also the capital of the European Porn industry so maybe the dodgy tasche and the incredible mullet can be found in all good adult stockists in Soho!

check out www.casablanca-club.hu/mainpage for a true taste!

when it was honking down with rain the other day and life in the office was a little tense...

I remembered this video on Youtube and it made me laugh and reminded me how amusing my job can be when other people who take it too seriously!





An awesome parody of A Few Good Men - remember We write ads or people die!

Saturday night with Monkey and the Vets

Having watched England get humped by the All Blacks, the logical thing to do was to carry share a drink or 2 with the Budapest Exiles - namely a certain gentleman called Monkey - he is a Hungarian prop about 1.5m in all 3 dimensions and as he decided I look like a prop, we have become drinking buddies even though he speaks about 3 words of English and my Hungarian is still not what it should be! Post match sessions could require a taxi on stand by for a quick get away every once in a while

Later on the evening, we found ourselves in Bar Instant with some of the other Exiles players who also happen to be Vets and their Vet friends - now here, language was a problem mainly as they were all Irish and had had rather a good afternoon of it - especially as England had lost. By all accounts, there is only one college in Ireland that offers veterinary science and it is very difficult to get into and also a little pricey so the sensible thing to do is come and study here as the course is in english at a fraction of a price - I thought I might meet some interesting expats here but didn't imagine that I would find a colony of Irish Doc Dolittles and James Herriots. As the evening got later, the accents got harder to understand and the potential usage of the horse tranquilisers got more bizarre

Unfortunately the rest of the weekend was a right off - due in part to a fragile constitution and also to the weather - it hadn't rained here for the first 4 weeks I had been here but it sure made up for it this weekend!!

whilst this on the other hand might be an option - a good old Trabbie

although given that they are made of compacted hardboard and paper then I am amazed that anyone thought leaving it in a snow drift was a good idea!

Fat boy with a scooter

Nope not my latest mode of transport although it is tempting but rather a amusing sculpture on the top of Vaci Utca which is on my walk to work in the mornings. He is staring into the sky with a rather quizzical look on his face and obviously looking for the pigeons who might just possibly use him for target practice.

Blizzards in Budapest

Flew back from London last night into what can only be described as a blizzard - about 2 inches of snow on the ground as the plane tried to land (luckily, no skidding) and then when I woke up this morning, it had snowed even more.
But, no trains were delayed, no roads were covered in snow and traffic gridlocked as a result - rather, all the footpaths were cleared (apparently it is an old Communist party law that no one has seen fit to do away with) and the roads were all gritted. Looks like it is set to continue - but living in the city centre, it has all melted however the view from the office I was in today is pretty good!

Secrets of the 9th District revealed by The Guardian

Just, when, for the first time ever, I think that I am ahead of the trend curve - living in a small, undiscovered part of the world, some big newspaper editor comes and ruins it - exposing my part of Budapest to the wider world and telling them all how great it is to live there - some people have no shame!

www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2008/nov/22/budapest-hungary-district-ix-culture

Wet and Windy Warsaw

Hopefully it will be better tomorrow and the taxi driver will be less grumpy!! Not sure what there is to see between the hotel, the office and the airport but as long as the flight back to the Budapest is not as bouncy as it was this evening, I will be happy

Weekend visitors and Hungarian hospitality

Katy came to stay last weekend - alas that meant that instead of lounging on the sofa watching England lose to Australia, I was obliged to get out and about around the city - shopping in the main market for my week's provisions, incredible how far a phrase book, mispronounciation and a couple of smiles can get you but somehow we managed to buy a mix of vegetables, find Lea and Perrins W Sauce (God knows what the cost per 100ml was but worth every florint) and various other bits and pieces. Throw in lots of walking around the Citadelle, Fisherman's Bastion, the old parts of Pest looking for a coffee and French onion soup and it all stacked up to be a very cultured and far more sophisticated weekend than if I can been left to my own devices!!

Unsurprisingly, elements of it also centred around food - Gordon's recommendation of Soul Cafe on Raday Utca was inspired - marketed as an international bistro, it more than hit the spot with Grilled Cheese as a starter, followed by the best Steak I think I have ever met and had the pleasure of devouring - Steak in creamy Morel Mushroom sauce and served with Gratin Potatoes, whilst Katy tried Red Tunafish stuffed with Ricotta, served with Risotto - all washed down with a bottle of Red Villany (not sure where in Hungary it came from, although I think Villany might be the region - another project is to learn about Hungarian wines) made for a lovely evening - and believe it or not, I couldn't even face the idea of a desert. On the Burgess/Nunn restaurant rating scale, this was a 9/10 - if not a 9.5 - not a bad place to discover so early on, although might be a special occasions place rather than a every evening establishment

On Saturday evening, we enjoyed one of those spontaneous evenings that seem to happen from time to time - having met Gordon (the agent I am renting the flat from) for a beer and then being joined by Jim, we suddenly found ourselves invited for a drink at Jim's flat on Raday which then turned into dinner and several bottles of wine - by the end of the evening, we didn't know which one we were drinking but they were all very pleasant. Jim is an artist, originally from Glasgow, who has been in Budapest for the best part of 20 years and is married to a Hungarian journalist and is also responsible for the paintings on the wall of the flat - one downside of the evening was that he lives in the most amazing flat 'block (block really not doing it justice as it is so far removed from Nelson Mandela House) - the flat overlooks a beautiful courtyard and the whole buidling was designed by the same architect who designed and then built the Opera House on Andrassy which is an incredible building. The reason that there was a downside to the evening is that I have now been told that this is the benchmark for the type3 of property that Katy would like to live in and so, I suspect that in 2009, I may be on the move!!

On Sunday evening, we checked out a Greek restaurant on the Belgrad embankment, near the flat - Tarverna Dionysus - what a great idea - the inside of the restaurant is designed to make you feel that you are sitting in the street of a typical Greek island village - complete with white washed walls, blue roofs and I am sure if we looked hard enough, in one of the corners there would be the obligatory cat!! - ON the restaurant rating scale, this one achieved an 8/10

One place that is definitely an every evening establishment is the bar opposite the flat - Fescke - it has the atmosphere of a student pub but a very chilled out, relaxed student pub - big sofas, cool paintings on the wall, amazing photos and a fog of cheap cigarette smoke - it also hosts live music nights so certain visitos might want to bring their instruments with them and see if they can get a slot - it is also the scene of a recent triumph - I managed to order a beer and a glass of wine in Hungarian which is a necessary but still very important step in the right direction - follow that up with the fact that I managed to order a Coffee this morning and you never know, I might be fluent in about 20 years!!

Best use of a Smart Car ever?

Saw this interesting rubbish lorry the other day - just wonder whether you can actually put anything in the bin on the back before it falls over!

No longer living out of a suitcase but rather a wardrobe

At last after 2 weeks of living in a hotel, albeit a hotel room with a fridge and a cooker, I have managed to escape and move into my own place on one of the most social streets in Pest - so I have been told. Just near to the green bridge and the main market but only a short hop to the main shopping area of the city

Benefits of having my own place
Washing Machine
Sofa
Wardrobes
Comfie bed
Cable TV - OK so it is still not great as I don't speak German or Hungarian (not enough to understand TV anyway) but it has more than just CNN - apparently there was an election on the other week which got a little bit of coverage but now I have the good old Beeb in its BBC World incarnation which is slight better but I suspect I might be watching a lot of DVDs unitl I can work out how to convince BBC iPlayer that I am in the UK!! (anyone who knows how to hack it, please let me know) Good news is that there is a Hungarian sports channel that shows all the football from the UK and also Rugby matches (and there's Katy thinking she might be coming for a cultured weekend but oh no!!)

good news is that it is only 6kms to the office so the walk is enough to wake me up in the morning, over the river and up the Gelert Hill and then a run back in the evening - all downhill which is an added bonus however as the temperature has dropped a little, I suspect that I might soon be joining the throngs of people on the ricketty buses or the relatively new trams that seem to be the main mode of transport for anyone with a desire to get to and from work in 1 piece - word of warning - if you are coming out here and think that driving might be a good idead - get a vey big car (or even a tank) - I have seen a couple of Smarts but they must be driven by someone with a deathwish!

Also had a very interesting experience the other day when I was on the way to the airport to fly back to London - they shut the main/only road to the airport - not for any usual reason for shutting a road like an accident but rather as the President had landed and was on his way back into the city centre - sounds a familiar practice for our friends in the Bear country but I thought that sort of activity had been disbanded when democracy came into play but then again, I suppose if it is a perk it will stay - luckily, I had left enough time to get there and then was the only person in Malev Business class - there must be a credit crunch! Think it was a wasted ticket as I got on the plane and fell asleep only to be woken when the air stewardess was putting a blanket over me and then I assume she went back behind her curtain and drank my Hungarian champagne and Business class meal - wonder if I can ask for a refund?

Anonymous - Located in Budapest

For anyone who has ever wondered what Anonymous, that scourge of references and official documents looked like, here you are - the man himself!!

Apparently, all aspiring writers should touch his pen for luck - by the looks of things, we will soon be flooded by literary genius so I joined the craze as well.

Bars of Budapest

Obviously having admitted to a couple of late nights over the weekend, it might be worth puiblicising the establishments that were responsible for the fuzzy head syndrome and that have dirty glasses that can be associated with it

Captain Cooks - on Bajcsy-Zsilinszky Utca 19/a on the Pest side of the river - English pub with Aussie, Hungarian and UK beers on tap and Guinness. Didn't stay there very long as we were running late for the Effies at the National Theatre but seemed an alright sort of establishment

Iguana bar - on Zóltán u. 16, which is just round the back of the Parliament and near the US Embassy - apparently been voted the Best Mexican restaurant in Budapest 5 years in a row but I am not sure, having only been here a couple of days what that category is like in terms of choice but certainly seems to be a good expat hangout and where I met most of the rugby team at various stages over the evening as well as the entire teaching staff from the British School in Budapest - complete with face paints due to the fact it was Hallowe'en. Very good Cuba Libre as I seem to recall too

The Caledonia or the Cally to those in the know (allegedly_ - where else could it be inspired by but Scotland and this is further increased by the saltaires on all the walls and Claymores that hang above the stairs!! Home to the Budapest Celtic football club and also several screens showing football and rugby and serves proper ale which is a novelty in this country where all the beers I have found so far are lagers!! Attached to the bar is a Scottish shop where you can stock up on whisky, short bread and celtic inspired jewellery!

http://www.kaledonia.hu/index.php?lang=en

Bar Instant - Negymezo - take an old house built around a courtyard that has been abandoned and is derelict, put in a bar, give it a lick of paint and make it into a cool, edgy venue with DJs, cheap drinks (someone made me try Palinka - in a word, dont!!) and then allow people to design the rooms and see what happens - the best one is the Upside down room where all the furniture is stuck to the ceiling - also hang weird penguin and fish mobiles from the roof and all in all, it creates one pretty cool place to be. There were also a number of pinball machines and did meet Zoli, the original Hungarian pinball wizard (although not sure what the translation for that is) - what he didn't know about Spiderman pinball machine does not seem worth knowing and to be far, after he posted 13,500,000 on the machine as a score, it didn't seem worth asking any further questions - he certainly knows his flippers from his floppers!!

After that, I recommend a Gyros (Kebab but nicer than the mix of Alsatian and Rat that you get in London) and then a wander down the side of the Danube, past the Parliament back to the hotel taking in the sights and sounds of the city - believe me, if New York is the city that never sleeps, then Budapest must be its slightly younger, less sophisticated brother - can't wait for the first snow to fall and see where people go when they can't stand outside - should make for an new voyage of hedonistic discovery

Hungarian flat hunting with a Hungarian hangover!!

Well the boss said we were going out and we went out - getting home at 4am was an interesting introduction to the Friday night experience in Budapest - in between being introduced to various brands of Hungarian beer, I also seem to have been met most of the Budapest Exiles rugby team, been give the names of several bars that show the rugby and have been signed up with the first training session this evening - not a bad start!Amongst the people that I met there was an eclectic mix - Brits, other expats and Hungarians including a stuntman with a missing thumb (courtesy of a horse that bolted) and awaiting an operation as he broke his back filming Robin Hood - some might suggest that he looked for an other career but I resisted the temptation as he stood up and was about 2m tall and must have weighed about 120kgs so decided that I would buy him a beer instead!

Flats here are enormous but you have to get used to the concept of everything being discussed in m2 rather than by the number of rooms - have viewed 6 and have a shortlist of 3 - 2 with amazing views across various aspects of the city either from the banks of the Danube and looking onto Margaret Island and the Ciatadel, or from a 1930s art deco block on Rosehill with a view including the Parliament and then the whole of Buda - the agony of choice. All that said, some of the decor was quite interesting - one had Winnie the Pooh and Tigger carpet in one of the rooms and then the most incredible black velvet bed base with pink, electric blue and purple swirls - believe me, I was pleased that piece was not in the hotel room when I woke up as it might have made the hangover even more pounding!!

Weather is still amazing and I spent most of the weekend in t-shirt which is a surreal experience for the time of year - I have also been told that there has not been any snow here in the winter for the last 2 winters and as a result they have been mild - no colder than -5 (that's alright then!!)

One thing that is becoming abundantly clear is that Budapest seems to be the type of place that people come to for a year and never leave (a little like Hotel California) - most of the expats I have met start with the lines 'You'll love it hear, I came for 2 nights and have been here 5 years' so it seems like there might be issues trying to escape.

Have even managed to learn a couple of words - only problem seems to be that as soon as I say one thing, there is an assumption that I am able to speak Hungarian and so I get a mouthful of rapid fire magyar which is met with an idiotic grin and an apology for being incapable of being able to say more than please, thank you, beer and a random selection of others including Butterfly - not sure why Butterfly but it seem to come up when I was in the National Theatre the other night at the same time that someone, Attila (yes I have met a Hungarian called Attila)was trying to teach me the Hungarian for what I assume was the equivalent of 'Royal Circle' - obviously that will be essential for shopping!

Week one - First Impressions

Having not really had a calendar to work to, the start date for my trip to Budapest and my 5 months away from London has come around rather quickly - having finished in London after 6 years on the Friday and started with a new office on the following Monday, my feet have hardly touched the ground! Through in a quick 48 hrs in the UK having spent 2 days here and it is no wonder that I am not sure what day of the week it is or what I am currently doing!!

Although I have been to Budapest in the past, 4 days as a long weekend, in the snow with a bitter wind blowing off the Danube, have not necessarily prepared me for what I am finding at the moment - 10 degrees warmer than London with the leaves still just starting to fall off the trees and the skies still blue with wispy clouds makes me have a slight chuckle at the expense of those still in the UK - grey and cold is what I was gearing up for and the opposite is currently true although I am sure that will change in the next couple of weeks.

Undergoing the strange sensation of corporate relocation at the moment - staying in a serviced apartment but then spending time on my weekends to meet with estate agents and try and find somewhere to live - haven't done this since I was at University in France, where I have arrived in a city about which I know next to nothing and have to try and identify a place to live whilst carrying on with day to day life - everyone is more than willing to share an opinion which is great and so escorted by the agents tomorrow, I am off to examine the 2nd, 12th and downtown districts - one of the flats is labelled as having a view of the Danube which could be a major selling point but might possibly be out of price range - we will wait and see!

First impressions of Budapest are of an interesting city - a mix of modern and old, Western and Eastern bloc with a culture thrown in that it is all of its own making - having been the frontier for so long of the Austro-Hungarian empire, Budapest seems to have a stateliness about it that other cities don't have or have lost. The view from the castle at night is amazing with the whole of Pest laid out in front of you, starting with the river and then pushing back with the Parliament and Opera buildings adding some really dramatic impact to the skyline - the only downside is the rather steep steps up to the castle and Fisherman's bastion when you climb up from the Buda side of the city - even more so when you think you are invincible and try and run up them - won't be doing that again in a hurry! I can understand why the little funicular from the the front is so popular.

Today is a work day but tomorrow and Sunday should give me a chance to explore a little further and get a better feel for the city - most urgent priority is to find somewhere that shows rugby - after that, anything else will just fall into place!!