The shoes of the disappeared in the snow

The shoe monument on the side of the river near the Parliament building is one of the most eloquent and beautifully simple statements of loss and rememberance to those who were murdered by the previous regimes who ruled Hungary through fear.

On Sunday, as we walked along the riverbank in the sun, we saw the memorial, covered in snow and surounded by the footprints of other visitors - the contrast between the movement of the living and the shoes of those who had disappeared just served to emphasis the impact and sense of abandonment.

Winter is well and truly here

Woke up again this morning with 6cms of fresh snow on the ground and it looks like the trend is due to continue for the weekend with temperatures due to get down to -11 at some stage over the weekend in the evenings (I hope)

Hope to get out and about with the camera this weekend and take some photos of the city in its winter glory so will be posting those in the near future

Mangalica time is fast approaching (and the piggy is getting fat)

Its official - Saturday 13th February is the Budapest Exiles Mangalica day (pronounced Mangalisa) - Mangalica is a famous breed of pig in CEE which has been pulled back from the verge of extinction and is now not only a great source of food (especially Serano style ham) but also a cultural/gastronimic icon.

The Budapest Exiles are in the process of clubbing together to buy a pig that will be kept on a farm near the city and then we will all be expected to partake in the Palinka drinking, butchering and preparation of the pig and its meat - i suspect, if palinka is involved, it won't only be the pig that gets slaughtered.

Luckily, the national Mangalica Festival will take place in Heroes Square the weekend before so we can pick up some tips and tricks as to what we are supposed to do with the meat once we have been given it - I suspect our ration may be put forward for smoking and sausages!

Watch this space and I will post some photos and more thoughts when we have had a chance to investigate more

History of the Mangalica pig

Mangalica Festival 2010

Business travel in the winter is not all it is cracked up to be, especially when you get turned back as you reach your destination

In the words of a well known credit card company


Short notice flight to the UK – 300 Euros

Taxi to airport at 5.30am – 20 Euros

Coffees whilst delayed – 15 Euros

Hours spent in the airport – 5

Hours spent watching Series 1 of The Wire – 6


Airport catering crew on strike so nothing but water, peanuts and chocolate wafer in 4 hour flight – PRICELESS

Getting to the White Cliffs of Dover and being sent back behind the Iron Curtain – PRICELESS

Giving my wife something to laugh about for the next 24 hrs – PRICELESS

Having to get up at 5am the next day to try again (Katy wasn't laughing by then!) – PRICELESS

Traditional Hungarian breakfasts in Nagycsarnok

either stuffed cabbage or Langos (Doughnut with sour cream, red onion, cheese and ham) very tasty but heart attacks on the horizon!

Vienna Christmas markets

Get back from Moscow after no sleep for the best part of a week and then get on a coach to Vienna at 7am for a day of Christmas festivity in Vienna with someone who is definitely Santa's spare elf on release from Lapland where she is normally busy looking after the reindeer and making wooden toys.

All in all, it was a little disappointing as the market was very commercial - unfortunately, a lot of the Christmas bits and pieces for sale were not as traditional as we had hoped although we did manage to sneak in a glass of gluhwein and a wiener schnitzel for lunch.

Vienna looked very pretty in all its Christmas glory with lots of lights and then it started to add a little bit of sparkle dust through the fact that it started to snow as we were walking about.

On the plus side, Orangeways are a very good tip and being able to get to Vienna for under 10 Euros is a real bonus - 3 hrs, free coffee and a DVD to watch - but like being on a plane but simpler

whilst in Plaxtol, there was something more tasty on offer!!

Christmas present from the rain clouds - a double rainbow over Goujounac

Parliament from Fisherman's Bastion and Castle Hill - a foggy day and a clear evening

Famous pepper picker in Nagycsarnok

The Iron Lady obviously liked the hot stuff from behind the Iron Curtain as this photo shows - the most political paprika pepper picker!