Regarding my blip of a trip to Transylvania

Bus from Budapest to Cluj Napoca: 7 Hours
Bus from Cluj Napoca to Sibiu: 3.5 Hours
Train from Sibiu to Sighisoara: 3 Hours
Train from Sighisoara to Cluj Napoca: 3.5 Hours
Bus from Cluj Napoca to Budapest: 7 Hours

Arrival back in Budapest...Priceless!

Out of 62 hours between Wednesday afternoon (4/16) and early Saturday morning (4/19), I spent 24 hours alone in some form of long-distance public transportation. Was it worth it? Debateable.

It was another one of the spontaneous..."hey do you want to go to in two days?" And me being generally bad at saying "no," I of course agreed. To be fair, I had been bummed that I had taken so little opportunity to visit the places within easy reach of Budapest that I won't be able to see over the summer. I only went away one weekend, to Vienna (don't get me wrong--our summer travel plans are EXTENSIVE and AWESOME! yes I just used a lot of caps). Plus there is an amazing bus company, Orangeways--serving coffee and film entertainment, that had tickets for 22 dollars round trip.
So Wed. I joined my friends, who were apparently part of a 20 person group from other schools (I was the only Corvinus student), with a strong presence from the Polish community. At least 40% of the group went by the name of 'Magda.'
Upon arrival in Cluj Napoca, the city seemed attractive, particularly in the well-lit central square that the bus kindly dropped us off in at our request. We found the Retro Hostel, cheap and dorm-y digs, went for a drink (romanian beer -- Bergenbier. meh.) at an empty (despite Lonely Planet's promise of a lively student nightlife in Cluj) but alternative looking spot nearby. The next day we checked out the city, with many long delays waiting for people of the group to come together----I cannot express my frustration with large groups and with collective touring...I never have and doubt I ever will have any interest in seeing the Botanical Gardens anywhere!

Cluj was cute, very similar Hapsburg-influenced style of Prague, Vienna or Budapest, only pale in comparison to those cities. Unfortunately, that was my general impression...Cluj and Sibiu...nice, clean, pretty, etc. etc. but nothing unique or special.

the one difference: aluminum-looking roofs (this is a synagogue) I think Transylvania would be a good destination for hiking and seeing the mountains, but merely city-hopping is not so worth it. So with the large group frustration, this underwhelmed impression, and plus with all the assignments i have to do weighing on me, I decided to return on Friday night instead of Saturday night.

Thus began my first experience 'traveling' alone. I am not a big fan of said circumstance, but I am glad I have experienced what it was like. I have definitely gotten to destinations alone before, but this was a 24 hour period of time, with sightseeing thrown in.

As the number of transport connections in Transylvania are significantly fewer than promised in Lonely Planet and their timing is not the best, I took the 7:30 am train from Sibiu to Sighisoara. This entailed my walking from the hostel at 6:30 in the morning, getting whistled at by miner's arriving in town for work (seriously, it's an unholy hour, i purposely look as unattractive as possible for no unwanted attention and still...), and going in circles looking for the actual train ticket office. After which, god forbid they provide a board specifying departures and platforms.

I will say, however, that the people are very friendly. The hostel receptionist was indispensable for helping me plan which trains would allow me to arrive in time at Cluj, and some friendly man at the train station showed me the right platform despite our complete lack of ability to communicate in any common language. On the train I wound up sitting across from an old, leather-skinned, scarf-wearing woman who was later joined by some grizzled old man, and then they proceeded to flirt during the entire early morning journey. They thought I was Spanish.

Having spent so much time on the train or on the bus, I saw quite the fair amount of countryside. Transylvania is extremely rural, lots of ramshackle houses, and a fair amount of horse-drawn carts being used in all seriousness. Unfortunately my camera does not take good shots in motion and through a grimy window.

romanian granny's

Sighisoara I enjoyed stopping in. I opted for it over Bran-Brasov and Dracula's Castle, because this UNESCO world heritage site (due to the medieval citadel) is the birthplace of Dracula,and that was enough of a connection for me (and 3 hours less spent on a train). Course, now the home he was born in is a restaurant, but no matter. The citadel truly was medieval and interesting, and it was a brilliantly sunny day. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to linger because I was going to catch a train to Cluj two hours later--a train I almost missed for being $2 dollars short (5 leu) of the fare and the only exchange office/atm was back in town. Thank goodness for nice Romanian people--this time it was a waiter at a deserted dive who changed 10 euro for me. This slight delay did work an amazing coincidence--I ran into two funny french guys from the hostel back in Cluj, and had a pleasant chat with them.

On the train back to Cluj (after it was significantly delayed. Again...thank you for not having any departure boards, Transylvania!) I thought I was going to have to stand the entire 4 hours as there were no seats. Somehow I finagled one in a crowded compartment with 3 Romanians, and the most PDA international couple I have ever seen. The latter was also returning to Cluj and then to Budapest on the same bus as I, so I had the pleasure of waiting in the cold at the bus stop for 2 hours at night chatting with them about how crazy the European school system is. The girl, Finnish, had studied abroad in Mexico, Thailand and now Hungary, lived for a year in Estonia and traveled extensively in Latin America. And somehow, with almost no time at her home university, she would be earning a Finnish college degree. Unbelievable.

Back in Cluj, around 5 pm, I had oodles and oodles of time to kill before the 11 pm bus back to Budapest. I tried the street food (a necessary activity while traveling anywhere) which was called 'Palacsinte si Brynza,' but it was more like a thinner floppier Langos than a pancake and brynza is sheep's cheese. Yuuuummy. As I had already seen all of Cluj that there was to see, and the weather was about to turn to rain, I took refuge in a greek-themed cafe. I took an hour eating my decadent caramel dessert, I read a good amount of Lonely Planet, and a few hours later I got antsy and left. Getting to the bus station meant walking on a crumbling path along an overpass from the train station, and I did not wish to do this when dark fell (if I hadn't already been there with the group previously, I would have NEVER found it alone). And so I continued reading (this time Writing with Hitchcock by Steven DeRosa), waiting, avoiding the stray dogs, and chatting with the PDA couple, and I was SOOOO thankful when the bus arrived finally. Hot chocolate, lights out, and sleep until I was back in my fabulous and familiar city. God it was good to be home in Budapest.

Transylvania photos

Regarding my first visitor

Last week Elizabeth came to visit me from Scotland so it was my first opportunity to be a host in this wonderful city. We started her introduction to Budapest on a properly off-putting note: the nightbus from the airport. It can only testify to Elizabeth's open-mindedness and the prevailing charm of Budapest itself, that she was willing to overlook the endless rows of grimy, worse-for-wear, identical communist buildings in the outskirts of the city, plus the...shall we say 'intriguing' companions we had with us on the bus. All in the middle of the night.

As Elizabeth was the first, there is a fair amount I myself had yet to do so part of her trip was exploration for the both of us. On Friday we took a morning trip with some friends to Szentendre, a quaint Hungarian town half an hour outside of the city. The highlights included an unsupervised ramble through an endless wine cellar, which provided a great temptation to spirit away some of the various wines but we were good and moral girls and didn't do any such thing. Then we finally tried the Hungarian street food (street food is a must wherever you travel!)--Langos: deep fried dough with various toppings, the possibilities which include: "sonka": ham/"sajt" -cheese/bacon/curdled ewe's cheese/etc. The other street food option was palacsinta (essentially crepes) with various fillings. Back in Budapest, after lots of walking around essential spots, we decided to brave the Nagysarnok (Great Market) and actually order produce and such there, despite our woeful lack of Hungarian. Suffice to say, it was a success, despite the enormous amount of gesturing and 'Nem'/'Igen' (no/yes) required. It was fabulous to actually cook things like leeks, potatoes, and pork instead of the general pasta fare i've been doing lately. Saturday was more sightseeing, we visited the National Museum, which broke down Budapest's history into convenient rooms for each group of people's that settled or ruled here. We strolled down Andrassy Ut which I never fully appreciated, but god it's a beautiful street---such lovely, yet old, buildings, with such great balconies and paintings on the facades. Then again, that's all over Budapest, but they really put some extra effort into Andrassy (together with Hosok Tere aka Heroes Square, it's a World Heritage Site). We did some people watching at Szecheniy baths (the Italian tourists are arriving by the hordes...you can spot them either with the huge wraparound sunglasses or the lime-green speedo shorts.) That night we continued our multi-national socializing experiences at a Polish dinner party, though the food that could serve about 10 people meant there were not enough pierogi's to go around for 30 people. Sunday, a bit worse from wear from the previous night, we hiked up to Gellert Hill, from which we got some nice views over the city.

It was nice to spend some time to purposely appreciate the city because as weeks pass one can get mired in the daily life routines. It was also great to have Elizabeth visit, as we always have amusing adventures, for better or worse, and she is excellent company. Shout out to the two ZBT boys who effected our introduction, many thanks, haha.

In other HUGE NEWS: I have a new apartment! I moved in with a sweet Belgian girl, whose roommate had to return to Mexico for some months due to visa issues. It's directly above a McDonald's (oh, franchises and globalization...), on the main street that the tram runs on and buses and metro are mere minutes away. I went from living in a cubicle to living in palatial quarters, skipping normal entirely. It's also one of the proper Budapest buildings, with an imposing front door, numerous doors/locks, dark stone stairwells, and inner courtyards. Also, the kitchen is much larger with room to maneuver, and no special implements are necessary to light the stove.

My couch area (in my bedroom).

At the opposite corner, my bed.

View from my balcony.Building courtyard.My balcony and apartment as viewed from the tram stop. Note the McD's.

And so, I've been in this apartment almost the week now and it's great. I've even tested out the kitchen multiple times, and invited friends over (something that was not possible due to NO space in the other flat). It's grand :-D
The recipes I tried: Potato Leek Soup which was spectacular and super simple, Pork Adobo, a Filipino dish which had a very distinct and good flavor but pork is not my favorite meat for long cooking, and I put together a pasta with poppy seeds cuz I heard that they could go well together (butter, poppy seeds, salt/pepper, lemon juice, cranberries) and it was super quick, yummy and different from the standard red sauce deal.

This week has been gloriously warm, despite the weather promising rain every day, so I did another hike up to Gellert, and we've been going to Margit Sziget to throw frisbees around a lot. That island gets packed! But at least it is pretty darn large.

On Saturday, a few of us went to Godollo, a town 40 minutes outside of Budapest which has the largest baroque mansion in Hungary. It was commissioned by Antal Grassalkovich, a confidante of Empress Maria Theresa, and later it was a favorite residence of Elizabeth the favorite Hungarian queen and Hapsburg empress known as Sissi. Not all of the building has been renovated, but there were some really beautiful rooms. It was nice to do a daytrip and feel like I was seeing more of Hungary than just the capital, but at the same time, I've seen more magnificent or imposing royal apartments elsewhere.

Sissi and Franz Joseph

And saturday night was...THE CRAZIEST PARTY I HAVE EVER SEEN. There was a Sparty ("spa-party") at the Rudas baths. 800-some people in bikinis and bathing suits, laser show, belly dancing show, techno, crazy lights...never seen anything like it. Just to give you an idea: Sparty.

Photos from Elizabeth's Visit.
Photos of the new flat and Godollo.

If you haven't noticed, Kate's blog has inspired me to add lots of photos. I apologize for the length of the post. Hope all is well :-)
The date on this should actually be Sunday, April 13 11:40 pm.

Regarding Scottish cuisine

Now for the good stuff: Scotland’s eats.

Drink:
As we were in Scotland, I had to try the whiskey (for you Dad!). Courtney is already a lover of the stuff, and I believe Elizabeth has acquired a taste, but it’s a pretty new drink for me unless I do jack&coke. So…I tried ‘Old Polteney,’ which Elizabeth described as a tequila whisky for its kick and fire and ‘Imperial’ which I accompanied with a Guinness. My only experience with Guinness in the past has been the Irish Car Bombs we did for Osh’s 21^st (so long ago!) and now I have to say…I am a Guinness convert. It is so eminently delicious! And chocolatey and rich and tasty. Mmmm. By the way, apparently the Irish call them ‘Belfast Car Bombs.’ Gotta differentiate, ey. As for whisky, I will work on acquiring the taste.

Of the Scottish beers I had a Deuchar’s which was very buttery. I liked the Caledonian more. Strongbow is a cider so I clearly loved that but it was very light, like drinking way too much apple juice at one time. Apparently the Scottish have a non-alcoholic soda called Iron Brew, but as Courtney said…”I will not allow something that color orange into my body” so we steered clear of that.

Food:
As the UK is so fond of Indian food, Courtney and I decided to have this for my arrival meal. We went to Suruchi on South Bridge, I had the Tikka Masala Lamb and it was definitely the best Indian food I’ve had. It did remind me a lot of the cilantro-shrimp recipe from Sonya’s mom’s cookbook, which I love so that was good.

While up at St. Andrew’s, Elizabeth cooked mussels with wine and leeks. I was in heaven from the moment we stepped into the fishmonger’s and I was once again face to face with fresh fish and not just the frozen ‘alaskan filet’ that Hungarian shops offer. We followed the seafood up in the morning with some quality lox and I will be dreaming of all this seafood the next few months as I continue living in a landlocked country. I also tried the standard fish n’ chips which wasn’t bad but wasn’t so amazing either. What was particularly satisfying was when I found Cullen Skink in Anstruther, the fishing village. Cullen Skink is the Scottish version of a fish chowder and it’s pretty fab. Doubly awesome because of its name.

Courtney and I also explored Tesco’s offerings and I am resigned to say that although Scotland’s groceries are unforgivably expensive (damn the value of the dollar!) they are at least quality---there is variety, and there are appealing and satisfying frozen foods. Hungary’s groceries are…inconsistent at best and not all so cheap either. Courtney and I made haggis, kippers, and parsnips---fully exploring the UK culinary offerings.

For my last meal, I was a very lucky girl indeed. While also probably a very ‘bitchy’ girl. My French friend who drove me to the airport cooked, and he was the epitome of a girl’s dream of a Frenchman…too bad that dream is not mine but Squeasel’s. He made leeks with cream, tender steaks, opened a bottle of Bordeaux 2003 Pavillon de Connetables St. Julien Bordeaux (ok, I know nothing about good wine but it sounds impressive, no?) and afterwards of course there was cheese. Poor guy, thought his charm was gonna pan out for him. It was a pretty amazing meal though (there is NO beef in Hungary, only pork. My French friends complain of this constantly. Meanwhile, in the UK, they are actively promoting pork.)