Category Archives: BLOG

The essence of being

Ostrom, if you please

Buda with a twist

 

In a nice location, just below the castle and just up from Moszkva tér/ Széll Kálmán tér (!) Ostram bar is underground and, while furnished in a modern sense, it still holds enough not to be too obscene or tacky. With two big screens on the wall facing as you enter it is all set up for those Saturday afternoon football affairs. Beer is reasonably priced and even the better quality wines won’t break the bank. The house wine for that matter is very palatable, at least for the less discerning taste buds and lest I be the snob I’ll give the ‘folyo’ the thumbs up. Well lit it lends to a relaxed atmosphere but with a sound system that boasts potential (it’s down low now and the rumbling base resonantes soul deep, the hungry beast beneath) this place could get very loud, and very club, later on.

Nibbling on nuts I’m reminded that here in Hungary it isn’t the custom to serve snacks with drinks, unless requested, and so these little touches are warming the cockles of my heart. WIFI is also available so for those with needs not directly drink related there’s still the excuse to combine the two. And if peanuts aren’t your thing, check out the sandwich selection on offer. Basic, but just what the doctor ordered.

Overall: Like a good mojito I’d call this place refreshing!

http://hovamenjek.com/i-kerulet/ostrom-cafe-es-bar.html

http://www.ostromcafe.hu/

 

A wild west

Wildwest-Budapest
Come on! I dare ya!

Near the corner of Nagymező and Ó utca there is a little poke of a place, Saloon Pub, by name. It’s lit up well and as the name suggests it’s done in the Cowboy/Wild West style. The painted wood finish, in plaster, allows for the idea tha someone made use of their artistic skills while at the same time remaining shrewd concerning real wood furnishings. With seats enough for twenty and still floor space left over between door and bar and toilet, it certainly is a good use of space. The T.V. stuck up on high to the right as you enter through the almost non-door, is a prerequisite in bars of its kind. A step above the typical cellar kocsma, it perhaps is merely a ground version with pretentions. The drinks on offer are basic, the selection of wine being ‘kimért’, while the beers include among them nothing Hungarian. A shame by any standard, it perhaps is indicative of the Hungarian mentality of selling themsleves short, seeing everything foreign, at least in the beer sense, as better. Pitching oneself against the Czechs and Belgians, one would favour the foreigners but with the Danish and the Dutch, especially popular, brands there’s hope on the homefront. Ah, but try telling that to the nouveau-riche, aka új gazdag!!!

While cider may warrant a mention it’s merely to suggest that, in a town that has, until a few years ago no idea what the apple brew was, it is available!

Pálinka has a seperate section on the price list and well may it while other Hungaricums, including Unicum and Vilmos, also make an appearance. With wines and spirits Hungarian pride is much more prominent to the point of arrogant. That’s another story!

The parketta floor completes the wood feel and overall it’s a place to visit for a quiet one mid afternoon or for a few with the lads before moving on. Again be warned. I’ve found this place near tea-time on Thursday and it’s quite probable that later on it takes on the life of a bar so centrally located should, so it is wise to arrive on time for a seat cos sensibly in most places, Hungarians prefer to sit and chat rather than stand and be jostled. That is until club time, then all decorum is lost. Enjoy.

http://kocsma.blog.hu/2011/03/19/saloon_pub

for other views

http://hu-hu.facebook.com/pages/Saloon-Pub/143333715709401

First Impressions

MoarchiaEtterem
A time to reflect

 

Monarchia Étterem and Kávéház: Mosonmagyaróvár

In Óvár, there is a cafe, or perhaps more a Kávéház, with Cukrászda intentions. For a facade with such pretentions the interior is no less obnoxious. It is of the old cafe style, I fear, less frequented by my ancestors who took more to dingy dark damp holes, the Irish way.

The greeting I received was in Hungarian but the question as to the way I wanted my Cappucino was definitely German, which I found a shame, though judging by the other clientele and the Auf Wiedersehens flying, it could be forgiven. The default setting in these parts is heavily leaning towards Deutsch.

Nicely situated and, apart from the German flittering, which was only frustrating for a student of the Hungarian language anyway, a pleasant staff all round. Although, and this is perhaps only because of the day that’s in it, the confectionery selection for a house of such elegance falls short of a real range, the few token familiars sparse on the refrigerator shelves. Perhaps as I’ve said, tis but the day that’s in it or maybe, and let not my bias be ignored, a suti to my liking wasn’t on offer – I couldn’t, therefore, see the woods for the want of a Francia Krémes! On a final note and revisiting the location element, with seats sitting out on the Lajta, canalesque, bank this is certainly a place worth whiling away a lazy morning or hot summer’s day. As of yet I haven’t paid the bill: note, just a cappucino with cream, but if the other clientele are anything to go by this will be more in the American chain price bracket than the cellar Kocsma kind.

We’ll see, but in truth maybe you should see for yourself!!!

Epilogue: At 390 huf it was standard price and I may be forgiven for thinking that being plush equates to being pricey. In Budapest, yes…but not here seemingly.

 

http://monarchia-kavehaz.internettudakozo.hu/indexen.htm

 

The King, but of what?

PedroMosonmagyarovar
Let's dance!

 

Pedro’s Bar: Mosonmagyaróvár

At half past 3 in the afternoon it could be expected to be quiet, and with the wear and tear in the toilets, cigarette burns all over the flush tank, one imagines busier times outside of Wednesday afternoon in early Spring.

The look of the bar is good though the Michael Jackson image is perhaps a little too tacky. On entering, at least you get the feel that they’re trying to be consistent, in a pop thing. Or rock I hear me say. Bono looking down at me through those post Fly sunglasses, the ones where you can see his eyes again. Ye Gods! Does he dare to judge me? Like I would this bar, I guess.

There is a menu on offer, cheap as chips and no wonder. Their only hope is that some straggler will find his way out here. On that count I’m more a drinker, and a kind soul by the name of Gabriella, has just fed me. The fare here is the usual, eg vegetable soup followed by some rice and meat dish; the proper name Bácskai Rizseshús, I can’t fully figure out. It is simple, it is filling, it is cheap but… Location, Location, Location!

No doubt, come evening time and a place closer to home this could be all about drinking, or even eating out, but methinks, the day time is the  centre’s time to shine.

On look, again, I’ll say the rock/pop affects lie at head height, with wooden carvings of microphones, Jacko’s hat, stars, and a real guitar, strings attached, interspersed between pictures of the hip and famous. Just now I catch a glimpse of a grinning Ray Charles over my left shoulder, the sunshine barging in the bay windows off to the left and back of the bar, illuminating his dental work even further. Even death cannot keep a good man down. The great on the other hand never do die. As if inspired I twirl to face Elvis, a young Elvis, a short-haired, handsome Elvis, the King in his prime.

From the hall entrance the bar splits right and left into two arms reaching back parallel to the front door, the windows on either side and the ones back at this corner ensuring that even with the deep green upholstery and dark varnished furniture, there’s enough light to keep it moody without being depressing. The cream-white walls, peeping out from behind high seat backs and wall hangings, means that even on a dull day the colour of sunshine will remain resplendent. Like Elvis!

http://hu-hu.facebook.com/pages/Pedro-Bar/201348853244283

 

 

Mosonmagyaróvár

ovarcastle
Along the way

 

Mosonmagyaróvár is a relatively small town but its urban sprawl means that right at the peripheries there’s something to find, at least for the interested traveller. Heading out of town on the way back to the train station, following as best I could the No.1 bus route, there were supermarkets, local bars, and at one point a square with permanent stalls set up. Not surprisingly thereabouts a few more bars had mushroomed. Now if bars, or supermarkets, or abandoned market places aren’t your thing then doubling back to the town centre is advisable. With a tributary of the Danube running along the outskirts of the pedestrianised centre and a few church steeples jutting above the picturesque buildings the whole place offers a scenic first impression. But like most towns of its size, it quite quickly runs out of being. The thermal baths are also worth a visit as they are in any featured town in Hungary and the local coffee houses, and restaurants, are worth exploring, the rustic feel prominent. After that it’s time to hop on a bicycle, this being quite a cycle friendly place, and head out towards the Szigetköz, an area boasting a plethora of islets mingling, splitting the Danube up into rivulets and streams. It’s a web worthy of exploration.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosonmagyar%C3%B3v%C3%A1r

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An open mind

Be open to it!

The first thing I want to say is that it is my intention to create a language based site where students can come to read articles, correspond, ask and even answer* questions concerning usage of grammar and vocabulary. Because (!) English is a rapidly expanding language and is important in so many fields, not only business, I feel that an open mind is necessary to appreciate exactly what these changes mean. Forget what your teacher told you in school ten years ago, well not forget exactly, just keep in mind that things have moved on even in the last decade and that what was once true of the language may not now necessarily be so. With the advent of TV the influence of American English started to first creep back across the water, and now so much farther down the line, internet, SMS, for example, we find a truly blended usage of the living language, sometimes to the point that I, as an English teacher, am uncertain as to the original usage.**

*/** As a teacher I have come across questions which I have answered confidently only to learn later that what I’ve expressed is old-fashioned, or maybe even too colloquial. English has this capacity which is one of the reasons that makes it durable, as well as exciting. Come along with me and I’ll show you how.

The local ‘kitchen’

HungarianCuisine
Hungarian Cuisine?

 

Not a fan of this translation, kitchen, for what I’ve always used myself, cuisine, it has become harder and harder to ignore. Now as it goes for teaching you’ll never hear me use the cursed phrase ‘I like Hungarian kitchen’, not alluding I assure you to anything negative about the food itself, just that kitchen has always been the place in a house, not the dishes of a region or country.

Eg: My mother’s in the kitchen trying to cook some Italian dish. Good luck!

Cuisine is the word I use when it comes to expressing that collective, the food of, as I mentioned, some country or other.

Eg: I’m particularly fond of French cuisine.

Now speaking of French I’m well aware of the etymology, and furthermore realise that in some quarters at least there is that shift away from the French influence on English. And here I don’t mean in the US where English is particularly different with Spanish being, perhaps, an influencing factor there. I’m referring to Britain where more and more people are using napkin over serviette, for example. On this latter I’m not the stalwart but I’m staying put on cuisine

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cuisine

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/kitchen

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Peace and quiet

What a wonder

What a joy

Neither girl

Nor is it boy!

But simply this

A little creature

With black and white

Tuxedo features.

Sometimes portrayed

As being a lord

Or being a butler

In his ward.

What plaudits have rained down on this mischievious fellow, Pingu by name. Now as to opening up the debate about whether or not children should watch TV, well that certainly is not herein my intention. That said, of course, I’d welcome any comments vying for such hearty discussion to begin. Anyway, Pingu has entered our lives as I’m sure it has many others before us, and certainly too, after us. And this little  ‘huncut’, cheeky chap, whatever, has captured all our hearts, not least of all Tara’s, my nearly two year old daughter. She announces Pingu’s time like a set clock every afternoon and since downloading finding some episodes on-line things have only got more frantic. She now begs and pleads all day long but I’ve been trained, I grew up the way of the Gremlins time, ‘Never ever feed them after midnight’, and so I’ve applied this as best I can to our Pingu sessions, never ever before midday, though in truth the weekends, especially after a skype session home can be tricky. Tears can flow. As to what I do to avoid such heart-rendering, though I suspect well-rehearsed, moments is distraction the old fashioned way. I play with her! And when I’m knackered or she’s insistent, I just throw in the towel and credit my daughter with some integrity. It is afterall what SHE wants!

Eger

Think of a better place

 

Situated in Northern Hungary, Eger is famous for its wines, baths and castle, among other things. The castle itself is central to the great historical story surrounding Eger as it is the site of a notable victory over the Turks. The Turkish armed forces, so dominant at the time, met with fierce resistance from within the walls of Eger and left with their tails between their legs. The minaret and baths, however, tell a further tale, the Hungarians finally succumbing to the Turkish might.

Well, apart from the above mentioned sights, there are many others to see within the town, the cathedral definitely vying for top spot in this respect, but any good guide book will tell you more.

My advice is to let the streets take you where they will, winding through the centre, climbing to the castle, and if in a moment, suddenly overwhelmed by a lack of direction, you should find yourself outside of the centre in The Valley of the Beautiful Woman don’t worry! You’ll not be lost at all. In fact you may just find yourself. Sample the wines from the myriad of wine cellars dotted about at the base of the rolling hills and with restaurants and other mobile eateries on hand you may just develop an urge to while away an afternoon lost among the Hobbiton-esque environs.

Eger is also the spot of one of my intensive English weekend courses. Arriving on a Friday evening the weekend has two four-hour slots for General English with the option of 2-4 more hours for activity work, games, conversations etc. Evenings are left open to the students whim. However, as the teacher I am available in this free period for anything from a chat to personal questions concerning the course material etc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eger

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Szép Ilona

Think I'll stay a while

 

Szép Ilona Kisvendéglő, situated in the leafy suburb that is the second district of Budapest, has a lot to offer and if you’re willing to make the slight hike from the city centre it will certainly be worth it.

From outward appearances it has all the ingredients of something quite swanky and on entering the relative formality is abundant. The waiting staff are done up to the nines, well comparitively, and everything seems to have its place. But rather than let that become over-bearing a simple glance at the menu will afford you a chance to exhale again. While wines may push things up into the priceier range, for a restaurant, but not a kocsma, it can be assumed to be reasonable. Starters, mains and desserts all serve to leave you feeling loose, perhaps even venturing an after dinner digestif, or coffee, safe in the knowledge that there’s still enough money in the bank to afford a few pints, or what not, a little later on.

What was sampled:

An aubergine cream starter with a hint of ginger (perhaps only the minutest of hints or maybe just my palate is shot) seved with toast. A tasty beginning but could be enough for two unless you’re really really hungry.

A salmon salad with strips of salmon in breadcrumb with a smattering of the usual suspects, cucumber, tomato and yellow pepper. A mayonaise-ish sauce deemed quite watery by my companion, though such anonymity will probably get me hung later.

Quilted leg of venison with forest fruit sauce and potato donuts was how it was described on the menu and smothered is how I would have described it. Couldn’t see the food for the sauce spoiling any hope of tasting a simple mouthful unadorned, which was a shame because it was temptingly tender.

The desserts were without flaw, a chestnut purée with a kick of rum, and a somloi galushka, described as a Hungarian Sponge Cake (http://hungarianfoodrecipes.blogspot.com/2011/12/somloi-galuska-egyszeruen-hungarian.html),  the twange of orange zest rendering any protests prior null and void.

The wine was a red, Imre Herceg Bora Kékfrankos, and I’ll leave that to the wine experts to consider. As the cheap choice it still wasn’t free and this accounts for my previous reference to the wine prices.

Overall a pleasant experience and accommodating waiters who did a professional job to the end. Even my smattering of Hungarian was taken on board with aplomb, a lesson some of the more touristy establishments downtown could do with learning. Nagyon szépen köszönöm

http://szepilonavendeglo.hu/

http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Hungary/Budapest_Fovaros/Budapest-436839/Restaurants-Budapest-Szep_Ilona_Etterem_Szep_Ilona_Restaurant-BR-1.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

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