Week 2: A Visit to Erd

The trip from Nagykölked to Érd began from Szombathely after Gabor dropped me off there. I had my first taste of real Hungarian Hurka at the local markets. I've had it before and I loved it. I also felt that this particular sausage was the best I had ever eaten. From there on, I always chose a nice black pudding if it was available. For that matter, Krémes (Vanilla slices) and roast Duck was my preferred menu.
1st class trip city to city was fast and enjoyable. It took about 2.5 hrs to get to Kelenföld where I got picked up by Szentirmay Eva and husband Arkad by car.
The cost of the ticket was about 6500 Ft - or around $30.

I didn't travel alone - there were about 6 in the carriage by the time the train pulled out.

Beautiful weather in Erd. Eva is my aunt - my mother's sister. Her husband Arkad is of Magyar Serbian origin. His father married a Russian. Arkad was born in Russia but later moved to Erd with his family.
Eva, her daughter Evike and her son in law Istvan are all medicinal and organic chemistry doctorates.
Arkad was himself high up in the Soviet petro-chemical industry so they earned good money during Socialist times.
Here is their current home - definitely not a porta, but a rather comfortable place, not to far from schools, supermarkets and transport.

The back of Eva's home

We sit outside on sunny days - often having a siesta after lunch.

The workshop/garage. The ivy covers most of the house walls as well.

Siesta time with Arkad

 I got a lovely large room that included a study. That was very useful to me as I had good enough reception for my Magyar-T mobile internet modem. By the way, it is much cheaper to bring along an unlocked phone and buy a sim card. For 4,000 Ft, I also bought a T mobile USB modem on a plan that I used everywhere.
I spent 4 days there and we went out almost every day.

Some of the tech I took: Laptop Headphones with mic, 6 socket Australian powerboard with European plug. A GSM unlocked mobile and a USB modem resting on the flower pot. Various USB chargers for my Kindle, phone, world wide phone, Panasonic Lumix TZ-30 camera battery charger, Sony audio recorder and Fujifinepix 5000S spare camera. NOTE: Take all your tech in your carry on baggage. Unpressurised baggage can damage your equipment.

Here I re-visit the minaret in Érd. There are 3 surviving minarets dating from the Ottoman Turkish times.

That's me in front of the minaret in Érd - Still at 82 kg.

The highlight was meeting another relative - Szoke Irene - now a retired supreme court judge at the Bagolyvar Restaurant - one of the best in Budapest. It later turns out that it was/is Irene's hang-out for herself and students.

The Bagolyvar Restaurant in Budapest

I must say something about Irene. She had gotten to the very pinnacle of Hungarian Law and although retired, she has been asked by Orban's government to help interpret the new Hungarian constitution which came into effect in April of 2013. Consequently, she has 'students' who are the judges and lawyers/barristers of the land who are trying to work out the intricacies and application of the practical nature of the new laws. A very tough assignment.

Szoke Irene and Szentirmay Eva

 I was given a cut-out partial article of a Women's Weekly spread on the Hungarian refugee crisis after the 1956 revolution. Here you can see a picture of my mother in early 1957 being interviewed in my family's new home in Colne, Lancashire, UK.

My mother - Olga Martyn in a UK Women's Weekly article in 1957.

 Irene explaining a point of Law to me in my befuddled state.

 In Australia - we call hors d'oeuvres - "Horse's Doovers" - typically Australian slang.

Horses doovers - puff pastry rolls with a variety of fillings. I'm eating beef soup.

Arkad and Eva

Evike and myself

This woman had brains. We were all university fellows, some Phd's, Masters and lowly graduates (me).

I could not help but be impressed with Irene. A shining light.

 And by the way, the food was delicious. I should take a moment and state that a lot of the restaurant food was very average or better than average in some cases. There was nothing outstanding compared to some of the better restaurants I've experienced. I'm not sure how much this meal would have cost, but we had about 6 courses - probably $40 per person including wine and coffee. The food was well above average, the service very good. You would pay around double that in a half-decent restaurant in Australia.

A bit of levity: It is customary to buy flowers, wine and chocolates when you go visiting. Florists are everywhere and the flowers and their presentation is world class. Wine you can buy anywhere.
I bought the customary presents for Irene, but also 'knew' that my mother sent a present to her. It was somehow buried in a suitcase in Budapest at Feri's place and consequently I forgot to bring it to her.
I told Irene about my gaff in not bringing her the present and we all agreed that I'll post it to her. In the pic above, you can see my diary opened up where Irene wrote her postal address for me to use later.
In the last few weeks of my trip, I searched for it but couldn't find the damn present. A Skype call later to my mother confirmed that she hadn't sent a present after all! I was now confronted with the fact that I had agreed to post a mythical present to Irene. I wrote her a postcard instead, explaining my mistake.

Next post - On the way to Slovakia