Ambassadors Reception

Lisa and I were invited to a reception at the US Ambassadors residence. The event was an "Evening Salon Discussion and Book Reading." We knew what a "Book Reading" was but no clue as to what a "Evening Salon" was. I'm sure some of you cultured folks out there do, but even a check on Google provided no clues but we went anyway. I bought a tie at a thrift store to complete my "Business Attire." The evening celebrated the publishing in Hungarian of Julie Orringer's book "The Invisible Bridge" or in Hungarian "Lathatatlan Hid." We had read the book as or before we came to Budapest and really enjoyed it so it was an honor to meet and "Salon" with Julie and the Ambassador, Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis. The house is very cool, filled with Andy Warhol originals that I was asked not to photograph, of course I complied, see pics. The reading was in English, everyone received a copy of the book, in Hungarian and Julie signed one for us.

I had plotted a course via public transportation that would have put us 1 block from the mansion but we opted to take the Metro to Szell Kalman Ter, formerly Moscova Ter, and take a taxi from there. We arrived in style in a Suzuki Swift taxi, the guards at the gate were impressed.

It was a very nice evening, we met a bunch of "book types" and "media types." Eleni, as we now call her, was very gracious and thanked Lisa for the Crystal Temple Brick she had left for her last week. She was so gracious she called it a paper weight.

We met Julie's sister Amy and her aunt Judy. Amy lives in London and came for the event. Aunt Judy was born in Budapest in 1945. She was delivered by a Nazi doctor. Her Jewish mother was of course concerned but the doctor assured her he was a "Doctor first." She went to America in 1956 and had never returned, until Monday. An amazing story. She was even staying in the same flat she lived in as a child that is still owned by cousins. She now lives in Israel.

Enjoy the pictures. Do not look at the Andy Warhols. The Warhols, that are not in the pictures, are on loan from the Ron Feldman Gallery in NYC where Pepon Osorio, Lisa's colleague had his recent installation. Small World.

Hungarian Language Lesson... Feminists Take Note

While we were walking around Pecs (rhymes with fetch) I noticed a street sign with a small hand written addendum. You must look closely or enlarge the picture to see it clearly. It is important to know that these street signs are very common in Hungary. They are mounted on the sides of buildings, probably cast iron, and don't just give you the name of the street but also give you the house or building numbers within the particular block, in this case 2 to 4. The McDonald's located on the first floor of city hall is #2 Kiraly Utca. They are consistently mounted about 10 feet above the street on all corners and sides of every intersection. It is also of some note to mention that almost every street, park and playground in Hungary is named Kirali, the Hungarian word for King. So to look up and see this particular street sign "Kirali Utca" was no big deal but to see the small "no" written so carefully beside it caused question.

When asked, Andrea became excited, photographed the sign and explained.

Adding the "no," pronounced "nuu," to the end of Kirali creates the word queen, in essence, not the King. There is no word in the Hungarian language for queen. I'm not sure what Freddie Mercury thought of this, it had to be confusing, it may have contributed to his suicide. So the addition of the "no" was a form of protest of some sort, not sure what.

One of our favorite old television shows from the 1990's was "Dinosaurs." A Jim Henson production about an everyday family of dinosaurs that I have always thought that "Family Guy" was a clone of. The baby called the father dinosaur "not the Mama." One of the writers had to be a Hungarian woman.

So here is today's language lesson, compliments of Andrea, she also gets the photo credit.

Vist to Pecs (rhymes with fetch)

Andrea Karpati asked us to spend the day with her in Pecs (rhymes with fetch.) It is a smaller city, maybe 100,000 or so and is home to two universities. It is about 240 km from Budapest. We met her at the train station on the Buda side and had a nice drive thru the country, me behind the wheel and Andrea translating the GPS instructions. Pecs (rhymes with fetch) is also the home of the Zsolnay Pottery Co. They are a world famous maker of architectural pottery that is so prevalent throughout Europe, especially Budapest. You may remember from a previous post where I found a cache of Zsolnay pottery pieces hidden in the attic of the Museum of Applied Arts building, it turned out they were extra pieces left over from the construction of the building in the 1890's. I think some award is coming my way for discovering these rare and valuable pieces. Anyway. We toured the museum, looked around the town, found a synagogue with a clock, checked out the roasted chestnut vendors and generally had a relaxing and peaceful day. Pecs (rhymes with fetch) was very quiet, it was cool and cloudy and a Saturday, we basically had the run of the town. Andrea took the opportunity to visit the daughter of an old friend for lunch and Lisa and I ate lunch on our own and watched the townsfolk.

Enjoy these pictures of Pecs (rhymes with fetch.)

Peto Institute

The Peto Institute is an international research institute for individuals with motor disorders that was established after WWII by physician and educator, Andras Peto. The Institute has three areas: a conductor's college, a school, and a research center. The Peto "conductive education" system is based on the idea that regardless of central nervous system damage, the nervous system has the capacity to from new neural connections. The method emphasizes educating the whole person, parent-child interaction, and group activities. Parents come from all over Hungary and the world to the Peto. They have intensive classes with their children. Small children's groups and classes support collaborative learning. I was given a tour of several classes the before my talk. My topic Bead/Found Object Collage ( in art therapy, as an interview method, and in my own art practice) was well received. It was quite a new experience for me to speak with a translator; I think I can get used to it. I had full house for my talk and a much smaller group of about 25 for my workshop, which was nice.

Busy Day in Budapest

Waking up at 2 am Hungarian time to watch the Cardinals is throwing my whole schedule off. I wandered around the city today looking for a sports bar to discuss the first game of the World Series. It was a complete waste of time and all I received from my efforts was a nice walk. Stefan asked about the concept of the World Series and was curious which teams from Eastern Europe and Asia were represented. He admittedly was uninformed about the other teams from the Americas and Canada but was sure he would recognize a team from Romania or Hungary, even a team from the Dominican Republic, where he lived for a while, might sound familiar. I explained there there were no teams from these countries in the World Series, only teams from the United States and occasionally a team that had been exiled to Canada could ever play. Then why is it called the World Series he asked. Well...there has to be a good reason...I'll check Wikipedia...or Wikileaks or somewhere. He's from Romania and can't be expected to understand the concept of the World Series. Anyway. Cards won 3 to 2.

More news from Budapest.

Lisa had a nice visit with Leila Kamgar, the Cultural Attache from the American Embassy. I'm not sure what they discussed but it probably wasn't Albert Pujols becoming a free agent next year. She may be able to get us an invitation to the Ambassadors home to hear a lecture by Julie Orringer. You may remember her from previous posts. She is the author of The Invisible Bridge, a great historical novel with family biographical truths woven in. The book was originally recommended to us by Niece Andrea Corsun. Much of the book's World War II era plot takes place in and around Budapest. We both read it, enjoyed it, and sought out the streets and locations mentioned in the book. It's still on our recommended list and an opportunity to meet her would certainly be a highlight of the trip, at the Ambassadors residence, frosting on the cake. I would also hope that someone at the Ambassadors residence could discuss the World Series.

You can buy stills in kitchen appliance stores. Yes...a still...official Jed Clampet/Hatfield-McCoy type still. Ready to make your own home brew. Quite nice, all stainless and copper with a 2 year manufacturers warranty. 58,000 huf or $265...I wonder if it would fit in the suitcase.

Scott finds 3 Marklin Erector sets, perfect condition, Hungarian labels, very neat.

Andrea Karpati and Lisa in front of the Szabadsag Bridge.

Time for bed, I have to get up to watch game 2 at 2.

Later.

Almost forgot...Cards in the World Series

I may have been the only Cardinal fan sitting at a small computer screen at 2 am in Budapest Hungary watching a computer generated simulation of the amazing National League Championship game. It was worth it, what a finish to the season.

I have been a Cardinals fan for many years, I remember listening to the Cardinals on the car radio during the 1967 World Series. I think everyone listened to the World Series.

Lisa and I opened Great Scott in August of 1982. The Cardinals were in and won the World Series that year. Because we were a new customer, and because we were selling record amounts of their products, Anheuser Busch gave us 10 seats to every play-off and World Series game, even the ones in Milwaukee. We were quite popular.

We of course love the Cubs and White Sox and are certainly fond of the Phillies but the Cardinals...

Only pictures

Photos of Kalvin Ter

The lake in the park being transformed into a skating rink

Mini for sale at the flea market

October flea market is still busy

Worn out broom (art picture)

Peters new work on display in Budapest, the value of his artwork continues to increase rapidly.

The Airbus A-380