iBrick - Apple's iPhone before activation. Refers to how useless it is when it can't do anything and its striking resemblance to a brick. UD-

Yesterday and last night I was discussing the level of alcohol consumption in Hungary. I have become more and more intrigued by these patterns since it appears as though that is all my friends do here. The thing is, they never actually get drunk...

So I did a little research. This is from a website.

• "The countries leading in total alcohol consumption per drinking-age person in 2003 were Luxembourg, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Ireland, and Germany. There were significant disparities in the level of consumption across countries among different types of alcoholic beverages. For example, although most of the leading consumers of alcoholic beverages drank significant quantities of wine, many drank relatively low quantities of distilled spirits. The leading beer-drinking countries were the Czech Republic, Ireland, Germany, Austria, and Luxembourg. Russia, Latvia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, and Japan were among the leading consumers of distilled spirits. Ireland and Russia had the highest rates of heavy alcohol consumption among women, while Russia, Hungary, and Austria had very high rates among men. Portugal and Spain had high rates of per capita consumption, but, since they also had high rates of abstinence, the per capita number of very heavy drinkers was higher than it was for countries such as France with few abstainers."

Interesting huh? I didn't actually think Hungary was up there. Other research showed that Hungary was overall in the top 3, 4, or 5 drinking countries depending on the year studied. Am I proud of this? Not really. I saw this Kings of Convenience video yesterday. I like it a lot. You can view it here.

Now I must pack and blah. :( I'd rather dance than talk with you.

So I had a cosmopolitan at 4 p.m. today. No big deal.

Forevvvarr

Mayne. I keep listening to this Chris Brown song. "Forever." It was in the video Colleen made on facebook and now I am hooked. I am so cool, I know. Today I am meeting with a friend around 3:30. It should be nice, I am going to tell him about life at university. Hopefully I don't paint the wrong portrait. It is HOT outside. Tomorrow night is my last night here. It is going down with some of the amigos. We might go to some clubs, no idea yet. Last night I chilled with some peeps. I've kind of gotten used to just ordering a beer or a drink when we go out. That is going to be missed once I go back. Every time I get used to being in Budapest, it is time to leave. :( Next time I will have to come during the second half of the summer, since that is when everyone is done with school and will be able to hang out. I think its amazing that through technology I can keep in touch with some people, and thus have people to hang out with when I come here. If I didn't have friends here, or my sister Andrea, I would be miserable after a week or so. OHHHH. Forever...

What am I going to do in San Francisco? Snoop Doggggg is having a concert but it is very unlikely that I will go. I would be the only white person there probs. Anyways I am going to go read now and then do other stuff...adiozz!

Tram Troubles

Yesterday I got on the tram and sat across from this guy. It was one of those 4 section seats, two window seats, two isle seats. We were by the window. He was facing the direction of travel, and I was sitting backwards. Two girls sat next to us. Once the left it was only him and I. There were other open seats on the tram. After a few stops he decided to get up and move. But why ? Do I have leprosy or something? Whatev.

Anyways, I am pissed off about the whole tram situation anyways. I got on the tram to go to Moszkva Tér. Then there I have to connect and get on Tram 18. I waited about 15 minutes to get on tram 18. I got on, and my grandmother told me that the place I wanted to go to was at the last stop of the tram. I got on, sat down and started playing "Klondike" on my ipod. After 45 minutes, the last stop is reached. Finally! Oh, wait. I am at the wrong last stop. JESUS. So, I had to get back on tram 18 and ride for a fucking hour and a half to get to my actual desired destination. Stupidity at its greatest. I had gone to that place before but since I wasn't paying attention to the road, I didn't realize I was going in the complete wrong direction....

Ételek...or, Foods

Calf livers with warm parsley-cooked potatoes + simmered apple slices with a cranberry+raisin sauce. Holy shit. This was a good meal.

Pork with hash brown-like potato with chives and parsley.

A Crêpe filled with a crushed walnut creme-like substance with hot chocolate syrup on top and a side of homemade whipped creme. It was better than the starbucks whipped creme, which sucks anyways. It was legit.

Vanilla and hazelnut ice cream with warm nutella on top, and hazelnuts scattered.

A caviar sandwich, with hardboiled egg, lettuce and some type of plain flavored yogurt sauce.

Salmon with parsley cooked potatoes, lemon, and tartar sauce in a waffle cup. The waffle cup was cute but was not consumed.

Soma himbeer. Raspberry flavored pop. It was really good.

Red pepper spiced, red bell pepper marinated chicken, and potatoes.

Pork with a baked sauerkraut ball, and a bread-like ball creation. The foods were all really good. Needless to say, I gained a couple kilos while in Vienna. In fact, I think I probably gained weight while in BP as well. CRA-CRA.

Today was actually a really busy day. I first went to a mall near our place and got a shirt that I had seen and had planned on buying. Then I went to another shopping center and got this dress for my sister. Then I met up with my mom and grandmother and we went downtown to some more stores. I had a gyro at my favorite gyro place in the world, and then bought some more stuff. Picked up some wine on our way home, and met up with a girl who wants to study criminal justice in the states and tried helping her out with schools. Her problems made me realize that the American college system is geared much more towards americans, and is NOT user friendly towards international students. Whatev. I feel like I helped somewhat, at least I enlightened her about faffffsa. Oh the joyz of fafsa. Today was supposed to be pay day, but I realized that I already got my last check from Starbucks last time. Damnit. Anyways, I gotta go chill with my Fater. Tomorrow I am getting up early to go to this spring with my grandfather and swim laps and go to the chamomile sauna and then jump in the freezing cold water! Can't wait!

Vienna + More

Christ. Live has been busy but supa fun. Here I will begin to talk about Belvedere Palace, and transition into what I have been doing for the past few days along with pictures to help explain. As Wikipedia states, the Belvedere is baroque palace complex built by Prince Eugene of Savoy in the 3rd district of Vienna, south-east of the city centre. After buying the plot of land in 1697 Prince Eugene had a large park created. The Schloss Belvedere began as a suburban entertainment villa: in 1714 work began to erect what is now called the Lower Belvedere, not as a palace but as a garden villa, with an orangerie, and paintings gallery, with suitable living quarters. The architect was Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt, one of the most important architects of the Austrian Baroque, who produced in the complex of buildings his masterwork.

The art exhibit at this museum had some really nice paintings, among which was Klimt of course, with his famous "The Kiss" painting. It was large and it made me feel all warm inside for 1.4 seconds. Umm let's see.

Mozarthaus to the right.

View from inside Mozart's room. Mozart lived there for a while and preformed often as a pianist, and eventually established himself as the best pianist in Vienna. Among other famous works, he wrote The Magic Flute here.

Cool. That was a good dose of Vienna info for this post. Here are some pictures of our little lake-house in Agárd.

Doors and shutters closed because the pictures were taken before we left. There here blow is a classic example of the unhealthy Hungarian diet. This is literally a cube of fat. 100% fat. Does that sound appealing to you? No? Good. I must say that I did not take part in the consumption activities of this piece of "real bacon." You must understand that when I say a cube of fat from now on, this is exactly what I mean. It exists, and the Hungarians eat it.

And finally, some photos of my other grandparent's get away house in Leányfalu.
Okay, so you can't actually see the house. It is behind all the trees. In the back. My grandparents planted a tree for each grandchild. My sister and mine are towards the entrance (which is there the picture is taken from) to the right.
A raspberry from the bush. It tasted good. Just stuck the camera inside the basket of cherries that I picked. I picked them, I swear. See:

Last but certainly NOT the least, here is a picture of a bodobács. It was my favorite bug when I was little.

Its kinda cute...right? This is actually a rare occurence: that a bodobács is found alone. Usually they are attached to each other's asses and are mating in large groups. Basically an insect orgy if you will. The bug is small by the way, its just a close up picture...

So, last night I hung out with some friends, but the night before, my old classmate organized another class reunion. It was really successful. Did I mention elementary class reunion? Yeah, well thats what it was. It was really fun though, and I had a really good time. Here are two pictures:
Unfortunately not everyone could make it, and not everyone who came was in the pictures, as some people just came and left after an hour, while others came pretty late. Everyone was really nice, and it was fun to reconnect. I have had a really nice time hanging out with some of these people over the past two weeks. I can safely say that some of them looked more Texan than me. Also, chivalry doesn't really seem to exist in the same sense that it does in the states. Usually guys don't really let their girl friends (friends that are girls...) walk alone at night. Here its like no big deal, but I doubt the streets of Budapest are safer...there has been a lot of crimes and rapes and murders lately so...wtf bro, walk me home! Whatevs. I honestly have to be productivo today. Maybe, MAYBE I'll post later. Cheers!

Only this moment..

This is a sign I saw at a fountain. It says don't drink the water. It's a pretty cool sign. There are a bunch of cutesy signs like this in Vienna. Tomorrow we are going to the lake house and I can't wait. I know I have already expressed that sentiment thoroughly but I just can't help it. I forgot to explain who was in the picture I uploaded of my friends. Irisz is the girl on the right, and the guy next to me is Kristof and the guy next to him is my friend Mate, who we call Viszlo because there are two Mates. Anyways I have to go pack up for the next two days and what not. I will write when we get back (tuesday night/wednesday morning). Ciao!

Back in BP

We came back from Vienna early yesterday evening. It was a really short trip, the train went a lost faster on the way back. I watched two episodes of John Adams. In the 6 person section where my mother and I had situated ourselves on the train, no one else had come. The train started moving and we were relieved that it was highly probably that would we left alone in the cabin. An American-Hungarian business woman was almost out of breath and she plumped herself in our cabin. That was no big deal because there was still more than enough room to be comfortable. Then, about a minute later, much to everyone in our cabin's dismay, a 5'3'' beer-bellied meaty heavy set man of ample proportions decided to park himself next to me. Why not in the other empty seats bro? He was drunk and smelled as if he had smoked eight packs of cigarettes prior to setting foot on the train. Smelling him was like second hand smoke pretty much. I was pretty fucked up just from a whiff. Well enough of my bitching, everything went smoothly pretty much.

(Photo from flickr)

Karlskirche
In 1713, the Black Plague swept Vienna, and Emperor Charles VI made a vow: if the plague abated, he would build a church dedicated to his namesake, St. Charles Borromeo. St. Charles was a 16th-century Italian bishop famous for ministering to Milanese plague victims. The emperor's prayer was answered, and construction on the church began in 1715.
The Karlskirche is a church situated on the south side of Karlsplatz, Vienna. It is one of the most outstanding baroque church structures north of the Alps and boasts a dome in the form of an elongated ellipsoid. It is amazing on the inside. We got to go up on this contraption, into the dome and it was quite frightening let me tell you. We got a nice view of the city though, and of the iconography painted on the inside of the dome.
There are photos from inside the dome. As I just mentioned, we had the opportunity to go up inside. It is 45 meters tall from the ground to the top of the dome. I am terrified of heights but couldn't pass up an occasion like this.

The iconographical program of the church originated from the imperial official Carl Heraeus and connects St. Charles Borromeo with his imperial benefactor. The relief on the pediment above the entrance with the cardinal virtues and the figure of the patron on its apex point to the motivation of the donation. This sculpture group continues onto the attic story as well. The attic is also one of the elements which the younger Fischer introduced. The columns display scenes from the life of Charles Borromeo in a spinal relief, however they also recall the Pillars of Hercules and act as symbols of imperial power. The entrance is flanked by angles from the Old and New Testaments.This program continues in the interior as well, above all in the dome fresco by Johann Michael Rottmyr of Salzburg and Gaetano Fanti which displays an intercession of Charles Borromeo, supported by the Virgin Mart. Surrounding this scene are the cardinal virtues.


The baroque is evident in the ornate bold decor best exemplified by the heavy application of gold on the columns such as the ones in this photo. Yay! Aren't you glad you read this, look at all the stuff you have just learned!

I saw some friends late last night. I also tried this Zwack Unicum concoction. I had heard so many things about it, good and bad, that I decided it was time to form my own opinion. The liqueur is today produced by Zwack according to a secret formula including more than 40 herbs and aged in oak casks. The flavor of Unicum closely resembles that of Jägermeister, but it is considerably earthier and less sweet with a very bitter aftertaste. Unicum is regarded as the national drink of Hungary.

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Today I am supposed to visit family but I really don't want to go. My grandmother's cousin's family...an 89 year old lady, a 73 year old lady and her 74 year old husband. Normally it would be totally fine because my sister would be here too but...now...its just my mother, grandmother and I. Tomorrow I think we are going to our lake house for two or three days and I am really excited. I haven't been in so long and going always brings back good memories. One of my friends has a lake house about 8 minutes away, so last night we agreed that we would hang out. This is a photo of some Hungarian amigos:

Brokeback: anything of questionable masculinity. -UD

So, the day has come when I begin the storytelling. Since I don't really recall what we did on which day, I will slowly but surely explain all of the things we did, and hopefully include pictures to better explain everything. I will have a separate section on dining and foods for two reasons: I have gained a few kilos which demonstrates the importance of fine dining in Europe and because...we all love food damnit.

So here we go:
These pictures are at Kärtner Ring/surrounding areas. It is a famous site/street in Vienna. There are a bunch of stores, and the buildings on the street rich in history. There are also several restaurants and pastry shops that sell Mozart chocolate and Sacher tortes. Yumm. There is also the Ringstraße which is a circular road surrounding Vienna. The Ringstraße and the planned buildings were intended to be a showcase for imperial grandeur and the glory of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. These streets are all majestic with the architecture and history of the buildings dating back to several centuries. The first records of the street date back to the late 1200s so you can imagine...All of these areas connect and looking at the pictures, it is hard to discern one street from the other since they are all so close and similar in appearance.
And Starbucks puts another city over the edge and onto the dark side. Yepp, there were several Starbucks locations in Vienna. We went there once and only once. 1. The service sucks and I should have complained but decided to let it go and 2. after paying 7 Euros for our two drinks we decided local coffee was the way to go. A good call for sure... the value of the USD sucks right now. It was pretty bad in terms of exchanging money...and buying Euros.

Historical/Religious things on the wall of Stephanskirche.

The Stephansplatz is a square at the geographical centre of Vienna. It is named after its most prominent building, the Stephanskirche, Vienna's cathedral and one of the tallest churches in the world which are in the pictures above. The pictures below are of the general area of Stephansplatz.


I found this building particularly interesting. Overall the building seems rather modern, and then there is this winged-looking creature on a corner. I never really found out what it was...And finally, this is a photo of a school. Aren't those students just lucky. I wish my school had magnificent and glorious statues at the entrance, above not even just doors, but gates. GATES. I bet they don't even think about these kinds of things. To them its probably just 4 stupid dudes staring down at you telling you to do your homework, and stay drug-free.

The weather has been really nice. Perfect almost. Vienna is clean and it is beautiful needless to say. Similar to Budapest except there is a lot less graffiti, and dust and what not. In a nutshell, it is CLEAN. People are generally nice too.

I started watching John Adams and I already love it. I also started listening to more Royksopp and its good musack.