Absolutely Anything Else

SimonTrew wrote:

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

There's a little place right on our st. the serves Hungarian dishes daily and everytime we walk past i say we have to try this place, some day"

Ain't that always the way. Then one day it closes down...

Exactly, we had better try the place before the cook passes away from eating so much fat.
Taco Bell in Romania, hmm, might have to visit there again.
Ate many times at the Lehel Piac Menu place, not bad.
We used to eat out all the time when we only lived here part-time.
Sometimes just a menu place or a nice  restaurant for dinner.
Only place I had wanted to go to but so far no way, is Grundles.
Years back we were flush with cash and I wanted to take his parents out there and his bro, sister and SIL. My husband said no way, at the time the only people who could afford to eat there were party members. He said he couldn't stomach looking at them let alone sitting with them...
A women I know in Vegas came to HU about 11 years back with her husband and another couple. They are a few years older then we are and are SUPER rich.
She was teaching yoga at my Vegas health club because she was a bored housewife.
Had been a fight attendant in her youth and met her husband on a flight, second women I know who met their husbands that way.
Anyways, they were going to all strictly 5 star dinners ever night here in Budapest.
The weird thing was that her traveling partner, the other women who was a nurse for a private heart clinic a surgical nurse, told me flat out that she was sick of having dinner with my yoga teacher.
She said she ordered everything on the menu and then went to the WC. This women might of weighed in at 90 lbs soaking wet. Her husband even told me she had a serious eating disorder, weird since she was about 60 at the time.  What a waste those $300-$400 dinners literally all down the drain.
Not sure she is still teaching in Vegas, she always looked like she was about to pass out.
They all turned out to be some of the strangest people ever.
Her with her eating disorder( sort of figured out why she was that way after meeting more with her husband, jerk) The other man was the CFO for the Riviera Casino, cheap mother... We all took a short cruise on Balaton together, on the way off the boat the captain stood on the shore while we departed, it was only the 6 of us and a young couple on this large boat.Anyways, this CFO big shot.. whatever, hands the Captain a 200 forint bill in his hand like he was some high roller and big spender. So embarrassing for us to see how rude that guy was, not sure if he actually thought it was a decent tip for a captain in front of his crew or not... Lamo.
Sometimes it's better if people do not actually know you live in a exotic place, my husband said his days as a tour guide are over with, those people gave him a bad taste in his mouth.
They were so "American" that when they all drove from Budapest to Balaton where they each rented their own condos for 4 days in high season , that the men each wanted to drive there themselves. They actually rented 2 cars for 4 people to go to the same location!
The yoga lady was so skinny and refused to put on a swimsuit so after one day at Balaton , she forced her husband to just leave the condo which was already paid for and drive back to Budapest just because she didn't want to wear a swimsuit!
I wish I was making this up, so insane, one would think she would at least mention to us that they had a nice big condo already paid for for 3 more days just sitting empty and invite us or someone else to use it.
Her son just married a HU women in Ca. and so that's why they bothered visiting Budapest and Hungary, they wanted to see where their DIl came from.... Ok must be nice to be able to toss out thousands of dollars in a week on nothing much at all.
I mentioned her husband was a jerk because he was/is one.We met with them 3 times in a week to show them around HU. We didn't even live in Budapest at the time but we drove in to show them around, then some event about a 3 hour drive each way, roads were bad and it was so tiring that i got a sick headache and we had to check into a hotel where i just rested, no fun at all.
Then the Balaton day. Her husband in front of his wife and in front of my husband actually said this to me, 11 years ago though, "wow, you're in great shape, my wife is never home, why don't you visit me sometime'!!WTF??? My face was red, I had done nothing to make this ego maniac say such a rude thing to me and insult my husband and I like that, all we did was help them out.
They never even asked if we were thirsty or hungry after driving over to met them. Not that we needed a thing from them one way or the other but still...

My husband is a cool guy, He could of been rude back but he turned it around on that jerk.
He smiled sweetly ( my husband only really smiles that sweet before he bits) looked the guy in the eyes and said calm as can be, "Sorry my wife doesn't make house calls".
Some people are mental.

Not so sure they got the hint though because when I visited Vegas again and took her yoga class, she mentioned we should go to her house for dinner, Think not.Maybe they all were swingers or into something very strange, all good, never ventured to find out, really don't care after all.... The thought of it is enough to make one cringe.
I try to avoid most of my countrymen after so many odd experiences with people I thought we "normal".

Guess that old 200 forint bank note was worth about one US dollar 11 years back, The exchange rate wasn't too great then. The Chief Financial Officer of a old well known Las Vegas property giving a respected Hungarian Captain a one dollar tip was either the most rude or the dumbest thing ever.
Would of expected more from someone who worked in numbers all day long. The captain was cool, took the money and said thank you, my husband said he wished the guy had thrown it in his face instead....
Will have to check out that little hole in the wall place for lunch one day soon then. There had been a Hungarian restaurant in Las Vegas which was really close to where we lived and the food was not bad and the prices were good. The women died and they place became some Chinese take out.
Rambling on here, must of gotten some sun stroke today at the water....

fluffy2560 wrote:

The problem with Balaton is it's only usable about 50% of the time.   The weather is only good a few months of the year.

Actually, I would say the weather here is only "unusable" about 2 to 3 months out of the year. More sun days here than in Budapest most the year. And it is much warmer in winter where I live than even a few more km inland. I can't complain.

fluffy2560 wrote:

And if you live on a hill and its winter.....oh dear...Price tags don't match common sense.

Do you mean snow? When it does, it does not stay around long. Not really a problem for me. The hill roads here are now more a problem in summer -- they are lousy now with cars, and the roads are not wide enough to allow two way traffic. Each year the traffic gets worse. More and more houses have been bought and new ones going in. I prefer winter here now -- quieter.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Price tags don't match common sense.

Of course none of this makes sense. Spending money on keeping up with the current trend never makes sense. I have seen property prices triple in the last 5 years. I guess it has sparked a new local industry: property caretakers.

I see more and more BMV and Mercedes driving around here these days. A few years ago nobody with money cared about the Balaton. They all went to the Croatia coast. But now the thing for the nouveau riche is to want and have that "weekend house" by the Balaton. More and more absentee land owners. And when they do come -- just are loud and noisy. Don't care about the real residents. Just come to party.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

......
Only place I had wanted to go to but so far no way, is Grundles.
......hands the Captain a 200 forint bill in his hand like he was some high roller and big spender. So embarrassing for us to see how rude that guy was, not sure if he actually thought it was a decent tip for a captain in front of his crew or not... Lamo.
....

I hope the Captain gave it back to him and told him if he was that hard up he shouldn't bother.  Maybe even made him walk the plank!

Gundels is like Gerbeau -  massively overrated. 

I went there for a more formal work related party type thing and got terrible heartburn from something or other. Probably my fault and not the food but I vowed never to go there again and certainly not to feel necessary to go dressed up like an penguin. 

Couple of steaks on the BBQ, some tinnies or wine and watching England win the World Cup by a nice pool more than good enough.

klsallee wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

The problem with Balaton is it's only usable about 50% of the time.   The weather is only good a few months of the year.

Actually, I would say the weather here is only "unusable" about 2 to 3 months out of the year. More sun days here than in Budapest most the year. And it is much warmer in winter where I live than even a few more km inland. I can't complain.

fluffy2560 wrote:

And if you live on a hill and its winter.....oh dear...Price tags don't match common sense.

Do you mean snow? When it does, it does not stay around long. Not really a problem for me. The hill roads here are now more a problem in summer -- they are lousy now with cars, and the roads are not wide enough to allow two way traffic. Each year the traffic gets worse. More and more houses have been bought and new ones going in. I prefer winter here now -- quieter.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Price tags don't match common sense.

Of course none of this makes sense. Spending money on keeping up with the current trend never makes sense. I have seen property prices triple in the last 5 years. I guess it has sparked a new local industry: property caretakers.

I see more and more BMV and Mercedes driving around here these days. A few years ago nobody with money cared about the Balaton. They all went to the Croatia coast. But now the thing for the nouveau riche is to want and have that "weekend house" by the Balaton. More and more absentee land owners. And when they do come -- just are loud and noisy. Don't care about the real residents. Just come to party.

Ah now, Croatia.  I was there when they made a big song and dance on TV and knocked down the illegally built villas on the coast.  Most of them were owned by Hungarians.  Maybe a lesson was learnt.

I did mean snow.  From September to April, we don't go anywhere near the place and certainly don't stay there even though the house is less 100m from the lake.  Mrs Fluffy has been known to stay with the kids down there in May for the odd night but it's really a bit too cold.  Everything is pretty much closed down.  But if we had our own decent place down there, then maybe we'd go there more often, perhaps for a weekend but I doubt it - during the summer it could be almost permanent occupation but even so, the core months are only about 4 - May, June, July and August (September close down for school restart).

I guess the number of Beamers and Mercs are indicative that someone is doing well here.  But most good  places are blocked up in summer anyway. Budapest is currently swamped with tourists but that's a good thing obviously for the economy.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Ah now, Croatia.  I was there when they made a big song and dance on TV and knocked down the illegally built villas on the coast.  Most of them were owned by Hungarians.  Maybe a lesson was learnt.

Good for Croatia!

Construction outsides the rules is never torn down here, to my knowledge, and I know more about this issue than any expat should...... There is a lot of.... shall we say.....  "creative" construction here. For example, one person put in a pool, on land in the national park. Not allowed. A big no-no. He claimed it was water he needed in case of fire. The national park lost the case, and the court let him keep his pool.

fluffy2560 wrote:

I did mean snow.  From September to April, we don't go anywhere near the place and certainly don't stay there even though the house is less 100m from the lake.  Mrs Fluffy has been known to stay with the kids down there in May for the odd night but it's really a bit too cold.

Where is this house? I normally stop heating in April. And I was opening windows at night during May this year it was so warm.  Now, granted, we heat all winter. And if one just comes for a weekend, the walls of a house not heated all winter will actually make it seem colder than it is. That may be the problem.

By the way, I think September and early October are some the best months here. Not too hot. Not too cold. And the grapes are coming into the winery. Generally good cycling weather too.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Everything is pretty much closed down.

By the lake, and the tourists areas, yes. But I live here, so I know the places that are not closed down. Plenty of services and places open. You just have to have "local knowledge".

klsallee wrote:

.....
Construction outsides the rules is never torn down here, to my knowledge, and I know more about this issue than any expat should...... There is a lot of.... shall we say.....  "creative" construction here. For example, one person put in a pool, on land in the national park. Not allowed. A big no-no. He claimed it was water he needed in case of fire. The national park lost the case, and the court let him keep his pool.
...
Where is this house? I normally stop heating in April. And I was opening windows at night during May this year it was so warm.  Now, granted, we heat all winter. And if one just comes for a weekend, the walls of a house not heated all winter will actually make it seem colder than it is. That may be the problem.

By the way, I think September and early October are some the best months here. Not too hot. Not too cold. And the grapes are coming into the winery. Generally good cycling weather too.

....
By the lake, and the tourists areas, yes. But I live here, so I know the places that are not closed down. Plenty of services and places open. You just have to have "local knowledge".

Those Croatians didn't muck about.  The video was of digging machines demolishing the houses while the owners screamed in the background.  It was highlighted they were HUungarians.

House is near Balatonfoldvar.  Sure, there are places open but nothing very local that is open all year except small supermarkets.  Closest town of any size is Siofok or Balatonlelle and spread out.   The house is very old and not well constructed.  It was inherited from the grandparents by the cousins. I favour knocking it down and reconstructing but there's no way to get an agreement.  No-one wants to spend any money but we're the only ones with younger kids.

Others entitled have just wandered off and bought their own places in order not to be saddled with the disagreements and awkwardness of the others.  Then they can do whatever they want.  So this is one of the reasons to do our own thing and build our own place. 

Typical incident involved one of the owners that probably has an age brain problem. That person decided to chop all the large shady trees down.  By the time anyone was consulted, the trees were gone!   There was no discussion. To make it worse there was enough wood to heat someone's house for a year.  So the  tree surgeon was paid AND kept the wood.  Upshot is that there's no shade now  whatsoever and we cannot get any agreement to put new trees in to try and create some shade.  It can be brutal down there in the sun.

*sigh*

fluffy2560 wrote:

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

......
Only place I had wanted to go to but so far no way, is Grundles.
......hands the Captain a 200 forint bill in his hand like he was some high roller and big spender. So embarrassing for us to see how rude that guy was, not sure if he actually thought it was a decent tip for a captain in front of his crew or not... Lamo.
....

I hope the Captain gave it back to him and told him if he was that hard up he shouldn't bother.  Maybe even made him walk the plank!

Gundels is like Gerbeau -  massively overrated. 

I went there for a more formal work related party type thing and got terrible heartburn from something or other. Probably my fault and not the food but I vowed never to go there again and certainly not to feel necessary to go dressed up like an penguin. 

Couple of steaks on the BBQ, some tinnies or wine and watching England win the World Cup by a nice pool more than good enough.

My husband was a driver in the late 1960's for the Gerbeau.
He was always being dragged over to the bakers table and "forced" to try a treat or two. He was so skinny that they all wanted to fatten him up.
After a few months of sweets he swore off them for ages.
Not even sure if they still deliver or not.
He used to make runs to the airport because embassies in Paris and other big cities ordered from them! Hard to believe they needed HU treats in Paris.
He would see kids playing football in his old playing fields and once in awhile when he had time he would collect all the broken bits and pieces that they were going to discard , put them in a nice box and drive over with his delivery truck and give the kids the snacks.
They would all drop the ball and come running over.
Guess times have changed, can't do such a thing anymore or you'd be fined for it or arrested for feeding people.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

.....
He used to make runs to the airport because embassies in Paris and other big cities ordered from them! Hard to believe they needed HU treats in Paris.
He would see kids playing football in his old playing fields and once in awhile when he had time he would collect all the broken bits and pieces that they were going to discard , put them in a nice box and drive over with his delivery truck and give the kids the snacks.
They would all drop the ball and come running over.
Guess times have changed, can't do such a thing anymore or you'd be fined for it or arrested for feeding people.

That's ridiculous.  As if you cannot buy decent stuff in Paris or elsewhere.

Nowadays, he'd get fined or arrested if the kids he was feeding were asylum seekers and the football was supplied or part funded by Soros or another NGO that received donations from overseas.   But none of that would happen if it was within the Felcsút town boundaries.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

.....
He used to make runs to the airport because embassies in Paris and other big cities ordered from them! Hard to believe they needed HU treats in Paris.
He would see kids playing football in his old playing fields and once in awhile when he had time he would collect all the broken bits and pieces that they were going to discard , put them in a nice box and drive over with his delivery truck and give the kids the snacks.
They would all drop the ball and come running over.
Guess times have changed, can't do such a thing anymore or you'd be fined for it or arrested for feeding people.

That's ridiculous.  As if you cannot buy decent stuff in Paris or elsewhere.

Nowadays, he'd get fined or arrested if the kids he was feeding were asylum seekers and the football was supplied or part funded by Soros or another NGO that received donations from overseas.   But none of that would happen if it was within the Felcsút town boundaries.

Can't feed the homeless in the US either.
Hungary has changed allot, some things are better but others not so.
People were in some ways more a part of each others lives back in the day, now it's every man for themselves.
In 1978 when we first visited Hungary we walked around with our 2 year old son. People who knew my husband on the st. would stop and chat with us.
We went to the Gerbeau to have a snack and many of the same staff still worked there from the time when my husband did.
They came out from underground where they bake and met with us.
We don't know anyone
any longer but in the old days my husband seemed to know everyone on the st. in the 5th district.
He said it used to be a ,"thing" with the bakers at the Gerbeau to see if they could fatten him up. He would arrive at work and a huge cup of hot chocolate with cream was waiting for him with several pieces of cake all loaded down with heavy creams. He never got fat, no one won their bet.
Funny thing is I asked him if his mom ever enjoyed any of the extra bits of cake he had access to take home. He said he never even thought of bringing any home to his own family. Guess that's why he was always a skinny guy, never thought much about food.
My eldest sister worked part-time through college by working in a ice cream shop. She was allowed to bring home almost expired cartons of 5 gallons of ice cream.
We also could go in and eat or have a treat for free. Our mom however never let us do that very often at all.
Maybe once a month for a huge banana split or every few months a hamburger and fries.
She never wanted my sisters boss to think we were free loaders.
My other sister dated  the ice cream man who went to high school with her.
Now that was great, he stopped by our house everyday after school with his truck of treats  and we could get a ice cream from him. Again though, mom would only let us get a simple cone, nothing fancy or over the top.
I was sad when she broke up with him... I was about 11 years old and was mad at her .
I agree what a waste in any time to fly cakes to another country, this was commie days so even more ,"decadent" Think they were headed to HU embassies mostly.
He also mentioned he did deliveries allot to priests who ordered some super fancy marzipan sweets.
Those beautiful pains taking ones that look like fresh fruits.
Taking money from poor people in hopes of paying their way to heaven when they turn around and treat themselves to luxury items... Opps, I am suppose to not stir it up and behave myself here.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Those Croatians didn't muck about.  The video was of digging machines demolishing the houses while the owners screamed in the background.  It was highlighted they were HUungarians.

Any links to the video? I would like to see that.

fluffy2560 wrote:

House is near Balatonfoldvar.

Ah, yes. A very touristy area. A place that probably shuts down most of the year because of the dependence on the tourist trade.

If you want more services, then the far east or far western part of the lake is better. Personally, being in the north western part, where it is a bit warmer by the way, we have all the services and even most of the big box stores within either 10 or 25 minutes drive.

But living by the lake is not going to include all the amenities of living by a big city in any case, no matter where you are, because there are no large cities by the lake.

Personally, I prefer the western part of the lake where I iive. If you are interested in land, I would suggest looking more at Zala county or near its boarders, rather than any of the others. My wife and I live near the Zala-Veszprem boarder ourselves.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Typical incident involved one of the owners that probably has an age brain problem. That person decided to chop all the large shady trees down.

Oh, I have experienced similar. A lot of them. Even seen it mentioned in some Hungarian literature: That is, some Hungarians seem to hate trees and cut them down at the first chance they get.

fluffy2560 wrote:

So the  tree surgeon was paid AND kept the wood.

There is no "tree surgeon", also known as arborist (those that care about tree health), association in Hungary. There is nothing at all regulating this profession. Most of them are incompetent people with a saw who do not know anything about trees. I see nothing but incorrectly pollarded trees here in Hungary.

There are only foresters, who only see trees as a monetary wood resource. I know because when my wife was mayor, the national park allowed a timber company to cut down trees along the road outside our village -- but was still part of her official jurisdiction -- without telling her.

It is a long story, but to keep it short, the park asked the forestry company to only cut out tree that were "sick", and because the park had no money, the forestry company was allowed to keep all the wood for each tree they cut out. Surprise to nobody with 3 or more brain cells, the forestry company said all the tree were sick and cut them all out without telling the mayor (my wife). When she found out what happened she started a national public campaign. Most of the trees on highway 71 by the lake between Badacsony and Szigliget, which she then learned were next on the ax schedule, she was able to save. I think one can still see interviews or her online at various news portals about this issue. And it took months to find a real tree expert in Hungary to really check the trees for disease (it was eventually only a University professor who had the needed skills to take on the job). In the end I think only about 25% were actually sick and needed to be removed.

From that, and other experiences here, I learned to not trust any "so called" expert here. Not one bit.

klsallee wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

Those Croatians didn't muck about.  The video was of digging machines demolishing the houses while the owners screamed in the background.  It was highlighted they were HUungarians.

Any links to the video? I would like to see that.
......
Ah, yes. A very touristy area. A place that probably shuts down most of the year because of the dependence on the tourist trade.

....... If you are interested in land, I would suggest looking more at Zala county or near its boarders, rather than any of the others. ....
Oh, I have experienced similar. A lot of them. Even seen it mentioned in some Hungarian literature: That is, some Hungarians seem to hate trees and cut them down at the first chance they get.....

There is no "tree surgeon", also known as arborist (those that care about tree health), association in Hungary. There is nothing at all regulating this profession. Most of them are incompetent people with a saw who do not know anything about trees. I see nothing but incorrectly pollarded trees here in Hungary.

There are only foresters, who only see trees as a monetary wood resource. I know because when my wife was mayor, the national park allowed a timber company to cut down trees along the road outside our village -- but was still part of her official jurisdiction -- without telling her.

It is a long story, but to keep it short, the park asked the forestry company to only cut out tree that were "sick", and because the park had no money, the forestry company was allowed to keep all the wood for each tree they cut out. Surprise to nobody with 3 or more brain cells, the forestry company said all the tree were sick and cut them all out without telling the mayor (my wife). When she found out what happened she started a national public campaign. ...

Well done your missus.  I really like trees and I agonise over chopping down trees in our garden to get our outside landscaping finished.    Unfortunately there's nothing can be done as it's effectively impossible to move for us - they are fruit trees and not very good ones at that.  But I could at least plant a one-for-one tree as a replacement. 

Re: the land,  we need it where there's easy access to the highway to Budapest so that means the southern side.  From here we can get down to the house at Balaton in about 1.5h.  If we had to go around the top, it would take at least another hour for the same distance.   

But yes, anyone with a saw thinks they know. I was in Tesco yesterday and I saw I could get a no-name Chinese petrol chainsaw for  30K HUF.   That's relatively cheap and affordable for anyone who wants to hack something down.  I use my own electric chainsaw for rough cutting wood if I'm making something - we've no trees to speak of.

We only saw the Croatian reports on the Croatian TV and it was at least 10 years ago.  I suppose it could be found on Google with the right search terms.   If I remember correctly, Mrs Fluffy was saying the shouting in the background was Hungarian.  I think they knocked them down in a dawn raid.  I think it was 3-4 houses in a road overlooking the sea.

I've requested shoulder surfing Teenage Fluffyette to Google for it in Hungarian and in true teenager manner, she's said it's too difficult. Watching America's Got Talent is more a priority. Haha (not really).  I'm not holding my breath!!!

fluffy2560 wrote:

...

We only saw the Croatian reports on the Croatian TV and it was at least 10 years ago.  I suppose it could be found on Google with the right search terms.   If I remember correctly, Mrs Fluffy was saying the shouting in the background was Hungarian.  I think they knocked them down in a dawn raid.  I think it was 3-4 houses in a road overlooking the sea.

I've requested shoulder surfing Teenage Fluffyette to Google for it in Hungarian and in true teenager manner, she's said it's too difficult. Watching America's Got Talent is more a priority. Haha (not really).  I'm not holding my breath!!!

*update: 

Mrs Fluffy remembers the TV reports on the Croatian houses and will have a look later herself to see if it's traceable.  She was surprised at the fire extinguishing swimming pool issue but she did say that the local government people are often overwhelmed by the rules and rule changes.   

Today she's been busy verbally sparing with FizzBang's supporters over OV's use of the word "...finally.." re: refugees/migrants being refused entry to Italy yet and eventually rescued by Spain.   I often wonder if she's wasted helping me and should  direct her efforts into being activist instead.  I reckon she'd be pretty good at it.

fluffy2560 wrote:

*update: 

Mrs Fluffy remembers the TV reports on the Croatian houses and will have a look later herself to see if it's traceable.

That is nice of her. But I was just curious. I would not waste too much time or put any Pinkertons onto the task.

fluffy2560 wrote:

She was surprised at the fire extinguishing swimming pool issue but she did say that the local government people are often overwhelmed by the rules and rule changes.

Ah, but it was not simply a local government issue. It was a National Park issue. The local government really has limited authority in Park areas, about Park rules (the no-pool issue was a Park regulation -- our village has no special building regulations that I am aware of), even if that park area is within the village's outer area of control. A village government or even a private citizen can only often "report" an issue in violation of National Park rules. And "hope" proper authorities take appropriate action.

And the National Park system and its rights and abilities to fulfill its mandate has been systematically weakened in recent years by the current national government.

And even if the local government is on the ball, and is aware of an issues, and goes against something in their bailiwick, upper level agencies can block those actions or make indirect punishments for rocking the boat. Including, for example, suddenly not providing any grants to that village. So it is complicated.

fluffy2560 wrote:

I often wonder if she's wasted helping me and should  direct her efforts into being activist instead.  I reckon she'd be pretty good at it.

Direct action eh.

On the way back from Dunakeszi at the weekend they had taken down the political advertising on the billboards (left over from the election), painted them out grey, and some wag had sprayed on them in Hungarian "Please write something political about migrants". Made me smile.

Although a few years ago, the MKKP put up billboard signs saying (in English) "Welcome to Hungary. Closed on Sundays". (Pic here at Wikimedia Commons wot I took.)

If you feel strongly about graffiti you should sign my partition.

Would be nice if taking action did change the world for the better.
Guess I'm getting old after all, doubt things will change without something wild and radical happening first.
Wasn't WW11 the war to end all wars?
Guess that was another fib we bought.
The world will never have peace as long as people think of themselves first and that does seem to be the new thing, the "Me First" generation.
I am not pinning my hopes on the new crop of followers coming up.

i guess, "schools out for summer "or is there year round schools in Hungary?
Really don't keep up on these sorts of things but today it seemed the local school had a graduation day.
Lots of adults shouting and honking their horns, not in celebration but in anger, the rain and too many cars backed the st. up.
Nice way to teach your children to act...

Enjoying this cold break in the weather today, crazy how Tuesday we went swimming and today we are baking because it's cold enough to do so.

klsallee wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

*update: 

Mrs Fluffy remembers the TV reports on the Croatian houses and will have a look later herself to see if it's traceable.

That is nice of her. But I was just curious. I would not waste too much time or put any Pinkertons onto the task.

Aw, we've ordered deerstalker hats, pipes,  magnifying glasses, bought some hounds and started violin lessons.   

But we don't want to overdo it and therefore we've drawn the line on opium addiction.

SimonTrew wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

I often wonder if she's wasted helping me and should  direct her efforts into being activist instead.  I reckon she'd be pretty good at it.

Direct action eh.

On the way back from Dunakeszi at the weekend they had taken down the political advertising on the billboards (left over from the election), painted them out grey, and some wag had sprayed on them in Hungarian "Please write something political about migrants". Made me smile.

Although a few years ago, the MKKP put up billboard signs saying (in English) "Welcome to Hungary. Closed on Sundays". (Pic here at Wikimedia Commons wot I took.)

If you feel strongly about graffiti you should sign my partition.

I won't be signing your partition because you won't be able to boot up your PC unless you give me 800 EUR.  Autocorrect?   

Mrs Fluffy is absolutely apolitical but such is the HU world now she's started to get very irate. 

No-one wants to cross an upset Mrs Fluffy.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Would be nice if taking action did change the world for the better.
Guess I'm getting old after all, doubt things will change without something wild and radical happening first.
Wasn't WW11 the war to end all wars?
Guess that was another fib we bought.
The world will never have peace as long as people think of themselves first and that does seem to be the new thing, the "Me First" generation.
I am not pinning my hopes on the new crop of followers coming up.

i guess, "schools out for summer "or is there year round schools in Hungary?
Really don't keep up on these sorts of things but today it seemed the local school had a graduation day.
Lots of adults shouting and honking their horns, not in celebration but in anger, the rain and too many cars backed the st. up.
Nice way to teach your children to act...

Enjoying this cold break in the weather today, crazy how Tuesday we went swimming and today we are baking because it's cold enough to do so.

We were just driving around Moscow Square/Mammut (Szell Kalman who?) and it's all jammed up.  It must be the rain.  I was planning to finish some work in the garden and now I'm going to have to do some real work instead.  I don't mind it being cold but I'm annoyed it's raining - no painting, welding or stuff like that.

School's out for the summer tomorrow.  Kids go for a couple of hours in the morning and that's that.  Monday is full-on school holidays so the roads should be initially quieter except to Balaton maybe or in the direction of Austria possibly.   They were talking of making the holidays shorter because it's so difficult to find childcare for the long summer.   I've heard they are thinking of having "camps" for 2 weeks.     

At least the rain has just stopped now.  But I cannot see any blue sky.

fluffy2560 wrote:

School's out for the summer tomorrow.  Kids go for a couple of hours in the morning and that's that.  Monday is full-on school holidays so the roads should be initially quieter except to Balaton maybe or in the direction of Austria possibly.   They were talking of making the holidays shorter because it's so difficult to find childcare for the long summer.   I've heard they are thinking of having "camps" for 2 weeks.

Oh no... that means we have to put up with all those ill-mannered, self-centred creatures all over the place cluttering up shops and planes, shouting and running around and demanding far more than they deserve, and generally behaving as if the world owes them for existing. And this behaviour is government-subsidised, which means my-taxes-subsidised, because they are part of a "family".

I am of course talking about parents. Their children are usually OK.

fluffy2560 wrote:

klsallee wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

*update: 

Mrs Fluffy remembers the TV reports on the Croatian houses and will have a look later herself to see if it's traceable.

That is nice of her. But I was just curious. I would not waste too much time or put any Pinkertons onto the task.

Aw, we've ordered deerstalker hats, pipes,  magnifying glasses, bought some hounds and started violin lessons.   

But we don't want to overdo it and therefore we've drawn the line on opium addiction.

Too bad, from what I've heard you will be missing the best part of being a detective.
My friend who just had her neck rebuilt with hinges, screws and rods was a serious opium addict for less then one year back around 1977 when she was living with her MIL and husband's entire family in Tehran. Being 5'10" tall white with blonde hair kept her from being allowed outside during that time. She was bored so opium was her "hobby". Otherwise she was the most straight person I had known up to that point. Never said boo to anyone or dared to cross the st. in the middle of the road.
Odd, have to watch out for those quiet ones.

SimonTrew wrote:

.......
Oh no... that means we have to put up with all those ill-mannered, self-centred creatures all over the place cluttering up shops and planes, shouting and running around and demanding far more than they deserve, and generally behaving as if the world owes them for existing. And this behaviour is government-subsidised, which means my-taxes-subsidised, because they are part of a "family".

I am of course talking about parents. Their children are usually OK.

Reminds me of this quite famous Dutch advert.  Famous in the Netherlands at least.  I don't think it was banned.  Way back then it was considered rather edgy rather inappropriate.  I always tell Mrs Fluffy it'll be worth it in the end.

SimonTrew wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

School's out for the summer tomorrow.  Kids go for a couple of hours in the morning and that's that.  Monday is full-on school holidays so the roads should be initially quieter except to Balaton maybe or in the direction of Austria possibly.   They were talking of making the holidays shorter because it's so difficult to find childcare for the long summer.   I've heard they are thinking of having "camps" for 2 weeks.

Oh no... that means we have to put up with all those ill-mannered, self-centred creatures all over the place cluttering up shops and planes, shouting and running around and demanding far more than they deserve, and generally behaving as if the world owes them for existing. And this behaviour is government-subsidised, which means my-taxes-subsidised, because they are part of a "family".

I am of course talking about parents. Their children are usually OK.

True, kids learn manners at home first.
Noticed the news this morning , super windy at Balaton , think today was the day for the swim across the lake.
I've always thought about trying to do that.
Each year that passes makes it less likely I'll ever do it, unless they allow using a row boat and hanging off the side kicking.
I don't know why they have this event so early in the summer season, should allow more time for people to practice after a long winter.
We figured if I take the averages of my swimming laps inside a 55 meter swimming pool, without waves or currents in the water, I might on a good day make it 1/3 of the way across the lake.
More practice is needed, problem is I get cold and have to exit the water.
Wonder if they give out awards for effort? Can just hear them say, " She has allot of Heart" always some little message for all of us non athletic types to make us feel better about being weak.
Suppose I could wear a wet suit and get some sort of motor drivin device to drag me across the lake...
I seriously would of given this a try 20 years back, too bad I wasn't here in my 40's and before needing a shoulder replacement. Could always dog paddle ...
Looks like a blast to swim that far.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

klsallee wrote:

That is nice of her. But I was just curious. I would not waste too much time or put any Pinkertons onto the task.

Aw, we've ordered deerstalker hats, pipes,  magnifying glasses, bought some hounds and started violin lessons.   

But we don't want to overdo it and therefore we've drawn the line on opium addiction.

Too bad, from what I've heard you will be missing the best part of being a detective.
My friend who just had her neck rebuilt with hinges, screws and rods was a serious opium addict for less then one year back around 1977 when she was living with her MIL and husband's entire family in Tehran. Being 5'10" tall white with blonde hair kept her from being allowed outside during that time. She was bored so opium was her "hobby". Otherwise she was the most straight person I had known up to that point. Never said boo to anyone or dared to cross the st. in the middle of the road.
Odd, have to watch out for those quiet ones.

I didn't know you could be addicted part-time.  Presumably she managed to get out of there by 1978 when the full-on revolution started?  I remember clearly that going on.

The events was relatively well told for entertainment (and as a work of fiction) in the movie Argo although like the hopeless miswriting of history in the travesty of a movie, U571, it completely mistold the story of the international community's efforts in hiding the US diplomats from a mob, casting wrongly the British and NZ diplomats in a very bad light. 

I want like the director/writer Ben Affleck but shame on him for BS'ing everyone!  I begin to think he might be aiming to be as tiresome as Mel Gibson (who I refuse to watch anything he does now after the historically stupid movies Braveheart and the Patriot).

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

We figured if I take the averages of my swimming laps inside a 55 meter swimming pool, without waves or currents in the water, I might on a good day make it 1/3 of the way across the lake.

You need to be strong enough so that at least you can make it 1/2 way across. Then if you can't make the rest, you can turn back.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Reminds me of this quite famous Dutch advert.  Famous in the Netherlands at least.

Return baby for deposit.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

Aw, we've ordered deerstalker hats, pipes,  magnifying glasses, bought some hounds and started violin lessons.   

But we don't want to overdo it and therefore we've drawn the line on opium addiction.

Too bad, from what I've heard you will be missing the best part of being a detective.
My friend who just had her neck rebuilt with hinges, screws and rods was a serious opium addict for less then one year back around 1977 when she was living with her MIL and husband's entire family in Tehran. Being 5'10" tall white with blonde hair kept her from being allowed outside during that time. She was bored so opium was her "hobby". Otherwise she was the most straight person I had known up to that point. Never said boo to anyone or dared to cross the st. in the middle of the road.
Odd, have to watch out for those quiet ones.

I didn't know you could be addicted part-time.  Presumably she managed to get out of there by 1978 when the full-on revolution started?  I remember clearly that going on.

The events was relatively well told for entertainment (and as a work of fiction) in the movie Argo although like the hopeless miswriting of history in the travesty of a movie, U5791, it completely mistold the story of the international community's efforts in hiding the US diplomats from a mob, casting wrongly the British and NZ diplomats in a very bad light. 

I want like the director/writer Ben Affleck but shame on him for BS'ing everyone!  I begin to think he might be aiming to be as tiresome as Mel Gibson (who I refuse to watch anything he does now after the historically stupid movies Braveheart and the Patriot).

Yes, she was clean by 1978 when she came back with her daughter and small son and her $100,000 in cash. That was the limit for people leaving Iran at the time, that's all the could bring out of the country.
Her husband came to the states soon after with another $100,000.
Yes, they got a nice jump start moving home. I drove around with her looking at homes she wanted to buy for cash.
She had to hide indoors for about a year in Iran, it was getting too hard for her to have people following her on the st. shouting "Go home American". Her in-laws pretty much took over the care of her children over there, guess that's the custom, her husband was a engineer building bridges all over Iran so she was alone allot in the large house and expect for nights on the terrace where no one could see her she was indoors all the time, guess she picked up smoking opium out of boredom.
She's spoiled at bit, never had to work or punch a time card.
She speaks fluent Farsi which is odd looking because she acts more Persian then her husband does.
Now she seems to enjoy her edibles probably less harmful the opium.
Known her since we were 11 years old. Used to have sleepovers at her house all the time, her parents loved me allot for some lame reason and wanted to be my foster parents.
My mom got mad about that, sort of like how dare they have the nerve...
I was with her when she met her husband when we were 17.
Went to her wedding too.
She is now a great-granny!

SimonTrew wrote:

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

We figured if I take the averages of my swimming laps inside a 55 meter swimming pool, without waves or currents in the water, I might on a good day make it 1/3 of the way across the lake.

You need to be strong enough so that at least you can make it 1/2 way across. Then if you can't make the rest, you can turn back.

That's a good point, although if I didn't make it back, I'd be doing something i loved.

fluffy2560 wrote:

... and started violin lessons.

You have to be careful there. A friend of mine bought home lessons off the Internet for his child to learn strings, but when the chap turned up he had an instrument far too large for the kid to play. He still kept the money for sixteen prepaid lessons.

He claimed he would teach them the double bass but I reckon it was just an enormous fiddle.

klsallee wrote:

Oh, I have experienced similar. A lot of them. Even seen it mentioned in some Hungarian literature: That is, some Hungarians seem to hate trees and cut them down at the first chance they get. (...) There is nothing at all regulating this profession. Most of them are incompetent people with a saw who do not know anything about trees. I see nothing but incorrectly pollarded trees here in Hungary.

I didn't know that it was unregulated. I am no expert but I have pollarded my trees reasonably well, I had a friend in England who was a professional forester and kinda taught me so I can do the basics reasonably well, and what I usually get is remarks about "you'll kill it" etc when you are taking out deadwood. I never use a chainsaw, just a decent padsaw or whatever, so there would be a limit to the amount of damage I could possibly do, anyway. And needless to say, the trees flourish all the more.

But yeah, people seem more inclined to kill a tree than care for it.

It is not peculiar to Hungary though. I lived on a short street in a village in England for about seven years, which was lined with horse-chestnuts planted in the 30s. They needed a bit of work but were basically sound. One chap - my landlord in fact - always wanted them chopped down for No Apparent Reason. (The only reason I can think of was the slippery leaves in Autumn, but a local millionaire used to come and sweep them up to put on his compost heap. The kill-the-treesman claimed they had some kind of disease, which even if they did, didn't warrant killing them.) While I was there I would always put in an objection at the Parish Council meeting, saying they just needed maintenance.

They were chopped down six months after I moved away from there.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Aw, we've ordered deerstalker hats, pipes,  magnifying glasses, bought some hounds and started violin lessons.

That is where being English can cause excessive expenses.

If you were Belgian you would only have to grow a funny mustache.  Well, of course, that is only you would. Not your wife or children....

SimonTrew wrote:

...... He still kept the money for sixteen prepaid lessons.

He claimed he would teach them the double bass but I reckon it was just an enormous fiddle.

Obviously he was just after the lute.

SimonTrew wrote:

It is not peculiar to Hungary though.

You are correct. But this is the Hungarian forum. So I don't bring up Pacific Lumber clear-cutting old growth redwoods.

klsallee wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

Aw, we've ordered deerstalker hats, pipes,  magnifying glasses, bought some hounds and started violin lessons.

That is where being English can cause excessive expenses.

If you were Belgian you would only have to grow a funny mustache.  Well, of course, that is only you would. Not your wife or children....

I dunno, they could look OK in funny moustaches. If a jobs worth doing, it's worth doing well. And all for one, one for all. Etc.  It might work, but how could we all explain behaving like smart ass wankers? 

Even though we've got the gear, I'm not going anywhere near Angela ("Angel of Death") Lansbury.  People just dropping dead all around her according to those endless life adventure documentaries on TV.

SimonTrew wrote:

....

But yeah, people seem more inclined to kill a tree than care for it.

It is not peculiar to Hungary though. I lived on a short street in a village in England for about seven years, which was lined with horse-chestnuts planted in the 30s. They needed a bit of work but were basically sound. One chap - my landlord in fact - always wanted them chopped down for No Apparent Reason. (The only reason I can think of was the slippery leaves in Autumn, but a local millionaire used to come and sweep them up to put on his compost heap. The kill-the-treesman claimed they had some kind of disease, which even if they did, didn't warrant killing them.) While I was there I would always put in an objection at the Parish Council meeting, saying they just needed maintenance.

They were chopped down six months after I moved away from there.

Some years ago, my sister's UK neighbour decided to burrow into the hillside behind his house (and my sister's place was the next place further up the hill).  The guy bought himself a digger and dug and dug to make an area for his cars. On that land, there were some very old trees with TPOs (Tree Preservation Orders) and possibly they were holding the hill together.   As they were in the way, he knocked them down.  That's pretty serious but what was the fine? About £50 each.  Toothless fine and peanuts for a rich guy!

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

.....
Yes, she was clean by 1978 when she came back with her daughter and small son and her $100,000 in cash. That was the limit for people leaving Iran at the time, that's all the could bring out of the country.
Her husband came to the states soon after with another $100,000.
Yes, they got a nice jump start moving home. I drove around with her looking at homes she wanted to buy for cash.
....
She is now a great-granny!

She was very lucky she was able to get out.  Nowadays they'd let her leave maybe but the kids would have to stay.  The British have a hostage there now held on trumped up charges and the grandparents have been looking after the kid in Iran for a couple of years now.

klsallee wrote:

If you were Belgian you would only have to grow a funny mustache.

And an outrageous accent.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Even though we've got the gear, I'm not going anywhere near Angela ("Angel of Death") Lansbury.  People just dropping dead all around her according to those endless life adventure documentaries on TV.

What the world needs is an Australian detective to investigate whether people who die on the lavatory were really sent skywards by the venomous spiders. That would make a great whodunny.

klsallee wrote:

SimonTrew wrote:

It is not peculiar to Hungary though.

You are correct. But this is the Hungarian forum. So I don't bring up Pacific Lumber clear-cutting old growth redwoods.

You just did

SimonTrew wrote:

klsallee wrote:

If you were Belgian you would only have to grow a funny mustache.

And an outrageous accent.

To everyone else, the English already have that. 

SimonTrew wrote:

klsallee wrote:

SimonTrew wrote:

It is not peculiar to Hungary though.

You are correct. But this is the Hungarian forum. So I don't bring up Pacific Lumber clear-cutting old growth redwoods.

You just did

Darn. You figured me out.