Invasion of the Pelletteras

So – it was either a safe and 'standard' vacation in Florida or an exciting jaunt to Central Europe for my California family: daughter Morgan, husband Tony and kids Samantha (14) and Nicholas (12). Fortunately – for all of us – they chose Budapest.

They planned for 12 days in Central Europe’s vacation capital and they made the most of every minute. After a looong flight from Los Angeles to London Heathrow, a fairly brief layover and another two-hour jaunt, they arrived in Budapest around 6:30 PM on Monday, May 28 – tired, thirsty and a touch bedraggled, but here nonetheless. And – will wonders never cease – dragging only one (1) suitcase each behind them! Last time Tony and Morgan came they pushed a luggage cart with three gigantic suitcases, capable of carrying a small elephant in each one. Guess Morgan took my advice about packing to heart: “Lay out everything you want to bring and then cut it in half.”

When Nicholas wheeled his suitcase out of the Arrival Gate, followed closely by Samantha, I barely recognized them (the kids, not the suitcases). It was the first time I’d seen the kids since my surprise visit to southern California in 2014; my, how they’ve changed. Also, it was the first time I’d seen Morgan and Tony since our weekend meeting in Rome in 2015.

Hugs and manly abrazos all around, and then it was a taxi to their Air BnB flat on Rákoczi Út, near the center of Budapest (after a brief stop at my flat to pick up all the gifts I had gotten them from my travels, so I wouldn’t have to drag them over on the bus). Very nice flat! Owner Zoli was there to meet us and to show everyone around, explaining the washing machine, lights, keys, balcony (that was an easy one), access codes, TV, etc. It was around 9 PM by this time and the family hadn’t eaten in a while, so we went around the corner to a small étterem for some pizza, sodas and beer (for the adults). They had been traveling for nearly a full 24 hours (with the time change), and it was decided an early bedtime for all would be the best thing for now. Tomorrow would start their full-time sightseeing visit to one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, if not the world.

In June, Budapest’s morning sky begins to brighten around 4:00 or so, with actual sunrise shortly before 5 AM. Coupled with an interrupted sleep rhythm due to the long flight, the family was all up and about very early. Breakfast, unpacking and getting ready for their first day in Hungary took up some time, but after that they just waited for me to show up. Of course, I was also up early with the sun, not my regular schedule either; early mornings are generally anathema to me, but for special occasions, well, I can brave the early light as well as anyone.

So I picked up the family around 8 AM and walked them down Rákoczi út, around my beautiful little neighborhood garden, Károlyi Kért (closed due to replanting the flowers), and into Egyetem Tér (University Square), which had been renovated since Morgan and Tony’s last visit in 2003. A quick stop at Starbuck’s for their morning caffeine jolt and we picked up my Dutch friend Robert at his flat below mine for his regular and my rare walk up Gellert Hill.

Yes, Robert is sickeningly fit and hale and hearty, retired at 63 and still going for long treks in Norway and bicycling from Budapest to Szentendre, about 30 kilometers (20 miles). I’m happy to make it to the market, about 200 meters from my flat.

Anyway, the weather was beautiful, the sun was shining, and I wanted the kids to get their first real overview of Budapest from a high vantage point, so Gellert Hill it was. Robert led the way, regaling the kids with stories of Budapest sights, his travels to India and, of course, base untruths about my activities around town. I admit to none of those.

Despite my long walks when I travel the world, I am not an accomplished mountain climber and so my progress up Gellert Hill, on the west side of the Danube, was somewhat slower than the rest of the group. Fortunately there were stops along the way for trampoline jumping, checking out the views and pointing and laughing at poor old Grandpa Gary as he trudged up that damn hill. But I made it, finally, huffing and puffing and slathering Deep Heat on my broken-down knees. So there.

Naturally, everyone was thrilled with the cityscape they saw from the top of Gellert Hill and digital memory cards had their work cut out for them to store all the pics taken. After oohing and aahing, we walked down the north side of the hill to Erzsébet Bridge and back across the Danube. Robert left us to have his own breakfast with his wife Marie and we walked down Vaci Utca, Budapest’s premier shopping and tourist street, toward Vőrősmarty Square. Just before the square, we stopped in at Cyrano’s restaurant for a late breakfast.

The Hungarian food was, of course, a revelation for the kids and they dug in with gusto. Nicholas opted for the gulyas leves (Goulash soup) and Samantha had risotto. The tourists were out in force and the liveliness and ambiance of this great shopping street seemed to energize most everyone. Not having seen Sam and Nick for four years, I was amazed at how much they’ve changed and grown, physically and in other ways. They and their parents were eager to experience this new adventure as fully as possible, and continued to ask me how to say things in Hungarian. The most popular - and most used – word they all learned was “Köszönőm,” which means “Thank you.” Within a few minutes they were all pronouncing it correctly and dazzling the local wait staffs with their knowledge. We walked down Vaci Utca again after lunch, but the kids were still adjusting to the time change and needed a quick afternoon nap. It was so ordered.

I had debated with myself whether I should schedule something for the night after the family’s arrival, but Morgan thought it would be OK, so I did: flamenco night at Budapest’s most happening venue, Vicky Barcelona tapas bar in Gozsdu Udvar, the series of six interconnecting courtyards in the middle of the city, and now Budapest’s IN place to see and be seen. I picked up the family around 6 PM and we had just enough time to play a few arcade games on the way. Thanks to my bud Daniel, manager of VBs, we had great seats right up front near the dancing. Everyone had the tapas, which were as tasty and plentiful as always.

My English buddy Keith joined us for drinks and a light repast. He had met Morgan and Tony back in 2003. Morgan had seen a photo of Keith and me seated at VB’s bar and wanted one for herself, with all of us. She got it. The flamenco performance started around 8 PM and went on for a couple of hours. I’d warned Morgan that the nighttime activities I had planned would keep the kids up until at least 10 PM and maybe even later. Since they’re used to going to bed by 8 PM (!), it might be a challenge. And this first night, it was. They lasted through the first set of flamenco, accompanied by Spanish guitar, but by 9 PM they had pretty much hit their wall and were sacked out on their bench. Ah, well, at least they had dinner and got a taste of Spanish culture.

Wednesday, May 30, the kids were once again up at the crack of dawn and decided they couldn’t wait any longer to open all of their gifts from around the world. When I arrived at their flat, Nicholas played Santa and dug into the bags of stuff I had brought them. This time it was booty from Oman, Qatar and Minsk (Belarus). Plus, of course, I got to open my gifts from America. Alright! I won’t detail all of the gifts here, but everyone seemed to enjoy my selections for them. I’d even found Harley Davidson t-shirts for Tony in Doha (Qatar) and Minsk. I was rewarded with a bagful of t-shirts from Alta Loma High School, in addition to one from The Varsity in Atlanta (one of my old hangouts when I was in high school). But no corned beef hash! Bummer! I’m still waiting for one of the Hungarian supermarket chains to import it; patiently, I might add.

We walked down to Blaha Lujza Tér and caught the 4/6 tram to Margit Bridge, then walked down to Parliament Square, which has also changed drastically in the past 15 years. Morgan tried to reserve a tour of Parliament, but the English-language tours were booked until June 11th – three days after they were to leave Budapest. Damn!

We walked over to Freedom Square (Szabadság Tér) and enjoyed the scenery and park. The kids checked out the fountains and statues and we even stopped in at Bestsellers bookstore to say Hi to owner Tony, but he wasn’t in. I showed them the Basilica, due for a later visit, and we stopped for lunch at Monenegroi Gurman, one of the best places for meat in town. Unfortunately, Morgan doesn’t eat meat any longer, so she missed out on this amazing taste treat, but everyone else enjoyed their plieskavica.

After lunch I took the family behind the Basilica to the Cat Café, a fun venue not many tourists know about: a small café full of cats for people to stroke, play with, etc. You used to be able to feed them cat treats, but, judging from the size of some of the feline inhabitants, could no longer do so. Another brief afternoon relaxation period and I picked the family up again around 4 PM for our excursion to the hinterlands of Budapest and our dinner with some old friends.

I have known Mike and Ida Apted almost since I arrived in Budapest in 1999. When Morgan and Tony were here in 2003, Mike and Ida joined us at Fat Mo’s for dinner and to hear the Hot Jazz band, so they were ready to renew an old acquaintance. Our friends Robert and Marie were there also, so it was a good crowd for some of Ida’s amazing home cooking. After a social hour, we all settled in for dinner: gulyas leves, turo pancakes with cream and chocolate sauce, champagne, great ambiance and tasty desserts. Nicholas and Samantha still hadn’t quite shaken off their jet lag and managed to look for coins in the sofa cushions around 7:30 or so. It’s always fun to have an evening at the Apteds and this was no exception. Since the kids were still somewhat logy, we took a taxi back to their flat rather than ride the metro.

On Thursday it seemed the kids had gotten sufficient sleep to conquer their time change. I picked everyone up around 9:30 AM and we walked over to the nearby synagogue, the largest remaining one in Europe. The crowds were light and we managed to get tickets to do the self-guided tour. It really is an arresting sight inside and well worth seeing. We also did the outdoor cemetery and Holocaust Memorial in the rear garden, with a large metallic tree, called the Emanuel tree, with the names of Jews murdered during the Holocaust engraved on each of the leaves. Sobering to all.

Then it was over to St. Stephen’s Basilica, a short walk past Deák Ferenc Tér. The family took another self-guided tour inside the church, viewing The Relic (mummified hand of St. Stephen) and climbing the three million steps to the top of the dome for another panoramic view of Budapest. I wisely waited outside on a comfy bench, watching the young female tourists in their short-shorts amble by.

We had another fairly light lunch of pizza at Gian Mario’s Italian restaurant nearby, then everyone split for their standard afternoon relaxation period. We met back at my flat around 4:30 and walked downstairs for a Happy Hour with Robert and Marie and Robert’s sister Reinette and her husband Joss. Around 6:30, we caught the Number 2 tram along the Danube to Vigádo tér, where we found the Duna Corso terrace restaurant in the shadow of Duna Castle, across the river. It was dinner with the Hot Jazz Band as background, relaxing in a fantastic warm/cool evening in Budapest, right on the Danube. Doesn‘t get a lot better than that.

Cocktails, libamaj (liver) paté, various chicken dishes with noodles. Keith joined us once again, along with Jerry and Judy Robinson (he retired American, she semi-retired Hungarian). During the evening, our French friend Pierre also stopped by with his friend Eszter to say Hi. Then later who should show up but Robert and Marie and Reinette and Joss, although they had to park at another table. One final time (I hoped!), the kids crashed out too early in their seats – we’ll have to work on their party skills!

Friday was a late morning. When I picked up the family around 10 AM, it appeared the kids had finally, at last, actually recovered from their jet lag. We took the tram down to Margaret Bridge and did some mini-sightseeing, then headed over to the Mystique Escape Room. These games made their debut in Budapest a few years ago and quickly became popular all around Europe. The deal is, there are different theme rooms – Egyptian, Harry Potter, Time Machine, etc. – in which a small team of people – families, friends, etc. – are locked in. Scattered around the room are clues as to how to escape from their confinement. The team must search for the clues, helping each other figure out how to apply the clues and thus get out of the room. Hints are available from the overseers and the time limit is one hour; after that, if the team is still in the room, they are released in ignominy.

This activity was a gift from my Hungarian doctor to the family and they all seemed to enjoy it. I waited for them in a nearby coffeehouse while the escape went on. They actually did make it out within the time limit – with 90 seconds to spare! Not an easy quest, but hopefully it was fun for the entire family. We strolled down Andrassy Avenue and made our way back to their flat. Then it was 5:30 and we were all to gather at Seaman’s Bistro on the Belgrad Rakpart (riverside) for a Meet and Greet evening with old and new friends.

The family caught a bus across from their flat and met me at the bistro. People began showing up shortly thereafter. Several people who had met Morgan and Tony in 2003 came, as well as many of my friends made over the past years. Old bud Stuart McAlister came, Basel Tarcheh from Syria (a member of our Friday Happy Hour crowd), Jerry and Judy Robinson (never miss a party!) and Zsani who works with Stuart showed up with a bunch of her friends. My good friend and student Zsofi was there along with Robert and Marie. Probably a few more guests arrived without my sober knowledge, but the evening was deemed a success by all. And the kids managed to stay awake until nearly 10 PM!

Saturday I was able to arrange a Kids’ Day for, who else but, the kids! Keith and his son Anthony (14), along with another English friend Sanjay and his two kids, Justin (14) and Lia (12), met us at Palatinus Strand swimming complex on Margaret Island. We took tram and bus to get there and, while the day was spottily sunny and cloudy, kids and swimming pools are usually a pretty good combination. Once again, everyone appeared to have a great time.

The rain hit us around 5 PM, but we were on our way out anyway. Sanjay thought the family would enjoy one of Budapest’s more interesting restaurants: Sir Lancelot, one of those medieval-themed restaurants so popular a while back in the USA. Having been to them in the past (although never to Sir Lancelot’s), I was not enthusiastic, but what the heck, maybe the kids would like it after all. Sanjay called in a reservation and we arrived early and were escorted to our seats in the packed, long-hall cellar area to wait for Sanjay and his kids.

Well, it was wonderful! Dimly lit, medieval accoutrements all over the walls and ceilings, people at long tables and benches, raising their medieval mugs of mead (OK, it was probably beer) and shouting “Wassail!” It was silly and crude and just too much damn fun. Amazing I’d never been there before. The food was surprisingly reasonably priced and very good; I had the deer sirloin filet along with several beers. There was entertainment to boot: belly dancers, fire dancers, knights with swords, weight lifter, a medieval band – it was impossible not to grin and enjoy the ambiance. Even the kids stayed awake during the entire meal and show. Can’t wait to get back!

Sunday was another general sightseeing day. We took the metro to Batthyány tér on the Buda side of the Danube to get a great photo op of Budapest’s wonderfully baroque parliament building back across the Danube in Pest. Caught another tram to the foot of the Castle and took the funicular up the hillside to the main castle area. Strolled the castle and walked over to the castle district nearby, where we found The Labyrinth, another tourist attraction I’ve never done. It was time again to do something new. The kids loved it, as Budapest’s castle hill is honeycombed with tunnels and caves; plus, it was cool down there, giving a nice respite from the 85-degree heat (30 Celsius).

We had a light lunch in the area then walked around St. Mátyás church and Fisherman’s Bastion for more great views of Budapest. A brief rest, then we met the dinner cruise group at the Duna Palota hotel and walked over to the Europa boat for our evening on the Danube. It was a two-hour cruise on one of the large boats that offers these special events. Buffet dinner, live music and sightseeing in that part of the Danube that runs through the middle of Budapest (which also happens to be a World Heritage site). Very good selection of typical Hungarian dishes and we all tried each of them, along with our “three free drinks:” welcoming flute of champagne and both still and fizzy water on the table. Tricky.

Anyway, it was a perfect evening, with nice breezes and one of our very rare startling sunsets over the castle. Kids and adults had a great time and everyone was glad we took the cruise. On the way back to the flat, I took the family into Szimpla Kert ruin pub, just across from where they were staying. Szimpla is the oldest ruin pub in Budapest, a true landmark of this type of entertainment. There were so many abandoned buildings in town that entrepreneurs would take them over, move in tables and chairs and bar paraphernalia and set up a really cheap pub. There are several in town and they all seem to attract crowds every night of the week. Despite being a major tourist draw, I’m afraid the family wasn’t impressed. Ah, well, different strokes, and all that.

Monday, June 4: The morning pickup was at my flat this time, around 10 AM. We took the tram across the river to Buda at the Gellert Hotel stop, then caught the 19 tram to Clark Ádám Tér, at the foot of the Buda Castle. This time we turned right instead of left, as Morgan wanted to walk the Chain Bridge, which we did. Another tram to Parliament on the Pest side and a short walk down to the Danube bank to the Monument of Shoes, to commemorate the Jews murdered here by the Hungarian Arrow Cross Party (Hungarian Nazis) during WWII. Another sobering remembrance.

Caught another bus to Heroes Square, at the end of Andrassy Út, and explored the Square, city park and the Vaydahunyad Castle (there’s always a castle!). Also checked out the Szechényi Baths, although no time to do them this go-round. A nice outdoor lunch at Nyereg restaurant in the park before another afternoon relaxation period. I picked everyone up around 5:30 and we walked over to the Karavan Food Court on Kazinczy utca for a light dinner. Didn’t want to eat too heavily before our karaoke night. Morgan had her langos and the kids each had something equally as light, but filling. I had a beer and a taste off everyone’s plate.

We walked over to Gozsdu Udvar and found the Blue Bird Café’s private karaoke rooms. We had booked an early time (7-10 PM) because I was told the kids could only stay until 10 PM. The rooms were all really nice and well-appointed, BUT none of them had any air-conditioning. Or ceiling fans. Or regular floor fans. Or anything resembling something to cool down the crowds of singers. We were switched to all three rooms, with no respite from the heat.

Nevertheless, we did have a good crowd for the night; 15-20 people came and went during the session, and it turned out we actually stayed until nearly 11 PM. Our singers turned up in droves: Zsofi (who sings the old standards), Stuart (new standards) and his wife Edit, Pierre (songs in French), Keith and Sanjay. Also, Zsani was there with her partner; Zsani amazed everyone with her really beautiful voice, sounding like Nina Simone and Janis Joplin. Samantha and Nicholas also sang early in the evening, a good start to their teen years as performers. Morgan and I did Summer Nights from Grease and even Tony joined Morgan with another song: it was Tony’s very first karaoke attempt and he acquitted himself well. Outstanding! Jerry and Judy Robinson showed up, as did our Russian friend Daria. So, even though we all lost a couple of kilos of water due to the heat, it was a good, fun-filled energetic night, with lots of singing and great ambiance. Another successful evening out in Budapest.

Tuesday was brunch with my doctor, Ildiko, who has been helping me out with my prescriptions since I arrived in Budapest. We meet every two months or so for brunch at her favorite local restaurant, Alessio, one of the best Italian restaurants in town. After all these years, we are both intimately acquainted with each other’s family. Dr. Ildiko knows all about Morgan and Tony and the kids, has seen pictures and has followed the kids childhood years. I, in turn, have met her son Marton, who is now a doctor practicing in Denmark. I was even at his wedding on the Europa boat a couple of years ago. Now it was time for my long-time friend Dr. Ildiko to meet my family. It’s an easy bus ride into one of the classier neighborhoods of Buda, so we all hopped on the Number 5 bus across the street from the family’s flat, crossed the Danube, and were there in about 20 minutes. We spent the next few hours talking and laughing and enjoying the great food and trading stories. Everyone got along famously as they all swapped stories and personal data.

We went through pastas and pizzas and seafood and chocolate tortes. It’s so great for me to be able to introduce so many of the favorite people in my life to each other and to see them get along so well.

During the early afternoon, Dr. Ildiko insisted Tony and Morgan try some of the local palinka (Hungary’s answer to schnapps). She poured us all four different types to see which they liked best. I may on occasion have one palinka a week before dinner, but four within one hour on a weekday afternoon? The trees were buzzing. At the end of our brunch, Dr. Ildiko gave Morgan and Tony a bottle of wine and one of palinka to take home. A great afternoon.

Everyone went to their respective flats for a rest. I got a text from Morgan around 6 PM saying the family wanted to take a night off from all the activity and just relax, which was also OK with me. Turned out they had dinner at a new place called Fuego, which they highly recommend.

I was then out of reserved things to do, so on Wednesday we took the HEV (intercity train) to Szentendre, a lovely little town about 30 kilometers up the Danube. We strolled the banks and streets, checked out the folk art and tourist tat, had a nice lunch at a terrace in the town square and generally took it easy. The family climbed up the hill in the town center on which stands a church, while I rested on a nice comfy bench with a cool drink. Szentendre is one of those quaint little towns that simply oozes charm and simply begs to have its tiny side streets explored. A few hours was enough. I had planned to take the boat back to Budapest as a treat for everyone, but, lo and behold, the river boats for this journey were not running in 2018. The entire year! Amazing. It was like ordering a dish in a restaurant and being told, “Oh, we don’t have that.” Just my luck.

Another afternoon rest and the family picked me up again. On our stroll around my neighborhood, we stopped in at the Zoo Café, just behind my flat, for some quality animal time. The Zoo Café goes the Cat Café one better, in that it has, in addition to its humungous cats, rabbits, lizards (actually, I think they were chameleons), snakes, birds (including toucans) and other exotic creatures. All of these animals can be taken out of their enclosures and handled, fondled, played with, petted, etc. Just no feeding, please. Naturally, the kids were enchanted and made good use of the rabbits, lizards and snakes. A nice interlude.

We had a light and late dinner at Bubba’s seafood place on Egyetem Tér, enjoying the night and the cool weather. More good food, more good company and chats with the kids.

And our last day together, Thursday, June 7. It was to be a shopping day, to gather gifts for friends and family and whatever souvenirs hadn’t already been found. We began early in the center of the city at Vőrősmarty Tér, but within an hour or so the rain started. We scurried from shop to shop, then settled in for a light and early lunch at Il Cucina restaurant while the rain hopefully passed us by. Which it did, eventually, and we got on with our wander down Vaci utca to the other end at the big indoor market, Vásárcsarnok. More shopping for folk arts and crafts and a final afternoon rest.

We met back at For Sale restaurant and Pub across from the Vásárcsarnok for dinner at 7 PM. I tried to get everyone to have the Jokai Bableves (best soup in town), but only Tony would go for it, while the others had other interesting dishes from the 150-item menu. It was all scrumptious and plates were cleaned. Samantha and Nicholas left their marks on the walls of this famous local place; all of For Sale’s walls are covered with business cards and other mementos from visitors from all over the world.

And then it was time to say goodbye until our next meeting. No telling when that will be, as kids will be busy now with school and racing and sports and their teen years. Tony will be busy with his work and Morgan with her work and 101 other volunteer activities (plus, she told me she’s considering going for her PhD! This kid never stops…Kid? Damn, she’s in her late 40s!). I hope to continue traveling, although not as much as in the past as there are so few places left in the world that I really want to visit – and how many people do you know who can make that claim? Anyway, we will all have our own lives to live and who knows when we’ll meet again?

The family walked me the two blocks to my flat, where we said our goodbyes, complete with hugs and backslaps and cheek kisses. I was so happy to have had this opportunity to see everyone before they get on with their lives. I hope our next gathering won’t be quite as long as this one. A really fantastic 12 days.

The family’s flight was around 7:30 on Friday morning (yucchh!), so they had to be at the airport by 5:30. I was sure everyone was dragging but was also sure Tony hustled them along. Later that morning I got this text from Morgan:

“The airport thing, not going as well as we had hoped, lol. At 330am when the alarm when tiff, I got a text saying that our flight had been delayed - 10 hours! So we weren’t going to make our connection flight in London. Ugh. So they put us on a Budapest to Philadelphia, then Philadelphia to LAX, arriving at about 9 ppm tonight. Budapest to Philly flight leaves at 1130 am; going thru customs now. Crazy. Apparently a flight that landed last night at this airport took a chunk out of the landing strip, so they ended up canceling a bunch of flights.”

And the adventure continues………..