Author: Sue

I am an English Ex-Pat living in Hungary with my wonderful husband and 19 year old son. You can find me frequently writing, reading and taking photographs. We live in a beautiful small rural village surrounded by forests and lakes always appreciating the beauty around us. Life is good.

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Everyday Life in Hungary

Revolution Day-Hungary

Hungary’s National Flag

Hungary has many public holidays but the most important one is today, 15th March. On 15th March, Hungarians commemorate the Revolution and the following War of Independence against the Austrian-Hapsburg rule in 1848–1849.

Sadly, all public events surrounding this important day have been cancelled due to the Coronavirus Pandemic. I was interested to know how they would normally celebrate if all was well.

The main events would have taken place in the Hungarian National Museum Gardens and in Buda Castle, Budapest. Live music, dance, art and craft fairs, military exhibitions, Hussar camps, armoury and equipment demonstrations, horse patrols and of course plenty of food stalls.

“Rise Up Magyar the Country Calls!” This line is quoted from the famous Nemzeti Dal (National Song) by poet Sándor Petőfi  (1823-1849) a prominent figure of the uprising. On 15th March in 1848, he recited the poem from the steps of the Hungarian National Museum to thousands of people. Unfortunately, he was killed in one of the last battles of the war in 1849. Every Revolution Day the National Song is recited on the national monuments and particularly on the steps of the National Museum. On the 15th March, Budapest and the rest of the country dress up in red, white and green, the national tricolours of Hungary. Many events, mostly free would have taken place to commemorate this victorious day.

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My Gardening

Starting with Seeds

What a treat it is to grow your own food, the satisfaction is enormous.

As a beginner gardener, I used to buy numerous packets of seeds, browsing through catalogues and gazing at the vast varieties available at the garden centres. Now a little more experienced I have come to realise you can grow lots of fruits and vegetables just by collecting their seeds. Great if you buy a tasty variety and want to grow future crops.

We like spicy food in our family and Hungary is the perfect place to experiment with the wide variety of peppers available. Having bought some spicy paprika peppers I immediately started collecting their seeds. Hungary is famous for hot paprika. The paprika peppers are known as spice peppers. They are easy and very interesting to grow. In the earlier stages, these peppers are a dark green, but when ripe, they are an impressive red. Boldog Hungarian Spice Pepper comes from a small but well known spice pepper district, northeast of Budapest around the towns of Boldog and Cece. We live thirty minutes from this area. The fruits are 1-1/2 inches wide and about 7 inches long. Growers let them turn dark red and dry on the plant or pick them and thread them on a string. Then allow them to dry, villagers sometimes hang them around their houses making an interesting picture. They are then ready to grind into powder.  

So, having decided to collect the seeds, I washed and dried them out, laying them on a piece of kitchen towel for about a week. Once dried I planted one seed per pot with general purpose potting compost. Now three weeks later they are sitting on a sunny windowsill until the danger of frosts has passed. I shall then transplant them to their final position to grow and bloom.

As a final tip, once you have collected your seeds, package and label them so you are sure to know what you are growing in the future.

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Everyday Life in Hungary

Car-Booting Hungarian Style

Buying and selling at car-boot sales are a great way to get rid of unwanted possessions and sometimes bagging a super bargain.

Car boot sales in Hungary operate slightly differently from ones in England. In England, a site is set aside (sometimes local council land or sports fields) and would be sellers buy a table or a space for a car and display their goods for the visiting public. Goods are sold at low prices to attract customers and quick sales. They normally take place on a Sunday during the summer months.

However, in Hungary large canvas tents are erected in front gardens of houses in the little villages dotted all over the country with anything and everything for sale. They are usually held at the weekends whatever the weather and throughout the year. You wander the streets, enter people’s gardens and browse the mountains of goods for sale. Nothing is priced and often goods are in very poor condition. If you have the time and the patience you can pick up some great bargains.

For us, visiting our local car boot sale for the first time was a little daunting as haggling, which is expected, in a foreign language is quite hard. Hungarians have a reputation for not throwing ANYTHING away and reusing and repurposing numerous things. The country is poor and everyone is wanting to make a little extra cash. I was fascinated with all the vintage looking items that filled the numerous shelves and tables. Unfortunately for us, it was pretty obvious that we were foreigners and prices seemed unusually high. We got lucky and managed to buy a reasonably priced BBQ but only after much haggling from Eric who at least had a little language and was not afraid to say no thank you when necessary. I enjoyed our visit but would take a Hungarian with me next time to help with translation.

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Family Focus

Eric

This is Eric, my husband, my rock, my soulmate. After meeting him online eighteen years ago, living with him in Canada, then marrying him in England we now live together with our son in Hungary.

Originally from Beirut, Lebanon, a man who can boast he can speak nine different languages. A useful asset when it comes to travelling far and wide as I am only fluent in English! His Hungarian is far more advanced than mine and I rely on him a lot for translating.

He is a wonderful chef making my life very easy when it comes to cooking. We BBQ regularly eating sumptuous meals whatever the weather throws at us outside in our new veranda.

Life was not kind to him and he suffered an Aortic Dissection eighteen months ago. He had life saving surgery and through the expertise of all the Hungarian medical staff that treated him, he made it through the lengthy operation. His recovery has been slow and added to that he is struggling with his increasing weight. His doctor has put him on a strict diet, which is not much fun when he loves food so much. I am there helping and supporting him all the way, through the tough times to encourage him to reach his target weight.

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Family Focus

Sue

Hungary 2020
Hungary 2023

Hello, this is me, the author of this blog, born in England, mother of four beautiful children and granny of one.

I met my wonderful Lebanese husband Eric nearly eighteen years ago whilst chatting on the internet. We were blessed with the birth of our son, Raphael, despite my age, being considered as an older mum at age forty three.

I have lived in England, Canada and now settled in Hungary. I have travelled to many different countries in the world but now, as I get older prefer the familiarity and comforts of our home in Hungary.

I am an avid photographer, taking photographs daily, write continuously in journals, online and now writing a memoir, detailing my past adventures in Canada. I read lots of books, love gardening and appreciate every single day with a passion.

Last year I suffered from Pancreatitis, a disease in which my pancreas became so inflamed I had to have life saving surgery. Thankfully, through the diligent work of the hospital staff here in Hungary I am recovering well. Dramatic lifestyle changes were needed including abstinence from alcohol. I am happy and proud to say I am still sober to this day.

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Family Focus

Raphael

This is our youngest son, Raphael, although we call him Raffi. He made the move with us to Hungary whilst his older siblings stayed in England.

Perhaps a little harder for him to integrate into the lifestyle we are leading here as he had to leave his friends behind in England. He frequently says “Thank goodness I have the internet,” his tagline “No Internet No Life”! Raphael is passionate about online gaming and hopes to be a games developer in the future. He is also an excellent artist, in particular pencil drawings.

Of course he also has a big part to play looking after Haley.

Within the family Raphael is a true asset to us, helping around the home wherever he can, we shall certainly miss him when he eventually leaves to pursue his career.

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Family Focus

Haley Husky

Haley our Two Year Old Husky

When we arrived in Hungary our son, Raphael, begged us to get a dog, specifically a Husky. Living in England we were limited on outdoor space so a dog was out of the question. My reasoning had always been, when we move and get a big garden we can have a dog.

Of course now here we had to keep our promise. I decided to do some research on pedigree breeds available in Hungary and found to my dismay that they were way out of our price range. I searched online for private sellers, and was nearly conned by a dubious man, wanting us to send money upfront so he could send a dog by special transport! Alarm bells rang, we did not proceed. Finally I found an ad for a Husky puppy located a six hour drive away on the border with Romania. Eric and a very excited Raphael made the long trip to pick up our new pup!

The ad that stole our hearts

I was shocked to discover when they returned home that the male dog they had intended to buy was actually female! Nevertheless she was the cutest puppy I had ever seen. Understandably she was incredibly nervous and withdrawn for the first weeks but soon became accustomed to her new surroundings. A slight issue was that she had only been spoken too in Hungarian. We tried everything to train her to be obedient, in English, but with very little success. Eventually she adapted to her new language but we still have obedience problems to this day!

Four months old

Haley lives outside, in a kennel with a run and access to our huge garden. She is allowed inside as long as she is not wet! Haley is smart, loving and loyal. Her “boss” is Eric and with his stern voice will usually do as she is told.

Having a dog is a HUGE commitment and initially was a massive learning curve for us all. We have never been dog-owners but now would certainly be lost without her.

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A Little History

Hello From Hungary

Welcome to my blog, a mixture of everything that interests me and my family. Expect to see lots of photographs of Hungary our newly adopted home, tales of our mischievous dog Haley Husky and plenty of general day to day adventures that seem to follow us everywhere.

My husband (Eric) and I, with our 13 year old son (Raphael) moved from England to Hungary in 2017. We had taken early retirement and wanted to leave the chaotic city lifestyle we lived in, to continue with a more sedate and rural life. Things were not always plain-sailing and adjusting to our new life threw up plenty of challenges.

After viewing many properties across the length and breadth of Hungary we settled on this run-down house that we would soon call home. It was in a tiny village with approximately 300 residents, a small pub, a couple of shops, a school and a church.

Now (March 2020) after many renovations we can see the finishing line. Lots still to do but as with any project, the changing weather, money restrictions, and health issues have slowed our progress down. Internally we can say we have finished but the outside still needs work, tiling the veranda, car port, and the biggest improvements are needed in the huge garden. There’s always something needs doing.

So that’s a short potted history, this blog will take you on our journey with us sharing current and onward developments. I do hope you enjoy reading about our lives here and I can give you an insight into what it’s like to be an Ex-Pat in Hungary.