Tag: Expat life

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Everyday Life in Hungary

Relishing Retirement but dealing with the “Empty Nest Syndrome”

If you would like to see the photos at a larger size, simply click on them to enhance your viewing experience.

One of the blogs that I follow is called “Retired – No one told me” I am inclined to agree with this sentiment!

Here is her super site, jam-packed full of interesting recipes and information, please take a look. https://carolcooks2.com/

When we took early retirement to Hungary, it signified a new and very different chapter in our lives. Not only were we spending 24 hours with each other but division of chores (in my eyes) had/needed to be altered.

Old fashioned Middle Eastern culture is very different from British culture. In the Middle East wives stay at home keeping house, they don’t do paid work and raise a family. Husbands bring the money home to support their family and deal with the finances. British culture actively encourages equal partnerships with wives or live in partners working and taking dual responsibility for rearing a family and running the house. Nowadays the culture in the Middle East is slightly more relaxed with the younger generations pretty much following the British culture.

Eric, my husband is from the Middle East and he very much respects his cultural roots and values. He is a proud man so when we married he wanted me to leave my job (which I did) and for him to support us financially (which he did). I loved not going to work and being a housewife in England but it WAS hard work. Added to the mix was the birth of our son, Raphael. At age 43 motherhood was somewhat challenging.

Fast forward 19 years (6 years of retirement in Hungary) and we have reached an amicable, workable relationship where we are both very happy. It was not all a “bed of roses” – what relationship is? There were hiccups along the way but through good communication and patience we got through the challenging times.

As we sat on our veranda, sipping our morning coffee, I thought I would ask Eric three questions about our retirement. A good exercise to see if we were still on the same page together.

What is the best thing about your retirement?

His reply, after some thought, which was rather touching “To be together all the time” He then added “Freedom” and “Not having to work” I love those reasons.

Retiring to Hungary, would you do it all over again?

I just needed a Yes or No answer…. again after some thought, he said “Yes”. He then went on to list a few little niggles he had, but I pointed out that they had now been resolved. His answer confirmed that we had both made the right decision to retire to Hungary. But, if you had asked me that question at the challenging 1 year anniversary I would have said an emphatic NO! When I compare our lives then (in England) and now (in Hungary) the good things far out way the bad and the inevitable little niggles.

What our your future plans?

“To travel with you around Europe with Hungary as our base, as we have no responsibilities of children or animals” That is the perfect answer for me…we can drive anywhere in Europe to explore hidden gems and take wonderful photographs everywhere we go.

I am often asked what do you “do” in Hungary by English friends, as if I am bored and hang around doing nothing! Trust me when I say my days are jam packed full of the usual domestic duties and the fun hobby related things I love to do. I am never bored. A favourite quote of mine:

“Happiness depends upon ourselves.” —Aristotle

From Hungarian friends I get “Why” did you move to rural Hungary? I reply….the good air of the countryside, the friendly Hungarian people and a better quality of life than England.

I asked Eric these questions and I got hilarious but honest answers. “I like to experiment with different foods, particularly Chillin’ and Grillin!”, “Neutralising my brain!”, “Watch movies”, “Taxi for Sue and her camera”!

In answer to “Why did you move to Hungary?” the reply was “Because of Ben Fogle!!!” I had to laugh, but it is true.

Ben Fogle is an English broadcaster, writer and adventurer, best known for his presenting roles with British television channels, Channel 5, BBC and ITV.

Way back in 2015, a show was broadcast about a young, newly married British couple buying a run down property in rural Hungary. Eric watched it and full of excitement said “We should do this, it would be great living in the countryside and living off the land!!!!” I needed A LOT of convincing and persuading but as you can see, we did make the move to rural Hungary.

I thought it would be lovely to revisit the show that brought us to the middle of central Europe. The first episode follows the couple settling into their new life….the second video is one year later and how they have managed and progressed in their new adopted country. It makes interesting watching.

Our family dynamics have recently changed again, our son Raphael has returned to the UK, I miss him very much. The “Empty Nest Syndrome” has reared its ugly head.

Having children is an absolute blessing, I have 4! The hardest thing for me was when my youngest son Raphael spread his wings and flew to England. This is commonly known as “Empty nest Syndrome” often described as feeling grief, sadness and loneliness, all of which I have experienced first hand. I also experienced excitement for his future and a slight guilty relief. His independence means ours as well. Of course, I worry about him but do not discuss these thoughts with Raphael. Instead, my husband Eric is my “sounding off ear” and is very understanding of my irrational feelings and turbulent emotions.

I asked him how he felt emotionally and he replied “I would be selfish to keep him here but super excited for him starting a new chapter in his life”. Wise words.

If you have experienced “Empty Nest Syndrome” you will understand how I feel. These have been some of my symptoms:

  • The quietness of the house, a reminder he is not here.
  • A visit to his room and spotting familiar items – today it was his basketball.
  • A feeling of emptiness, being mum for 18 years then suddenly that responsibility has gone.
  • I no longer ‘know’ what he is doing – a loss of motherly control.

All these emotions I know will pass. We are already thinking, talking and planning where future adventures will take us. Where shall we go next?

I am considering learning to paint with acrylics on canvas, YouTube has given me some amazing inspiration but I am sure it is not as easy as it looks! This will be my new winter hobby.

I still have my photography to motivate my imagination and give me self confidence. I have many books to read on my Kindle just ready to whisk me off to imaginary places and exciting adventures.

I have resumed blogging after a 2 year break, I have time on my hands so am putting it to good use.

We stay in touch with Raphael (and my other 3 children) using social media, Messenger and Facebook. Thank goodness for modern technology. I feel reassured when he tells me about his day and what he has been up to. The physical distance is there but not the emotional distance. I am thankful for that.

I read online “Share your wisdom but let your children make their own decisions”. How very true.

This is where I shall end this blog post…it seems rather lengthy but I seemed to have had lots to say. Have you ever experienced “Empty Nest Syndrome”? How did you cope with it? I would love to hear your thoughts or experiences in the comments.

Thanks so much for reading.

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Road Tripping 2023

My Road Trip to Stunning, Picturesque Szentendre, Hungary

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On a very hot day we decided to visit the small town of Szentendre, 40 minutes North of Budapest, the capital of Hungary.

The town is located right on the banks of the River Danube, the section known as “The Danube Bend”.

Speed Boats on the River Danube
“The Danube Bend”

Szentendre is best know for its Mediterranean atmosphere, beautiful Baroque architecture and colourful artwork housed in museums scattered across the town. It also has interesting Serbian history. Know affectionally as the artsy town!

The Transdanubia mountains lie behind Szentendre making for some beautiful scenery to admire.

We parked the car on the river front and I took my camera for a wander around the town centre. The first thing I noticed was everywhere had cobbled streets and the centre was pedestrians/cyclists only…and there were plenty of those about! I had to avoid the numerous cyclists who were obviously having a bumpy ride on the cobbles!

There were many ice-cream parlours dotted around the main square, some themed around lavender, a popular ice-cream flavour here in Hungary.

As it was such a hot day the ice-cream parlours were busy. Not everyone opted for ice-cream though…

A large hand operated drinking fountain stood in the central square, perfect for thirsty people. Many people filled up their bottles with cold hand pumped water. Good idea! The drinking water in Hungary is perfectly acceptable to drink.

I walked slowly up the main street, admiring all the different stalls selling a variety of unusual hand made goods. I did notice there were stalls selling the usual touristy items, fridge magnets, keyrings, mugs etc.. not really my cup of tea!!

Reaching the top of the main street and I spotted the famous ‘lampshades’ always photographed and associated with Szentendre. They made a stunning sight, I was not alone as I photographed them!

I love people watching, so when I spotted these two young ladies I had to take a photo. They fitted in nicely with the surroundings sporting lovely colourful umbrellas to keep the sun at bay.

If you needed to eat there were plenty of restaurants, some in the shade and some not. It was coming up to lunchtime and the tables were filling up.

I ventured up one of the very narrow alleyways dotted off the main square. Mainly to find out where everyone was going…so, a steep incline and many steps later I arrived at the highest point of the town.

Looking out over the roof tops, I spotted the oldest church in Szentendre dating back to the 13th Century, its name – Belgrade Cathedral, a Serbian Orthodox church.

Also at the viewing point there stood another Serbian Orthodox church with a magnificent clock face.

The day was reaching high temperatures (30c/86f) and I needed to find some shade back down in the main square. I spotted an excellent way to stay cool in the form of a frame spraying fine water on hot tourists! Excellent idea and instant relief!

The main street had plenty of places to sit down and rest those weary tourist legs. I particularly liked the quirky deck chairs! It took me a while to get these photos as they were constantly in use!!

I was intrigued to know what was going on under the little bridge..people were coming and going all the time, so I made that my next stop. I was delighted to find an art exhibition lining the narrow stream, presumably leading to the River Danube. The church in the picture is The Reformed Church, built by the Serbs and the smallest church in the town.

I love to look at other peoples artwork, there were some unusual and colourful pieces. Two in particular caught my eye as I perused the many collections.

It was rather pleasant to look at the artist’s work with live music playing in the background, gave a lovely atmosphere. Here is a short clip…

Children played in the stream next to the artwork, fishing stones from the river bed to amuse themselves. Adults were also dipping their feet in the water to cool off!

Finally, and a bit reluctantly I made my way back to our car, passing yet another clock on the small bridge. Sadly it did not reflect the temperature accurately, 10 degrees out! It did however make a nice photo!

It was actually a steaming 31c!

Making our way home, tired, hot but happy we travelled alongside The River Danube snaking its way through the city. We passed the incredible Parliament buildings, what a magnificent sight! Rumour has it Freddie Mercury of “Queen” fame wanted to buy it…

Our route took us past several spectacular historical bridges.

This is Széchenyi Chain Bridge and the first permanent bridge to span the River Danube in Budapest.

Széchenyi Chain Bridge
The oldest bridge across the Danube

This is Liberty bridge the shortest bridge across the River Danube. It takes approximately 15 minutes to walk across and is popular with tourists.

Liberty Bridge
The shortest bridge over the Danube

This is Megyeri Bridge linking Buda and Pest and is an important part of the ring road around Budapest.

My final photo is of Budapest Balna an impressive looking shopping centre, translated to mean “Budapest Whale”. The building in front of it is a row of restaurants overlooking the Danube frequented by people eating dinner in the evenings and watching the sun go down.

I had a splendid day taking many photographs and enjoying a bit of city life and culture.

Categories
Everyday Life in Hungary

Making Hungary Home Six Years On

A Brief Update

Six years ago, my husband, son, and I moved to a remote village in the Hungarian countryside for a better quality of life. We wanted to escape the hustle and bustle, noise, and air pollution of city life we had known for many years. After much researching of various countries, we found that the cost of living and property prices in Hungary were cheaper than in the UK and elsewhere in Europe.

Sadly we lost our gorgeous Siberian Husky, Haley. She was four years old and a beautiful bubbly dog. She left a big aching hole in our lives the day she ate some poisoned meat meant for the ever increasing fox population living in the derelict house next door. (Not put down by us) We shall not replace her, it is just too painful when pets pass away. She will never be forgotten. ♥

Our house is finally finished, it has taken a long time, we are super happy with it and delighted with the finished result of the new tiles laid on our veranda. We bought the tiles many months ago and they sat for a full year waiting for the workmen to lay them. Tradesmen are far and few between in the countryside and we had to wait our turn for any sort of professional workman to be available. As it turned out building materials increased in price by a dramatic 20% (after we bought the tiles) due to higher energy, transport and raw material prices. We were fortunate to have saved money on this project.

People Update

Lots of celebrations in our home… my youngest daughter got married to her sweetheart in Ibiza. They both live in the UK now but wanted to marry somewhere extra special to them. Both worked on Ibiza island for several years and developed their blossoming relationship on the renowned “Party Island” of Spain. What a glorious day it was. The sound of the ocean lapping in the background and the sight of lots of happy laughing guests made it an extra special beach wedding. My three older children were all there with my granddaughter Mia (4) being the flower girl. A recent addition to our family was my second grandchild, Jack (18 months). Now the happily married newly weds are honeymooning in Tanzania.

My youngest son Raphael is departing to the UK to start work. He loves the quiet Hungarian life and has made several good Hungarian friends, but at 18 years old he wants/needs to work and earn some money. Obviously we shall miss him and I fear I shall be suffering with “empty nest syndrome” as he is my last child to leave home. He knows there is always a place for him here if he needs it.

So, I am back to blogging again bringing you our adventures and experiences in this beautiful country we call home. There are just the two of us now living our best retirement years in peaceful, rural Hungary.😍

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Everyday Life in Hungary

Magical July in Hungary

Lavender Fields

We are so lucky to have lavender fields in our little village. The farm opened their gates to the public last week and I could not resist taking a look with my camera and taking the obligatory pruners! I collected 3 bags of their heavenly lavender. The ladies running the field were very helpful and encouraged me to stuff my bags full! I had to watch out for the bees as there were many buzzing around also enjoying the lavender. The smell was divine and it was interesting to see the little tractor harvesting the lavender into large white sacks. It will later be processed into essential oil, soaps and honey. Lavender has many therapeutic qualities, I like to use it as a sleep aid. In its oil format I use it to treat burns with amazing results. It soothes the burnt skin.

Village Swimming Pool

Our little village swimming pool opened its gates at the beginning of July. For two years (because of the pandemic) it has been closed so we were thrilled to hear it was fully operational again. We have a good sized pool with a slide for the youngsters. Great value too…just over £2.00 for the full day. There is a large grassed area with trees, outdoor games, fire pits, oven and picnic benches. The local ice-cream man visits daily selling not just ice-creams but sweet yummy cakes too. A lovely place to spend the day…and just on our doorstep.

Haley our Siberian Husky

We are fortunate that a visiting vet comes annually to administer Rabies vaccinations to the local dogs. Haley does not travel well in the car so we very much appreciate this rural service. She has recently been shedding her winter fur which takes a few weeks. We are constantly brushing her to help her shed. Huskies, you would think, do not do well in hot weather as they are associated with a cold climate and snow. However, Haley would appear to love sunbathing in the high temperature we are having in Hungary at the moment. Her summer coat keeps her cool and she munches on ice cubes. She is a very active dog and loves to poke her head through the railings frequently to see what’s happening. When she is exhausted she takes a nap…but still has an ear open so as not to miss any action!

Sunflower Fields

Travelling around the countryside you cannot help but notice the many sunflower fields that line the roads. They are a staggering sight covering acres of fields with a vibrant yellow. Hungary is a big producer of sunflower oil and the flowers will be around for weeks with the farmers letting them dry ready to be harvested for their precious oil. We grow sunflowers in our garden but purely for the pleasure of looking at them. The finches love the seeds and are frequent visitors a bit later on in the year.

Residency Permits

The UK has recently left the European Union, meaning those of us who are British, living somewhere else needed to apply for residency status in our respective countries. Having already gone through this process before (when we first arrived 4 years ago) we expected this to be straightforward and easy. We had 12 months to complete this process (until the end of December 21) but there have been many difficulties with the Hungarian computer systems. Finally, 6 months later we managed to complete the process and so now hopefully, we will retain our status in our adopted country.

Without a fridge during a heatwave!

We are currently experiencing a heatwave in Hungary…high temperatures of 38/39 degrees Celsius which is a touch uncomfortable. Imagine our horror and dismay when our Samsung fridge-freezer decided to stop working! We asked a Hungarian neighbour to contact Samsung on our behalf to arrange to get it fixed! Would you believe, 2 weeks later we have had no visit from Samsung, or explanation even though we have a 10 year warranty. We have ended up buying a very small fridge to tide us over until we can get our main fridge freezer fixed. There was talk that the part required was no longer available but I don’t know how true that is. I am certainly struggling with the after sales service from this company.

I am going to be a granny again!

What joy it is when your eldest son tells you “Mum you are going to be a granny again” I am so happy for him and his partner but slightly saddened I cannot go over to England and celebrate their news. They are expecting a boy (they have a daughter already) which is super news. I am forever thankful for the internet and Facetime, years ago we would not have had that privilege. My granddaughter will be 4 this year and starting nursery school soon, I do miss her. Maybe next year when this disabling pandemic is over (or controlled) I will be able to reconnect in real life.

So that was just a little update of what has been happening in our lives at the moment. This weekend is the annual Harvest Festival in the village. A wonderful occasion that I shall be photographing, watch out for the next blog entry. 😃

Categories
Everyday Life in Hungary

Heatwave Hungary!

Phew, it is hot!!! The temperature is reading 37 degrees Celsius 98.6 Fahrenheit, 2.30 pm. Hungary are experiencing their first heatwave of the year. Perhaps it will reach an all time high of 41 degrees Celsius? The farmers and villagers are praying for rain as the ground is so parched and crops are in need of water.

I tend to take water for granted, but here water is valuable, not to be wasted and reused if possible. There are water pumps in the street for those villagers without mains supply. It is quite humbling to see villagers filling their bottles from the pumps. Yesterday our water pressure took a severe drop and some people in the village higher up the valley had no water at all. Through the village Facebook site, I gathered there may be some broken pipes in the village but it also coincided with the annual “fill the village swimming pool up” which may have affected the water pressure.

Water pumps line the village streets

The Hungarian government have issued a state of emergency during the heatwave advising people about health and safety precautions and general health tips to stay safe in the heat. Interestingly if you see a child or pet in a hot car…call the emergency services, I worry they might be some time getting to remote places!

So what have I been doing this week?

Out and About – Been out and about to Székesfehérvár (I can just about pronounce it!) and came across some staggering poppy fields on the way. I have tried to take photos that are slightly different.

We also passed a good looking riding stables and just had to stop. It was a good opportunity to take a couple of photos of these gorgeous horses..

We then collected milk from the local farm, the cows were ambling around just waiting to be photographed!!. This one caught my eye…on further examination later on my PC I noticed the close up…. of the tongue!!! HaHa!

There were also sheep asleep on the roadside sheltering from the blazing sun. These are racka sheep, an ancient type of sheep, said to be living here with us in Hungary since cc. 970…

Finally stopped off for a coffee at a friend’s and admired her beautiful water-lilies. We had a lovely day 🙂

We ventured out again and admired the local lavender fields in the village.

Kisszékely Lavender Fields

Then a visit to the lake…I am pursuing an elusive heron…I know he is there but thought I would have a better chance walking by the lake so as not to distract this flighty bird. Sadly not to be seen!

We then went onto the tops and admired the hay bails Lol!!

Impulsive intrepid Eric (my husband) decided to drive through the forest…I was worried the car would tip at the deep tractor ruts along the way. Thankfully we made it safely back to home base 🙂

Brexit – The UK has now left the European Union which means as residents we need to re-apply for our status in Hungary. There is lots of red tape, paper filling and lengthy visits to get through before we can be issued with this valuable status. We are lucky in Hungary and have until 31st December to submit our paperwork, some European countries require these documents by the 31st June. So with plenty of time to get organised I managed to print of the lengthy 18 page document, fill them in and get the required passport photos needed for the documents. I needed help finding a place to get the said photos, friends helped for which I was very thankful. They don’t appear to have photo booths here like in the UK, it was a case of doing it online and going to the local chemist for printouts.

Gardening Progress

We invested this year in a large polytunnel to grow tomatoes and watermelons. Six weeks later we have baby water melons and masses of very healthy tomatoes. We have found if we grow tomatoes outside they become infested with bugs and do not yield their maximum crop. We are hopeful this year we will have a good harvest to preserve to last us through the winter.

Something else new this year is our living fence. Next door neighbours have a very unsightly wall and I wanted to grow a fence of sunflowers to hide it. After collecting hundreds of seeds last year I planted a long line, in the Spring the length of the wall. In between the sunflowers I planted marigolds, again from seeds collected from last year. I think it will give a staggering long lasting display and cover the ugly wall!

The weeding is never ending with weeds shooting up on a daily basis. The only way to keep on top is little and often, preferably around 5.00 am in the morning before it gets unbearably hot.

Preparations for the big 60 Birthday at the end of July!

So the time is approaching for the big 60 birthday. Age to me is a number but it is nice to celebrate the special ones. Covid19 has put a stop to any romantic weekend away so the revised plan is to have a meal at the local castle restaurant, sitting outside with the hotel and spa facilities available and the added bonus of an outdoor pool. We went to have a look and it looks super. Of course, I took lots of photos.

Finally… I have been asked to write a daily piece on two different pages on Facebook about family life in rural Hungary. I was very flattered and am enjoying promoting this fantastic country and what it has to offer. It also gives me an opportunity to continue my photography capturing special moments during our time in Hungary.

Categories
Everyday Life in Hungary

Chatting to a Newspaper Journalist, Making Bacon, Building a Tandoori Oven!

A few weeks ago whilst browsing Facebook a journalist asked to interview expats living in rural Hungary. That’s me, I thought so  I contacted her and said I would be happy to talk with her.  She writes for the Budapest Times and travels around the country with another person who is a travel guide.  We met up at a local restaurant and chatted for almost 3 hours.  Her tape recorder came out on the table, I was a little apprehensive at first but it was all good and went very well.  After a while I forgot the tape recorder was there!

When we had finished chatting they both wanted a tour of our village so I took them to all the pretty places.  They were very impressed.  The article was published recently in the Budapest Times and here it is

I was overwhelmed by everyone’s good wishes after it was published, I almost felt like a celebrity!  Added to that the journalist was extremely complimentary about my photographs and suggested I join a Facebook group who would appreciate them too.  I joined, and was approached by a gentleman who asked if I could start a regular feature posting my photos with a little text about rural life in Hungary! Of course, I said yes!!  Sometimes I need a little push in the right direction.

Kisszékely church overlooking the valley
Life in the slow lane, Kisszékely village
Kisszékely lake

So, in other news…

Making Bacon

We all like bacon in our house and was a little disappointed with Hungarian bacon so decided we should make our own smoked bacon. We invested in a meat slicer and bought a huge piece of belly pork with the skin on. Next, we removed any bones and cleaned the meat thoroughly. We then pricked the meaty side very well with a fork, made a salt and brown sugar coating 50/50 and rubbed it in very well all over. Then we wrapped it up so it was sealed (carton or cling film) and put it in the fridge for 2 days. After 2 days, we removed the pork from the fridge, washed it well to remove the coating and dried with it with kitchen towel. Now for the smoking. We created a homemade smoker from wood we had in the garden and cold smoked the bacon for 3 days in the smoker. The aroma around the garden was tantalising. Finally, after 3 days we sliced and ate it. The bacon freezes well if necessary. We shall never buy bacon again, it was so delicious and had a gorgeous smoky taste.

Our dog sat very patiently throughout the whole procedure hoping for a quick bite!

Preparing bacon
Dog watch!

Building a Tandoori Oven

The boys in my life, my husband and my son have been busy in the garden making a Tandoori oven this week. Neither of us had built or cooked on a traditional tandoor before… originating from Turkey. I assumed it originated from India…!! How wrong I was. We did a virgin run yesterday and the results were fantastic. Apparently, according to our guests, you could smell the beautiful cooking smells all over the village! Our Hungarian neighbour was out gardening and was very curious to know what Eric and Raphael were building….he kept nodding and saying “egen” (yes in English) when Eric explained he was making an oven, I don’t think he really understood! We marked the occasion by inviting a couple of friends who live in our little village to be our virgin tandoor tasters. We had a very fun afternoon, with lots of laughter and good conversation. The food was great, expertly cooked by Chef Eric and enjoyed with great company, New Zealander Jackie and her Hungarian husband Gabor.

Raphael and Eric building the Tandoor oven
Finished!
Before the fire
Filling it with wood
Lighting the fire
Eric and his lighting tool!
Fire at both ends!!
Preparing the meat
More meat
Even more meat!!
Cooking
Pavlova cake for dessert

We have a “Kings Chair” for Eric made from repurposed tyres… Jackie and Gabor posed for pictures. We had a fabulous Tandoori Day!

Gabor and Jackie
Jackie

Categories
Everyday Life in Hungary

June has arrived!

A surprising few months in our little village of Kisszékely, Hungary.

Sunrise, Kisszékely, Hungary

Our winter seemed to be especially long this year and only provided two days of snow! I am English (a bit obsessed with the weather) and love the snow. I had been waiting patiently for the snowfalls we had had in previous years, very disappointed it was not forthcoming.

I longed for the spring to hurry up and arrive along with warm sunshine early mornings and light evenings. I was keen to get back to living mostly outside which I enjoy most. The link below will give you an idea of the snow that fell in January 2021.

Winter Wonderland https://youtu.be/la8U2BMhP0c

Finally by the end of May all the tell-tale signs began to appear signifying the start of beautiful spring.

First Signs of Spring

The first signs of spring in Hungary are the returning storks from their far off migration in central Africa. Storks are a regular sight in most rural villages, making their homes on top of telegraph posts or chimney pots…apparently a sign of good luck. Storks usually return to their birthing place year after year to begin the circle of life all over again.

Our little village does not have resident storks, which is a shame as they are fascinating birds. Imagine my surprise and delight when I saw out of our bedroom window a stork perched delicately on the top of the telegraph pole opposite. I could not contain my excitement and rushed out onto the street to stand and stare at this enormous bird. I took dozens of photos as he seemed to be hanging around and did not object. Our dog was less impressed and patrolled the front fence, up and down constantly. She was obviously eager for some “chasing fun”!!

I asked on the village Facebook page how we could encourage the storks to stay in the village and nest here. Sadly, I was told the food supply is better met in other villages. Apparently they are partial to frogs.

The stork that visited Kisszékely, looking for a mate!

Another sign spring is here are the bountiful fields full of colourful poppies and then the strong pungent smell of the rape seed fields covering the countryside with blankets of bright yellow flowers. Truly beautiful.

Poppies and wild flowers, Hungary
Rape seed fields, Hungary

We seem to have had an unusually high amount of rain recently, which obviously the farmers are ecstatic about. We are too but to a lesser degree….rain means the weeds grow very energetically! Our garden has been covered in dandelions for most of the month of May. We left our grass uncut to give a little help to the bees. As the weather was a little warmer, I took a walk around the village and stumbled on what I can only call “Raining Dandelions” the seeds were flying everywhere, it was quite surreal.

“Raining Dandelions”

I love the spring blossom adorning the trees in the little villages, I constantly say “Look, look how lovely the blossom!”. My patient husband regularly stops on roadsides for me to leap out of the car and take photos! This one is in the next village with a rather spectacular display of blossoms.

Tolnanémedi blossoms

Buy Local

Once a week we do our supermarket shop and often pass through little villages with roadside stalls selling various home grown, home preserved plants, fruits, vegetables and home smoked meats. With so much choice it was difficult to choose where to stop. We were very tempted by a colourful display of hanging baskets bursting with petunias. Last year my choice was Black Eyed Susan’s, this year it is Petunias. The stall holder spoke no English but suddenly said “Várjon” (Wait)…two minutes later a young girl rushed to greet us and spoke in perfect English…a total surprise in rural Hungary. We spent a good amount of time talking about England and subsequently bought two glorious hanging baskets. We also stocked our car with a sack of potatoes, a sack of onions and several tomato plants.

Local Churches of Photographic Interest

I tend to travel everywhere with my camera and usually take pictures every day, even when we go supermarket shopping! This church is in Tamási with the deer outside depicting the presence of numerous deer in the surrounding area.  The Catholic church in the town centre is built on the ruins of a Roman founded temple.

Iregszemcse village also has a visually interesting church. As you can see there are a multitude of electric cables obscuring the view…very normal in Hungary.

The last church photo in this set was taken in Sárbogárd. I was intrigued by the unusual shape. It helped the sky was such a vivid blue. You will notice there is a slight dusting of snow on the ground, taken in late February 2021.

Sometimes our travels take us to Lake Balaton, the largest lake in Central Europe, and one of the region’s foremost tourist destinations. During the Covid pandemic all the attractions and public beaches have been closed but I managed to access this one which had several beautiful swans gliding across the water.

Local Walking

One of my good friends, also an Ex-pat is an avid walker and wanted to take a walk around our little village. We decided to set off early 8.00 am as walking in the heat later is not too pleasant. Our village nestles between rolling hills with an abundance of forests surrounding us. The walls of the valley are steep and some effort was required to reach our target…the highest viewing point in Kisszékely. We passed bee hives on our way up and then were greeted with an abundance of Acacia trees, specially planted for the bees to make Hungary’s speciality honey. By the time we had reached the viewing point we were glad of the picnic tables for a seat and the sturdy viewing platform, to take photos, it was certainly worth the effort. We were lucky enough to watch a pair of storks coasting on the wind and thoroughly enjoying the early morning weather. Next time I shall have a zoom lens to capture these precious moments.

Acacia Blossom

The beautiful Acacia tree.

https://hungarybees.com/ here you will find everything you need to know about the delicious Acacia Honey.

Kisszékely

A pair of storks in the distance. Vineyards jammed full of growing vines below. What a tranquil sight.

Elaine my walking companion

After spending some time admiring the staggering views, we headed back down into the village through tightly forested areas stopping occasionally to cross little streams and observing animal tracks.

We are lucky that our village has so many walking trails all colour coded with regular information boards describing the wildlife and flora to be found nearby. Extremely useful and interesting.

We are now enjoying much sunnier days and milder nights. Mother Nature never fails to surprise and impress me, particularly in the beautiful countryside of Hungary. I shall be out with my camera again very soon.

Categories
My Gardening

Join Me in My Ever Developing Hungarian Garden – July 2020

July has arrived in Hungary along with soaring temperatures and thirsty plants. Watering is a twice a day affair otherwise the poor plants suffer from dehydration. We had talked about a dripper system for the vegetable plot this year but it never materialised.

The wheelbarrow is a favourite spot for this bird…always on the look-out for our dog Haley!

At the front of our house, we have giant sunflowers creating a beautiful display and an eager feeding ground for these friendly finches. Lifting the blinds in the morning this is what I see, a great way to start my day. I do believe these are greenfinches?

We have regular butterflies and a multitude of other insects visiting the garden. The cricket sat for ages on the garden chair and the butterfly lazily sunned itself whilst I took photos.

Cricket
Butterfly

The first of our second generation peppers began to flower in late June progressing onto larger specimens in early July. These are of the spicy variety and when harvested will be preserved in jars. All our peppers were given a layer of cow manure at the beginning of the season, I’m hoping for great results.

Flowering Pepper
Spicy Pepper

When we moved to Hungary we inherited a well, fully functional if you have a pump, the water is way down. This is our third summer here and have encouraged the plants surrounding the well to grow randomly. This beautiful yellow plant is a blast of colour to brighten this corner. I have no idea of it’s name but it makes FABULOUS dried flower arrangements.

Inheriting a garden is always exciting, each year something else pops up that you had no idea was there. This year the “Well Garden” has acquired a young walnut tree that we did not plant but want to encourage it to grow, it’s doing very well at the moment. The tree at the front is a prolific flowering pink and white Hibiscus….it will be flowering very soon. Over the well is rampant forsythia, stunning flowers in the spring. It will need tidying up before the winter.

We had a very sturdy loft ladder made of very solid wood and wanted to incorporate it into the well garden somehow. Due to a “lost in translation moment” with our Hungarian gardener, he took it upon himself to chop out the steps. Not what we wanted….oh dear! We rescued a few steps and will keep adding plants to fill the gaps. It will come to life next year…the gardener has been forgiven. 😀

“The Well Garden”

We live in sunflower country and most gardens have at least a few adorning their gardens, we are no exception. This spectacularly tall sunflower display is ALL self seeded from last year, travelling from the front of the house, I suspect the wind and the birds helped this process. Haley our dog sitting regally like she owned the place!!

Miss Haley Husky, in HER garden.💜

There are 2 sorts of cherries on the trees here in Hungary, sour and sweet. We prefer the sweet ones to eat straight off the tree or you can collect them and make jams if you have any remaining….we didn’t!

Sweet Cherries
Sour Cherries

We have 2 sweetcorn patches, the first one the corn is already visible and should be ready for cropping probably next week. We planted another bed about 4 weeks later for continuous corn throughout the summer months. Our favourite way to eat them is straight from the plant and onto the BBQ! Delicious!

Sweetcorn
Young Corn

Not everything has been successful in our garden and we nearly lost our watermelons…or should I say they just did not grow, we were going to pull them out but suddenly the other day these yellow flowers appeared….could this be the start of a watermelon? I will keep you updated.

Watermelon

The tomatoes all over the garden are doing amazingly well, they guzzle water constantly and there are flowers everywhere. Won’t be long before we have a bumper crop. For the first time this year, we experimented with crushed egg shells, adding them to the hole before planting the seedlings, to see if it improved the tomato’s growth and production. So far so good. It is supposed to add extra calcium where needed, I have heard mixed reactions about this method. Best that we try it first before making a judgement.

Tomatoes

Our raised bed full of peppers is coming on very well and you can see in the buckets on the ground, potatoes. We tried to grow potatoes previously but they were all attacked by a beetle and we lost the lot. This year we are trying the recycling bucket method.

Spicy Peppers

Other experiments we are trying this year. From seed, tomatoes are raised in hollowed egg shells, then transferred to the ground….after crushing the shells gently around them before planting them out. The other tall plant is from seed, a pomegranate. I have already prepared the ground ready for planting and will go into the ground this evening.

Egg Shell Tomato Seedlings
Pomegranate

This is a third year rose, bought in Hungary and thriving well. It had a bout of greenflies early on but now clear. Underneath the rose is our marigold bed. I planted 6 varieties of marigolds in the hope of plenty of colour. We are getting there, the smaller ones have flowered now just waiting for the larger ones to explode, should be any day now.

Rose
Petunia

I love petunias and was fortunate to have been given a few last year from a neighbour. She warned me they would self seed everywhere and have a second wave of flowering later in the year. She was right, I hope they do the same this year, they are so cheerful.

Mixed Flower bed

This is the front of the house, looking onto the road. As you see the sunflowers are healthy and strong but unfortunately for poor Haley block her important view of the street. It was a good lookout for her passing doggie friends!

Haley

Much as I adore Haley, our Husky, she is a major nuisance in the garden. Digging is her game and she is good at it. We have areas in the garden she is “allowed to dig” which generally works OK. However, on this occasion my cordoned off new sunflower patch got the “Haley Digging” treatment and she managed to kill one of my 10 new plants. In the first picture you will also notice another suspicious hole…she was guarding it so I would not fill it in! Naughty girl!

My lovely Hibiscus is just about to burst into flower in the “Well Garden”

Hibiscus

This is the bottom third of our garden, the buildings you see on the left are the neighbour’s house. We have planted 8 walnut trees which will eventually give us our “Walnut Corner” and a great screen with the neighbours.

There are numerous bare patches on the “lawn”…that’s what I call it but Eric refers to this area as the side garden! The bare patches are when the garden was a building site with piles of concrete, rubble and stones everywhere. We removed the rubble and prepared the patches for grass seed, that was 10 days ago.

Now the new grass is popping through and will hopefully give a good green covering in the coming weeks. I am always hopeful 😁

Our neighbour’s wall… a fascinating place for “dog sniffing”! The house has been empty for the last 3 years and this half finished extension is housing some sort of animal that has been driving Haley crazy! It could be foxes as we have seen them in the garden or rabbits, cats, lizards or even mice. She spends hours sniffing and watching, crazy girl!!

Sat on our veranda I looked up and this is what I saw…a vibrant blue sky with puff balls of cotton wool clouds. Just gorgeous!🧡

Now as the evening approaches the sun goes to sleep and the moon gently comes out ready to do the whole cycle again tomorrow. Every day nature has something new to offer us it’s wonderful to be able to appreciate it here in our adopted country of Hungary.

Categories
Everyday Life in Hungary

4 things I can’t do in Hungary that I could do in England

I can’t do any sort of online shopping….

I used to be an “online junky” I loved the easy, no fuss online way to buy absolutely anything I wanted…of course within reason. But it made me think how much I took it for granted in England, I could sit, search and send in front of my PC and have my items swiftly delivered the next day. All that changed when we moved to Hungary. We were busy furnishing our new home and we found it impossible to find any sort of, easy to follow, Hungarian online shopping presence. Added to that the language barrier issue well and truly hit home. Ahhh well, we have saved a ton of money and I came to the realisation that Hungarian people don’t really do as much online shopping as in the West. It is said they don’t trust purchases where they can’t personally inspect the item first. Those who do use internet shopping and have their parcels delivered use the “Cash on Delivery” system, something they do not do in England.

I can’t leave bread or meat out without eating it immediately…

Our family motto: “Eat it, Or Freeze it”!

An excellent motto. Cooking and eating Hungarian foods is very different from England. Not that there’s anything wrong it’s just different! Soon after our arrival in Hungary we bought fresh bread from the local bakery, sadly within one day it had become dry and hard. It happened again from a different bakery, I suddenly realised, obviously, there are fewer preservatives added to the bread here. We had similar issues with the meat, not keeping it for as long as expected. So as our motto goes – if we are not going to eat it that day it goes straight into the freezer. “Eat it, Or Freeze it”

I can’t browse around an English Bookshop…

I love the smell of books and book shops the actual feel of REAL books. I have lived with my Kindle by my side for the last few years, I left my book collection in England and do miss it. The opportunity to visit a bookshop, indulge in picking up a book and opening its pages and see English text. Or to be able to read the blurb on the back and make a judgement, to buy or not to buy? Of course, there are book shops here, perhaps in Budapest there is an English one to indulge my fantasy. I shall have to broaden my search horizons to Budapest.

Speaking English when negotiating…

Any sort of deal with a Hungarian…. you must speak Hungarian, if not, you may find you pay a higher price because you speak English! We have learnt this through expensive experience. Out in the countryside, the Hungarian people hold regular car boot sales, nobody speaks English, we paid over the odds for items we bought. Later we were advised, next time ONLY speak Hungarian and that advice came from a friendly Hungarian!

We love living in Hungary and have made some major lifestyle changes that we don’t regret. Every country lives a different way of life with lots of cultural differences. Every new experience that we learn from makes us wiser people and ready for the next time.

Do you live in a country with differences that you have noticed…which way of life do you prefer the old or the new? I would love to hear your views.

Categories
Everyday Life in Hungary

8 unusual things that I didn’t know about Hungary!

We have been living in Hungary for over two years now and have come to realise that lots of things here are very different from England. They are not bad things they are just different, I guess Hungarians arriving in England would think we have some pretty strange practices too!

1. Hungarian Christian names are regulated by Hungarian law.

New parents are bound by a naming law when it comes to choosing what to call their children. Names chosen must come from a pre-approved list and any deviations must also be officially approved. I did wonder why so many people were called the same name, now I know why. Each day of the year is given its own name, and with it an excuse for a celebration for anyone called by that particular name. The most common boys name is István, meaning Stephen in English. The most common girls name is Erzsébet meaning Elizabeth in English.

Name days

2. What are Ruin Bars?

I am told (although not had the pleasure yet) that a visit to a ruin bar (or pub) is a must. These bars are located in Budapest’s old District VII neighbourhood (the old Jewish quarter) in the ruins of abandoned buildings. The pubs or Kerts as they are known in Hungarian, sit inside the many bombed out and bullet marked ruins of buildings. Szimpla Kert was the first ruin bar and remains iconic. It has the original ruin pub traits, strangely mismatched furniture that’s seen better days, disorderly artwork on the walls and a garden for you to enjoy a beer. http://en.szimpla.hu/szimpla-garden/about-us

3. You can have a beach holiday in Hungary.

Lake Balaton

I was surprised to learn that you can have a beach holiday in this land locked country. We are 40 minutes drive from Lake Balaton, often affectionately called the “Hungarian Sea” by Hungarians. Lake Balaton is also the largest freshwater lake in Europe. Beaches are mainly grassy, but many resorts have artificial sandy beaches. There are dog friendly beaches too. The beaches and resorts around Lake Balaton are open from May to October and boast a huge range of activities. The major towns around the lake come alive during the summer season with a vast array of activities on offer, water sports are particularly popular – sailing, water skiing, canoeing and windsurfing, to name but a few. If you are there in the winter months you can have a go at ice skating on the frozen Balaton. It is a truly beautiful vibrant area. 

4. Surname (family name) always comes first.

I discovered that all the numerous official forms we had to complete, residency, driving licence, hospital forms, your surname is put first, unlike in England where your christian name goes first. This took a bit of getting used to in the verbal context, particularly if we were waiting to see a doctor and they shouted our surname first, I was not quite tuned in to that name format. Eventually, we have become accustomed to this although it still proves problematic sometimes on social media! I am not always sure which is the christian name. Some of the younger generations put their christian name first. My assumption is that there are so many people with the same christian name in Hungary it is easier to use the surname first purely for identification purposes.

5. Additional letters to the alphabet.

The people of Hungary have an extended alphabet. The Hungarian alphabet contains 44 letters. No fewer than four versions of the letter ‘O’ are found in the Hungarian alphabet, and there are several combined letters including Dz, Dzs, Gy, Ly, Ny, Sz, Ty, and Zs. I have discovered on my journey to learn the second hardest language in the world (Mandarin first) that word order is often flexible, making my sentences sometimes nonsensical! I had to start by learning the different sounds, then phrases, then the actual pronunciation. I am learning this new language slowly, a necessity to be able to enjoy Hungarian life to the full.

6. It is considered rude to clink beer glasses.

The most mysterious custom in Hungary, is that Hungarians never clink glasses full of beer. The most widely known explanation seems to be that the Austrians celebrated their victory over Hungary in the 1849 revolution, drinking glasses of beer whilst 13 Hungarian senior generals were executed. It is said the Austrians clinked their beer glasses after each execution. As a result of this, Hungarians vowed never to clink beer glasses and say cheers for 150 years. That time has passed now, but the custom continues, particularly with the older generations. It is considered to be rude and insulting to Hungarians.

7. Did you know?

You have probably heard about the Rubik’s cube, but did you know that it’s a Hungarian invention? Ernő Rubik created the Rubik’s Cube and it is widely considered to be the most popular toy ever made. More than 350 million of them have been sold worldwide since it hit toy shop shelves in Budapest in the 1970s.

Photo by Jean-Louis Paulin on Unsplash

8. Good Manners whilst drinking in Hungary.

Hungarians are pretty heavy drinkers, they will not dispute this! If you’re lucky enough to be visiting a Hungarian family for a meal, there are a few things you should remember. The most important thing is that if you are ever offered a shot of pálinka (fruit brandy) you must drink it. Hungarians are very proud of their national drink and often make it themselves. It is considered rude to refuse it. Finally, the last thing that I find unusual is when your glass is topped up it’s considered rude not to look the other person in the eye when saying – ‘Egészségedre’ or in English cheers!

Palinka (not homemade) but equally good!

So there you have it, interesting things that I have noticed about Hungary, the people and their differences. I do know that Hungary is a very warm, welcoming nation and learning about their culture is fascinating.

If you are an Expat like me, does your ‘new country’ have many differences from what you are used to? I would be interested to hear them.