Monday, 26 March 2007
Eger and Extreme tooth pick
I’m really busy with school at the moment. Our mid-presentation is on this Friday and to be honest I’m a bit lost with my work. There’s so much to do and I suck in time management. On top of that my mom and my sister are coming here on Wednesday and I can’t leave them on their own on the first day. I know I’ll survive though. I always do, but I can’t stop worrying! So I’ve been home almost all week just doing my uni work.
Last Friday we made a trip to Eger, a city famous because of their wine cellars. We took the train there and after two and half hours we arrived to this very cute place, which is like a miniature version of Budapest, river in the middle of the city and beautiful buildings. But for some reason the place was absolutely dead… Felt like we were the only people there even though the tourist season started in the beginning of this month. And on top of that the weather was awful! It rained and the wind was freezing, luckily cheap wine kept us warm. It was a shame we only had one full day there. When we arrived it was already dark and on Saturday we didn’t have much time to see the sights because we hurried to the wine cellars…
So all we literally did was eating (Hayley and Yael lived with hot chocolates and apple pies through all the the trip), drinking, clubbing, sleeping, drinking and we had ‘Extreme tooth pick tournament’. Gaby was easily the winner. Extreme tooth pick is a game where you have to get a tooth pick up in to your nose just using your mouth and tongue. It looks silly but we had so much fun playing it... The video is for demonstration so you can see what is the game about. (No, I haven’t lost my mind..).
And of course credits to my darling dirty dancer Fergus, a.k.a. Fergie, who always makes me smile! AND who invented the name and the second level for Extreme toot pick.
After all we had a great time in Eger. I hope I can go back there later.
Yesterday we played Molkky again. I just have to mention that team Finland beated the French easily. Thank you Ari and Harri for the excellent team spirit and for the good games. And team France, some day you’ll get there... :)
This post is dedicated to Toby and Emma (tomorrow). Happy birthday pumpkins!
Oh, one more important thing... Go see Anton's 'Beatbox'- clips for D&DA Annual Student Award competition. Absolutely fabulous!! Well done Anton. I've watched them maybe 50 times..
(http://antonwaldburg.blogspot.com)
Tuesday, 20 March 2007
Friend sickness
Today I felt home sick for the very first time since I came here, or more like friend sick.. I wish you could all be here with me!
Mikko, you can still sleep in the kitchen when you come to Budapest. I'm not that angry with you. :)
Annuska, I hope that everything is ok and you are taking care of people while I'm here. I know you will though, as always my darling mama Rochester.
Nora, I miss you SSSSOOOO much. One day when I'm no longer a student and we are married I promise to pay you back half of your phone bills which has been huge because of me... Yes, I've lost my hope with men. I only love you from now on! And don't even think about marrying Affe instead of me. We can have much more beautiful children than you and him.
Suvi-kulta, hopefully you are feeling as fantastic as you are!
Anne, I'm happy that I can see you soon. I miss you and the rest of the family Austero a lot!!
Erno, kuis kaara kulkee??
Anton, Germans are much more nicer people than I thought. But you're still the best!
Rob, Adam, Adele and Yaseed I hope you'll stay as wonderful as you are. Because of you I haven't lost my faith in English people (even though Yaseed, you don't really belong to that category!! Hahahahha)
Paris and Georgeous I miss talkin Cyprian with you!
Bennie, when I'm back I'll buy you a lunch. And if you behave we might go eat the lunch in IKEA... You're the best Scandi fan I've ever met!
Finally my darling mother. You're the best of the best. Soon I'll give you the biggest hugg ever!
And of course Toby, Lonkero, Katri, Krisu and the rest who's pics I didn't have here with me. I miss partying with you!!
Saturday, 17 March 2007
Time is FFFLYYYIIIINGG here! I can’t believe it is already mid March. It’s horrifying to think that I’ve spent almost third of my total time here… I don’t want to come back to England. Yack!!
Yes, yes, of course I miss all of you there in Rochester and in Helsinki.
We went to see the 10th annual furniture fair in Budapest, called Laka’s Trend Fair. It was quite different from the design fairs I’ve seen in London and in Helsinki. Hungary doesn’t really have own ‘design culture’ like for example Finland has. Of course they have long traditions in art and craft but the design (fashion, industrial, furniture…) doesn’t really exist because of the past communism. So the fair was quite small. All the big brands, Cappellini, etc, had their products exhibited there but the Hungarian brands were quite different from the rest of the European design styles.
We spoke about this with Attila and he was maybe a bit jealous that Hungary is in such a state. I told him that maybe for the young designers, like him and Tuan, it is very good situation. They can actually bring Hungarian design on to the map. What I’m trying to say is that maybe young designers has a bigger change to actually make it.
Last Saturday was absolutely freezing. Before the sunny weather this week the spring ended as fast as it came. Even though the weather was awful, very English, rainy and windy, we decided to go to this flee market out side of Budapest. That place was amazing. I’ve never seen that much stuff in my life. It was a proper treasure island. You could find anything from the last 60 decades there. It was very inspiring place and I can’t wait to take my mother there when she comes. Beautiful, beautiful things, I spend my money in old movie posters and matchboxes (don’t ask!)
After last weekend the weather changed completely. The sun has been shining all week. Actually today is the first cloudy day in a week. It’s so summer here and I love it. Makes me smile.
On Wednesday we had our traditional Molkky tournament on Margit island. Margit island is like Hyde Park in London: big green spot close to the central. It’s a beautiful place and lot of people spent their days there. Anyway molkky, for those who doesn’t know the game, is Finnish version of petanque. But instead of balls you throw wooden blocks. Each of the twelve sticks has a number on them. You have to collect 50 points to win but it’s not as easy as it might sound… There are many rules that makes the game really, really fun (specially after few beers). There is a group of exchange student, me among them, who are absolutely hooked with that game.
15 of March is a national holiday in Hungary. Maybe you heard about the riots they had here. I was told that you shouldn’t go out all day, because it might be dangerous. So me, Outi and Ari made a roadtrip to Szentedre.
Szentedre is a small town 20 km north from Budapest. It’s a really nice and cute place but not too big to spend the whole day so we decided to go to Vienna. Yes, we actually drove to Austria in two and half hours. It was crazy! We went for pints with Harri, Ari’s friend who studies there. Vienna looks pretty much the same than Budapest but it's much, much cleaner.
Vienna is a beautiful place. I have to go back. And I saw at least 10 H&Ms there..!!! “Oon ma juonut viinii Vienissa…” Who knows that song?? Here's a picture from Vienna. Some important building in there. Looks like a church to me.
Andrea and me went to the zoo last Saturday. They have the first baby rhino born in Europe and it was so cute! I wanted to take it home. It wasn’t that small anymore… a size of a lamb or something. I was more excited about the hippos though, as you can see. I saw giraffes and polar bears for the first time of my life. But we are sure that some of the animals were plastic, becuase they didnt move at all!
I have to go and carry on working now… We’re having a small party in our flat tonight and I have loads to do before that.
Talk to you later!!
putzi
Aiti soitti ja kerto etta mun eno nukku pois viime torstaina. Kaikki ok, mutta aika paha mieli aidin puolesta. Ranskiksen kanssa juttu loppu aika seinaan talla viikolla… Pitka juttu. Selitan myohemmin. Voin ihan hyvin nyt, tilanteeseen nahden, mut olin aika rikki muutaman paivan.
Yes, yes, of course I miss all of you there in Rochester and in Helsinki.
We went to see the 10th annual furniture fair in Budapest, called Laka’s Trend Fair. It was quite different from the design fairs I’ve seen in London and in Helsinki. Hungary doesn’t really have own ‘design culture’ like for example Finland has. Of course they have long traditions in art and craft but the design (fashion, industrial, furniture…) doesn’t really exist because of the past communism. So the fair was quite small. All the big brands, Cappellini, etc, had their products exhibited there but the Hungarian brands were quite different from the rest of the European design styles.
We spoke about this with Attila and he was maybe a bit jealous that Hungary is in such a state. I told him that maybe for the young designers, like him and Tuan, it is very good situation. They can actually bring Hungarian design on to the map. What I’m trying to say is that maybe young designers has a bigger change to actually make it.
Last Saturday was absolutely freezing. Before the sunny weather this week the spring ended as fast as it came. Even though the weather was awful, very English, rainy and windy, we decided to go to this flee market out side of Budapest. That place was amazing. I’ve never seen that much stuff in my life. It was a proper treasure island. You could find anything from the last 60 decades there. It was very inspiring place and I can’t wait to take my mother there when she comes. Beautiful, beautiful things, I spend my money in old movie posters and matchboxes (don’t ask!)
After last weekend the weather changed completely. The sun has been shining all week. Actually today is the first cloudy day in a week. It’s so summer here and I love it. Makes me smile.
On Wednesday we had our traditional Molkky tournament on Margit island. Margit island is like Hyde Park in London: big green spot close to the central. It’s a beautiful place and lot of people spent their days there. Anyway molkky, for those who doesn’t know the game, is Finnish version of petanque. But instead of balls you throw wooden blocks. Each of the twelve sticks has a number on them. You have to collect 50 points to win but it’s not as easy as it might sound… There are many rules that makes the game really, really fun (specially after few beers). There is a group of exchange student, me among them, who are absolutely hooked with that game.15 of March is a national holiday in Hungary. Maybe you heard about the riots they had here. I was told that you shouldn’t go out all day, because it might be dangerous. So me, Outi and Ari made a roadtrip to Szentedre.
Szentedre is a small town 20 km north from Budapest. It’s a really nice and cute place but not too big to spend the whole day so we decided to go to Vienna. Yes, we actually drove to Austria in two and half hours. It was crazy! We went for pints with Harri, Ari’s friend who studies there. Vienna looks pretty much the same than Budapest but it's much, much cleaner.
Vienna is a beautiful place. I have to go back. And I saw at least 10 H&Ms there..!!! “Oon ma juonut viinii Vienissa…” Who knows that song?? Here's a picture from Vienna. Some important building in there. Looks like a church to me.
Andrea and me went to the zoo last Saturday. They have the first baby rhino born in Europe and it was so cute! I wanted to take it home. It wasn’t that small anymore… a size of a lamb or something. I was more excited about the hippos though, as you can see. I saw giraffes and polar bears for the first time of my life. But we are sure that some of the animals were plastic, becuase they didnt move at all!
I have to go and carry on working now… We’re having a small party in our flat tonight and I have loads to do before that.Talk to you later!!
putzi
Aiti soitti ja kerto etta mun eno nukku pois viime torstaina. Kaikki ok, mutta aika paha mieli aidin puolesta. Ranskiksen kanssa juttu loppu aika seinaan talla viikolla… Pitka juttu. Selitan myohemmin. Voin ihan hyvin nyt, tilanteeseen nahden, mut olin aika rikki muutaman paivan.
Tuesday, 6 March 2007
Palinka
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pálinka is a traditional type of brandy that is produced in Hungary and Transylvania (region of Romania, where it is spelled Palinc_). The origin of the word is Slavic stemming from the word páli_ (in Slovak) which means to distill.
It is usually made from plums (traditionally called "szilva"), apples, pears (called "vilmoskörte pálinka"), apricots ("fütyül_s" barack) or cherries ("cseresznyepálinka") and is double distilled. The alcohol content is between 60 and 80%[citation needed]. A less strong version (around 40% alcohol) is called _uic_ in Romania. The most powerful kinds of pálinka are referred to as "kerítésszaggató" in Hungarian, which literally means "fence-tearer" and refers to a drunkard's loss of balance.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pálinka is a traditional type of brandy that is produced in Hungary and Transylvania (region of Romania, where it is spelled Palinc_). The origin of the word is Slavic stemming from the word páli_ (in Slovak) which means to distill.
It is usually made from plums (traditionally called "szilva"), apples, pears (called "vilmoskörte pálinka"), apricots ("fütyül_s" barack) or cherries ("cseresznyepálinka") and is double distilled. The alcohol content is between 60 and 80%[citation needed]. A less strong version (around 40% alcohol) is called _uic_ in Romania. The most powerful kinds of pálinka are referred to as "kerítésszaggató" in Hungarian, which literally means "fence-tearer" and refers to a drunkard's loss of balance.
I took my summer shoes out for the first time yesterday. They really enjoyed Budapest and begged me to go take them for a walk soon again.
I can wait for the summer! I’ve been in an excellent mood for the past few days because the weather has been wonderful, sun is shining and you survive outside without a jacket. On top of that my university work is going really well. Attila told me that Stefan, he is my master, has started to study English so that he can communicate easier with the exchange students. That’s so sweet! So life here is as beautiful as ever and I’m very, very happy (one French guy might have something to do with it too)
On Thursday we celebrated Bjorn's birthday with icecream. We went to his flat where he lives with some Hungarian man. The flat use to belong to his grandmother so we found some weird stuff from there... Really cool bags, glasses and clothes as you can see. After that we went dancing in Csango, the place I told you about earlier. Finally I engouraged myself and went dancing. I haven't had that much fun in ages! And it wasn't that difficult, except for Andrea and Fergus (you can see them 'dancing' on the video clip)
On Saturday me and Andrea went to this quite famous Hungarian restaurant called Menza. We sat there for hours and drank Martinis with olives. Very sex-and-the-city. Menza is really cheap and the food excellent. Once again I was amazed about the things you can find from this city. Budapest never stops surprising you.
On Saturday we went to little China with Fergus, James, Haley and my other half, Andrea. Little China, or Jozsefvarost Market like the local people calls it, is a market at the east side of Pest. The market is famous because most of the hawkers are Chinese with Romanian helpers. They are using the Trans-Siperian railway to transport huge variety of all kind of stuff, clothes, food (I’ve never seen that much fish in my life) and fabrics from China, South Eastern Asia and Eastern Europe. All the goods are sold at knock-down prices, but of course the Puma shoes there are not actually Puma shoes… Annuska, we have to go and visit the people there. You might learn something about train travelling in ;)
The feeling there was quite random, like I said it felt like being in China. Only thing was that most of the Asian people I’ve met during my short life has been very friendly and nice but there they were rude, cocky and sososo important. Yeah, I’d say it was full of Chinese Donald Trumps selling fakes.
My sex-and-the-city weekend didn’t end after the Martinis. After the market Attila took me to see a fashion show. A friend of his, Tuan, exhibited his clothes there. Tuan studies fashion design in our university but is having a year off because his business is going so well. He is spending this year just to build up his showroom and doing his designs.
Otherwise life here is pretty much same old, same old. I’m getting ready for our first big presentation, which is held in the end of March. We need to have three different designs for that and I have them all. Now I just have to finish the details and do the drawings.
I still don't know what's going on with the missing poits.. But Caroline, from the exchange office in Maidstone told me not to worry too much about it.
Oh, I almost forgot! We had our first Hungarian lesson on Friday. Oh my good is all I can say. First of all I think the teacher learnt more English than we learnt Hungarian. She didn’t speak that fluently and for specially English people it was hard to understand her. The lesson lasted only for an hour and during that we went through Hungarian alphabets (did you know that they have 14 vocals) and numbers. Crazy!
Viszontlatasra!
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