New Name, New Motivation

I am disappointed that I have not been more active about blogging since moving to Budapest. There are so many adventures and perspectives I want to share, but I seem to never set aside the time to write it all down and sort through the 'piles' of pictures. I came to realize that I am most productive and at ease when my apartment is clean and everything seems to be in its place. So I thought if I cleaned up my blog, made some changes, then maybe I would become more productive in writing. Here's hoping.

So the first change is the name. As Bill and I were hiking up Masada in Israel we began brainstorming new names for my blog. I wanted something that had a slant towards travel but also encompassed my personal observations while living abroad, and so came the name Passport Perspectives. 

Walking Speed

I am very observant when it comes to how fast or slow people walk. I attribute this to the fact that in the past 10 years I have only had access to a car for just under two years, so I am constantly walking, and walking fast.  I get frustrated quickly if I am behind someone who is dragging their feet, and don't get me started about when there are two people in front of me walking slow.  My mom used to joke that I would never be able to find a guy who could walk at the pace I do and actually hold a conversation. Luckily I found Bill and he can keep up just fine and is never at a loss for words.

Soon after moving to Budapest I noticed that people here walk really fast. I would say it is one of my favorite things about Budapest, but then that would make light of the truly spectacular things about the city that just about everyone can appreciate. If I am not passing nearly every pedestrian on the sidewalk then I know a city has a culture of fast walkers. In Budapest I will walk at my pace, and others will walk at their pace, and the distance between us will remain almost the same with every step. I know some of you are thinking that maybe I have just slowed down since living in Europe. I am getting older not younger after all, but I can assure you that I still walk very fast, maybe even faster than ever. There is something comforting about walking the pace that I want to without constantly having to slow down or be made to look like a crazy person. Complete strangers on the streets of New York City, Marrakech, San Diego, London and Chicago have called me out for walking fast, and I guess I deserved it as I was weaving through people looking like I was going to be late for a Backstreet Boys concert (in that case I would probably be running though). Speaking of running, I can't help but smile when I see the people of  Budapest every morning and evening running to catch the 4/6 tram which honestly comes every 2-3 minutes. There is a sense of joy knowing that I can run for that tram too and no one will be judging me, because you just never know when those two extra minutes will come in handy.

Art Nouveau in Riga

Living in Europe has made me an adoring fan of art nouveau architecture. An architectural style that blossomed in Europe during the late 19th century and early 20th century, with an emphasis on natural forms, structures and curved lines. Many different styles can be found in the art nouveau genre, including unique motifs that are reflective of the culture and country in which the building stands. Most people probably think of Paris, London or Barcelona when art nouveau is mentioned, but really it can be found in all parts of Europe, with Riga in my opinion being the most impressive. Between 1890-1910, over 40% of the buildings in Riga were built in the art nouveau style. While walking the streets of Riga my eyes were wide as I stared in amazement at the countless buildings with such beautiful, unusual and detailed adornments. Riga is easily one of the most beautiful cities I have ever been to.

After my trip to Riga I was quite excited about art nouveau and had an opportunity to tag along on a Budapest art nouveau tour that was planned for students in the study abroad program I work for. It was interesting seeing the similar and differing elements between Riga and Budapest, as well as other cities I've visited that have noticeable art nouveau architecture such as London, Paris, Barcelona, Vienna, Prague and Milan. Look out for a post about Budapest art nouveau in the next week or so.

Weather Bragging Rights

View from my apartment on January 29 — first snow of the winter

Budapest got their first day of snow last week. Last year the first snow was the weekend November turned to December. So ever since December I kept waiting in anticipation for the cold and snow to come, and to be completely honest, it has barely arrived. I have felt light and energized this winter. No boots covered in snow to take on and off, no feeling cold and unprepared for what awaits me outside, and no transportation delays that make you wish you never left your bed in the first place. I can't help but feel lucky that while I have been receiving countless emails and photos from friends and family in Chicago about sub-zero degree temperatures— in Fahrenheit of course, I have been enjoying above-zero temperatures—in Celsius, for the past two months in Budapest.

Bill as a Travel Writer

Bill has recently decided to devote some of his free time to writing about places we've traveled to over the past couple of years. I really enjoy seeing how he captures the beauty and emotion of a place in writing. The first article he worked on, about our visit to Nemrut Dagi in Turkey, he decided to submit to a writing contest hosted by GoAbroad.com. Much to our surprise he actually received honorable mention and had his article published on their website! Since then he has had two more articles published on a different travel website, We Said Go Travel, about Corcovado National Park in Costa Rica and the city of Sarajevo in Bosnia & Herzegovina. And on a funny note, the article Bill wrote about Sarajevo was actually picked up by the Sarajevo Times and published in their online newspaper where they cited Bill as a US Historian (of course with Bill being completely unaware of all this).

I am so incredibly proud of Bill's ability to seamlessly blend history, intrigue and beauty and hope he continues to write as we continue to travel.

Boldog Karacsonyt: Christmas in Hungary

The Hungarian city of Kecskemet all dressed up for Christmas

Bill and I celebrated our second Christmas in Budapest this year. Throughout the month of December we took part in joyous Christmas festivities like the Christmas markets, ice skating, baking (really, gluten-free cookies can be good), overindulging on chocolate for St. Nick's day, Christmas parties, and of course lots of Christmas movies. The fun thing about celebrating Christmas in another country is that you can fuse your own Christmas traditions with those in the country you are living in. Since we celebrated Christmas in Hungary the year before we were even more prepared for this year!

Christmas Tree: In Hungary most families don't put up their Christmas tree until just a few days before Christmas, or sometimes even on the morning of Christmas eve. They typically take the tree down on January 6th (or around that date).

Christmas Eve: Unlike most Christian countries where December 25th is the big day of celebration, Hungary places greatest importance on Christmas eve. The evening of the 24th is usually spent with immediate family and is when traditional foods are cooked and eaten and when gifts are opened.

Christmas Day: This is a day for Hungarians to visit with extended family and friends. Some families will travel to where their grandparents live and visit aunts and uncles, while others might have a party at their house where they invite many of their family and  friends.

Santa Clause: Santa does not come to Hungarian homes on Christmas, instead a Santa-like figure (Szent Mikulas) comes on St. Nick's day (December 6) and fills children's shoes with chocolates and toys. On Christmas eve the tradition is that Jezuska (the Christ-child) comes into Hungarian homes and leaves presents for children under the tree. Children must leave the room with the Christmas tree while the gifts are brought in, and then they are invited back in after Jezuska visits.

Christmas Food: Two traditional foods that are almost always found on Christmas eve in Hungary are halaszle (fish soup) and beigli (pastry with poppy seed or walnuts). It is somewhat ironic that halaszle is THE Christmas food in Hungary since most Hungarians I know don't like it, and fish is not a big part of the diet in Hungary

Our Christmas in Hungary: We couldn't help but ignore the tradition of putting up a tree just a few days before Christmas. Like most Americans we put ours up a few days after Thanksgiving so we could enjoy it for the whole month of December. Since no one puts their tree up this early though we had to settle for a fake tree and decided to buy fresh branches of pine closer to Christmas day to get the wonderful Christmas tree smell. We embraced St. Mikulas Day and filled each other's shoes with chocolates and fruit, and at AIT (the study abroad program I work with) we dressed up one of my colleagues as Santa and gave out chocolate to the students. A week before Christmas Bill attended a baking class at his school and made beigli, the traditional Hungarian dessert, and on the morning of December 23rd, with the rest of Budapest, we went to the market to pick up our fish (and fish heads!) for the halaszle. On Christmas Eve we ate as the Hungarians did, with halaszle and beigli, but saved the tradition of presents for Christmas morning. We went to midnight mass at a beautiful baroque church and then waited for Santa to come, as we were sure he would not forget about us despite being all the way in Hungary. Christmas day we celebrated as if we were in the U.S., but unfortunately we didn't get to share it with our family. We opened presents in the morning and surprised each other with some really wonderful gifts. We made phone calls to family in the afternoon and enjoyed hot chocolate and Christmas specials by the tree. In the evening we made a lovely dinner with goose legs being the main attraction. It was nice having a relaxing Christmas at 'home' because the very next day we set out for a two week trip to Barcelona and Morocco!

Our little tree decorated with ornaments from all over Europe

My colleagues and I on St. Mikulas Day

In line at the market on December 23rd ready to get our fish for the halaszle

Bill with a catfish head to be used to make our fish stock

Fish stock for halaszle ready to be made (includes catfish and carp head)

The finished product!

Bill opening one of his new 'toys'

Me with part of my beautiful Zsolnay tea set from Bill (best present ever!!!)

Our Christmas dinner (goose leg, mashed potatoes and stuffing)

Vorosmarty Christmas Market in Budapest

Quick Trip to Milan

I could make a long list of things that I like more about Europe than the United United States, and towards the top of that list would be budget airlines.  One of my favorite budget airlines, Wizz Air, is based in Budapest and has excellent fares and actually quite convenient travel times.  Two weekends ago we managed to take a trip to Milan for 36 hours and the cost of two round-trip tickets was a whopping $90. It's amazing how much you can see and do when you arrive before eight in the morning and depart at ten in the evening the following day.

We were in Milan for the 'oh bej oh bej' festival, which originally was celebrated to honor the patron saint of the city, Saint Ambrogio. Today it is just a big street festival with a bunch of vendors selling overpriced food, items mostly made in China, and helium balloons.  "Oh bej oh bej" actually translates to "oh so nice, oh so nice;" so the jury is still out on whether this name is actually appropriate for the present day festival.

Here are some of the highlights of the visit:

Lake Como

It is about a 45 minute train ride from Milan to get to the town of Como which is where the lake begins. We got to enjoy the scenery of rolling hills dotted with fancy villas as we embarked on a brisk morning walk. 

Spine of the Duomo

I have been in more churches than I can count, but I have never gotten to walk the uppermost terraces where you stand amongst the towering spires that crown the church. It was incredible seeing the level of detail that was tucked away in places that would never be seen by anyone from below. 

Statue of St. Bartholomew in the Duomo

Via

The statue of the martyr St. Bartholomew is extremely powerful and quite gruesome as you see him devoid of skin and actually holding his own skin as if it were almost a cape. This was probably more of a highlight for Bill than for myself, but the real highlight for me was seeing Bill"s face when he finally saw this statue. A little over a year ago we were in the Cathedral of Seville and we spent 45 minutes searching every nook and cranny of the church because Bill was convinced this statue was there. Sure enough when we left Seville Bill looked online and realized it was in Milan, and had been looking forward to a trip to Milan ever since.

First opera of the season streamed live in the Galleria mall

When we stepped into the Galleria with its glass vaulted arcades and expensive shops, we noticed crowds of people with their eyes fixated towards a large 'jumbo-tron' which happened to be playing Verdi's Rigoletto, the opening performance of opera season. They take opera quite seriously here, and let me quickly illustrate this for you. At the end of the performance two well dressed 'opera experts' appear on the television and give a recap of the night's performance, including replays of particular scenes and interviews from exiting guests of the show. It was at this point in the evening, when I saw women in gorgeous black leather stiletto boots, tiny dogs in sweaters, and Gucci, Prada, and Verdi as the backdrop, that I knew all the stereotypes of Milan were true :)

Monumental Cemetery

Some of the best places to see beautiful art and the changing trends in art are in cemeteries.  The Monumental Cemetery in Milan was one of the most impressive cemeteries I have ever seen. The size, intricacies and unique nature of many of the tombs was incredible. The most surprising part was that none of the tombs belonged to famous Italians, which I think is a reflection of the wealth that Milan possesses. 

Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper

Via

Ever since taking intro to art history as an undergraduate, I have had a long list of paintings that I have been dying to see in person.  I am a bit of an Italian renaissance nut, and so you say da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, Botticelli, or Giotto, and I say show me? I normally have a pretty good handle on where the works of art I want to see are located, but for some reason I had completely forgot that the Last Supper was in Milan. Bill reminded me of this three days before we were going to leave and suggested we get tickets ahead of time. They were all sold out, every last one of them, even tour companies that buy up the tickets and sell them in packages for 10 times the actual price. I was quite determined though, and in the 36 hours we were in Milan we went to the ticket office for the Last Supper four different times. Luckily our perseverance paid off and we got two tickets (and it did not cost us an arm an a leg). Seeing the Last Supper was spectacular.  It is hard to put into words what makes a masterpiece a masterpiece, but when you're standing in front of one, you can feel exactly why it is a masterpiece. It sucks you in and you literally don't want to take your eyes off of it. There is something special about seeing a painting that can bring you to tears, and that is something that sticks with you forever.