Limi

Friday. It was always something special with this day. I still have it. The Friday feeling. Once a week :-)
Yesterday we had some friends over for some serious grilling. Was a great evening with loads of food and wine and good company.
Today I had a haircut, and we went to an introduction afternoon at m's new school. Tonight it will be Pomod'oro.
The sommelier there is the best, always have something new for us. Every Friday. Always something nice and heavy.
Wheather? Do I need to say that it's 30 degrees and sunny??

Grilling...
         


Got some questions regarding the hot dog the other day, here he is; the hottest dog ever :-)

         

On Sunday we ate pancakes for breakfast (in bed as usual of course), then we grilled in the evening. Turkey. Nice and juicy.

Yesterday Iguana. They will hold their annual anniversary (=Street Party) on September 4. The 13^th in total. We only missed out on the two first ones…

This morning me and little m were looking in a calendar full of cute dogs. She asked if we couldn’t grill the January one. Looked good she said. Will be perfect as a “Hot Dog” Yummi…

Makes her dad real proud. Has good genes that girl, always into a good chunk of meat :-) I think it also tells something about the ability to think ahead, to see the possibilities, not only what there actually is to see… :-)

Hilda and Maja started school yesterday. 9^th and 7^th grade. Big grls :-)

makin' pancakes...
      

Future Hot Dog??
      

Now we are back to three persons again. Had Estonian guests for two days. Was nice. Just finished the cleaning job, so now “Hotel VP” is available for new guests. Is vacant until end of September, then we are waiting next load :-)  Not a bus-load, just a load.

Yesterday was holiday in this country. National day, with not as many zillion people on the streets as usual.  This due to the facts Hungary is turning more and more European, in this case equaling with BORING and cautious. Normally we have the big “Red Bull Air Race” with the race in the middle of the city over Danube, and under the bridges. One million screaming spectators on the river banks. This year it was stopped due to security issues. What IF a plane crashes into the spectators…???  According to me it would result in a handful casualties, and a LOT of publicity. Publicity is good :-)  To have fun you have to take some calculated risks. Those people will die anyway, sooner or later. Boring, boring and double boring.

Due to the lower number of celebration people on the streets, there were not even some riots. No burning cars, no nothing. What is this country turning into?

We want our air show and riots back next year, otherwise we might consider to move on to Ukraine, or some other place where they are not that in to regulations, and more into action.

Tonight we dine at good old Trattoria Pomodoro. Woun’t be boring at least…

A good laugh is never wrong (or boring)…  :-)

           

Yesterday we went for a trip to Southern Hungary, recreation in combination with some effort to enlarge the family. Stayed in Harkány, a small village in middle of nowhere. Nice little hotel. Little m enjoyed the pool. She looks like a raisin now. Maybe I put her in the oven for some hours to straighten out all the wrinkles. If it works well I will put big M there as well in a couple of years, and if this also turn out good I might jump in myself one day … :-)
This morning we headed for Villány, one of the better wine regions in this country. Even if the competition is pretty big.

The “Wunderlich” cellar, which was the aim of the visit, was closed, due to "technical reasons". If there is a sign on the door with this context, you can be pretty sure that tax authorities is around. That’s for sure.
Seen it before... :-)
So we went to the competition “Gere”, and found 12 babies. So now we have one dozen full of new family members. Expensive as hell, but family is family :-)

Just broke the news to M that now we need a babyroom (read; climatized storage). Will dig another hole in the savings. But again; what don't you do for the family...

Today we went to "da Pippo", the italian "at the corner" 

Our new babies;

         

Tuesday we went to Vienna for a small shopping tour. They have a huge Outlet in Parndorf, where we spent most of the day. In the evening went out to stroll in the city. Budapest and Vienna are more or less twin cities. Many of the big impressive buildings have the same architecture, and were build simultaneously under the Habsburg's, at the time when Hungary and Austria was one big empire.
Then we had a nice dinner. Little m prompt wanted "Wiener Schnitzel" Not a kiddoe one but a real one for grownups, XXL. I had to help out a little. Then we slept well in our very nice hotel. Next day we made "SCS" - Shopping Center Süd. A huuuuuge place. Took more or less the whole day. But we made it back to Budapest in time for a Mexican dinner at Iguana. Strawberry Margaritas included. Then we checked for falling stars from our roof. But nothing came down. After checking on internet I saw that we were one day early. It is tonight that earth will pass through a massive belt of remains of a once crashed meteor. But first we will try our luck at Trattoria Toscana, this warm and beautiful summer evening.

Om den legendariske fotbollsspelaren, förbundskaptenen, sportkommentatorn, tipsexperten och bridgevirtuosen Rudolf ”Putte” Kock finns en rad ankedoter. En, som dessutom är sann, lyder som följer.

”Putte" var kommentator i en TV-sänd match i Europacupen på 1960-talet, där en av kontrahenterna var det portugisiska laget Benfica. I laget ingick en mörkhyad afrikansk spelare vars namn Kock inte riktigt kunde uttala. Han valde därför att kalla spelaren rätt och slätt ”negern.” Eftersom denne deltog mycket aktivt i spelet blev det åtskilliga gånger Kock fick säga ”negern”. Till slut tröttnade kontrollrummet i Stockholm på detta och uppmanade ”Putte” Kock att sluta säga ”negern” och i stället kalla spelaren i fråga vid namn. Kock, som var en aning lomhörd och dessutom stördes av publikljudet, hade emellertid svårt att uppfatta vad man sade från kontrollrummet och frågade flera gånger vad man menade.

Den uppringande mannen från kontrollrummet röt därför i med hög röst: ”Säg inte NEGERN. Han heter Eusebio, och påpekade för Putte Kock att inte använda uttrycket neger, utan säga Eusebios namn. ”Då får ni bokstavera, så det blir rätt”, kontrade Putte Kock surt.

Det var tyst ett tag i rutan. Sedan hördes Putte Kock kallt konstatera; ”Man säger från Stockholm att negern heter Erik, Urban Sixten Erik Bertil Ivar Olof, men det tror jag inte ett ord på”.

Sometimes you get punished directly when you do or say something stupid. It happened to me yesterday. My steak was very well done, and dry as a sand storm in Sahara. I guess the chef at T&G read my blog yesterday. Always thought that there are no Italians able to understand English…
I hereby declare that my “pro greenhouse effect” campaign buried, even before have started properly. I just have to accept that there are other places with better weather than Budapest at the moment :-(
The good thing was that I never had to pay for the steak. But I rather pay for bloody meat, than have well done for free. That’s for sure.

Tonight we will go to Trattoria Pomodoro, and they will not screw up. So help me god…
Not that I would need any help, or that I believe in god, but anyway. “Bäst att gardera med kryss” as Putte Kock always said. This was a joke that only Swedes of my generation will understand. Maybe not a joke, but still pretty funny. Hahaha

As we have slow days at the moment, there is not much from real life to write about. That’s why my latest entries looks like they were made by a drunk sailor. But they are not, as I never drive nor write when under influence of alcohol or other drugs. I'm not a sailor neither! 

Just finished breakfast. Yummy as always. Later today I might go jogging, We’ll see about that.


Every year I make a photo of my famous cow hands, just to see how my spots develop. They are doing better and better year by year I must say :-)))

          

The downer with living on ”a roof” are the roof windows. On one hand, they give you a wonderful view, but they also get dirty 100 times quicker than normal ones. I have tried out many different techniques during the years. The quickest is to wait for some real thunderstorms. Then I just wipe them with dishwashing liquid and a swam. The rain will do the rest. This summer has been good in this point of view. Plenty of rain…
Seems that the north Europeans have done a better job on effecting their climate. They are breaking heat records on daily basis it seems. I’m thinking of starting a local movement to let people understand that we also have to let more fumes and exhausts out in the air, to keep the balance, and get our normally dry and warm summers back. The only problem there is to solve; how to keep this effect local.  Can’t let other parts of the world benefit on our efforts. Right??
As they say in Sweden; sköt dej själv o skit i andra” - freely translated; "mind your own business, and fuck the rest". I think it was the late Swedish prime minister Olof Palme, who came up with those very clever words...

Otherwise? Will be T&G tonight. They have a huge charcole grill, will consume loads of fossil fuel a night like this. Maybe I for a change will have my T-bone well done instead of rare…???


             

Today we took the last formal steps to register little m to”Britannica International School, - www.britannicaschool.hu 
All paper work is done, tuition fee paid. Not cheap I must say. Hope the girl can absorb everything they will teach her, so she can support her mother and father later on in life…
If she will be as bad as I was in school, there will be no doctor hats, but on the other hand, a doctor’s hat is no guarantee for success, depending on definition. Success according to me is to have opportunity and ability to live a happy and eventful life. Preferable also laidback… :-)

Called to the insurance company today, and asked about the progress in handling my claim for the lost car. What lost car? - were their answer. Somehow they lost all the communication we previous had back and forth, but they at least promised to look into the matter. Should this give me hope?? I hope so… :-)

Maybe my insurance company has an hidden agenda???

                            

Now we are back in hot Budapest again. No bigger trips are planned for the near future, except maybe for a trip to Vienna or so, but that’s only (almost) the neighbour city, so it doesn’t count I think. Meaning we are here all August, waiting for little m’s school to start 31/8. So if someone has plans for Budapest, we have the space and would love to have just YOU as our guest :-)

Work is slowly catching up again. But only slowly, so we will still have some more off duty days on our terrace, I hope. Tonight there will be some serious grilling at least :-)

Before leaving Tallinn yesterday we had an hour for a little city tour/photo excursion. As the streets were full of Finns, I pointed the camera a little higher...

  

  

  

  

Now it’s early Monday morning, and my two grls are soundly asleep.

Yesterdays wedding was a hit, from ceremony to food and party. It took place outside in a very beautiful castle park. Brave people those two, to plan an outside event in this otherwise rainy part of Europe. But weather played along. Sunny and warm. First a nice ceremony, then the wedding cake. Seems to be a Dutch tradition to start with the cake. But why not? Then mingling and photo shooting, followed by yummy food from the bufé. Dance and games, including kidnapping of the bride. Everything very well organized and led by a professional crew.

Thanks’ a lot for a perfect and rememberable afternoon/evening. :-))))

Erwin’s family, who we met for the first time this weekend, was a very funny, friendly and nice bunch of people, even if the language barrier caused some problems and much laughter. However I made one huge mistake, I said that Dutch language sounds very similar to German. This is a NO GO, I understood this two seconds after finishing the sentence, and seeing their face expressions.  Like spitting in your palm before shaking hands. You just don’t do it. And I will not do it again. I hereby express my apologize to the whole Dutch nation.  I always thought that Holland had a very liberal and tolerant population, but there are obviously some fields for improvement. WWII must have hit this country hard… Football and weather are more non-controversial topics. Flowers and cheese are other popular subjects.

It was very educational, will bear it in mind for the next wedding with Dutchmen involved. This will take place next year according to latest information.


Heading wedding



flower girls



After the "I do's"



Waiting for the cake



Dancin...

Saturday, and we had a long slow morning, enjoyed the hotel breakfast in the cobble stone yard. Very medieval!!!

Yesterday we met a the family of the tomorrows groom. about 50 of them. Big nice family :-), then went out to eat with some of M’s friends. Was also very nice. Today’s plan is to check the Formula one qualifying on Hungaro Ring (on TV that is…), then little m will arrive, and from there we will see what happens. Only sure thing is the steak later on tonight!


Tallinn's skyline


Estonian dope


Dinner at Controvento

4 blondes in a BMW von Clipfish

Pancake day. Mama Mia.
Our new neighbours were here for dinner. Supposed to grill, but it was to rainy and cold, so we settled for the kitchen, Nice couple, Italian/British. We have a very international bunch of neighbours in general I must say. Tomorrow morning I will drive M and m to the airport. They are heading Talllinn. I will hava a haircut, and then I pack my mountain stuff, and head for sis and Austria. Planning two days of heavy mountain hiking!!! Back to BP Thursday, then I also will be off o Tallinn. M&E will then unite under the name Wassenaar on Sunday. Meaning; WEDDING... :-)))))))))))




Twins??

Not easy to get someone to fix our Freezer, middle of the summer. Seems that most people are at Lake Balaton or in Croatia at this time of year. Big M wasn’t very happy to eat melted ice cream, so I decided to find some hint on internet what to do. At least to be able to localize the problem, After some surfing I stumbled on a sight called “justanswer.com” there you can find lawyers, doctors, car mechanics, AND home appliance experts. All ordinary people, good at their jobs, earning some extra money on their spare time. I had to decide how much this potential help would be worth for me. Given three alternatives, I choose the cheapest, 11,00 Euro. Money was held indeposit by the justanswer.com, until I got help, or they would refund the amount, at least so it was explained. Gave my credit card details, and thought more or less that it was it.Within 10 minutes I was chatting with a British guy, among other, expert on GE Freezer. Guess if I was surprised…He gently helped me through all steps to localize the problem, he gave very precise instructions, and after the disassembly of half freezer, and some fixing and trixing. He claimed it would from now keep cool again. At the time it had only minus 4 degrees. Next morning it was back to normal minus 18, and have stayed steady on this temperature since. Then I got an e-mail with the question if I was satisfied, and was prepared to release the money for the guy. Guess if I was... :-)

Excellent service, and much cheaper than bringing a nobody here who would tell me to get a new compressor, or maybe a new freezer, that he could provide for a very good price. Just for me of course… :-)

justanswer.com was the address. Strongly recommended by me from now on. 

We have visitors from Estonia this week, Bro and sis in law. Well, they actually left again. With our car… Making an excursion for three days to Slovenia and Austria. Back at our place tomorrow again.. Nice to have them here :-)

Yesterday we signed little m into  school. Now it's decided. Will be "Brittanica" www.britannicaschool.hu
First school day Aug 30th...

Next week M & m will go to Estonia, and leave me here all alone. Maybe I go to Austria, and do some serious mountain hiking, let’s see if sis is available, and weather good on those peaks.

Yesterday Dionysos and today GOA

                                                                       Dionysos;

m's coming teacher "Mrs Walters" 

Grilling on Monday


I was outnumbered by Estonians. Some more Estonian than other... :-))

I think it is the thermostat in the deep fridge which is broken. The temperature goes up and down  uncontrolled. Better get someone to have a look at it tomorrow.

Yesterday we had an interesting person at our neighbour table at Pomodoro;  sir Anthony Hopkins. He is in Budapest to make a movie. The title of the film will be “The Rite, and is about exorcism and other nice things in the Vatican. However cheaper to produce the film here…

This morning I ran 14,5 km. We then had pancakes in bed, watching “Happy Go Lucky”. Seen it before, but it is a really good movie. I recommend you all to see it!!!




On request from Tuut, here some interior pictures from the old house in Perinaldo;

Yesterday evening we were back from our little road trip. Left BUD last Thursday. First stop in Parma, where we this year found a new hotel. Nicer than our usual… Had a nice steak at our regular restaurant. I know, it can seem a little boring. Staying at the same hotel, ahhh, it was NOT the same hotel this time, having the same food at the same restaurant as every year, but that’s how we like it. Our choice, right? :-)

Next day a small jump to a very small and ooooold village on the border between Italy and France. We had an invitation from the owner of our favourite restaurant in Budapest. The house was empty. Only us there. A typical by God forgotten place. He even had forgot to make proper streets. Everything so narrow so you could not meet anyone on the street without a frontal collision. And this by FOOT. Cars did definitely not fit. Had to leave our little Beemer outside, and drag the luggage uphill. In the heat, sweating like a pig running a marathon…

Anyway, the place was like from a postcard, looked exactly as it did when most of the houses were built, in the 14th and 15th century. Americans can go home and cry... we slept well behind walls more than one meter thick,  even managed to get a steak, not the best in the world, but what can you expect in a place like that. Thick slices can not even be transported through the streets into the restaurants...

Next day we drove the small costal road to Cannes, slow but beautiful. Coming four days we spent on the beach, taking sun well protected under shirt and umbrella. Still managed to get some colour. Not much, but still…  :-)

Had our breakfast on the beach as well (as usual). Baguette and café au lait. Bought from the usual place. Some shopping early evening hours, the dinner at Grand Café. Our tenth year in row with the same ritual.  Celebrating our ninth anniversary. That was one of the new things we did. Last year it was the eighth, and year before the seventh, and so on. So we still have some changes  :-)

On the way back, a quick stop for pasta and ice cream at Lake Garda, then night stop at Wörthersee in Austria. Same hotel? Same restaurant and food as usual?? Of course :-? :-) 

Hot as hell when we arrived home. 36C outside and 37 inside. Took the a/c some ours to fix.

Seems that our deep fridge also got some kind of heat shock in our absence. Only minus 8 inside, and the total stock of M’s ice cream kaputt. That’s a downer… :-(

Yesterday evening T&G, Today Pommis… hahaha




Main street. Side streets looked like inlets on postboxes, only vertical...  Honestly. This was the widest street there was, and there were plenty of them. - Streets...

Intake of morning calories...



9th anneversary



Evening calories



sleeping some calories off



loads of calories at Lago di Garda



Wörthersee

Just came back from my trip to Slovenia. Lately I mostly made one day visits,  leaving home early in the morning, and being home late evening. This time I was accompanied by a colleague. Then I also have to be a little social :-), so we made a three day trip, with many company visits, but also time for some fun in the evenings, meaning eating drinking and laughing. One evening we had a pretty wet night with one of our suppliers. It’s a family run company, Mama, papa and three sons all of them more or less crazy. Some more than less.... Working hard day time, enjoying life rest of the time. This can be done in different ways. Mama’s hobby is hunting. Her latest victim was a 640 kg bear. Shot in the middle of the eyes. Those big bears they only have in Kamchatka, so the event took place there. She had nice hunting stories… Did I mention drinking??

We met them next day as well. One of the sons had after the party, when driving home, got caught in a speed trap. 87 km/h. The policeman had asked him the reason for being that fast in a 50 zone. He answered; “it’s because I’m under influence of alcohol”. The worst thing is that I believe him…

As this happening in Slovenia, and not Sweden or any other place, the policeman asked him to drive straight home, and not touch the car until he was sober again.

The reason for this very unusual treatment, could be that the guy who got caught is married to a police woman, and is a buddy of all her colleagues…

But that is how life is. In Slovenia, and other suspicious  places. I don’ t know if to laugh or cry. But I decide for the laughter. Hahahahahahaha :-)

Now we will pack our vacation stuff, then run of to Trattoria Pomodoro, before leaving this country for France, and Cannes. Oysters, rosé, and a good book on the beach. On the way we will stop in Parma as usual, to enjoy some good food... :-)