Magyar News, 1997. szeptember-1998. augusztus (8. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1997-09-01 / 1. szám
around the block will do it. Little did I know that I’m stuck with the tum I took and had to go across the Danube bridge to the Buda side, then travel up to the next bridge to come back. Now from a very different street I managed to get onto the same bridge again, go to the next one. come back and pray not to see the bridge again. Mass transportation, I must say, is good. Paying the fare is like boy scout’s honor. You purchase the ticket (somewhere), get on the trolley, bus or metro, there you find a little red box, stick in the ticket and you are all set. There is no Big Brother watching you. There are single trip, day tickets, also weekly, monthly and so on. They say that a supervisor checks the ticket now and then and if you don’t have it you are fined. Big time. We never ran into one. A few times we were scared out of our shoes because I thought that my son has extra tickets and he thought that I do. So, we had a few free rides. Thanks BKV (Budapest Közlekedési Vallalat). At the square, where the famous Gerbeaux Cukrazda is, publishing companies set up booths for the Book Festival. To my surprise the first person I bumped into was Sándor Puski from New York, he w as supervising the activity at his booth, the Puski-Corvin from East 83rd Street. Small world Some streets in the down-town area of Budapest are converted into so called walking streets. Closed to traffic and lined with shops, draws people to it. Naturally all kinds of people. Though 1 must say that Justin and I did not call attention to those who were trying to pull some scam with the tourists. We were “Hungarians” as we concluded and we were spared. Probably because we didn't have much time to hang around. Still a few times we were bugged by some to take their card or flyer that was giving information on topless (or bottomless) bars, places, or sex shops, escort services and the likes. I had to stay in an area in the city with my car for a few minutes. 1 noticed a very convenient spot where I could pull in. By the time I settled next to the sidewalk I had the bad feeling that I am in the wrong place, standing illegally. On the other side of the street was the side entrance to a firehouse. This made it clear why no other car parked on that stretch of the street. Taking the risk to be an ignorant foreigner, I stayed. Relaxed a bit, I looked around and came to the conclusion that there is something else besides the firehouse to be aware of. I was parked next to a gay bar. The patrons, crowded in the doorway with their drinks, were inviting me into the bar. First I waived back, before I knew what was going on, probably opening Pandora’s Box, then they started throwing kisses. Fortunately my son got back to the car and was amazed to notice the situation. He sat in the car, laughing, and said:”Dad, they find you very attractive.” Food has always been good in Hungary and it still is. It was the Menu Card that I had a problem w ith. In some places everything w as a la cart. So if you ordered a breaded veal cutlet you knew how much it is going to cost, Well that is exactly w hat you w ill know. If you wanted potato or bread with it you might be asked to pay extra. It is much easier if you do the asking and find out w hat else is in the price. If you are told that nothing else is included then you make a decision of what you want to do. In all fairness I never came across a problem like this. 1 found out from guardian angels that there are other things to be concerned about. After a very good Hungarian meal on the Castle Hill, the waiter brought out the bill. Still confused with the big nominations of the Forint, I asked him to help me with the tip. He sort of mumbled and made a courties gesture that I interpreted as it is up to me. Well the interpretation was wrong. On the bottom of the bill, we would think is the tax. with a few characters (who know what they stood for!?) was an amount. It was added onto the bill. This is when the guardian angel stepped in. I was told that the mentioned line was actually the tip. Beware of the Trojans! Some years ago one of our scholarship recipient from Hungary wav Balazs D. Toth. It so happened that during his stay at University of Bridgeport we tried to introduce him to some Americana. One of the choices was Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts. It has some old buildings, shops from blacksmith, physicians, lawyers office and agricultural equipment. Justin was about four years old, and we made this visit a family outing. During the whole time we spent at the village, Justin would not let go of Balazs ’ hand. He wanted to make sure that this man from an other country will not get lost. Through the rest of the time Justin considered Balazs his friend, his buddy. He hasn’t forgotten him even as many years passed. Now the picture changed. During our visit to Hungary we spent an evening with the Toth family. We met Kati, the wife, the mother-in-law and his two darling boys, Balazs Jr., and Ferike who is seven vears old now. As it could be expected Ferike took after his father, who is a computer programmer, and has his own setup. He got hold of Justin, held him by the hand, took him into his room. Justin had to sit down at the computer and Ferike told him what to do, helping out here and there, standing behind him and encouraging him. 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