Veszter Gábor: Villas in Budapest. From the compromise of 1867 to the beginning of World War II - Our Budapest (Budapest, 1997)
lamp hanging on the ceiling would impede on its airy, puffy constitution. All this is nevertheless counterbalanced by the priceless advantage that lack of space is preventing both father and Alfred from lighting those long, disgusting Virginia cigars. There then follows a teeny-weeny little nap in the shade of our two carnations; any slumber of more important size would be beyond the dimensions of the terrace. We usually have somebody calling in the afternoon; aunt Lori is the only one never to have come to see us, as her expansive person would hardly pass our narrow little doors. Towards evening, when the heat has somewhat abated, we move up to the corner turret offering an amazing view from its height. The panorama from the northeast belvedere is even more splendid; I can get up there quite easily, but when papa attempted the escalation two days ago, he got stuck in the narrow staircase. He was only discovered three hours later in a state of very near suffocation. (I must add that he was careless enough to have put on a felt jacket instead of the finer, lustrine one he usually wears.) This little adventure has had a rather negative influence on father’s spirits, and I should not think he will ever attempt to climb up to the belvedere again. Concerning your visit, my dear Pepi, / can hardly wait for you to arrive, and I have already fitted up a little room for you on the upper floor - that is stripped it of its furniture for you to be able to turn around in it. I am sure you will enjoy your stay here. But I must now end my chit-chat, lest my letter shall grow large enough for its corners to stick out of the windows, which would be quite a sight from the Avenue. Good bye then, for now, my dear Pepi; come as soon as you can, I am longing for your embrace. Your tme friend, Antonia. ” So much for the letter. Additional comment is hardly needed, for I do not think it possible to give a better idea of the dolls’ summer residencies by the Avenue. It thus appears that in 1876, Hevesi still considered the villas on Andrássy út to be only summer residences, deeming both rooms and garden too small. We can state for comparison that while the larger rooms in the Weninger Villa had about thirty-five square metres and 19
