From Budapest to Vienna

As much as I loved Budapest, it was time to go to Vienna. I bought a first-class ticket at the MAV station for the equivalent of 29 euros. The train ride was quiet and tranquil, stopping several times in Hungary and then across the Austrian border.

I think the train stations in Vienna have changed.  Wien Hauptbanhof appears to be closed, or at least this train passes through without stopping. Your two main options from the foreign train are Wien Meidling or Wien Westbahnhof. I chose Wien West, but either one connects to the metro station, where you can easily get just about anywhere,

The Westbahnhof is also a giant shopping mall, like many train stations, where you can buy clothing, groceries, and electronics.

Szeged: on my list for a return trip

I had the great opportunity to spend a lovely evening strolling in Szeged, the 4th largest city in Hungary. It's very close to the Romanian border, and I wasn't familiar with it. But now that I've seen it, I want to go back and spend more time there.

Szeged is a medium-sized city with a good tram system, lots of open spaces in the town center for people to walk in and socialize together, and an outdoor theatre for concerts during the summer. Szeged also has a large research university, where many courses are taught in English.

And... they have some very delicious ice cream, which in Hungary gets elevated to an art form.

Crossing the Tisza on a very small ferry

The Tisza river is one of the two largest rivers in Hungary. It flows into the Danube farther south, in Serbia. To get across the Tisza river near Hódmezovásarhely, you can go the "long way" by road and bridge, or you can take the ferry.

We were on our way to see the "Arrival of the Hungarians" (also known as the Feszty Panorama or Feszty-körkép) at the Ópusztaszer National Heritage Park, and we took the ferry.

How often does the ferry run? As soon as it has enough cars. Here you can see the empty ferry, waiting for passengers to arrive.

After about 20 minutes, enough cars had arrived and we had a full boat load to cross the not-very-wide river.

 

The ferry trip only took a couple of minutes, and soon we were bumping along on a single-lane road on our way to see the national park.

Meet the master: traditional Hungarian pottery

Ambrus Sándor learned the art of making traditional Hungarian folk pottery from his elders. Today he continues to make beautiful pottery in his studio in Hódmezovásarhely, in the south of Hungary.

At one time there were dozens of potters in this area. Today, there are only three left. No young people have yet become apprentices to carry on the patterns and traditions that were passed forward from one generation to the next for hundreds of years.

So if you want to support this art, now's the time.

Many of the pieces in this studio had functional purposes (serving, cooking, and drinking). A few of them have whimsical stories behind them. There's the multi-spigoted wine carafe, of which only one of the many spouts actually pours wine -- the game is to figure out which one. And there are the porcelain green holy books, which enabled church goers to discreetly sneak a few sips of pálinka while still looking pious.

Take a look at his website and see for yourself. I feel lucky to have met him and seen his work.

Where to do laundry in Budapest

If you happen to be in Budapest and you don't have laundry facilities in your building, I found a great little spot in the city center that's open till midnight.

The Önkiszolgáló Mosoda at Dohány utca 37 is a great little place to get your laundry done without a lot of hassle. The proprietor, Andrew, handles the laundry washing and includes soap in the fee. He sets the temperature and the time for you, and puts the clothing into the dryer.

The price for one load of wash and dry was about 1600 forints.

There's an internet café in the front of the laundromat, or you can wander the shops nearby on Dohány. If you like, relax with a drink at the Alcatraz Garden pub next door, where they'll pour you a generous glass and you can relax and watch the people go by.

Chill out for an hour...

For your listening pleasure, with no voiceovers. Just the facts.

Expand Your Musical Horizons - 87 by Djcary on Mixcloud

One of my favorite Etta James tracks

In honor of Etta James, who passed away this week. It's hard to choose just one track -- she had so many genre-defining R&B blockbusters. But this one from 1955, which created some controversy (and got changed later to "Dance with Me Henry"), is definitely one of my favorites.

Ultimae's Ambrosia -- another psybient gem

For those of you who love the music from Ultimae Records in France -- especially if you were into the Fahrenheit series -- you'll love this new compilation they released in November. Called "Ambrosia," you can buy it directly from Bandcamp (preview it here). If the currency exchange rate doesn't work out for you in euros, Amazon and iTunes carry it as well.

Enjoy.

Stating the obvious about today's economy

I realize that many of us know this already, and many of you might have already seen this viral video... but... it's worth repeating again. This is Robert Reich's two-minute rundown of why many people in the USA are scrambling just to stay in the same place.

Manor Coffee Shop, San Francisco

I'm very late in posting this video footage that I took in December. I was invited to a friend's birthday party, and he hosted it in a really cool, vintage coffee shop in the West Portal district of San Francisco called Manor Coffee Shop.

It was pure kitsch. I loved the space and the theme decorations (it was during the holiday season, in this case -- which explains the Santa stuff). Apparently they have several different themes throughout the year. In addition, they made custom french fries with an assortment of unique flavors and had pretty good omelettes and other basic "American style" breakfast food.

I'll put some photos here, too, because the video compression came out weird.

If you're in San Francisco, I highly recommend that you visit Manor Coffee Shop. Oh, BTW, they're closed on Sundays.

someone else's podcast

I felt like embedding a podcast here...not mine, surprisingly (though I just uploaded my latest chill episode-- #72--  here if you want to hear it).

This is Secret Archives of the Vatican episode 43: No More War.
Have a listen.

No More War - Secret Archives Of The Vatican Podcast 43 by Secret Archives Of The Vatican on Mixcloud

great little short film with a message

A friend from Germany alerted me to this short film. The German version has very clear HD quality -- and you can understand the story line even if you don't speak German. But here's another version with English subtitles.

I think the message applies to many cultures that manifest intolerance or ignore its consequences. Watch it through till the end!

last day, for awhile

I spent my last couple of days in Paris cramming in as much as I could... I met another musician near Nation and interviewed him for my podcast, I ran around buying last-minute things and snapping photos, and I had to clean the apartment and do the laundry before I left.

I met Pascale for dinner and we ended up around Canal St. Martin, first having coffee at l'Atmosphere, then dinner at a place that we didn't know...it had nouvelle cuisine, but with a surprisingly bland taste.

Here are a few parting snapshots from this séjour:

day-to-day stuff

Here are a few things that I can buy in a supermarket in Paris very cheaply that are done so much better than at home: packaged soup that's actually quite good, milk (which can often sit on the shelf for months before you open it), ham, mustard. I'll miss these when I go home.

Historic Paris metro video (1950s)

Don't blame me for the cheesy music!



And here is a video I took this week at the Bastille metro station.

A day of art

Yesterday I met Pearl, Patsy, and Carol at the Pompidou Centre and we saw the Nancy Spero exhibit, then hopped on the metro to see the André Kertész exhibit at Jeu de Paum. Following that, we had tea with some of their friends (artists who live in Paris) at one of their ateliers, which was a very cool, funky, spacious spot-- a former storefront --tucked into the middle of an urban neighborhood. It was the perfect thing to do on a cold and rainy day.

13eme

Today I went to the 13eme with Pascale to satisfy my craving for Vietnamese food. We went to Lao Lane Xang on rue Ivry. It really hit the spot. I took some photos of the soup, the green papaya salad, and the rice pancakes.

Then we went on to Tang Freres to look at the food. Of course a lot of what's for sale at Tang Freres, I can probably get in San Francisco, but I like looking at it in this environment, anyway. And of course I snapped a few pictures.

Then we went on to the Institut du Monde Arab, and then back to the Gibert Jeune bookstore. It was raining, and we had wet umbrellas, so maybe a bookstore wasn't the smartest idea, but...

Then on to the Bastille, where we had salads and drinks at Cafe des Anges. Now it's almost 2:30 a.m., and the street is filled with the sound of shouting, drunken young males -- the same thing I seem to hear on Saturday night in any European city, for some reason. This will be my last Saturday night here for awhile...

random stuff

Today I walked around in the 3eme again...mostly to buy this amazing ras al hanout blend at a spice shop that requires you to ring a bell to get in (Le Goumyande, I think it's called).

Then I walked around, ate some Lebanese food at the Marché des Enfants Rouges, and in general spent another leisurely day as if leisurely days were normal. Ran some errands in the evening, bought some INSANELY GREAT cheese that was....I don't know what it was, but maybe it's good that I can't get it all the time.

Then I decided to go to the Apple Store near l'Opera before it closed tonight. I wonder what it's like during the day? iPads everywhere, and could just walk right up and try them out...and look at all the stuff that people downloaded to them during the day, I guess. Or is that dancing wedding video of the American couple always on the iPad display units?

Then, finally, I looked at the windows of the Galleries Lafayette. The Christmas stuff is already out....but the displays are ... well, they have Barbie dolls and stuffed animals and puppets...I'm not sure what they're selling, but it's amusing.

art, lest I forget

Today I went to the Basquiat exhibit at the Musée d'Art Moderne. I really loved it and it made me want to go home and dig into my own creative projects again. And that's about the best thing that could happen to me... it was like turning on a light switch.

When I left the museum, I was heading for the metro when I turned my head and caught a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower between a couple of buildings. It took me by surprise, and I'm not an Eiffel Tower kind of visitor here, but I had to take a snapshot. Like the Golden Gate Bridge in SF, a lot of people pay a lot of money to come here and see this structure, and I almost walked right past it, just like I drive over the GG Bridge without a second thought.

I also took this snapshot of a random building that looks like it was once a firehouse, but possibly isn't anymore. Then I took the number 6 metro past the Eiffel Tower again, did some random shopping, walked through the Bastille, and came home and made dinner. A pretty quiet day, overall, and perhaps I should have done something more intense, since I'm only here for 6 more days, but then again when I'm here it's like being at home. And these dilapidated stairs lead to the flat that's been my home away from home for many months in the past few years.







And here is a little YouTube video about Jean-Michel Basquiat for your viewing pleasure:

metro movie

I tried to capture some of the busy vibe in the metro today...and was only able to capture some of the moments when people were hurtling at me from every direction. But this short amount of video illustrates the general feeling. Sorry about the audio on these rudimentary videos. I only have an old copy of iMovie with me for video editing...and not much RAM.