No let up, things keep coming!!

The day after my last post I went to hand back the Holter belt at the hospital and took a few hours out for a little trip while they were checking it and producing the diagnosis. As the border is a few miles up the road I decided to go to Fülek to get a geocache and look around there.  Unfortunately I was too early for the castle and while I did wait for it to open at 10am, by 10.15 there was no sign of anyone, so I decamped back to my doctor.

Fülek Castle

Surprise, surprise!! The belt found nothing untoward with my heart.  This is now the third time that happened, but this time (due to my cardiologist being a sweetie) I was promised that should the  arrhythmia return any time, I can ring him and he'll rustle up a belt at short notice, so I might wear it while the arrhythmia is still happening. We'll see!

At the Fenyves

On Wednesday we went out for lunch with Sheila, as it was her last day, and had a lovely lunch at the Fenyves Inn in Szurdokpüspöki. The weather was really crazy, one minute wall to wall brilliant sunshine, not a cloud in the sky, the next a massive downpour drowning everything. Luckily we were already at the restaurant when the skies opened, but on our return home we had to sit in the car for about 5 minutes for the shower to subside before we could get into the house.

Macbeth

On Thursday we took Sheila directly to the airport which happened with no hassle, no jams or any other problems on the roads. We had a quick bite at a nearby Tesco's and then deposited her at the airport. The care of disabled people, provision of wheelchair and helpers has improved considerably since 2 years ago, but it is still nowhere near perfect.  Still, it is a step in the right direction, so let us hope the next time it will be perfect. We managed to get to the flat in no time at all as I was due for a performance of Verdi's Macbeth in the Opera House. Something weird happened while there. 1. I was totally on my own, neither Bozsa, Andor or Kati turned up. 2. half way through the interval I felt so unwell that I had to go outside for air. By the time I started getting a bit better they wouldn't let me back in as the second part had started, so I went home. To be honest, that was the best solution, as in the calm of our cool flat I soon recovered.  I think it was the lack of oxygen that got to me. No air conditioning to speak of, a full house and sitting just under the ceiling in the gods, just got to me this time.  It is a shame, as the performance was excellent and I love Verdi.  Such is life!

The  cake

The kiss

On Friday we went for the full diagnosis and recommendations for Roy's check-up which started with a big cock-up. I failed to notice a change of address for the doctor in the confirmation e-mail and we went to the wrong place.  Thankfully, it wasn't far to the other place, but we were rather flustered once we got there.  The news was OK, nothing serious was found. The recommendations included further investigation of his kidney function and a few X-rays.  We have started those and will hopefully get the all clear after a few weeks.

The vows

Saturday dawned beautiful and we were keeping all things crossable crossed for the weather on the day of Bozsa and Árpi's wedding. Évi and Klári turned up on time, but Jutka (what's new?) was late, so she didn't get her promised shower, we just bundled her into the car and off we went.  We were amongst the first to arrive, even though it took us a bit to find the hall. The ceremony went off with no mishaps, although I found out later, that the happy couple was late because Glenn, their border collie managed to roll in something rather smelly just before they were to set off. A quick bath for the canine delayed them a bit, but by not much.

The ring

Bozsa looked like a dream, Árpi was his usual cheeky self, they looked very much in love and ecstatically happy, so it was a brilliant event.  Back at the house we had champagne, savouries, then the wedding cake(s), followed by wine, soft drinks and strawberries. I wished them lots of happiness and I don't think I have ever meant it more than I did this time. If there is a couple on this planet who deserve to be happy, it's those two!!

What a waste of good Champagne!

On Sunday I decided against the hash, mostly because my cold was back with a vengeance. The really good news of Sunday was Lewis Hamilton's first win of the season in Monaco.  To be honest, I really didn't want to watch, as I get really depressed when he is not doing well.  Mostly, because it is very rarely his fault. If he is to blame, that is one thing, but continuous breakdowns of his car and other mishaps are really frustrating. However, this was a rainy Monaco GP, which is pretty rare and I cheered up as soon as I heard that fact.  Lewis is a real wizard in the rain, so I was hoping.  He was his usual super brilliant, this time helped by somebody else's misfortune, namely Ricciardo, whose mechanics failed to turn up with his tyres after calling him for a tyre change.  Poor Ricciardo, I really felt for him, but I was over the moon for Lewis.

Richard Branagh as Wallender

Television is slowing down for the summer, but I am still watching Wallander and Hinterland. There are similarities between the two, but I think Wallander is finishing, while I hope they will carry on with Hinterland.  Still, nowadays the most successful things can still be scrapped on a whim, so who knows?

Richard Harrington in Hinterland

After coming into town because of Sheila's departure, we had to stay not only because of the doctor's appointment and the wedding, but a couple of performances for me at the beginning of the following week.  During the day, however, the weather got so hot, that it was tempting to stay indoors.  Still, I decided that we should go somewhere at least once, and eventually we did that twice, once on Monday and again on Tuesday.

The watchtower from 1844

Monday's trip was to the outskirsts of the city by public transport to pick up a couple of geocaches and then have lunch somewhere. District X. is now a sea of housing estates, but nearly 200 years ago it was orchards and vineyards.  The good folk who hated poachers nicking their fruit, built a lovely little watchtower to catch them from in 1844, which still stands to this day.  Cache no. 1 was near that.  The second one was a few more stops down on the same bus route by a pretty little lake surrounded by a park.  The lake was once a clay pit, which filled with rainwater after the brickworks have shut. The cache had two parts, one on a lamppost, and the other by a memorial to the brickworks.  Roy especially liked the latter, which was nicely done.  At the very end we got caught by a quick fierce shower, but otherwise the trip was very successful.  We returned to the Jelen for lunch, which was delicious as usual.

Lovely old stamped bricks in the Brickworks memorial

On Tuesday I decided that we were going for a hike in the Buda Hills. There are still quite a few caches up there that I haven't got, so I planned a circuit of about 5km and suggested that Roy takes notice of his doctor's advice with regard to losing weight by taking some exercise and come with me.  Amazingly he agreed. The weather was a bit hot, but the route took us into the woods, so it wasn't too bad. Once we got off the bus no.21 at its terminus in the forest we started down on an old, probably ex-military road with potholes and slowly disappearing tarmac on.  At the end of that there was a very mysterious large building behind tall trees, guards and dogs and I remembered that the map said that once there was a small airfield there.  A couple of dogs barked and one guy told us that the area was private.  We quickly turned left on an ancient looking metalled forest road and scarpered. Not more than 5 minutes later we heard the noise of a helicopter, which landed in the grounds of the big house and then took off again. It either brought or fetched someone, obviously.  I wonder who that was.

An old communist era watchtower early on our hike

The first cache was called Buda's Switzerland.  Unfortunately, the view was not out of the ordinary, although quite pretty in its vicinity, I presume that was because the trees have grown up over the years as well as the environmental restrictions meant that the cache had to be placed within a few meters of the road. Neither of us felt energetic enough for climbing rocks, so we said good bye to the view and proceeded to the second cache. After some ups and down (some of them quite steep!) we found it under a rock near the top of a small mountain. By then we were not far from the same bus stop where we started, so after a couple of hours of pleasant ambling we were back on the bus.

The view from our first  cache

An old boundary post near the 2nd cache

Lunch was taken at Normafa, up in the hills where there always had been a hikers' rest type restaurant, but nowadays it had gone upmarket both in quality and price.  I don't mind the latter, provided the former also applies. Roy had chicken in a lemony sauce with Duchesse potatoes; I had pike perch with a delicious potato and onion salad. All was helped down by some Slovenian beer. We were at home by 3pm, so I could have a rest before departing for a concert in the Music Academy. My beloved Kristóf Baráti was playing violin/piano sonatas with Richard Goode from the States.  Mozart, Brahms, Janacek and Beethoven were on the program and all of them, but especially the last one, were superb. I had a very good seat this time, but I was on my own, which is often the price I pay, as very few of my friends can afford the dearer prices.

A smiley Kristof Barati

A pensive Richard Goode

Tonight I have an opera performance of The Tempest, which is something totally new to me and I hope I'll like it. I not only don't know Thomas Adès, but have never heard of him before. The opera had its premiere in Covent Garden in 2004 and had been performed in many places, the last time in Vienna last year. It should be sung in English, I presume, but we'll see!!

Must go now. We'll return to the country tomorrow sometime, so I'll post from there next.