Hulk, Haggis, food, drink and a great concert

Just a quick note just before we depart. The last 5 days went past very fast, on account of the busy schedule we managed to cobble together. Friday was pretty much spent at home, but that was the lull before the storm.

Erzsi

On Saturday we had two events, one very sad, the other great fun. We had a lovely friend, whom we met 4 and half years ago at a mutual friend's 60th birthday party. We then saw her a bit later at our own place in Ber when she came and visited us. And that is all, and in spite of that we loved her, because she was an instantly lovable person. Her name was Erzsi and she was a photographer artist. That sad event was her funeral, and I cried a bit, but it was uplifting and the church was full. As it was said during the service, there were a lot of us there, not because we loved her, but because she loved us. Very nice lady, it was sad to say farewell.

Roy and David

In the afternoon we went to Rizmajer's for a spot of food and drink in excellent company. We invited Hulk and Haggis, aka David and Agi, to show them the craft beers available at that pub. We had a really lovely time with them, which was repeated again on Monday in another pub. This time we went together to Beckett's, a lovely Irish pub with good food and equally nice beer. Roy had a steak, and the beers went down pretty fast.

Agi and me

Roy didn't come with us to the Music Academy after, but the concert was absolutely brilliant. Istvan Vardai, Julia Pusker, ... and a wind jazz orchestra played amazing pieces, most of which I have never even heard of. Istvan Vardai is one of my "telephone directory" people, which means that if he came out on the podium and read the telephone directory, I would still buy a ticket and go and see him. He is a brilliant chellist and a delightful human being. Unfortunately (for us), he is now also world famous and is not seen in his home town too often. But we managed to catch him this time and had a brilliant evening.

Earlier on Monday we also went to the Doctor's Bakery, which I might have mentioned before. A week ago Zsofi presented me with a list of things I can't eat and yeast w as on the list. So I had to get some sourdough bread, and this bakery is great for that. I have seriously fallen in love with his bread and now have decided to eat bread only from there. I am having sandwiches in a minute, so I am looking forward to that gorgeous bread which is full of holes. Just like when I was a kid.

Statue of a Great Dane by my hairdresser's

I went to the hairdresser's this morning and now am looking like a concentration camp inmate, but hopefully it will be handy in the hot weather in the Canaries. Roy went out this afternoon and bought himself a lovely pair of black shoes, so I think we have finished shopping for the cruise and are ready  to pack. What with my clothes bought last week, his lovely new shirts, bought this week, plus these shoes I think we got everything to kit us out, bar the blazer, but as they are not in fashion, that was almost impossible to get. He will have to do without it.

We are off on Thursday, and if the internet does not cost an arm and a leg, I might post from onboard the Oceana, but I can't promise.

A bit of caching, lots of paperwork/organising, a funeral and some art

Last Thursday we managed to get on the wrong bus. That's the trouble with travelling free. As you are not asking for a ticket to town A, the driver can't correct you by saying that his bus does not go there. Thankfully, I realised soon after boarding the bus and we managed to get off in the next village to wait for the right one.

Szofi, Gabi and Mariann

Friday's geocaching trip with Mariann, Gabi and Szofi the Alsatian was gruelling, but brilliant. The weather was pretty dire to start with, but lightened up a bit later. The early photos are really mysterious in the thick fog, but the sun was out by the time we got to the top of the mountain. Unfortunately, as soon as we had to drop into the valley, it got misty and cold again.

The picnickers

The target was twofold: we had to climb a bloody big mountain, as the cache was at its top, and en route and afterwards, collect the outstanding parts of a 6-parter multi commemorating a long disappeared forestry narrow gauge railway.  However, prior to all that, we had to climb up another mountain to a really nice big clearing, edge of which had a spring and a cache. There were people at the picnic site in the middle of it already tending their open fire, prior to cooking on it.

The old geodesic tower on the top

The actual climb up the second and bigger mountain was pretty steep. We did have a longer and not so steep option, but we went for the short and rocky steep one. Unfortunately, the top of the mountain looked devastated, with very few trees still standing.  We ran into a couple of forestry guys and apparently the felling is necessary due to Dutch elm disease.

The TV tower, also on the top

Once on the top, we decided to return to the car via the longer and less steep route, as none of us fancied that killer rocky climb downwards. This took us past an interesting small chateau, which was built for a high churchman as a hunting lodge. It is nicely renovated and currently used as a retreat.

The Bishop's hunting lodge

Unfortunately, on the way home Mariann's car broke down, so we had to sit around for a while waiting for her husband and son to rescue us. Good job we were quite close to their house, so that was not too bad. We did have some other caches on the list, but as I suspected that was rather an ambitious list, considering how decrepit and slow we are (except for Gabi) and how early it gets dark.

The Griffin at the main gate of Farkasrét Cemetery

Over the weekend we didn't do much, but I started the paperwork relating to the cruise and managed to print everything plus book a couple of dinners in two of the special restaurants on board. Other bits of paperwork, like moderating, organising the POI page for my caching hike in March, organising outings with Hulk and Haggis and shopping for bits and pieces, as well as clothing, took up some of my time. I even designed a banner to go on the start page of geocaching.hu to advertise the hike.

An interesting gravestone

Monday brought a very sad event, namely the funeral of a member of my orienteering club. Marci was a really nice guy, made lots of good maps and was generally nice to be with.  The turnout was amazing, very large numbers turned up to bid him farewell. As we arrived a bit early, we decided to walk about a bit, as the cemetery where Marci was to be buried is the one where lots of famous people, especially artists are also buried. Some of their gravestones are real pieces of art and worth visiting.

The grave of a hunter

On Tuesday I had an appointment with Zsófi, my homeopath, so we combined it with visiting our computer guys who are going to build us yet another desktop computer, hopefully the last one. This has been pretty expensive since all our computers had arrived at the end of their lives, but it had to be done.

The Museum of Fine Art

After that visit we went home via Rizmayer's by the flat, which is not as full of atmosphere as the one in Csepel, but the beer is equally good there as well. We had burgers for lunch and then Roy went home and I went off to my appointment. Zsófi discovered that I eat too much histamine producing food, so now I am down to yet another diet with my choices having been limited even further. As I weigh well over 70kg, that's not a bad thing anyway. The only sad thing, of course, is that on the cruise, where food is limitless and gourmand, I will be eating very little. Ahhhhh!!

Rubens: Portrait of Brigida Spinola-Doria

Wednesday was another 'at home' day, but on Thursday I had my long-awaited visit to the Museum of Fine Art with my friends Vera and Gábor. We nearly froze to death queuing up for it to open at 10am. I had two plans there: visit the Rubens and Van Dyck exhibition, plus have a look at the newly restored Roman Hall in the Museum that I have never seen before, due to the fact that it was locked up and used as a store room since the Second World War.

And you think going to the dentist is dangerous today?

I spent two hours at the Rubens/Van Dyck exhibition, which gave me the mother of all back aches, but such is life.  However, the pictures, which were borrowed from a wide variety of private and public collections, were superb. It also confirmed my dislike of baroque completely and Rubens partially. Van Dyck, however, is still one of my favourites, perhaps my tastes are now so English, that his portraiture is what appeals to me entirely. Rubens was a brilliant painter, but the fashion of his era for large battle scenes, allegorical, mostly religious and bible scenes, somehow after a while tired me.

A young Rubens...

... and a young Van Dyck

Today we are indoors again as the weather looks dim and dingy and we still have a lot to do before we leave next Thursday. This weekend we have a couple of very enjoyable programs and both of them are connected to Hulk and Haggis, our very good friends. On Saturday we are taking them to Rizmayer's near the flat for a snack and lots of beers. On Monday, I am going to the the Music Academy for a charity concert with my favourite cellist, István Várdai, and Hulk and Haggis are coming too.  Moreover, some more food and beer is also in the equation, at Becketts, which is about 3 minutes of the Music Academy and which Roy is going to partake in.

Várdai István

At 65p a minute, the internet will be a tad expensive on board, but I might get on a few times for posting photos on FB, but not to blog. So the next post is not until February now, unless I find a way round the expense of the net on board.

Robert's visit, lots of geocaching and the New Year's Eve geocaching party

Robert arrived bang on time with Oscar the schnauzer in tow, on Friday afternoon for a late lunch. Roy has been cooking for ages, so we attacked the curry with enthusiasm. We had a small walk to the Mill later, where we saw Anna and I showed Robert round. After food we sat around the kitchen table chatting. We had a lot of catching up to do.

Mill Court

Robert at the Mill

The watermill, that functions as a chapel as well

Eyore at Viragos

On Saturday we had breakfast and fairly soon we departed for town. Just before we left the village we went up to Virágos and did a little walk there as well, although we have not seen a single soul anywhere. The lift I got from him to town was much appreciated as I got to the flat in plenty of time to go out again.

I was wondering if I should eat first, but I got going without eating as I was anxious to catch as much of the bright sunshine as I could. Two city caches were on the list, one on Margaret Island, the other on the outskirts by a recently restored watermill.

The one on the island was a bugger. There are only two things I hate in geocaching: 1. hidden multis and 2. puzzles. This one had both. Ahhhhh!! Still, it started quite well and uncharacteristically I actually kept solving the puzzles. Until I got to 5.a where the absolutely vital clue - a fan - was missing. So I got stuck. Still, the walk in that lovely weather, looking at the ancient plane trees and all the other flora, was very pleasant. Eventually I was helped by a friend to finish the multi, so all was well in the world.

I was getting very hungry, but thought better of it and didn't stop to eat. I thought I might be able to buy something on the hoof and that is what happened. In a kiosk in one of the Metro stations I bought one piece of savoury and one of sweet pastry and gobbled them up. Not exactly suitable for my diet, but starvation is also quite bad for you.

7-trunked London plane

Impressive

A giant trunk

The watermill in the setting sun

The mill was really pretty and I saw with joy that there was nobody around. Apparently, ever since the mill cache appeared, the guy behind the renovation was there with information and what's more, so much enthusiasm, that most people didn't manage to get away under an hour and a half, due to this.

Unfortunately, later the owner of the cache appeared, and while he was not as enthusiastic as the other guy, he was pretty talkative too.  He also took me to a nearby little lake, which was quite pretty, albeit not very tidy. I thought it looked romantic, though, and took lots of pictures of it.

Big tree

At the end of Saturday, I got back to the flat, after some shopping for food, cooked myself tea and was tired but very happy. On Sunday the sun shone even brighter and it was warmer than the day before, as the wind dropped. I decided to go for a long hike in the Buda hills, to find all 7 parts of a multicache. This time it was not hidden, all coordinates were known, but you had to collect parts of the password en route.

A sunlit path

I absolutely adore the Buda hills. I always discover something I haven't seen or noticed before. The sun shining through the bare trees was so delightful, I didn't rush. I took a long time to get around, but I didn't mind being alone, it suited my mood. And anyway, I was never really totally alone as many cyclists, hikers, dog walkers were about most of the time.

A rock pillar in the forest

The final box, where you could log the find was very clevery hidden. There was a box on a tree which looked like a bird nesting box, but it had the actual cache inside. Getting the logbook out and logging my find was a lot more difficult unobserved. The forest was so bare, you could see everything from the nearby paths.  Still, I managed it, and then went off to find somewhere to eat.

Neat

That was a task that had beaten me. By the time I finished my hike it was late afternoon and all  restaurants were either closed or full of people. I had to go home and cook myself another meal, but in many ways even that didn't bother me, as I love the quiet and it is a lot cheaper too.

Wilka on the peak

And then on Monday I had some really lovely events to look forward to. Wilka, my new geocaching friend who is a real gent, and is really good company, offered to take me to the New Year's Eve geocaching party just outside the city. It started at 10am, so we were to meet at 9:20am at our usual place, close to where he lives.

The lake from above

I woke up at a silly hour, so no matter how slowly I was getting ready, I got there crazy early. Thankfully the nearby railway station had opened up, so I could get inside out of  the way below zero weather.  Not that they had any heating, but it was still warmer indoors than out. Finally Wilka turned up and we were off. We were amongst the earliest arrivals, so we were able to have some cake before it all disappeared.

A strange sky

Somebody was making tea in a couldron, but as soon as I had some I knew it was mulled wine. It helped me understand the nudge nudge wink wink looks when they were talking about making the tea. Once most people arrived, there was a big crowd chatting, eating and drinking. I hardly knew 10 of them, but quite a few were really nice to talk to.

We left before the presentations for the winners of the Walking Cup and the Cycling Cup, because Wilka wanted to go, I could see it in his face. There were a few caches that we wanted to visit, so off we went. Later I found out that the one we went to after the party first, was one that he has been putting off for ages. Interestingly, that was exactly the case with me. On balance it seemed an unpleasant, neglected one and neither of us wanted to have a go at it on our own.

A pithead in the distance

Well, together it was a doddle: he parked the car by a dog obedience training centre and walked up a rough and a bit steep, but not very large hill. The views were quite nice, but the sun has gone in and it was very hazy. Still, I took a few photos and then we departed in the direction of the next cache.

This happened to be a moving one, which was in the village where the Christmas Tree cache was, but closer to the direction where we were coming from, so we went to look for that one first. There was a veritable cacher meeting there, you had to queue to get to the logbook. And then we went to find the Geocaching Christmas Tree itself. It was in a little forest, which must have been part of a military training area in the past and nowadays it has many newly built houses round it.

Wilka by the calvary

Wilka walked me to the tree, as he knew exactly where it was. He went there with his family on Christmas Eve, but kindly offered to go with me to make sure I find it. It was beautifully decorated and right next to it was a really strangely shaped tree which reminded me of a tuning fork. Renee thought it looked like a keyhole. After this he took me back where he picked me up and I got home by public transport as I usually do.

The Geochristmas Tree

In close-up

That was a great couple of days in town on my own and as a bonus, I actually got 7 caches in the course of my stay. This took my yearly total up to 455, which is about a 100 less than last year, but that is mostly on account of my knee injury that incapacitated me for months, plus a lot of foreign travel.

The tuning fork (or keyhole) tree

We came back to the village on Tuesday and Mariann called that she wants to go caching with me on Friday. Oops!  But Roy agreed, so we are off tomorrow afternoon by bus, as we usually lock up the car in the garage when we go away for any length of time. At New Year's Eve we stayed up to watch the fireworks over the London Eye and are starting to pack now.

A serelict watch tower from the old days

We will not be back until after the cruise, so you are probably going to get one more post before we go off, but none while we are on the cruise. I have never been on one before, but I gather that the internet is pretty pricey. We'll see! And in the meantime, have a Happy New Year, all of you out there, let's hope it is a better one than 2019!!