Alex's second week

After yesterday's unusual post, I am back to writing the diary, as I normally do. In fact, this will be for more than a week, as I have to start with the Sunday before last. That was the day after the birthday party and we still had a few people with us, who stayed overnight. Madwe, Zsuzska, the kids and a few other cachers hung around a bit and then left. Alex and I felt rather tired after the day before and basically spent the day recuperating. 

Kerri Russell in The Diplomat

Monday was no different, although signs of cabin fever were beginning to show on Alex, who was itching to go out. The temperature was in the mid-30s Celsius, so I wasn't very enthusiastic myself. I was perfectly happy with binge watching The Diplomat on Netflix and taking it easy. It was towards the early evening before Alex couldn't be restrained any longer and we went on a little walk along the row of very old wine cellars on the other side of the valley, followed by an unsuccesful climb to the ridge above. Unfortunately, since I was last there the scrub became impenetrable and we gave up.

Alex on the other side of the valley

On Tuesday, however, there was absolutely no doubt that Alex would go stir crazy if we had to stay in the village all day yet again. I thought that there was one place where we could go, as it contained some interesting stuff and while it involved a little walking, it was in a forest and in a big hall, so Roy and I would not suffer too much from the heat. Also, this was the place, where back in 2021 we tried to visit it, but because Roy was not yet vaccinated, they wouldn't let him in and I, out of solidarity, didn't go in either. 

My hamburger

Alex with his

 

The place we visited is called Ipolytarnóc. It is a small village directly on the Slovakian border and it contains a fantastic relic that is very rare and rather impressive. During quarrying operations some fossils and petrified trees turned up about 150-200 years ago. Unfortunately, some parts of those precious trees did end up as grave stones, but soon after that scientists stopped the practice and the research for further specimen had started.

A chunk of the big tree

 

Alex was very hungry by the time we got there, so we started with a visit to the cafe where we all had a hamburger, Alex a double one. It was delicious, and especially for me a great adventure, as I think I last ate one of those 30 or more years ago. Once we bought our tickets we were ushered into a peculiar little cinema, where we went on a 15 minute prehistoric journey, with all the seats moving and me nearly bringing up my burger. The film showed some scenes from prehistoric times with the correct plants and animals, as they are imagined to have been. It was very weird, I thought, but obviously more aimed at kids than adults.

The start of our walk in the valley of the fossils

This was followed by a half-mile walk to the start of our guided walk along the valley where most of the exhibits were found, including several bits of an old pine tree, 100 metres tall. Our guide was a gem, we really got lucky this time. He spoke English, and explained everything to Roy separately, which was very kind of him. That petrified tree was actually not lifted and placed in an exhibition hall, rather than they left it in the form how they found the bits and built the various exhibition halls around it.

Footprints in the prehistoric petrified mud

We saw footprints of bear, dear, boar, hippo and birds. A turtle type creature also left its imprint, as well as crocodiles and hienas. Shark teeth were exhibited in a glass fronted cabinet and the guide told us that when local people found them hundreds of years ago they thought they were petrified birds' tongues. It is a very long time since I have enjoyed being shown round in a museum or exhibition by a guide and was this much engaged in listening, asking questions and enjoying everything. It most certainly was a good idea to go there for our outing.

My fogash in the Kőhíd

 

On the way home we shopped at Lidl on route 21 and filled up the car at a nearby petrol station. As it was getting late and everybody was hungry again, we drove to Héhalom, to the Kőhíd (Stone Bridge) Restaurant and had dinner there. It is so good that Roy and Alex love Hungarian food, and all three of us had really enjoyed their cooking.

Wednesday was spent with household matters, firstly waiting for a guy from the next village coming and having a look how the air conditioner's discharge pipes (hot air and condensation water) could be fixed. He agreed with Roy, that the best idea would be to discharge the water into the gutter and the 6-inch pipe of hot air through a B30 brick under the bottom of the roof into the garden with a downturned ending. The latter Roy knew about how to do as he watched many years ago somebody else doing it to the extraction pipe above the cooker.

A bit later, a parcel delivery company's van stopped outside and we had Stephen's slightly late birthday present to me arriving. I love biographies, so I do have many, but somehow Stephen got lucky and bought me one that I didn't have. Its subject matter is Errol Flynn and it is pretty fascinating, his oversexed paedophilia notwithstanding.

Thee BBQ master at work

At 6 pm I joined my comrades in BP via GoogleMeet and listened to some controversial topics, where amazingly eventually we all came to an agreement. I love these youngsters, and I am due to attend the reading group today in person. Finally, in the evening, after writing last week's blog, I made a Somlói Galuska, as the sweet course for the following day's BBQ, prepared by Alex.

The perfectly pink duck breast

Back in Lidl, we wanted to buy some typical BBQ food, but nothing grabbed us, until Alex clapped eyes on some duck breasts. We all agreed that we could easily barbecue them, and they became the chief attraction for lunch on Thursday. Alex decided that we are going to use the fire pit, instead of the small metal BBQ we have and that was also a great decision. Roy turned up with a grill, which rested on some stones at the edges and we lit a few logs to light it first and than those lit the charcoal.

My portion of Somlói Galuska

It was unbelievably gorgeous, I have never tasted tender, pink and very tasty duck breasts like those ever before. We were all so full at the end, that we had no space left for the afters, but Somlói Galuska keeps and we had it for tea in the evening. Alex is such a wizard with a BBQ, and the food will be perfectly cooked and presented, whether he cooked it on his own large and fancy BBQ set back home, or on charcoal and wood in a stone surrounded firepit in Bér. 

On Thursday we departed from the village and journeyed to town. We chose route 3 instead of the motorway, so that Alex can have some lángos en route. As we parked up at the designated place, I was pretty sure that everything was closed. When I got closer that suspicion was confirmed, but a large poster on the fence told me that they only moved up the road about half a mile, so all was well in the world of lángos eating Alex.

Alex and Roy having their lángos

Alex also had a side of kolbász with mustard

 

Town was at least 5 or possibly 6-8 degrees Celsius hotter than the village, so I was suffering all day. I bet you the weather will break and no more heatwaves will come, starting with August 3rd, that being the day we are having the air conditioning unit installed in the BP flat. Anyway, on Saturday we ventured out as Alex had a few more things to tick on his list of things to do, food to eat. That day was the turn of a Wiener Schnitzel and we went to a restaurant called Wiener Schnitzel on King Street, which is not far from the flat. That was a jolly good meal too, and they had air conditioning too.

The Schnitzel kings

On Sunday Alex came up with the idea to go to the pictures, and as this was the week when Barbie and Oppenheimer came out, we went to see the latter. You would have to pay me to see Barbie in any shape or form, but I suppose that is a prejudice I have to own up to. Well, Oppenheimer took three hours, and it seemed to me like 20 minutes. It was riveting, very well done, we scripted, well directed and extremely well acted. The movie theatre, Művész, is also quite close to the flat and is one of seven specialist art cinemas in the city. Its decor is fascinating and while it is a bit too sparkly for my taste, I appreciate the artwork that went into it. 

The Oppenheimer poster

Monday was Alex's last day. We went off to a butcher's shop, which is a little bufet as well, so that he can have his beloved blood sausage. He told me it was delicious, freshly prepared in the kitchen in the back and everything he had with it - bread, mustard and mixed pickles - was also very tasty. All was left after that is to get his gear and catch the airport bus for his flight. All went absolutely well, we got out there far too early, but Roy is always neurotic on travelling days, even if he is not travelling, so to please him we went way early. I lent Alex one of my Bryson books, so hopefully he wasn't too bored.

Ticket office in Művész cinema

We followed all his flight connections, and we were very happy that he made, even the tight one in Munich quite OK. He got home on time and is now planning several future trips where we can be together. The idea is to go to Portugal for Christmas and which will pose quite a headache for me, as there seems to be only one airline that flies to Lisbon directly from BP and that is Ryanair. Knowing that outfit, who knows if they will still be running that route by Christmas?

Next post hopefully next week, now I have to read some last minute correspondence from my Fáklya branch that appeared in my e-mail intray 5 minutes ago. Naughty, naughty, I will have to have a word with Levi, that it is not very efficient to send this much reading matter mere 4 hours before the next meeting.