a weekend in the countryside

I love Budapest, but sometimes it can just be too much. Happily, on such occasions it is usually quite simple for me to dart out to the countryside for a visit with friends. How you too can duplicate this country weekend:

Friday afternoon: plan to leave to catch bus to Kalocsa. Feeling sickish and lazy, stay home baking brownies and watching Dexter instead.

Saturday morning: wake up early, throw a few items of clothing into a bag, and head to the bus station. Catch a bus to Kalocsa, squeezing into a small spot on the floor. Arrive to Kalocsa and drop off things at Rob's house. Wander the adorable little town, and eat kremes.

Saturday afternoon: meet up with Jon and Franny. Head off to the Paprika Days Festival. Purchase a beautiful blue piece of paper that entitles me to one dish of the delightfully scented red stews abounding around the outskirts of the festival. Spend thirty minutes wandering from one food stand to the other, in honest emotional distress about which of the delicious offerings to sample. Return for the third time to the stand where serious fishermen are smoking whole fish on sticks, basting them with garlicky-paprika-y red marinade. Buy a fish soup. Return triumphantly to eat fish soup, just as soon as you tear apart a little hot paprika to kick up the flavor.

When your friend nonchalantly says, "There's a horse just running around," nonchalantly turn to see a horse running at your table. Applaud the tiny Hungarian man who grabs the horse's reins seemingly without meaning to. Finish your delicious food. Sneeze several times. Pass a stand for the supposed best paprika in Hungary, and be given 200g for free. Giddily skip over to the palinka tent and purchase a beautiful little bottle with a dried quince floating inside, and a shot of baby pink samoca (wild strawberry) palinka. Sip it slowly with your friends.

Watch folk dancing with the help of a cold beer. Be moved especially by the groups of elderly folks singing traditional songs. Then go watch a strange emo-rocker singing in English. Wander the craft tents and discuss how Hungarian candy always sort of lets you down. Watch some more folk dancing.

Saturday evening: wander back to your host's home, and sit with your friends and drink some froccs. Watch ridiculous videos on youtube and tell funny stories about teaching and life. Bitch slightly about Hungary's frustrations while extolling its virtues. Make at least one Triannon joke.

Proceed to a small Italian restaurant run by the eccentric Vincenzo. Be given wine, water, and compliments. Order the pork fillet that he demands you order, and then be amazed at how delicious and flavorful it is. The meat just melts as you eat it, and the paprika-y sauce, with mushrooms and bell peppers, tops it perfectly.

Just as everyone finishes their meal, watch fireworks explode over the top of the town's miniature skyline.

Saturday night: wander around town for a bit, talking with your friend's Hungarian friend in Hunglish and shuffling your feet so as to avoid smooshing a frog. Go to sleep early, feet hanging off the end of a couch, and sleep soundly.

Sunday morning: awake to a cacophony of bells at 7 AM. Curse such diligent folks and go back to bed. Eat eggs and bacon for breakfast and chill around the flat.

Sunday afternoon: go to your friend's friend's home for lunch. Sit in the garden of their lovely home and eat delicious palacsinta topped with lemony turo and homemade jams. Drink some more froccs and be complimented on your Hungarian. Totally warmed by hospitality and happiness, dart down to the bus station to catch your bus home. Squeeze onto the floor again, this time in the stairwell, and drift off for a nap on the trip home.