Back from the old country

Hungary was a real hoot. Goulash, beer, wine, and palasintas to my hearts content. The dreher bak was a dark beer delight beyond my greatest expectations. The language barrier was almost non-exsistant and the people were friendly and helpful almost without exception. Our hosts in Budapest at the Bellevue B&B were Judit and Lajos Szuhay. These are truly amazing people. Besides providing a great accomadation, a more than substantial continental breakfast, and tips, maps, and directions to guide us around Budapest, they also helped us secure rooms in two other towns we visited in Hungary. Without making this sound like an informertial, this is the place to go see history, eat, drink, and generally be merry.

We found the little town in the south of Hungary where the grandparents were supposed to have come from, but after trying to find church records or gravestones we really did'nt have any luck. We will have to write a letter to the county seat and they may be able to find records. The people we stayed with in this area were equally as fantastic in trying to help us in our adventure. Allthough they did'nt speak hardly a word of English, we managed to communicate through the use of language dictionaries. The experience was again wonderful. Before returning to Budapest for the last three days we stopped in Heviz which is home to the largest geo thermal lake in Europe. The waters of the lake are loaded with minerals of a theraputic nature and lure people from all over to bathe away their troubles. Many of them happen to come from the neighboring countries of Austria and GERMANY. Now if I had wanted to see Germans I would have gone to GERMANY. Not that I have anything against GERMANS, it's just that generally speaking they seem to think they hang just a rung or two above on the ladder of life. Anyway getting back on track, we had a great trip and met many wonderful people. Even the little lady is talking about returning, and you know what she says, goes.

Trip to the old country

Well, next week the little lady and I are off to sunny Hungary. My grandparents left it in 1906 so I figured it was time for someone in the family to see how things were going. The novelty of brewing beer has worn off for now and we needed some time to dance with the gypsies. The thought of eating the foods I grew up with has me salivating and the wine and beer to wash it all down will make the experience complete. I've been studying the language with the help of Dr. Pimsleur and his learn at home cd's. It's really no harder then mastering Rubic's (he was a hunkie too) cube. Oh well, as long as I can get some of the basics like "more goulash please" and " I'll have another beer" I think we'll get by. I'm pretty sure the little lady will do as much damage at the shopping facilities as I will at the eating and drinking emporiums. I will try and keep you all updated as the journey proceeds. So viszontlatasra (that's hunkie for bye-bye) for now and bon appetite (that's french for put on the feedbag).

Home Brew

Recently, the little lady and I have discovered the joy of home brewing beer. What started out as a quest for a hobby for me, has turned into a joint effort that so far has produced a great tasting brew. I mean, Seriously, the swill you buy at the grocery store really does not hold a candle to this stuff. That is, what I have tried so far is nice. It seems my better half, ( miss miller lite), has decided she likes good beer and has been consuming a more then fair share of it.
Now you might say the answer to this dilemma is simple, make more beer. At this point I must give a little history on the working relationship between us. Normally we work well together as long as we don't. When we told our son, Brady, we were working together on this thing he thought he had dialed the wrong number and was talking to someone elses parents. Actually it's been going pretty smoothly and we are getting ready to throw our next batch of wort (pronounced wert), that's beer talk, and hopefully it will turn out as good as the first.
If anyone is interested in keeping up with this adventure I will make a concerted effort to update it on this blog. If you think you might be interested in becoming a home brew miester yourself, let me recommend" The Brewmasters Bible by Stepen Snyder" because it is the gold standard for homebrewers, at least it says so on the cover, and the price of gold being what it is, it must be good. Well, so long for now, and bottom's up!