Bull’s Blood! Great name for a wine. You get it in the Valley of the Beautiful Woman. This is in Hungary, northeast of Budapest a couple of hours by train. Next to my hotel, there is also a thermal pool and a whole series of lovely outdoor pools. Saturday was warm and sunny, the better to enjoy them with! Sunday morning, I sat in the thermal pool and was rained on, but that was still enjoyable.
In the interests of living each day, I went ahead with plans to attend the European Organization for Quality conference June 20-24. It is in Budapest. I’ve never been to a European conference, so am looking forward to comparing and contrasting with the American Society for Quality conferences that I have attended. More about my comparisons afterwards…
Budapest is a huge city, composed of Buda on one side of the Danube, and Pest on the other. It has a modern business district, but also very cool old buildings with fancy decorative touches. Those curlicues and fillips were the sign of a more elegant and slow-moving time. I arrived late Friday night. As the taxi drove over the Danube, the city was lit like a fairy tale. All the old mansion/castle/ornate buildings have warm yellow floodlights, picking them out from the dark tree-covered hills. The Chain Bridge has strings of lights forming parabolas across the dark river.
Saturday morning, I took the bus to the main train station. There is a lot of construction going on around there. Signs of a healthy economy, I think. I took the 2 hour direct train to Eger, then tried to figure out where my hotel was. This is the first trip I’ve taken with no guide book! A woman who was trying to sell me a room to rent was very gracious in telling me how to walk to the hotel. A young beggar followed me most of the way, but I was of no use to him. The walk was through a really lovely park, with a bride and groom getting their pictures taken in front of a fountain. There was another park full of pools and fountains right in front of the Hunguest Hotel Flora. Lovely, airy hotel. Out back were the series of pools that I spent the afternoon enjoying.
![]()
![]()
After dinner, I walked through town and out to the vineyards. There was going to be a big music event in the middle of Eger, I saw, and sure enough, later in the night there were fireworks. The wine cellars in the Valley of the Beautiful Woman are pretty commercialized. Many young people walk out there and set up picnics around fire pits. They buy a mixture of wine and pop in large plastic bottles. I agree – yuck! The wine cellar where I drank a glass of Cuvee also supplies huge pots of goulash that are made to hang over the fire pits, complete with the necessary bowls and spoons. I asked a couple of guys if I could take their picture stirring the goulash and got an invitation to join them later when it was done. Since they spoke virtually no English, I wasn’t sure. I went back around the loop of wine cellars, bought some Bull’s Blood, and came back with it. They already had beer, so didn’t want any. That was enough to discourage me, though I think it was totally wonderful that they invited me. I took a taxi back to the Flora.
![]()
![]()
After nearly 12 hours of sleep, Sunday morning was dedicated to sitting in the mineral spring pool, in the rain. Now I am writing this on the train back to Budapest, and the conference.
Postscript: Sunday afternoon, I hired a bicycle taxi to take me out to Varosligehet, the city park. He gave me a tour all the way out there, to the restaurant Neal recommended. It's called Paprika. Neal said it would have delicious food and bad service. Unfortunately, he was wrong. It had delicious food and good service! The evening was a folklore show, featuring gypsy music and dancing. I love gypsy music. It is so emotional!
In the interests of living each day, I went ahead with plans to attend the European Organization for Quality conference June 20-24. It is in Budapest. I’ve never been to a European conference, so am looking forward to comparing and contrasting with the American Society for Quality conferences that I have attended. More about my comparisons afterwards…
Budapest is a huge city, composed of Buda on one side of the Danube, and Pest on the other. It has a modern business district, but also very cool old buildings with fancy decorative touches. Those curlicues and fillips were the sign of a more elegant and slow-moving time. I arrived late Friday night. As the taxi drove over the Danube, the city was lit like a fairy tale. All the old mansion/castle/ornate buildings have warm yellow floodlights, picking them out from the dark tree-covered hills. The Chain Bridge has strings of lights forming parabolas across the dark river.
Saturday morning, I took the bus to the main train station. There is a lot of construction going on around there. Signs of a healthy economy, I think. I took the 2 hour direct train to Eger, then tried to figure out where my hotel was. This is the first trip I’ve taken with no guide book! A woman who was trying to sell me a room to rent was very gracious in telling me how to walk to the hotel. A young beggar followed me most of the way, but I was of no use to him. The walk was through a really lovely park, with a bride and groom getting their pictures taken in front of a fountain. There was another park full of pools and fountains right in front of the Hunguest Hotel Flora. Lovely, airy hotel. Out back were the series of pools that I spent the afternoon enjoying.
After dinner, I walked through town and out to the vineyards. There was going to be a big music event in the middle of Eger, I saw, and sure enough, later in the night there were fireworks. The wine cellars in the Valley of the Beautiful Woman are pretty commercialized. Many young people walk out there and set up picnics around fire pits. They buy a mixture of wine and pop in large plastic bottles. I agree – yuck! The wine cellar where I drank a glass of Cuvee also supplies huge pots of goulash that are made to hang over the fire pits, complete with the necessary bowls and spoons. I asked a couple of guys if I could take their picture stirring the goulash and got an invitation to join them later when it was done. Since they spoke virtually no English, I wasn’t sure. I went back around the loop of wine cellars, bought some Bull’s Blood, and came back with it. They already had beer, so didn’t want any. That was enough to discourage me, though I think it was totally wonderful that they invited me. I took a taxi back to the Flora.
After nearly 12 hours of sleep, Sunday morning was dedicated to sitting in the mineral spring pool, in the rain. Now I am writing this on the train back to Budapest, and the conference.
Postscript: Sunday afternoon, I hired a bicycle taxi to take me out to Varosligehet, the city park. He gave me a tour all the way out there, to the restaurant Neal recommended. It's called Paprika. Neal said it would have delicious food and bad service. Unfortunately, he was wrong. It had delicious food and good service! The evening was a folklore show, featuring gypsy music and dancing. I love gypsy music. It is so emotional!
Comments
Post a Comment