Autumn Sonata

Kaposvár September 1, 2022 Hi: 19°C/66°F Lo: 14°C/57°F Cloudy, chance of rain

As I've mentioned before in my musings over the years, seasons move quickly here in the upper latitudes. Today is September 1, and Hungary is leaning into Fall, with a high temperature today of 66°F. In New Orleans, where I spent part of my yout', it would not reach into the 60's until November(!). Of course, New Orleans is in the (sub)tropics, defined as an area close to the equator, receiving more sun than temperate zones, and having two seasons: wet & dry. That makes sense.

While most of Europe (worldwide, really), is experiencing a historic drought, with a number of heat-related events setting records, Hungary has dodged the worst. There are still areas of the country dealing with low rainfall totals, but for the most part we're doing okay. It rained overnight and the low last night was 57°F. I'll take it!

In the news is the constant refrain that because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there is the danger of food insecurity for much of the world (is 'food insecurity' another way of saying 'famine' or 'hunger' or 'starvation'). Taking walks around the outskirts of Kaposvár, I can report that the wheat & corn & sunflower crops are doing just fine. Can Hungary take advantage and help fill that 'food gap?'

That's the opposite direction of the local currency, which is not doing so well, trading at almost twice as many Forints to the Dollar as when I moved here in 2017 (the forint has been very good to me, dawlin'). And Hungary is buying large amounts of oil & gas from Gazprom, the Russian national energy company. Inflation is now running at a 25-year high of 16.7% as of July, with speculation that it may rise to 20% in the Fall. So, hopefully, the agricultural sector will boost the local economy, while feeding the world.

Louise Bogdan

"I cannot believe that the inscrutable universe turns on an axis of suffering; surely the strange beauty of the world must somewhere rest on pure joy!"

Hoo-Wee, It’s Hot!

Kaposvár • Sunday June 17 • 06.00 • 16°C/60.8°F Cloudy & cool

The church bells are ringing…it's 6:00 a.m. I could not sleep, so I brewed coffee & made my bed & folded yesterday's laundry (few here own a clothes dryer or an air-conditioner), and so I welcome the new day…unfortunately,  Western Europe is in the the thrall of an unprecedented heat-wave that is burning the continent down…massive fires are scorching France & Spain & Portugal…same as the western U.S. states…we have experienced record temperatures ourselves, here in the south of Hungary: afternoon highs reaching 36°C/97°F, last week, and projected again for the end of the coming week…in between, local temps have reverted to seasonal highs in the low- to mid-80's (Fahrenheit)…nice…I was reading a report, this morning, that the Iberian peninsula has had 20 days of temps above 40°C/104°F and could possibly pass their all-time record of 47.3°C/117.14°F…now that's hot, Vegas hot.

Last week, Kathleen announced that she had finished her course as a travel agent and has opened for business…I hope any of you reading this will turn to her for all of your travel needs…http://KeenDestinations.com…and Kate did mention a Facebook page where you can get information; however, I am not 'on' FB, so I can't say…but do check it out!

Speaking of travel, I did make a trip to northern Slovenia, recently, to try my hand at what's called 'hut-to-hut hiking' in the Julian Alps (that's what the mountains are called in Slovenia; Italy calls their side of the mountains, the Dolomites)…a friend from New Orleans, Lyle Breaux, met me in the capital, Ljubljana, and we spent most of a week in the Lake Bled area, where said hiking takes place…unfortunately for us, we could not find the trail to the hut we had reserved for a night and had to retreat back to our B'n'B near the lake…neither of us wanted to spend the night in the Alps, outside…on our return, Lyle had a message waiting for him, that his wife, Anna, was in an accident Uptown, in NOLA…this precluded us making another stab at finding our hut the next day…it's just as well, as I need to spend more time in  researching the degree of difficulty that is entailed in these mountain trails…and find out why we could not find the appropriate trail, or more specifically, why there is not better signage on the trails.

Oh, bother. More later.

Good News

Kaposvár Wed June 15 10:30 23°C/74°F Partly cloudy

In this mornings emails, one newsletter I subscribe to had this to say, which is of special import to us Americans:

"Travel costs are higher this summer, but so is the value of the U.S. dollar.

The euro-to-dollar exchange rate is currently about $1.04, compared with $1.22 this time last year and $1.58 at its high in 2008. Ditto on the British pound, where $1 buys about 82 pence, compared with 70 pence a year ago. And although inflation and increased demand have pushed up prices, the dollar still buys more than it did six months ago, one expert said.

Some tips for capitalizing on this trend: use a credit card with no foreign transaction fees (ask your bank) and select the local currency on a card purchase, if given the choice. Then, while in Paris, sit back and enjoy your €5 cappuccino or glass of wine, which is $5.20 today, but cost $8 in 2008."

I've been enjoying the benefits of the stronger dollar, although I don't understand the reasons why this is, especially with the U.S. stock exchange falling into bear market territory. I'm not complaining; my dollar is worth more against all of the currencies I'm using: the Hungarian forint, the Croatian kuna and the E.U.-wide euro.

May I take this opportunity to once again encourage you to think about a trip to Europe (and to Hungary, and to me, personally). ☺️

Budapest

Kaposvár Monday June 13 Noon 28°C/82.5°F Cloudy with chance of rain

Returned from Budapest, last evening, after spending the weekend there with Alexandra. We rented an Airbnb near a gym where Alex is taking classes for a certificate to add to the ones she already has. I think it's kinda like a doctor or lawyer adding skills to her practice. While there, we caught one of Cameron's games, a match with Finland. Unfortunately, Hungary lost. 

There were a few items I wanted to get, that aren't readily available in Kaposvár. Like coffee filters; I think I've mentioned this before, but it is still a mystery why I cannot find them in the markets here. Also, there's imported items, like marmalade from the UK, that I enjoy. And camping equipment for my trip to the Julian Alps. I was able to get all that, and enjoy Budapest, to boot. 

Good news! Because of the koronavirus, there has been only one train from Hungary to Croatia for the past two years. Even after the lifting of restrictions. But I read over the weekend that another train has been added and I booked a seat for Zagreb on Friday. Then I'll meet New Orleanian, Lyle Breaux, in Ljubljana on Saturday. After two days in the capital, we head up to Lake Bled for another five days, two in the Alps, hiking. This will be a first for me, so I'll have more information on that later.

I hope all of you in the States are staying cool, what with the heatwave moving across the U.S. Stay hydrated!

This n’ That

This morning, I received a message from New Orleans friend, Lyle Breaux, that he was on his way to Europe, Paris to be exact. After a week there, Lyle will take an overnight sleeper from Paris to Salzburg, where he will transfer to a train to Ljubljana. I'll meet him there.

That's a week away. In the meantime, I'm spending the weekend with Alexandra, in Budapest. She is taking a class to add a certificate to her résumé as a personal trainer. I'm so proud of her, for her initiative and energy. It's nice to be 23. (Beni won't be able to join us this weekend, as he has badly sprained his ankle during a practice. He's better off on the couch at home; he'll have an MRI tomorrow. Good luck, Beni!)

As for me, I want to do some shopping, as well as revel in the Big City. Although Covid is still around, will no doubt always be around from now on, the city has dropped all restrictions. I'm due for another booster shot, so I hope to get through the weekend without catching the koronavirus, and take my medicine next week, before heading off to Slovenia.

Also, we hope to catch Cameron and his team in an exhibition game in Budapest. Once again, Cam will lead the Hungarian National Volleyball Team in competition around Europe over the summer. You go, my man!

Frankie Flowers

It is possible that Franz Liszt may be the most famous Hungarian of them all, even greater than Tony Curtis or Zsa Zsa Gabor. He was a composer, pianist and teacher during the Romantic Era. Liszt gained renown in Europe of the early nineteenth century for his skill as a virtuoso pianist.

While reading up on Herr Liszt, it dawned on me, with my pitiable language skills, that his name in English would be 'Frankie Flowers(!).' If that doesn't sound like a character from The Sopranos or Goodfellas, I don't know what does.

But I like it.