Krisztián's New Beloved

Stormy Fireworks

Another thick sqall in Budapest. Unbelievable destruction was caused by the storm on the day of our first king Stephan, on the day of the establishment of the kingdom. I can’t believe that this terrible tragedy could happen.
That Sunday was a shiny one (the last dog-day in meteorologists opinion) and there was no sign of rain or bad weather and we were informed by the news in this way: ”Those who are planning outdoor program this evening take raincoats with themselves…” This year we decided to see the fireworks from the top of the hill of which foot we live. It’s ages since we last went up at this occasion, usually we go to the downtown. It was 5 of us: my mum, my sister and her boyfriend, my HUSBAND and me. We settled down, a lot of people were waiting for the play of lights on the sky around us. It was a few minutes to 9. It began still lighten behind our back. It meant nothing to nobody. Then it began to breeze. Some people stood up and start to go down from the hill. Then it began to blow hard, catching up screes and dust, then it began to rain. A dust-storm sprang up, we couldn’t open our eyes, we had to get down from the hill. It was blowing so hard, I was afraid of going with the wind, down to the deep. The rainwater was over our ankles, it was flowing in large quantities. While we were running home I was just laughing without intermission because it was a very funny situation, never in my life got a soaking like this and we did not see the fireworks, only the very beginning in the midst of finding the way of escape from the hill. My father laughed at us at home when we entered soaking wet with dripping clothes and hair.
All things considered, in the downtown where over million people came together to see the fireworks, it was not funny at all. A windstorm with rain broke in upon the crowd at a speed of 120 km/h. It was stampede, the fear of apocalypse just like in a disaster film. Five dead, five hundred injured. Some clipping from the press release:

Szülők kisgyerekekkel futva menekültek haza, közben a tetőről cserepek estek le, a kitört ablakokból üvegszilánkok zuhogtak a járdára, több helyen megszólaltak az autók riasztói, a hegyről pedig patakokban zúdult le a víz. Az eső a nagy szél miatt vízszintesen esett, látni egyáltalán nem lehetett.
· Egy 12 éves kislányra és egy 30-40 év körüli férfira a budai rakparton egy fa dőlt rá, és már nem lehetett megmenteni őket, egy idősebb nő halálát pedig szívinfarktus okozta. A Dunán felborult egy hajó, két utasa eltűnt, egyikük holttestét Ercsinél találták meg.
· A legnagyobb problémát a trolibuszok és villamosok vezetékeinek károsodásai okozták, az infrastruktúrában keletkezett károkat néhány tíz millió forintra becslik. A MÁV-nak néhány kidőlt fa okozott gondot, 30 vonat késve indult a fővárosból. Mintegy 250-300 millió forintos kár keletkezett a Fővárosi Kertészeti Rt. (Főkert) kezelésében lévő, a budapesti fás területek negyedét kitevő faállományban, 364 fa fordult ki vagy tört el, a fővárosban összesen mintegy 1500 fa pusztult el és 10 000 sérült meg komolyan a vasárnapi viharban. Az üvegezéssel foglalkozó cégek forgalma jelentősen megugrott vasárnap óta. A legtöbb bejelentés a Budai Várból és a IX. kerületből érkezett, de Budapest minden részén betörtek üvegeket a repülő ágak és tetőcserepek.

Responsibility, insurer’s relief, and how could have been this tragedy avoidable are another long stories.

Spanish Holiday

We spent a week on Mallorca from 8th to 15th August. It was beautiful with its palm trees and we gaped at the jahts at the port of Palma de Mallorca, one was more beatiful than the other. Actually, I don’t wish to go back any more. It was entirely full of tourists and the most of it were German youngs. They’re infamous for their revelry and ill-behaviour. E.g. they go into the sea with cigarettes in their hand and put it out in the water, they’re lying about all day and set off to rave in the late evening and when they arrive at dawn it’s impossible not to wake up for their noise-making and howling. The main problem is that they leave countless waste about and the whole island is full of every kind of rubbish. Our accomodation (**) was well under our expectation. It was a little hole with musty smell, we spent most of our time without doors. We thought that it can’t be worse but the car that we rented (Fiat Punto Cabrio) was a wreck, there wasn’t an unbroke part of it, it was dangerous, life-threatening, dirty, disgusting (we had to reserve in adavance). So, we were suffer some disappointment but we liked the freshly pressed orange with ice cubes, the refreshing salty waves of the sea, the mindless lying down on the beach, the island course by a boat, our sun-tanned skin that we got during a week and to listen interesting stories about the island. E.g. the reason of the numerous mandel tree – a long time ago there was snow (!) in a morning on Mallorca and the queen liked it very much and wanted to see another time as well. The king was suggested by the counsellors to set mandel trees. So, at the period of blooming it is just like snowing. We visited a lovely little town called Valdemossa where Michael Douglas & Catherine Zeta Jones have a summer villa which can be approachable only seaward. There are three Michael D. and two C. Zeta Jones jahts at the port.
The point is that it wasn’t our most pleasant holiday but time beautifies everything…

Hungarian Bulletin

COMBINO-scandal
Damn instead of blessing – say the articles about the new trams of BKV Rt. called combinos. By now, they’re out of order owing to the thoughtless installation, they’re disabled. According to words by the beginnig of the next year 40 same trams will have arrive to Hungary, 830 million HUF per piece. I travelled once by a combino. It’s roomy but it’s without A/C and the opening windows are very small. So, in a hot summer afternoon it’s about 40 degree and no ventilation!

Hungarian FORINTS became pensioner
In 1946, 1 August came out the Hungarian Forint, exactly 60 years ago. As matters stand, it will live its 65th birthday. After the pessimists’ opinion it will live even the 70th birthday (thinking about the Euro). During 60 years, 210 Eiffel Tower-high banknotes and 2000 truckful coins were produced according to the Hungarian National Bank calculation. By the way, the official exchange rate of MNB: 1 EUR is 272,1 HUF today, 1 CAD is 189,45 HUF today.

Weekend in the Country

We spent the weekend at my father’s native place with Ancsa & Lajos. Füzesgyarmat is a dinamically developing hick town and I adore being in the country. I’m fond of the country air, the lowlands, the animals and mainly the scenery. It’s a different living and attitude to life. There’s poverty, people try to pay their ways, produce their food, make living by very little money. There was a car show in which we were interested but principally we were at the baths. There are several gorgeous external and internal pools: one for babies, one for children, one for swimmers, a thermal one for old men and for men suffering from sore parts of the body. Many people visit it from the surrounding villages as well. We ate ice-cream in large quantities because it was very delicious and creamy.