Tis' the season

Well, here we are again. The end of another year. I am turning 57 years of age in May. By then, I hope to have arrived in Budapest for the second of our three weeks in Europe. The first week will be spent in Istanbul Turkey.

I have already looked into a couple B and B's in both Budapest and Istanbul and am looking a booking our flights on line. That will the first time. Normally, I have used a travel agent. This time because I am familiar with the internet, I have some trust with transactions over the net.

Here is one place in Istanbul that we are planning on staying. A bit on the expensive side but it looks charming. The Sarnic Hotel

I have been going through my collection of slides and came across one from the late 80's that I kind of like.

A couple more

Just to get a better feel of the house. Here a couple more pics. The second picture is from the kitchen side of the glass block wall.

It's done

Here are a couple of photos of the finished product. The living room and the hall are the most restored rooms now in the house. These photos were taken by Joe with a limited pixel digital camera. They are not the best quality.

House and Home

Well, it's finally finished. The renovation and restoration of our home in the country is completed.

I spent most of yesterday just making myself at home with the new surroundings. I bought a couple of items for the living room including a ottoman and a candle holder. I'm trying to use the glass block wall as the main feature and then duplicating and mimicing it in other areas. I bought a carpet called blocks along with two scatter rugs with the same design. They enhance the wall of glass very well. I am also introducing some curves and circles into the room to soften the sharp corners of the glass blocks. The ottoman is one such item.

I'm convinced that with enough money anyone can design and furnish a room.

October 2005

Here it is, October, already.
The days are shortening rapidly.
The fall colours are about to burst.

I have been renovating and restoring my country home. It was built around 1871 and is now in need of some upgrading. I have changed most of the windows and actually reduced the size of one. The house already feels warmer. The biggest project was to put in a glass block wall which enhances the western sky. Just finished the sanding and refinishing of the pine plank flooring in the living and hall.

Surgery

After surgery on Tuesday, I am resting at home for several days. Then I start one weeks holiday where my plan is to go to Montreal for another visit.

Montreal

Warren, Stacia, Joe and I just returned from 3 days of fun in Montreal. We visited the Jazz Festival several times during the weekend and also went to a concert at Place De Arts where we saw the Dave Holland Band. The band consisted of 13 members including 9 piece brass, xylophone, bass and drummer. Although I am not a jazz fan, I appreciated the live jazz of the band. We also took in the Montreal Arts Festival where I bought a oil painting called 'Rue LaSalle' by Raymond Savage. I will be publishing some pictures in the near future from this trip.

Warren and Stacia visit in June 2005. We had a great time in the back yard on very warm and breazy day. They pose in front of one of our perennial beds. 

We've got it

Now that we have the satelite dish I would like to say that I am ready to watch many cultures, news, sports, movies etc. From what I have seen so far, it has many European as well as African, Middle East and Asian stations. To my surprise the satelite is actually above USA and is a relay. So far, I have really only spent time watching Euro News, which is a great alternative to western news stations.

Satelite Dish

A satelite dish would be good to watch the news coverage of Europe. I have found an installer for such a satelite here. I think that it would be beneficial to get the news from their prospective and will enable my partner to keep up on his mother tongue (Hungarian).

Another waterway, more typical buildings and some leaning. This city is truly beautiful and charming. It is a must-see.

The Herrongract Canal with many typical buildings. One of the buildings is leaning noticibly in front of a church tower. There are many examples of buildings leaning but still livable in Amsterdam. The city is built on fill below sea level and the water is controlled by dams.

This is our B & B called Sunhead of 1617. The building was built in 1617 in the traditional dutch style. Our room was on the upper level and had a ceiling that extended to top window of the building. The breakfast here was exceptional with fresh fruit, cereal and on one morning scrambled eggs and a fruit parfait.

Sunhead of 1617

Amsterdam

The final leg of our travel in 2004 was a short flight from Budapest to Amsterdam, Netherlands. We spent 3 days in a B & B on the Herongract Canal near Dam's Square. This wasn't my first visit to Amsterdam. I was there in 1990 with Randy, another brother and his wife, Brenda. This city is best viewed with one of the canal boats for hire.

My trip this time was marred by a bout of a flu that I got on my last day in Budapest. However, after a day I recovered to the point that I could at least enjoy 2 days there.

I only took about a dozen photos from Amsterdam and will show you some of the better ones here.

This is one of many houseboats on the Herongract Canal in Amsterdam.

I also pose in front of a Wisteria at the Danube bend.

After hiking up and then down from the castle at the Danube bend, we paused for a bit in front of a very beautiful Wisteria. Zoli, our friend and guide, with Warren and Joe.

The fortress at the Danube bend in Visegrad. The Danube bends to the south at this point. It is an old fortress that has been converted into a musem and partially rebuilt.

A narrow and steep hill to the top of Gül Baba Street. One of the Turks who was well liked in Hungary.

The market in downtown Budapest. This is a very vibrant market on the Pest side. It is well worth visiting. 

This scene is in a section of Budapest that was built during the 1920's. It was built as a housing community that formed a central hub with many spokes radiating from it. The architectural style is similar to Transylvanian. 

This is a close-up view of the Egyptian priest. 

This pond and statues are of religious figures from different cultures. It is in the park behind the Gallert Hill. 

A modern statue in a courtyard in Pecs. 

This picture shows some of the old housing in Pecs. Pecs is one our side trips from Budapest. It is known as an artists town south of Budapest. I like this picture because it blends new with the old. Notice the satelite dishes, the light standards and the relatively new cars on both streets.

This shot was taken in the rear of the palace in Godollo. It shows some of the renovation in the foreground and some that hasn't been completed in the back. 

The castle in Godollo. The pallace of Queen Elizabeth also known as Queen Sissi. Godollo is a very short trip from Budapest by train. Well worth the travel. It is in the middle of some very extensive renovations and the facade is completed and there is at least another 3/4 of the building to re-finish. 

The picture was taken by Joe. It shows his view from the hotel room each morning. 

Budapest, the city

Budapest is made up of two cities; Buda and Pest. The Buda side is where we spent most of our time. It is hilly and quite dramatic. Pest is the other side of the Danube and is flatter. The market is on this side as well as many of the Western hotels. Many shops and the red light district is also situated here. As mentioned earlier, Budapest is a public transit friendly city. No need to rent a car or get into a tour bus. Since we stayed here over 3 weeks we bought a weekly pass that gave us unrestricted use of the system. At less than $9, a real bargain. It even included the water taxi routes on the Danube.

We dined every night at fine restaurant and because of the money exchange, we ate very reasonably. Most restaurants are rated with stars. The best rating would be 5. But we ate in 3 and 4 star restaurants.

The view of the Danube through the pillars of St Gellert statue. The chain bridge is seen in the distance. 

The Elizabeth Bridge over the Danube, Budapest, Hungary. 

Our Hotel

The Hotel Villa Korda is where we will call home for the next 2 and 1/2 weeks. It is situated in the cool hills of Buda in an area called Roszadomb. Our room is actually a suite of rooms including bed, bath and living room. Warren, has a single bed in the living room. Joe and I share the bedroom. Each morning we go down to the cafe/entrance to have a breakfast of cereal, bread, cold cuts, yogurt and coffee/tea.

The area is within an easy walk to a bus and to a very adequate mall with a grocery store, bowling alley, bank and shops. We hang out here often.

Budapest is an easy city to get around with public transit. Buses, trams, underground metro all make it quite navigatable. In fact, unless you want to frustrate yourself, it is the only way to travel in this city.

This is our bed and breakfast hotel in Budapest.  

To Budapest

Our travels to Europe where mainly spent in Hungary. So, I will post some pictures from various parts of this wonderful city.

We start our journey in our pension in the cool hills of Huvosvolgy.

Cluj Napoca

We plan on going back to Romania within the next couple of years. Possibly making Cluj Napoca our home base.

Sinaia, 122km from Bucharest, has been dubbed the "Pearl of the Carpathians" for its magnificent mountain scenery and royal castle. Originally the preserve of a few hermits and shepherds, and later an exclusive aristocratic resort, nowdays, it's full of tourists to walk or ski in the Bucegi Mountains. Sinaia Orthodox Monastery (1846) was commissioned by King Carol I.

Statuary at Peleş Castle, Sinaia, Romania.