Well, the first day (and night) of the residency is complete and I'm greeted this morning by my favorite Hungarian pastry - the chocolate snail. The first time I tried one of these beauties, my taste buds were expecting cinnamon and I was quite disappointed when it turned out to be chocolate. But now, its my breakfast of choice along with my latte, journal and morning reading - what a perfect start!
Just outside the back balcony of the residency is this lovely structure - a hunting lodge built in the World War II era. Can you see a little German influence? Our home is high in the Buda hills (on the left side of the Danube when looking at a map). This is the area that folks from the city (Pest) would escape to on the weekends. Our place was built in 1936 and its basement was a stopping point for those hiding from the authorities (German and Russian). Its about 5 degrees cooler up here in the hills (which makes a nice difference when we're expecting 102 degrees on Thursday).
A few of my fellow artists have arrived for the residency and we are expecting one more today. They're lovely and our hostess, Beata Szechy, has made great plans for us in the coming days. Last night we came down the hill to a lovely outdoor diner where a fabulous Hungarian singer was singing Frank Sinatra type songs. Then we walked the streets and I met quite a nice gentleman...I hope we see more of each other!
We ended the evening in front of St. Stephen's Basilica. St. Istvan (Stephan) was the first king of Hungary. Inside they have his mummified hand in a glass box. The church wasn't opened, but I can't wait to go for a peak!
We ended the evening in front of St. Stephen's Basilica. St. Istvan (Stephan) was the first king of Hungary. Inside they have his mummified hand in a glass box. The church wasn't opened, but I can't wait to go for a peak!
chocolate snails look yummy. I am reading your post every day for school. i liked today's, :) Alyssa
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