ANOTHER WEEK, ANOTHER COUNTRY

AND now for a bit of business. As I write this post our first ever player to be signed by a club in Lithuania (that's their flag above) is in the air, on her way to the Arvi club in the city of Marjampole. Her name is Tamika Drinks, she is from Georgia in the USA. Join us in wishing her all the luck in the world.

GASTRONOMY FOR ROMANTICS

UNLIKE in Saudi Arabia, Valentine's Day is an accepted part of life in Budapest. No problems with red roses and the like and, thankfully, no religious police to hassle romantically inclined natives.

So, with Maggie and Den away in his home village in Bohemia, I grabbed Fran, she got herself dressed up in her fur coat, we got on the #6 tram along the main boulevard and got ourselves along to the Carinthia Grand Royal, a spectacular hostelry with very nice restaurants. Our choice - the Rickshaw and its special menu for the day.

Lovely food, lovely setting, very nice service, good company, champagne, long stemmed red rose, the works! Hope to have many more like this in the future.

(NOTE: The pic at the hotel was taken in April 2004, when we were there for the Embassy's Anzac Day dinner.)

A LITTLE GEM IN VIENNA

IT took us only four and a half years, but as the old cliche goes - its better late than never. Not only is it better, its terrific - Vienna's English Theater, which puts on five or six week runs of seven productions each season.

Most come from the States, or Britain. They are all fully professional troupes, prices are very reasonable (less than 20 Euros a ticket) and the theater is cosy and gorgeous, located in one of Vienna's beautiful old stately homes. And its just a couple of hours' drive from home on the motorway.

A marvellous discovery and the Scotts are now addicted. Saw a fantastic stand up comedy ensemble from Chicago first up, followed by the London West End production of Michael Frayn's (he of Noises Off fame) Donkey's Years, your typical English farce. Heavier stuff is in the offing next month and after.

TIME TRAVEL IN HUNGARY

REMEMBER the Iron Curtain? Well, its gone. As of midnight last December 20, its gone completely. That was the time when Hungary and several other countries joined the Schengen Zone within the European Community and the era of completely open borders dawned in Central/Eastern Europe.

Last Friday we relived a bit of family history, retracing the Szasz (now Scott) family's footsteps on a day in 1956, more precisely on November 23, when Mum, Dad and I crossed into Austria as refugees. Now that Schengen is with us, it doesn't just mean passage in and out of Hungary whenever I feel like it - that has been the norm even if you only have a Hungarian passport, for some two decades now. It doesn't just mean that passport control at the main border crossings has ceased since last December. It now also means that one can walk across fields, farmland, over creekbeds into, say, Austria whenever and wherever the fancy strikes us. If only my Mum and Dad had lived to see this . . .

So, last Friday Fran, Maggie, Den and I relived my adventure of more than 50 years ago. Except, of course, we did it in broad daylight, there were no Russian patrols to hide from by diving into roadside ditches, no searchlights cutting through the night, not even the sound of distant shooting. None of that, thank God. Just bright sunshine on a cool, crisp winter's day and the challenge of piecing together memories of half a century ago. Finding the little road with the ditches, tracking down the tiny brook which straddles the border, walking across long forgotten fields towards the village of Deutschkreutz, where we slept in a haystack that first night, so long ago . . .

That is what we did and we found it all. And the border which was a lifethreatening presence in 1956 is now no more than a sign for us to pose in front of, some forgotten pylons in the undergrowth, which in another era used to support high voltage barbed wire, an almost hidden and mostly forgotten marker from 1922, when the Austro-Hungarian border was last redrawn and an abandoned Austrian guardhouse. Mementos of one of the most exciting and probably THE most emotional days since we moved to Budapest almost four and a half years ago (can you believe it has been that long already?).

Like I said before - who would have, who COULD have believed this possible?

THE QUEST NEVER ENDS

PERFECTION is what we seek in life and it is no different when we are involved in the neverending quest for the best coffee house and cake shop in Budapest.

Our latest subject for in-depth research was the Muvesz (Artist) Cafe on the main crosstown drag, Andrassy ut. Very nice, very, VERY atmospheric, great coffee, but while nice, the cakes were not outstanding.

That was the unanimous opinion from the whole family, which, as you can see in the pic, included my sister Andrea and her husband Toni. Also expert researchers!

The quest continues . . .

ALL TOGETHER

ITS very nice and homely having the kids around.

Maggie is busy preparing for her last year at Sydney Uni and is putting a major effort into doing well in her least favorite subject, Anatomy. And, Den is around to assist in every way, most specifically by colorcoding hundreds of illustrations, which makes it easier for the child bride to do her work.

Afterwards? Its a well earned and much deserved snooze on the loungeroom sofa for both scholars.

TAKING ADVANTAGE

MIGHT as well take advantage of opportunities which present themselves, I say.

While Central and Eastern Europe is, alas, rapidly catching up to the West in the cost of living indexes, there are still bargains to be found. Where? Some everyday things, such as -

* Movie and theater tickets. How about first release movies at the equivalent of 6 Aussie bucks a pop? Or, superb productions of Broadway musicals at around 20 bucks a ticket? Perhaps, a night at the beautiful Budapest Opera House, enjoying a fabulous staging of one of your favorites for around 30 (and that is a good seat)?

* Restaurant meals. Great food at budget prices, mainly because the staff salaries are still at unbelievably low levels. One can have a meal in one of the five star hotels, or at a restaurant like Gundel and pay through the nose, just as if you were in London, or New York. However, a superb meal can be had in numerous wonderful restaurants for around 10 or 15 Euros a head, drinks and all the frills included.

* Services are cheap (see above, regarding salary levels). House calls by appliance repairmen and the like run to around 15 or 20 Euros.

and

* THE BIGGEST BARGAIN OF THEM ALL - DENTISTS! Hungarian dentists have been featured on CNN, BBC World and most major newspapers of the western world. They are superbly trained, well equipped and an absolute bargain.

Take Fran, for instance. A couple of weeks ago she had a toothache, which turned out to be dreaded root canal syndrome. Full treatment by a top dentist over three sessions - guess how much? Less than 100 Euros (around 160 Aussie bucks?). She needed a full X ray. Guess how much? 2500 Forints, exactly 10 Euros.

Can't beat that, can you? How much would it have cost us in Sydney?

So, if you plan to tour this part of the world, get your teeth fixed as part of your holiday treat. You will save a mint! Which is why, even as I write this, Maggie is having her annual checkup a few streets from our home, prior to returning to Sydney at the end of this month.

One last item to compare - medical insurance. Costs us just a smidgin over 100 Euros, or around 160 Aussie Dollars a head per month. OK, but that doesn't sound really cheap, does it? However, consider the following - unlimited visits to GPs and specialists, total and unlimited private hospital single room access, all pathology services and anything else you can think of. All of it totally cost free (after the monthly fee).

Why can't we have that back in Australia?

THIS WAS MORE OUR STYLE

IT was in October 1972, in Montreal, Canada, that I first laid eyes on a snowmobile, a Skidoo. Alas it was at a sporting goods fair and could not hop on and ride it.

Been waiting ever since, but the wait is over. At Madesimo snowmobiles were available for tours of the high country and we took full advantage of the opportunity. More than once.

Nothing like it. Nothing even resembles the fun of roaring across a sparkling white Alpine countryside, up hills, across frozen lakes. NOTHING!!!

A BIT OF HIGH COUNTRY R & R

EVERYONE must have a break now and again and we chose tiny Madesimo in the Italian Alps for a wonderful week's relaxation at the end of January.

That's Fran and I relaxing at 3000 meters, a place where the ski season ends in June! It was all sunshine, warmth and sparkling snow. Skiing? Great. Did we try it? Not at this level, where the runs - on and off piste - looked suicidal. Fran sat it out altogether, Maggie and I did well on the least demanding of the blue runs. Maggie and I did get brave near the end of our stay and went up the mountain to try out a longer blue run. It was NOT a good idea. Scary slopes which, well before the end of the run, turned into a vicious red one.

To save life and limb, we walked to the end.

GUESS WHAT HAPPENED AT THE BASKETBALL?

INTO the third year of a "whirlwind" romance, Den has finally got up the courage to pop the question to our Maggie.

Mind you, he did wait until she was in his home village of Sudislav, up in the hills and backwoods of the Czech Republic, on a cold and windy winter night of inclement weather, Maggie dressed in her pyjamas and there was no escape.

So, Maggie said "YES!" and Fran and I found out that our little girl is now an engaged woman when our phone started making a noise in the fourth minute of the third quarter of the Sopron (Hungary) v Lille (France) Euroleague basketball match. It is fair to say, this was the most memorable basketball match Fran and I have ever been to.

So, what now? Well, the happy couple have informed us of the following:

1. Maggie goes home and does her final year of studies at Sydney University, where she will graduate with the same brilliant results she has been maintaining until now (this saved an argument with her strict and merciless Mum and Dad!). In 2007 - five Distinctions and one Credit!

2. Then there will be a gathering of the Scott "clans" in Sydney, March 2009, for her graduation ceremony, where, of course, we will have to choose carefully what we will wear, because Fran and I and Den will all simply be bursting with pride and we don't want to make a mess of Sydney Uni, do we now?

3. Maggie plans to enter her profession's workforce in Britain, with Den, who has already spent considerable time working in London, also looking for livelihood over there. So, the search and planning will begin. Fran and I approve, not least because while Australia is tens of thousands of kilometers away from us, Britain is a mere 100 minutes from Budapest as the birds fly. And, airline tickets are cheaper, as well. (It will probably be no more than lucky coincidence that our likely frequent visits to England will coincide with Chelsea's Premier League matches. Pure luck, mere coincidence, I say.)

4. All going according to plan it will be a beautiful country wedding in Sudislav nad Orlici, Czech Republic, in the summer of 2009.

Hope to see many of you there!

WELCOME TO THE SCOTT FAMILY BLOG!

Well, it had to happen sometime.

From today we will try to keep you up to date with what is happening to us at this end of the world, far from our friends and families in Australia, North America and those of you nearer to us in Europe and Israel.

WHY are we doing this? Good question. One answer is practical - it is easier than sending separate emails to everyone. The other answer is emotional - we hope that all of you, our friends and family members, will reciprocate in kind and keep us up to date about your lives. Help us keep the bonds of friendship, regardless of the distances between some of us.

So, here goes! Hope you enjoy reading about our goings on as much as we - hope to - enjoy sharing it with all of you. We may be far, far away from most of you, but you are never far in our thoughts!

We love you all!

Peter, Fran and Maggie (:-))))
Budapest, Hungary - Winter 2008