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.