Journal of a Sabbatical

February 26, 2001

individual pigeons

Today's Reading: 1)In A Hungarian Quartet * Four Contemporary Short Novels: Logbook by Géza Ottlik, Left Behind by Iván Mándy, Forgiveness by Miklós Mésöly, and The Transporters by Péter Esterházy - finished them all; 2) Under the Frog by Tibor Fischer - started.

Botanical Department, Hungarian Museum of Natural History - Budapest - February 26, 2001

Took the metro to Deak tér this morning while waiting for Zoltán and the greatest Mac repair expert in Eger to arrive in Budapest. I walked from there to Erszebet ter and along October 6 utca in search of bookstores. Browsed heavily in two, one called Bestsellers and the other one I completely failed to note the name of. I bought Budapest for Children in the same series as the bizarre coffee house book I bought the other day. If Kevin does bring the kids to Budapest this summer, it might come in handy. Also bought Under the Frog by Tibor Fischer, the story of a basketball team in the 1950's. That one was recommended in the Lonely Planet guidebook.

Indulging in one of my more bizarre and incomprehensible pleasures, freezing cold picnics, I bought some fruit, yogurt, and green tea with lemon at a small market on Erszebet tér and ate it on a park bench in the square while watching old men feed the pigeons. Despite the cold, the park was alive with birds: house sparrows, pigeons, magpies, a collard dove, and a jackdaw. I watched the jackdaw chase the pigeons out of the tree. Even a European robin showed up. It must thing it's spring. I'm starting to recognize individual pigeons at Deak tér and Kalvin tér. Each square has its own flock of pigeons, its own old guys who feed pigeons, and its own old women who sell flowers. I bought two bunches of snowdrops from a woman in the Deak tér metro station for 100 forints.

Zoltán and Marilee arrived with the top Mac Man from Eger. Zoltán had been insisting that the problem was not as bad as I thought, but after Mac Man looked at it he confirmed that he's 99% certain that the motherboard is damaged. So it looks like I will be taking the G4 home with me tomorrow to return for repair. Grrr. I am not happy but will have to live with it.

Fried cauliflower has no taste. If you dip it in tartar sauce it almost resembles mild fried fish. Really mild.

I finished all four stories in Hungarian Quartet. Very weird. See my booklist for comments. Started Under the Frog. Very funny and engaging.