Tag Archives: Hungarian Pumi Club

Pumis, Bacon, Palinka, Terrorism, Politics and The Ominous Toilet Bowl

March 26, 2016

At Hajnalka Velekei's "Ttoktudó Kennel" at Tápióbicske

At Hajnalka Velekei’s “Ttoktudó Kennel” at Tápióbicske

Pumi talk with József Árkosi Club president, Gabriella Szabadosné and me (pictured)

Pumi talk with József Árkosi Club president, Gabriella Szabadosné and me (pictured)

We are home at long last!  After six weeks in Hungary we are back home on the farm in Delhi, NY.  Every day has been a continuos inseparable experience in Hungary. Pumis, family, friends, food, alcohol, melancholy, nostalgia, literature, religion, political discontent  and the dreaded central European toilet bowl…- essential attributes of Central-European existentialism.

I’ve spent six weeks in Europe, mostly in Hungary where I’ve traveled all over the country to see groomers,  breeders and their Pumis.  I also had a quick trip to Austria and a short stop in Helsinki, Finland.

Felt art - preparation for Easter

Felt art – preparation for Easter

ham ham ham

ham ham ham

We were also invited to a Pumi Club party/meeting, where current changes in the law affecting breeders of Hungarian native dog breeds have been discussed along Club life, activities and delegation of responsibilities.

 

For Hungarian women, the work place, formal organizations and even everyday life in general still offers different experiences and less opportunities than for men in Hungary.  To summarize my experience, the food was great while club business and female membership are still incompatible today.

Bacon Nation

Bacon Nation

An authentic and legal... distillery in Mezöberény

An authentic and legal… distillery in Mezöberény

Dog shows are reflections of the existing power struggles of the opposing Hungarian Pumi parties.  According to rumors  oppositions have slowly been eroding however. The word is out that more people are considering to join the official club – after all common sense might prevail in the interest of the breed.

Undoubtedly, Hungary remains the Mecca of the Pumi, even though, dog culture and breeding practices could use a bit of update and a few gallons of fresh paint.  The good news is that changes are  coming along thanks to the Hungarian Pumi Club’s (Magyar Pumi Klub) efforts.  Health testing is becoming more frequent, the registered breeding stock is managed better through frequent breeding stock review, including essential temperament tests.  The number of breeders who take responsibility and health test their dogs are slowly increasing. What is ironic however is that many who still refuse to test their own dogs, demand to see test results from breeders who have done the health tests.  hypocrisy at its best…!

Street musician in the heart of Budapest playing using wine glasses

Street musician making music by using wine glasses in the heart of Budapest

The mobile pedal powered beer cart riding through one of the historic districts of Budapest. Patrons must be pedaling to move the vehicle on the road while drinking beer.

The mobile pedal powered beer cart riding through one of the historic districts of Budapest. Patrons must be pedaling to move the vehicle on the road while drinking beer.

For Hungarians, life is well greased with bacon, smoked with cigarettes and wetted with Palinka in Hungary.  Vegetables and fruits are expensive and therefore they are not integral part of Hungarian diet. Fresh green products, including fruits’ prices have been controlled by the vegetable mafia for over five decades.

Meat, cured salami, smoked sausage, lard, alcohol and its corollary, high blood pressure overwhelms everyday folks’ lives. Heart attack is the most frequent killer of Hungarians.

The ever present healthcare crisis you to severely underpaid medical professionals further complicates the story.Any ambulance can be easily redirected from hospital to hospital while the patient is dying of  a heart attack in the ambulance due to serious shortage of doctors. The exodus of doctors from Hungary is the second largest human migration in Europe after the  current middle eastern refugee crisis.

Demonstration of power at the Liszt Ferenc Airport in Budapest after the Bruxelles, Belgium terror attack. Opposition parties regarded it unnecessary, ineffective and expensive. An anchor woman in one of the the morning news asked, "So who is going to pay the overtime for the S.W.A.T. team?" The following day the number of military vehicles were reduced at the airport entrance

Demonstration of power at the entrance of the Liszt Ferenc Airport in Budapest after the Bruxelles, Belgium terror attack. Opposition parties regarded it unnecessary, ineffective and expensive. An anchor woman in one of the the morning news asked, “So who is going to pay the overtime for the S.W.A.T. team?” The following day the number of military vehicles were reduced to two at the airport entrance.

 a WWI museum show pushing government propaganda through glorification of militarism - rally around the right wing government

a museum show about the Great War and its consequences. Pushing government propaganda through glorification of militarism – rally around the right wing government

Hungarian politics is authoritarian and it is in close alliance with Putin’s Russia. Corruption is rampant in many aspects of life. Politicians are like feudal overlords who buy public land below market price and abuse power. Opposing voices are often intimidated and muted. The last television news I watched in Hungary has secretly followed the trail of a big chunk of money recently appropriated by the EU to investigate government corruption in Hungary.  The news story revealed that the money  has been embezzled by those government  agencies and politicians who should have been investigated for alleged corruptions.

Regardless, Hungary is still a fascinating country that you must put on your bucket list to visit. It is a beautiful place, with welcoming people, lots of Pumis,  fantastic architecture, endless history and  great cultural and culinary traditions. Also,  is still relatively inexpensive.

Architectural details in the castle district with a "cool girl"

Architectural details in the castle district with a “cool girl”

world class architecture

world class architecture

But remember, when visiting Hungary and Central Europe, always be on the alert.  The region has always been an exciting, however a complex place that often surprises visitors.  Hungarians like other nations in the area are absorbed by existentialism that is present in every aspect of life and sometimes can be overbearing. It can also appear in the least expected context like the often discussed “shelf modeled toilet…” But I guess, these are some of  the things that makes Hungary and Central Europe authentic and different from the rest of the world and also why we all like to go there.

The German shelf toilet - Heideggerian Existentialism explained -

The German shelf toilet – Heideggerian Existentialism explained –

CLICK HERE ——>https://youtu.be/bpSiMbkhkuE

to be continued….

Fear and Loathing in Pécs, Hungary

March 13, 2016

The flag of Pé with the coat of arm of the city. it says, Seal of the Free Royal City of Fivechurch" granted by Maria Theresa (i thin

The flag of Pécs with the coat of arm of the city. It says,
“Seal of the Free Royal City of Fivechurch” granted by Maria Theresa (i think in the center MT stands for her)

Studio detail of Marta Csille where I planned to have two days of felting workshop.

Studio detail of Marta Csille where I planned to have two days of felting workshop.

JPEG image-C5F2E519EBB1-1

Work station at Martha Csille’s felting studio

The county building. Pecs is also the county seat of Baranya County

The county building. Pecs is also the county seat of Baranya County

Barely back to Budapest from Graz, Austria on Monday and by early Thursday morning we hit the road again to the south, to the City of Pecs.  First we stopped in a small town, Egerág, at the studio of Marta Csille Hungarian felt artist, for a two day workshop to learn more about the tricks of the trade and enhance my felting toolbox.  I felt tired and a bit sick, I thought because of the crazy weather, lots of traveling, and lack of sleep.  By mid day, I had high fever, serious sinus pain and major headache.  Things did not go well. I finished the day early, got some cough and headache medicine that somehow got mixed with some palinka (Hungarian distilled spirit)  and went to sleep. Since I did not improve overnight, I got some antibiotics next day. I cancelled my second day of workshop and took an early and a pretty drowsy drive to Pecs, to the weekend FCI dog show.  I could not wait to arrive. I crashed at the duplex that I rented in the middle of town and tried to get some rest.

empty street with one of the perfectly preserved petrified body of one of the victims of the massive volcanic eruption.

empty street with one of the perfectly preserved petrified body by the massive volcanic eruption. He never got to finish his coffee.

Even though, my  condition improved somewhat by Saturday morning, I was still heavily under the effect of the unfortunate mixing of medicines and  alcohol from last night. First thing, I took the dogs for a big walk in the city center of Pécs, while holding my swollen running nose and barely balancing my 100lbs head on my neck.

The streets were dead empty not a single soul in sight. It seemed strange.

the empty Szécheny Square where is everyone?

the empty Szécheny Square, where is everyone?

Location Location Location…Hungary might have been the real estate dream market  throughout history, however, it must have been the nightmare for insurance companies for close to two thousand years. No wonder why. Hungary has been a virtual crossroad between east, west and south where different cultures have clashed for hundreds of years. They thrived, prospered than disappeared overnight, giving space for the next weave of invaders,  Romans, Avars, Celts, Mongols, Ottomans and others who fought over religion, land and resources.

The ghostly street sweeper and the Pumis

The ghostly street sweeper and the Pumis

 

Pécs’s history  go back to the ancient Romans. The City was established in the 2nd century and was named Sopianae. Excavation have unearthed Celtic burial sites and a Christian Necropolis. By the first millennium Pecs, like other parts of the country was under the control of the first Christian Hungarian King, Stephen I.  As the  nation accepted its new religious faith, the semi nomadic tribal military culture gradually faded into extinction and the ruling feudal system has risen from the blood and tears of the past.

The holy Trinity statue erected in 1714 to commemorate the escape from the plague, the Black Death. There are the plague saints on the bottom, and above the father, the son and the holy spirit.

The holy Trinity statue erected in 1714 to commemorate the escape from the plague, the Black Death. There are the plague saints on the bottom, and above the father, the son and the holy spirit – do not mix it with your medicine (I mean the holy spirit).

 

Medieval Pecs was built from the remains of five christian chapels and Sopianae was renamed “Five Churches.” Its new name was used in all of the languages of the area. The name has  been reduced to Pecs over the next 1200 years. The city has become a major cultural center. By 1367, Pécs has opened the doors of the first university in Hungary.  Next, the expanding Ottoman Empire has left its  impact  on the region and the whole country for 150 years…and I kept walking with the dogs in the empty city streets…

Pumis and of Janos Hunyadi the Overlord of Transylvania on horseback. I wonder what was he doing here...

No signs of life except the Pumis and  Janos Hunyadi the Overlord of Transylvania on horseback. I wonder what was he doing here…

The dramatic eruption of the nearby volcano of Mt. Mecsek destroyed the city of Pécs, killing all and burying the city under 20 ft of volcanic ash. For several hundreds of years the buildings, objects and the bodies that lay beneath the ash cover have been untouched and perfectly preserved because of the lack of air and moisture.  When the excavation uncovered the hermetically sealed site, plaster fillings were injected in the voids of the ash layers that held human bodies. It allowed to see the body positions of the people, as they died.  The city has remained an empty haunted place, virtually an archeological site ever since.

First floor of the duplex that I rented in Pecs. It served more as a hospital.

First floor of the duplex that I rented in Pecs. It served more as a hospital.

the Pumis got comfy while I was chatting with Timothy Leary

the Pumis got comfy while I was chatting with Timothy Leary

The Mosque Pasha Quasim converted into a catholic church in 1702. The largest Turkish building in Hungary

The Mosque of Pasha Quasim converted into a catholic church in 1702. It is the largest Turkish building in Hungary

As I walked on the empty streets with the two dogs, the rhythmic clacking noise made by the impact of the dogs’ nails with the cobble stones pavement,  echoed from  the thick walls of the empty buildings.  My brain was pulsing, my vision was blurry and my body still exhausted from the fever when finally the fresh air and the warm rays of the morning sun slowly started clearing my druggy head.  I felt hungry and my brain craved for coffeine.  I walked into a patisserie and I bough a croissant and a large cappuccino.

When two Pumis occupy an empty city.

When two Pumis occupy an empty city.

After a few sips of coffee, I went into panic mode as I realized that holly @*#%…! I was mixing up the history of Pécs, Hungary and Pompeii, Italy.  But  something still did not add up, where did all the people disappear from the city…? “Why are the streets empty?” I asked the barista.

“There is a dog show in town and they all went to see some wonder dog from New York, I think a Pumi…,” she answered.

p.s. Agyag did fantastic both days. She got BOS, CACIB, CAC and Excellent 1 Saturday and Sunday too.

Kaffogo Agyag BOS, CACIB, CAC, Excellent 1 both days. the mystery has also been resolved. Yes, indeed, the good citizens of Pécs all came to see the American wonder Pumi at the dog show just look at the seats behind me.

Kaffogo Agyag BOS, CACIB, CAC, Excellent 1 both days. the mystery has also been resolved. Yes, indeed, the good citizens of Pécs abandoned their city and all came to see the American wonder Pumi, Kaffogo Agyag at the dog show. Do not believe me? Just look at the seats behind me.

the proof of that we were there and the rest was a nightmare.

the proof of that we were there and the rest was a bad dream.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am sinus free and back safe and sound in Budapest again.

on the way back to Budapest. Double vision? oh not again...

on the way back to Budapest. Double vision? oh not again…

there is light at the end of the tunnel. Huhh...

there is light at the end of the tunnel. Huhh…