the hotness that is hungary

pictured: budapest looks better at night // nice map // clouds that looked like a painting (more so in real life)

now at the end of our 3-month euro-stint, we've just arrived in berlin after a few days baking in the budapest heat.

before arriving, i purposely did little research and held back from looking at pictures of budapest. beautiful, romantic, amazing - that's what people said it was like. so i wanted to be surprised. and i was.

there are lots and lots of really nice old building throughout budapest. but you can't put an ugly girl in a really nice dress and expect one to make up for the other (the dress is the architecture, the ugly girl is the commercialness, grime, and vibe of the city). overall, budapest sorta felt like what i imagine poland to be and what i imagine new york was like in 1970. poland because there appears to be no sensibility to contemporary design, fashion, or interiors - everything feels a little generic and cheap (which it kind of is). even restaurants that look nice end up just looking like channelside (in tampa) mall restaurants - and that's not what you expect from one of the prettiest cities in the world. new york in 1970 because the subways look and feel like that time period, and there's a bit of dirt on every wall. oh, and the people lack emotion - saying little and smiling never.

and when your city's subway maps are sponsered by mcdonalds (with icons to show you where the nearest one is - even though there's one on practically every block) - you are far, far from being beautiful, romantic, or amazing.

but as i said, there are lots of nice buildings. some are even so nice, that they are what places like vegas and disney copy - which unfortunately makes it kind feel kind of cheesy. but they are nice.

there's the castle district that kind of feels like a big sand castle.

and there are bath houses...which on a hot hot day, are amazing. the one we went to had 18 pools filled with the local spring water - rich in minerals. most of the pools are warm to hot, which after spending some time in the cold pool, are surprisingly enjoyable on a warm summer's day. but the cold pool felt great - they should make pool suits you wear when it's so hot. every 10 minutes the pool's jets would rotate between creating 40 or so jet/bubble clouds (which are intended for one person to stand on for 10 minutes for a nice massage) and a whirl pool shaped like a snail in the center of the pool (which is just sort of weird, since it was pretty small and rather fast). we were happy here.

something else that's pretty nice about budapest is how cheap it is. it's not taiwan cheap - but it's pretty close. most meals are generously portioned, and a three course meal with a drink at an everyday spot typically costs $10. not bad. one place we are at was a bio/vegetarian restaurant (there's not much bio/organic stuff here) and to our surprise had an interesting menu with some hungarian specialties - which were pretty yummy - and presented their food in a rather fancy manner. other things didn't seem so special, but it may just be the facade that threw us off (since the veg place didn't look nearly as good as it was).

and of course after surviving 2 days of extreme heat and no air conditioning (not even in restaurants or shopping areas - usually my releif when i was in ny) the last day was cool and windy. it really made the place look better, and we began to think our image of budapest was skewed by its hotness. but then our eyes caught site of the cheesey malls and mothers who were wearing skin tight shorts way too short and heals way too high (for shorts so short).

maybe it'll change in 30 years, like new york did. all it needs is a hungarian rudy giuliani. or something.

escape to regensburg

the really great thing - possibly the only good, to great, thing - about being at the animal farm is that it's within biking distance to the quaint, old-style town of regensburg. apparently it's also quite the tourist destination, since it's one of the only cities that wasn't destroyed by bombs during the war.

and a really great thing about germany is the well-kept, smooth, off road bike paths that can be found both in the city as well as the country. it makes riding very safe and enjoyable - even when there are very large bavarian hills to climb. and it makes bike culture something that's no just for the young hipsters of the world, but also an activity for families and so my amazement - the elderly. and when you see a grandma biking up a hill, you think you can do it too, but soon realise that she's probably been doing this her whole life and is much better at it than you will ever be. funny enough, it's a really good feeling, and makes me hope that america jumps on the real, larger than 3 inches, bike path bandwagon.

arriving in regensburg was a real treat. the city is right on the edge of the lovely danube river that runs throughout europe (again, bike path!...you can ride all the way to prague). and instead of hanging out at malls or lurking around gas stations, the youth here enjoys their free time sitting on the city's wall, feet dangling over rushing water. of course the youth here can also enjoy a beer or two - outside. so i'm sure that's also a bonus.

pictured: catholics are insane – the outside of the church // the ridiculously amazing inside // a grave // a skeleton wearing clothes (?!)

there's lots of really old buildings (like 2000 years old, old) to see and plenty of cafes and restaurants to relax at. which is exactly what we did. and it was luxurious. usually not a huge fan of buildings, i continue to be amazed at the intricacy of design and obvious effort - not to mention devote faith (most are churches) that must have gone into their being. why are we so lazy and skill-less these days?

pictured: famous cathedral

there also happened to be a wine festival (with beer too, of course) while we were in town. it was a traditional set up with colored lights dangling around the wooden kiosks that sell food and drinks served on reusable plates that you give a deposit for, fresh flowers on each table, and good ol'bavarian men dressed in their stately garb playing music that Walt Disney obviously stole (along with the bavarian castle design) for his wonderland. and it was here that i discovered a summer german treat (drink) that i really think needs to be brought to the states - Radler.

 

pictured: festival time // radler (left, bottom) and other goodies // typical

Radler makes a beer light, making it more enjoyable in hot weather and for asians who can't drink much. it's a simple recipe - sprite (or 7up, or fanta) mixed with beer (light or dark). it's really refreshing and my new favorite beer. yum.

pictured: starch-based (instead of gelatin) gummies are the best // street stuff // mushroom cafe in the park (that's for you val!) //why's over packaging so fun? ice cream treat with plastic hat and handle that turns into a whistle!

bavaria is really nice, i think mountains make everywhere nicer. and regensburg is a real winner. but it's time to move on to the hotness that is hungary.

Wwoof awards – the good, the bad

Now that our wwoofing experience has come to a welcomed end, alex and I have decided to put together a little award list that spans many different categories. this is due to the fact that no farm wins overall as the "hands down best" because there were really great (and bad) things about each and every one.

Overall, Sweden was the best country for us to wwoof in because: the people speak English well, like speaking English, are very kind and warm hearted, and think of their wwoofers as wwoofers – not field workers (aka, they teach you). but, it’s not to say we didn't learn and see a lot in germany…it just wasn’t as smooth of a journey. Anyway, the contrast of the two countries was really great and wwoofing is an experience I truly believe every person should be forced to partake in (if only for a few weeks).

and now, for the "good/best" awards...
Drum roll please…

Most educational: urnatur

Best food: urnatur / rosenhills

Most fun / silliest: rosenhills

Best dessert: appelfabriken

Most organized: appelfabriken

Best accommodations: urnatur

Best bathroom / shower: die grune ecke

Best access to urban life: rosenhills (stockholm by bus - 45min) / die grune ecke (regensburg by bike-1hr)

Prettiest / best landscape: urnatur

Best harvest: biohof barenfang

Best job: urnatur – traditional fence building

Least amount of bugs: solgarden

Best swimming: biohof barenfang

Best beach: solgarden (for aesthetic purposes only - that water was damn cold!)

Most farm-like: die grune ecke

and now for the not so great...

least educational: solgarden - pleasurable/chore work, but not educational (sorry!)

Most awkward: die grune ecke

Worst accommodations: tie between rosenhills caravan (because of the massive hornet we shared the place with) and barenfang’s bug room (bugs + mold + leaking ceiling = unhappy people)

Worst bathroom: biohof barenfang - mosquito infested outhouse, no real shower

Worst job: biohof barenfang – gigantic weed-tree pruning in 96 degree weather

Most mosquitos: rosenhills / barenfang

Most flies: die grune ecke - and they ate your flesh

Most wasps/hornets: biohof barenfang

Least fun free time on the farm: die grune ecke

Least farm-like: solgarden - most like a house-garden

A whole new level of wwoofing

pictured: sheep time!

today felt like a million days in one. I guess working before breakfast then taking a long break in the middle of the day before working in the evening will do that to you. it may also feel that way because we did a lot.

goats are smart. Sheep are stupid (so we were told, and so far it’s proven true). Which means that the sheep stay where you put them, and the goats - who do as they please - jump about into other animals’ areas. And so that’s how the day started – putting the goats back where they belong…and separating the lambs from the sheep before it was milking time.

Today franz (host) did the milking alone and alex and i fed, cleaned, fed, cleaned, fed, cleaned.

pictured: giving cow milk to a lamb (weird) // me putting lambs in their place (so soft!)

The feeding for the sheep and goats starts by wheeling over the green food - a healthy diet of cut grasses and flowers. This happens three times a day – along with a corn pellet and sliced-bread snack. As I wheeled over all this food (there’s A LOT of it) I couldn’t help but think it’s a big waste of time – seeing as all that green food comes from the field just down the way….but apparently it’s too hot for the animals to be outside in the day and I guess it’s not practical to herd them back and forth for milking twice a day. Anyway it appears they like the convenience food – as they gobble it up really fast. But even after all that grass and a corn snack they are still left looking oh so hungry – so I snuck them a few extra pitchforks full of grass. of course after that, they still looked hungry. Oh well. Sheep are stupid (but so cute!)

As far as cleaning goes - there was a little doody-duty to be had. Okay, lots of doody - sheep, pig, and cow shit to be exact. Cow shit is by far the biggest and wettest. But surprisingly the least stinky (although it feels as if you are sniffing ammonia the whole time…it’s probably just the methane burning the hairs in your nostril.) It was nice to see that the animals are given clean living quarters (unlike the hen house experience back at rosenhill.) I even kind of liked (I know…) scrapping the cow shit off the burning hot cement. It felt a lot like baking a pizza.

pictured: poo time! alex scrapping poo into one big poo pile // cow poo patties - cool!

The more enjoyable things (even more so than the poo-pizza play time) of the day included: teasing the piglets – and touching their noses, holding the new born lambs for bottle feeding, and eating german delights like Bavarian pretzels with sweet mustard (really the best thing ever) and fresh cooked cherries with thick-cut pancakes. Yum.

pictured: piglets being lazy // me teasing the little guys

And as I think about the day I realize that it’s the first time on our wwoof journey that I truly feel like a farmer. Before I just felt like a gardener. But animals put you on a whole new level…because when you no longer care about the flies covering your clothes (which are the kind that bite…not sting, or bite like a mosquito, but bite your skin off) or the poop smeared on your legs – you know you’ve made it to “farmer” level.

pictured: true farmer

pictured: bavaria by night

Got milk? Oh yeah.

pictured: the sheep making their way to the barn in the morning - for milking and feeding

Done in a dim room swarming with flies (sounds really gross – it is), milking the sheep, goats, and cows takes about 2 hours. It’s the main business (they make and
sell butter and cheese in addition to fresh milks) so there’s even a special milking house -equipped with a long “treat trough” (my own term) filled with corn pellets and a seemingly medieval-inspired head-lock (like what they used to lock criminals heads and arms in to publicly embarrass at the town square) to keep the animals facing forward. it’s a very simplistic, yet efficient set up.

pictured: the cows at their designated milk stations

The animals know the routine (because they know what’s in the treat trough). Immediately they line up at the door – which when opened, creates a stampede of jumping, pushing, greedy animals (obviously stupid, since they will all eventually be fed and milked…funny enough, it’s just like some humans also possess the same pointless “rush” instinct – ie airplane boarding.)

pictured: where the magic happens - milk station // sheep awaiting their breast pump fitting

The actual milking is done primarily with pumps (just like a breast pump…I think), but you have to massage the utters and pull on the very long nipples to help stimulate milk flow. Sometimes there’s a special sheep/goat that must be milked by hand – so both alex and I have had that opportunity. It’s pretty fun, I guess, and we even thought we were pretty good at it – after all, milk was coming out in a nice stream. But when one of the apprentices (think big minnesota farmer girl/woman) took over, she showed us what was what – cause when she squeezed, that milk was pouring out – splashing even.

By the way, it;s amazing how warm (hot even) those sacks of milk are.

Turn fat into fun - with butter making 101!

Making butter is pretty simple, with the right tools.

pictured: the fat // the whipped fat // fat becomes fresh-made butter!

1. First if you’re using fresh from the cow milk you need a centrifuge. This seemingly house-hold appliance separates the fat from the rest of milk – leaving you with the heaviest cream possible and skim-milk. I’m not sure what the readymade product is called in-store.

2. The heavy cream (heavier than whipping cream) is then cooked (to kill bacteria) and then cooled.

3. Next, you whip the cream (maybe it’s churn) with the help of a machine and this leaves you with little solid pieces of butter and buttermilk.

4. After you filter and save the buttermilk (I always wondered why it was called that) you then must “wash” the butter by kneading it under cool running water.

5. The last step is filling a butter-mold with the soft butter and tada – butter!

It’s pretty fun, but I imagine it being more fun if could experiment with adding herbs and spices to the butter (mmm…garlic).

Animal farm

pictured: bavaria in the morning // Die grüne Ecke (farm)

Oink oink, baa, moo, neigh, meow, bark, hallo…this place is filled with animals – and germans.

upon starting work promptly after our arrival we knew we had gotten ourselves into some serious shit (literally and figuratively.) unlike plants (which is secondary), animals can’t wait. They need to be fed, cleaned up after, and milked – twice a day. And within an hour we were thrown (no introduction or any real explanation) into it all.

pictured: cows have really big heads

Alex took care of the feeding – wheel barrowing over lots and lots of green grass for the sheep and goats to chomp on, while I helped with the milking – something I really wanted to do – once. But the milk keeps on coming (it takes roughly 12 hours for the goats and sheep to make a full bust of milk) as does the poo - which of course is powered by food.

pictured: sheep and goats meet in the middle to feast on greens and flowers

And with so much milk being produced on a daily basis, there’s lots left over for butter and cheese making. Today I got to make some butter (see blog entry: Turn fat into fun - with butter making 101!). And while we haven’t yet made any cheese, we sure have been eating it! In the refrigerator is the biggest plate of specialty cheese I’ve ever seen (it’s probably worth hundreds of dollars if you were to get something similar in ny.). And because our diet is mostly bread here (breakfast and dinner are bread meals, lunch is the only “hot” meal) we have had the chance to try many cheeses. They are all good, but I kind of wish I knew what sort of cheese it is that i am enjoying.

Which brings me to the lack of communication we are (I am) experiencing. Even though the germans here know a decent amount of English, they forgo using it and only speak to alex – leaving me to stare at my feet or the flies during meals. It’s pretty tough - for me to just totally sit out of conversations – but there’s not much I can do (sometimes they even speak german to me as if maybe I’ll understand. – ie saying “we can speak English now” in german!) it’s not much better for alex. Even though he can understand what’s being said – sometimes we aren’t even told what to do, or why we’re doing it – so we end up just standing around until someone tells us a small part of the task (“move this there”). It’s really a bummer, cause this place is very interesting and there’s lots to learn – especially since is totally different from any of the other farms. Regardless, I do think we’ll still learn lots…it’ll just be like an ikea manual.

pictured: three pigs // pigs have strong noses

Anyway, I like the animals. The pigs are especially funny – I don’t think I’ve ever seen pigs like these. They look like animatronics since their eyes are skin are so human-eque. It’s a bit creepy, but I can’t help but want to give them a big fat hug. That is, if they weren’t rolling around in mud (typical) all day. Oh, and there’s a bunch of piglets that are free to roam around – and always look like they are up to something mischievous – in that cute happy pig way. Their noses feel nice.

pictured: horse and alex - horses have really nice noses as well

In addition to the pigs, there’s also: a horse, 3 cows, maybe 10 goats, 50 sheep, 2 dogs, a cat, and about 9 germans (we’ve only seen 3).