budaveg – vegetarian Hungary your vegetarian home in Hungary

We had a slightly different Christmas than we planned. A nasty flu thingy swept through the family, first the kids oozed tons of snot, than I got ill, with sore throat, neck pain and general spleen, and once I got better James had a sore throat, but more painful than ever. He couldn’t swallow and hence eat for two days and he was in so much discomfort he even asked for a painkiller. That alarmed me because he once fell through the roof and dislocated his shoulder for the third time and then just walked into the surgery- he is not a complaining type. We had no pain killers at home, apart from the kids teething pain killer which didn’t help him at all. After these days in agony I finally called the emergency GP to look at him, they came a few hours later and the doctor after a brief examination refered him to an otolaryngologists (ear-nose-throat specialist) as she suspected that James might have an abscess in his throat. Luckily she gave him a pain killer that actually worked. The doctor and her helper were very friendly, but they didn’t speak any English so I had to translate for them.  The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) was accepted, so it was free, otherwise a visit like that is 35 000 hufs. They urged us to see a specialist asap either in the surgery or at the hospital.

Our friends kindly took the kids and we decided to be hopeful and went to the surgery instead. We had to wait a good half an hour (there were 4 people waiting) but the receptionist said if he had any difficulty breathing we should just walk in the surgery.  He was seen by a young doctor who spoke very good English. She confirmed the GP’s fear and sent us to the hospital, James wasn’t to keen on going to hospital at all, but she told us that if it is an abscess it can be fatal as the pus can get in the lungs and he needs hospital care asap.

So we went to the hospital in duty which was Szent Janos a short drive from Moszkva/Szell Kalman ter. At the ward we met a young friendly doctor who spoke excellent English, and soon we found out that he was in fact French! I found it deeply ironic that we meet a French doctor working here when so many local doctors are leaving the country. He examined James and later called his colleague, they have decided that even though they were not sure if there was an abscess or not, James need further examinations and perhaps a CT.  They both ensured me that it is a minor thing and the biggest difficulty is to process the EHIC in the system. Since they both spoke excellent English I was of no use and went home to put the kids to bed, who were very mixed up already.

James had further tests and a CT but couldn’t confirm for sure if there was an abscess or not and in the morning a couple more doctors looked at him and in the end they have decided to perform a surgical incision just to play it safe. Also he was put on antibiotics, but since he is allergic to penicillin and a couple of other antibiotics- and had no record of which on him- they had to find a suitable one and watch him closely. The operation was awful as you can imagine- being stabbed in the throat, but after a day he was much better and could eat, talk and after two nights he could come home.

He picked the right time to go to hospital- it was empty he had the whole ward for himself! We were really pleasantly surprised that all doctors spoke English and he could easily communicate with all. Hospitals in Hungary are shabby and understaffed but I have to admit, we only met kind and smiling people there. To our delight most of the meals were vegetarian, so James could actually eat there, once he was given a split pea soup, the next day some bread with cheese spread (körözött), spring onions and a kiwi fruit. Again the EU card worked and he was covered by his UK health insurance.

When we got his medicine from the pharmacy we experienced the first problem with the EHIC, as the first pharmacy we waltzed into just couldn’t process it and wanted us to pay for the medicine. We just went to another pharmacy, where they could process it (having the card on hand really helps as doctors have terrible handwriting in this country!) and James got his medicine on NHS so only needed to pay for part of the sum.

So before you come to Hungary get your EHIC or health insurance and the system actually works!

Here is the follow up to my gardening story. When you have a tiny garden you start going vertical and use all the available space- so you need pergolas and containers.

Pots and containers are pretty common everywhere for flowers but we experimented with growing edible stuff- and hey they are pretty too! Our tomatoes did really well in the simple flower pots, we really only needed to keep them safe from the dog, but otherwise were easy plants. This year we planted some in the garden and they did amazingly well, we had yellow tomatoes, and cherry tomatoes as well, my favourites are the yellow ones, fantastic taste, really sweet!

I planted strawberries too, but they didn’t give a lot of fruit at all- we had like 20 berries from 10 plants- a plain waste of money…

James built a fantastic pergola to have some shade in the hot summer days, and also to have a place for the kid’s swings. I planted pink roses on one side and kiwis on the other at the posts, and runner beans in between. I planted normal runner beans and these special long green beans I discovered at the local market a year ago. The runner beans did really well, and I picked enough beans for 3 soups in the middle of the summer. Then just before the second harvest hundreds of shield bugs appeared on the beans, but they didn’t seem to harm them. I consulted Aron again and he said that they would suck the beans dry- and he was right, we lost the second harvest. Luckily there was a third batch right in October because we had an amazingly warm and sunny autumn. Look at these beans, I am in love with the colours!

I also planted these long green beans called “Turkish beans”. They like to run up to four meters and weren’t too happy with the mere two meters I provided them, still we had a few beans, enough to steam as a side dish.

Finally a trick I learnt from Aron; before the frost came I had to pick all our tomatoes and I was so upset about the green ones, but he advised me to put them on a tray with a few apples, put a tea towel on the top and they would ripen. And they did! They taste like store tomatoes, so not as good as the sun ripened ones, but at least they are organic.

Honestly I don’t think we saved any money on growing our own food, plants and potting mix are not cheap-but quality local veg is. However it was fun, very satisfying to pick warm sun kissed food and I think it is good to show your children, after all they learn by example.

Tonight all the magyar children will polish their boots and place them on the windowsill, St Nicholas aka Mikulás is coming tonight with sweets and treats!

We spent the afternoon making cinnamon rolls- snails and ladybirds- to leave next to those tiny boots for St. Nicholas and I am certain that he will be delighted!

So will the kids with these red sacks: they contain two raisin-apple muffins, a small packet of chocolate covered currants, a golden walnut, a red apple and a tiny wooden car.

Budapest is also getting ready for the celebrations, the lovely decorations are up, Christmas trees, lights and the Christmas tram started running too! It is the good old number 2 that runs along the river on the Pest side, check out this short video and see the amazing ride with all the sights along the Danube lit up!

And of course don’t forget to check out the Christmas fair at Vörösmarty square! There are quality crafts, hot wine, great toys and gifts, live music and entertainment for all ages.  And Santa from Finland is at the grotto tomorrow.

If you prefer cutting edge design, then the Museum of applied Arts is the place next weekend, on the 10th-11th from 10 am till 8 pm there is a contemporary design market, and guess what! Napfényes patisserie will be there too with vegan delights!