67% of Budapest's Islands

Lately I’ve been assaulting Google with those kind of dumb questions which then cause major merriment when the auto fill helps out your queries. The first one, namely the identity of Guus Hiddink’s wife (don’t ask why, though it almost made sense at that time, no, really, it did.) was already helped by the auto fill- the information seems to be more researched than his present club, which is a reflection either on the shallow interests of the world in general or on the arch of Hiddink’s career in particular. Next up was whether Guinness contains fish- you guys, it does, isinglass in particular, and so do most cask ales, so no Guinness for vegetarians then, which is cool, because more is left for me.

Having reached such high levels of competence over the long weekend I didn’t bat an eye when, pondering the number of Budapest’s islands I realized I only had a hunch, not a certainty.  No worries there, let me type this thing into good old Google- the auto fill is back in action yet again and shows that I am not alone in the land of the confused and clueless but at least my hunch proved to be correct- Budapest has three islands, of which Csepel is the biggest, followed by Óbudai and Margit, with Szentendre island lying just above the northern border of the city hence already outside.

Although I’d half harboured a hope that maybe somewhere along the Danube’s Budapest stretch there’s a puny patch of land which might just qualify as an island, much as Pluto is occasionally a planet, and I could fetch the lazy photographer to go on a bold new discovery mission, I had to settle with the pleasant thought that over the weekend I’d visited 67% of Budapest’s islands bedecked in their full autumnal splendour.

We’d even managed to catch that elusive golden hour which on Margit island, due to the evil geographical placement of the Buda hills and the even eviler daylight saving arrangements which happened over the weekend has now become a golden 11 and a half minutes around four in the afternoon. 4 PM wouldn’t really qualify as dusk in my book, but sadly that’s exactly what it is these days-luckily we have a great suggestion for a place where you can drown your sorrow in both drink and food- Pozsonyi kisvendéglő has been faithfully serving the people of Újlipótváros and not only since 1992, and provides unsophisticated yet excellent fuel for chilly winter evenings. 

It's Always the Shoes- Sziget One Month On

In case you thought it's too early to think about next year's Sziget, think again. The first super discounted tickets will be on sale for 25 hours on the the 25th of September- so okay, days on Sziget do seem at least 25 hours long, but the 25th of September hasn't been officially prolonged, sadly, as that would have been interesting. The sale will therefore last all the way into the 26th, and those who purchase the Szitizen Prime tickets will receive assorted goodies alongside their ticket, for details bravely click here. 

The reason for the sudden love for all things 25 in simple- Sziget will be 25 next year, which might be a tad immature for humans these days, but is definitely a vintage age for a festival. So the 25th Sziget will definitely be a blast- which is pretty remote from the sedate island we visited last Sunday in our now traditional one month post Sziget pilgrimage. 

The first thing you notice as soon as you arrive, having smugly taken that (not so) secret short cut which always gets closed down during the festival, is how thoroughly nature steps back into its rights one month on- the only visible traces are faint markings of where the edges of stages and tents have been and the occasional forgotten shoe. 

We even saw an elusive squirrel this time and documented it with slightly dodgy footage- because Pilsner Urquell, which is surely one thing that could (and actually at a certain wonderful point in the past did) improve the way we feel about consuming beverages on the island. While this year's official beer succeeded mostly at giving you a slight but nagging head ache the next day, Pilsner Urquell was so delightful that if you sipped with care and concentration, you could almost hear the distant rumble of the main stage. A distant rumble that will become very much real next August, in case you have not heard it so far- for the 25th time. 

PS: As a top tip for those visiting the island 'off season', the beer was bought in the Sportvendéglő, a decidedly old school restaurant open all year round just a few metres away from the boat landing. The Ritz it isn't, but if you point at a certain beer with very much conviction, the otherwise totally friendly little old lady doubling as a waiter will get it for you. 

PPS: It has been brought to my attention by the now super industrious bordering on hyper active co-photographer of the blog that I forgot to mention the fact that Sziget beach, which was underwater during the festival, has now belatedly revealed itself as can be seen about halfway into the photo report below.