Christmas has come early!

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After writing my blog on Saturday and exchanging French pleasantries with one of the Cameroonians at my underground internet place, I ventured out into Vaci utca once again. It was far too cold to go too far, so I headed off to my favourite Central Market. When I got there, it was closed. No-one had mentioned that Saturday was early-closing day. I bought a snack and returned to my warm (nay, hot!) apartment to read and then to watch the last of my DVDs from home - The Order of The Phoenix, not the best of the Harry Potter movies. The storyline was a bit thin and the computer graphics a bit too much for my liking. And, I'm still not sure whether the Dark Lord was vanquished or not.

Anyhow, the following day, the cold wind had abated and the snow hadn't settled in the city centre. I walked along the Danube to the Parliament Building, said to have been modelled on our own Houses of Parliament in London, to a design rejected by Germany for their Reichstag - they ended up with a concrete bunker and Budapest got the elegant building with the spires and dome. "Daily tours free of charge for EU citizens," said the notice outside. It didn't say that "daily" didn't include Sundays. The armed guard hiding behind a bush inside the wire fence told me to come back tomorrow.

There was a mini-Christmas-market in the square in front of the Parliament. It had a Santa's Grotto and a Guinness record attempt at the longest Hungarian-style Christmas cake in the world - 400 metres long, part of it being cooked in something resembling an O-Gauge Railway train, supervised by Anthony Worrall-Thompson lookalikes in whites and those silly tall white hats that get caught on cooker hoods. I tried an off-cut of the cake. It was like a cold, overcooked jam roly-poly, with black spicey stuff and some crystallised fruit instead of jam. And no custard.

A lost German couple standing next to me expressed disappointment that the much-publicised Christmas market was just these six or seven stalls and an O-Gauge oven. I was planning to return to my apartment for lunch so escorted them - without once mentioning the war - to the real Christmas Market twenty minutes' walk away. They seemed pleased when we got there. And they didn't mention the war either.

Monday dawned bright and early. The sun glinted on the ice and I was back at the Parliament Building soon after 9 o'clock. It was closed. The guard behind the bush inside the wire fence apologised profusely on behalf of the Prime Minister, who had unexpectedly decided to come in to do some overtime.

I walked instead through streets and squares lined with architecturally-pleasing buildings to St Stephen's Basilica. It's not an old building (1851 to 1905), but it's imposing from the outside and religiously-ornate on the inside. Its claim to fame, apart from some stunning mosaics by one Karoly Lotz, is that it houses the right hand of St Stephen. I'm not sure where the rest of him went to. This mummified hand, it seems, has been a well-travelled tourist since it first belonged to Stephen, crowned King of the Magyars in the year 1000. It somehow became separated from the rest of him when he left the throne for somewhere higher. Then, in the 13th century, it was taken to Dubrovnik to protect it from the Tartars (that warrior race who liked a sauce made of cream and capers with their fish and chips). Later, it travelled to Vienna and then to the Royal Palace in Buda. It didn't take up residence at his Basilica until 1945. It looks quite at home in its little gilded display case, which lights up when you cross the guardian's palm with a 100 Forint coin.

On my way back to the apartment, I stopped for a hot chocolate and a cinnamon and apple muffin. My mobile phone rang - it was the dental clinic calling to tell me they'd be picking me up in an hour. Christmas had come early - my teeth had arrived (and anyway, Dr Batorfi was going on holiday tomorrow).

At the clinic, the doctor, today dressed from top to tail in fuschia pink, set about fixing and adjusting.
"'Sorry about the pain," he said, "the implants are deep in the gums - good for the teeth, bad for the pain."
In went the abutments and on went a torque wrench.
"Oh dear," said the good doctor.
All had been well - until one of the implants moved in my jawbone when put under torque. He continued, with care and all was well (well, sort of).

I now have my new teeth and can smile again. Hooray! Alas, the implant which moved needs some re-healing time, so I'm not allowed to use it for biting anyone for a month or two. I have to maintain absolute hygiene, but can't use an electric toothbrush. But, hey, I can smile - that's allowed. The teeth look and feel like real teeth and, providing I cut up my dinner into little pieces, it will be a very happy Christmas.

The woman sitting opposite me in the clinic had fourteen implants. She said she'd stood in her office car park last week and thought to herself:
"I could have bought myself a new car for the price of this dental treatment."
"Yes," I said, "but you wouldn't have been able to smile when you picked it up from the showroom."
"Thath's wight," she lisped.

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Photos

Castle Hill from the promenade on the Pest side of the Danube
There are several interesting statues on this walk as well as some good views across the river to the Buda side of the city.

The Parliament Building
I never did go inside!

400 metres of cake!
I would be surprised if they were awarded a Guinness record. Some of the cake was being cooked on the spot, but most of it had arrived in metre lengths and was laid out end to end on tables.

Entertainment in the Christmas Market
Sometimes fiddlers, sometimes dancers, sometimes singers - there was a varied programme of entertainment every afternoon on the stage at one corner of the market.

The hand of St Stephen
The mummified right hand of St Stephen in its little display case. Apparently, they take it for walkies every St Stephen's Day.

Keep smiling!
Just to prove that I do now have a smile as well as new teeth!

Comments

[Laura]

Great blog!
Mike--I thoroughly enjoyed your Budapest blog-- the dental info was interesting and your insights about Budapest are helpful and entertaining. My Mom and I are going off to Budapest this summer as part of a tour (from the US), and I m checking out blogs, travel tips from others well ahead of time. We are really excited as my Mom has never been to Europe and I have only been to London and Greece previously. Thank you for your entertaining blog.