Hungary
The blog site had its first visitors from Hungary the other day - a central European country I know a little about - from working in Slovakia its next door neighbour to the north.
In fact there are so many ethnic Hungarians living and working in Slovakia - that they have formed their own political party (whose name escapes me) - which has representation in the Slovakian Parliament in Bratislava.
It's a bit like Scots in England having their own party - and representation - at Westminster.
If I remember correctly the Hungarian People's Party (or whatever it's called) actually forms part of Slovakia's coalition government - which is elected by proportional representation (otherwise minorities wouldn't get a look-in of course) - and has done for years.
The capital of Hungary is Budapest which sits in the banks of the Danube River - but what many people don't know is that Budapest is actually two separate cities - historically speaking at least.
Centuries ago Buda and Pest were rivals - sitting on opposite sides of the Blue Danube - until they were united into what is now the capital of modern Hungary.
Hungary is famous for its 'paprika' the red spice made from capsicum peppers- which can be sweet or fiery - and is a key ingredient in Hungarian Goulash - a spicy creamy stew normally made with good quality beef and mushrooms - though you can easily knock up a vegetarian alternative.
When I worked in Bratislava a Hungarian woman gave me a gift of the finest Hungarian paprika - which she said would knock the Spanish stuff into a cocked hat - any day of the week.
Being a great lover of Spain and Spanish cooking - I couldn't possibly comment - beyond saying that it was first class - 'double plus excellent' as an old friend of mine used to say.
I'm imagine Hungary is also famous for a great many other things - good quality wines I know for sure, like a surprising number of central European countries - and it does have to be said that they hammered Scotland at a football a few years ago.
But who doesn't these days?
And just to show that I'm not bitter - I am happy to post some more information about Hungary on the blog site - if any readers or visitors would care to enlighten me further.
In fact there are so many ethnic Hungarians living and working in Slovakia - that they have formed their own political party (whose name escapes me) - which has representation in the Slovakian Parliament in Bratislava.
It's a bit like Scots in England having their own party - and representation - at Westminster.
If I remember correctly the Hungarian People's Party (or whatever it's called) actually forms part of Slovakia's coalition government - which is elected by proportional representation (otherwise minorities wouldn't get a look-in of course) - and has done for years.
The capital of Hungary is Budapest which sits in the banks of the Danube River - but what many people don't know is that Budapest is actually two separate cities - historically speaking at least.
Centuries ago Buda and Pest were rivals - sitting on opposite sides of the Blue Danube - until they were united into what is now the capital of modern Hungary.
Hungary is famous for its 'paprika' the red spice made from capsicum peppers- which can be sweet or fiery - and is a key ingredient in Hungarian Goulash - a spicy creamy stew normally made with good quality beef and mushrooms - though you can easily knock up a vegetarian alternative.
When I worked in Bratislava a Hungarian woman gave me a gift of the finest Hungarian paprika - which she said would knock the Spanish stuff into a cocked hat - any day of the week.
Being a great lover of Spain and Spanish cooking - I couldn't possibly comment - beyond saying that it was first class - 'double plus excellent' as an old friend of mine used to say.
I'm imagine Hungary is also famous for a great many other things - good quality wines I know for sure, like a surprising number of central European countries - and it does have to be said that they hammered Scotland at a football a few years ago.
But who doesn't these days?
And just to show that I'm not bitter - I am happy to post some more information about Hungary on the blog site - if any readers or visitors would care to enlighten me further.
