Haiku, dragon fly, hiatus

*Szentes' dragon fly, my first shot*

continuing from yesterday, whilst searching for poets, I came to know Haiku is popular among Hungarian artists, here's one of the them to compliment the photo :-

Perhaps do not even touch it.
Just look at it, look at it,
until it becomes beautiful.
~by Éva Antal

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I'm going off for a holiday this afternoon and shall be back next Saturday (July8). In the meantime, the comment box has been switch off as I won't have access to internet. Ciao!

Lost in translation

Hope not! An idea came to mind to look for Szentes born poets. The task was not easy but we did managed to find 2. However, their poetry are too depressing :D. In the end, we decided to translate a poem by famous Hungarian poet, Sándor Petőfi (1823–1849)..

Heavy, heavy, my heart is,
Love is hanging on it,
the sorrow of love,
I'm breaking down under it

I have no day and night,
I keep thinking,
I am just wondering,
if you think of me, my darling?

If you don't need me,
no one should need me,
if you don't love me,
God shouldn't love me!

Before & After

Before taking up photography as a hobby (started last year July),I would just past by these road-side vendors* admiring the flowers. My boyfriend would ask if I want any of them, my reply would be "No" 'cos I don't like walking around with flowers (go figure ..)
Then, came autumn/winter when the wild flowers died down, I found myself without free flowers to photograph. I would then purposely walk by these vendors, hint to him that certain flowers would be good for macro shots..he has no choice but to buy them for me.. :p

*only this part of the town is allowed road-side selling

See Lisi's lovely Florist at Stanley

Unknown

I've always thought such statue of workers was from the communist era. Whilst checking for more info, I came across a thread in town's online forum, where the facts prooved that it was not built for the soviet bloc and in fact no one knows the true meaning behind these statues....???

Interesting :- In Budapest all memorial of the communist culture have been removed and placed at a one of its kind theme park, name Statue Park . Its worth a visit

A quarter of mile stone?

Still can't believe I made it to 100th post! Can I say I've reached quarter of mile stone?
ok, to mark the occasion I got all 100 photos framed into one! yeah, copying the idea from Lisi on her 100th post ;) Since this is not a daily photo post, the comment box has been switch off..Cheers! :)

Yesterday

*run, run, run {dont want the rain getting into the camera} ..run, run {eyes still observing the surroundings} *shout : STOP!! *click,click,click* ˙{YES!} ..*run,run............{the outing is not a total lost}
We were out hoping to enjoy an outdoor concert by the river. All of sudden dark clouds moving fast! we ran trying to beat the storm, half way, I saw the stork ....and well, here you go ;)

* = action, {} = whispering in the mind
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My 100th post! much to learn and enjoying it :) Thank you all!

Night lights

On a usual night, you'll probably see one or two souls walking on this part of the town. Instead of showing you the lonely streets, here's much more action caught during a parade. The late neo-baroque style building is the town hall.

A poem for the WAY TOO HOT summer days

When it's raining,
I longed for sun shining,
When I'm finally sun bathing,
I miss the snowball fighting!
~ by the indecisive Kris ;)

ps. Care to rate this kinddy standard poem? ..hahahah! :D

Right now I'm always seeking shelter under those shady spots ..hot hot hot!

Retail therapy

Growing up in the city, every weekend I used to need my dose of retail therapy to help me unwind. Surprisingly without any mega malls or shopping centres here, I'm coping just fine. What we have in the town is some stand alone boutiques, the most posh is this Italian brand of women's wear. What do you do to unwind?

*Many thanks to Kala of Honolulu for helping me with the settings of this template :)

A little effort goes a long way

For someone (moi) who has taken out garbage only 3+ times before moving here (really embarrassed to admit), separating the garbage into respective recycle bins is a big deal to me! I feel that I've done my small part in preserving the environment :)
From what I observed, people here have adapted well to this way of garbage treatment, considering that Hungary implemented this system only in late 2003. Better late than never, right?! ;)

Having fun!

*My boy friend's niece during children's day in kinddy. Photo taken by her mother*

Face painting, though not a new art, only became popular in our town a few years ago. Nowadays, face painting booth is a must-have in major event in the town. Have you tried it yet?

Graffiti Sunday

what better ways to celebrate the 100th city DP Blog then painting a graffiti to mark the occasion! To do so, I can only paint at a wall specified by the town council for graffities...how do you like it ?
okay, the writing was added by me using photofilter. You can see the recently repainted wall here in full size.

*read about DP blog at wikipedia (link from Greenville DP)

Peeping

We often pass by the St. Anna Roman Catholic Church, this time I thought we'd ask permission to photograph the inside. But no one was to be seen. However, the organ was playing, listening to the tunes, even though from the outside really give a sense of peace...
Enjoy your weekend everyone !

some facts
The church was est 1842
The organ was made in 1889

Let's get it started

Fancy being serenaded?

In this case, by your own students! If you're a teacher, that is :) In tradition, students treat their teachers to some lovely music/singing outside their homes on the last day of school year. It also marks the begining of the summer holidays *applause*

*Lucky me! I stumbled upon them yesterday. saves me from pulling my hair thinking of a topic :D

Horizontal tricolour of red, white and green

*strength (red), faithfulness (white), hope (green)* facade of town council office*

Boys and girls, do you remember learning the origin of your country's flag at school? For me, it was an interesting experience getting to know the history behind each colour and symbol. After one year+ living in Hungary, it's about time that I study the story behind the flag of Hungary. Thank goodness for google and wikipedia!

*see world's newest flag here

Pimp "my" ride

Excuse the mindless post, I just have to share with you guys yesterday's random find, a vintage Citroën (Model club xxx?). Oh it's in good condition, no pimping needed, and I wish it's my ride!

For those who are in the dark about what's "Pimp my ride", click here

"Reading" materials, anyone?

*old but clean and tidy :)*

Local stores are always coming up with promotions/best buys/discount to attract customers. In result, you see basket such as this one at the front of many service flats/apartments, to handle the daily flood of newsletters, pamplets and such.

Wellness

looks like something out of horror flicks...

Our hospital is not the usual high rise/box-type building (except this one on the right), instead different wards are housed in several period buildings (see here). One interesting practice I learnt is some patients tip the hospital's staff, is it common in your country?

Fever

God created a ball, gave it to MAN and said:
"Go forth and score"

Believe it! I found this only sign in front of lingerie shop which promotes world cup ..nice, eh?

ahhh...uummmm

whilst waiting for the canoeing competition to begin, I discovered this area of lotus flowers (or is it water lilies?) anyway, woohoo!! never knew our climate suits the species.
Meanwhile, I shall get into lotus position, relax and get inspired for my next week's edition of daily photo (getting harder by day :s)........ahh..uummm..

see the lovely photo of lotus at Lisi's HongKongDailyPhoto

Row, row, row your boat (canoe)

The atmosphere wasn't too serious during yesterday's inter-school canoeing competition. Lots of laughter, cheering and of course a little bit of friendly teasing. Ah... how nice to be a teenager again!!

Fun fact : the canoes were name after the (snow white &) 7 dawfts ?!

ps. Wanna listen to Korean fusion classical music? Go to DaejeonDailyPhoto now!

Fellow enthusiasts

On Tuesday, I had the chance to view some of the photography works by fellow Szentesi* held at the cultural centre (cafeteria room). I have to say, am thoroughly impressed with the high quality of photos shown at the exhibition, organised by Szentes Photo Club**.

To view their on-line gallery, click here

FYI :-
*Szentesi = people of Szentes

**Szentes Photo Club was founded by 5 amateur photographers in 1974.
Upon formation, they started to meet every Monday because there were no interesting tv programmes on Mondays :D . Til today, they continue to share new techniques and experiences. They accept 1-2 new members every year.

60s Concrete

*beauty or ugly? is in the eyes of the beholder*

Majority of modern buildings here are from the 1960s. Can't say I like them design... but it was an era of renewal of life for the people and the town after a long halt since WWI&II*. It was then that the businesses start to flourish, all of which ensured the continuous development of our town.

correction : only WWI

Greek corner

We have a little Greek corner at the central part of the town. How it got the name and the history is a mystery to me (nothing much online). In fact there's nothing around that's related to Greece except for this Greek Orthodox Church (est.1786) I've so many questions!
The small space is popular among teenagers and skate boarders during the evening. I promise more "action" shots of skate boarders the next time, til then enjoy the few minutes of sun shining on the church yesterday ;)

Whit Monday

*since I haven't been inside a church in our town, I'm cheating with a shot I took inside St.Stephen Basilica, Budapest*

Today is Whit Monday* which again is something new to me. I understand the day is a holiday in much of Europe. For me, it's just a holiday without any tradition to adhere to except that I was told not to do washing on Sunday and Monday (???). Do you celebrate the day? What's your tradition on this occasion?

*In case you have no idea, Whit Monday is the following Monday after the Pentecost (seven weeks after Easter Sunday) .

Rainny day and Sunday

*Jun 04,06 10:39am*

Initially, I set-off to take photos for graffiti Sundays..as you can see I got side tracked with this moody image of the rainny morning (the graffiti wall is just across the river). Spring/Summer are great seasons for activities; however, for photography, I prefer autumn/winter. That said, am quite happy with this find :)

Wish you a rain-free day!

Stick no bills

*more details, see larger*

See that bowling-pin-like cone? that's the advertising space for current events, mostly for entertainment outlets. I don't know about you, I find it a very ugly and messy! Weeks after weeks, the posters get bulkier! Some posters are not too family-friendly either or am I too conservative? Well, I do think they are effective advertising, they got my attention, at least ..

ps. Cooking and laundry weekend for me, check on you later :) Enjoy your weekend!

Simple pleasure 3

*exhibition of Hungarian cartoonist cum sculptor (forgot his name)*

Life is made much more colourful with the many exhibitions held at the library. When bored, I can always count on the library to enjoy some simple pleasure..

See close-up of "one" of the exhibits. Can you guess who he is ? Easy, huh?! ;)

DP Theme : Parking.......FREE!

Can you believe it?! Apparently, our town is so small that parking charges are not applicable! I didnt know about it until yesterday (we do not drive within the town) ..hahahha..lucky us!
Here's a photo of Hamburger Bar (name of bar) where I had my cappucinno after my search for parking metres. This is where the teenagers like to have their lunch 'cos they serve huge hamburgers .

FYI, I did find some general info. on parking in Hungary, read here ..you can even pay parking fees via sms !