Believe it or not...

Believe it or not, this is the only item of the similar kind that bears the town's name which I came across. The second one I found it in another city.

Believe it or not, I past this object dozens of times yet I forget the exact location. (never finds it when I wanted to)

Believe it or not, I have been planning this post ever since Sep 11 (inspired by Trier DP). The set back was I never get the desired day light to photograph it.

without further adieu....
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THE manhole !!!

Inspired by : Trier DP's post here ; "Believe it or not" theme inspired by Kate

Life document

It didnt matter that it was raining heavily, we wanted a breather from translation work. Besides, it gives us a chance to test the new bigger better umbrella. which reminded me the reason why we needed a new one..

A friend of mine once told me that in the beginning of her marriage, she and hubby could fit themselves comfortably even on a single-sized bed. Few years down the line, they had needed a bigger bed with each complaining wanting their own space! Also, to avoid either one falling from the bed due to pushing. :D
In my case, we recently upgraded the umbrella to fit 3 of us... No.3 being my camera (and expanding waistlines)! yes, we finally get to test the umbrella yesterday.

I'm writing nonesense..that's my account of yesterday. Have a smiley Monday!

Nature

In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.
- John Muir

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The quote sums it up for me. No matter how many times I walked past the river, I never go home with empty memory card ;)

Sorry guys, I have to surrender the computer to make way for translation work. So, I probably won't get to browse your site today. You have a nice day!

Rush hour

Lucky for us, we never have adrenalin pumping rush hour. So, no excuse for being late to work! ;D To fake the rush, I exaggerated the traffic scene with photography technique, obviously a technique which I have yet to acquire ;)
I wish you a rush-free weekend!

Confused

-6 months' "new" colourful pavement near some blocks of flats-

I'm obssess with weahter..its like watching the stock market for me. In the morning its 8°c, then we should expect to enjoy a nice 23°c (!) in the this autumn afternoon. If you go out and observe around you, from people's attire you'll know that they are confused. Some with wind breakers, yet others only in their tees. See, even the cat is lost! lol! Maybe its time we take Al Gore seriously ?

..wherever you are, rain or shine, I hope you enjoy this coming weekend.

Autumn confetti

- at the town's square -

I believe many of us fell in love with the autumn colours and crunchy leaves everywhere, giving us many photo opportunities. One question popped to my mind though when i took this - how'd the road/street sweepers feel? It must be nightmare for them. oh well, my story would be more effective if I have a sweeper in this photo, may be next time ;)

window to my world 2

Like anyone with a balcony, sometimes I enjoy a few minutes there to get my mind off things. And no, not with my camera on the neck. However yesterday, I saw a dog approaching these trees, I immediately had this composition in mind (roughly). Of course with some minor tweaking after, I deliver this photo to you today. Looks surreal..yeah, let's get away for just one day.

phew, i managed another day ;)

Birds' talk

*click on image to enlarge*

Bird #1 : Did you see the performance on tv yesterday?
Bird #2 : Which performance, left or right wing?

to understand what I'm talking about, read Budapest DP

I had planned to make some payments at the bank today, lets just hope the foreign exchange doesn't burn a hole in my pocket.. *sigh*

ps. Dear Maiylah, i finally snap a photo of sparrows! :)

Time's Man of the year 1956

I know today is national holiday but didn't know what it was exactly about. Well, I certainly didn't plan to do this piece until we unexpectedly saw a small crowd paying their respects at this memorial. It motivated me in reading what happened 50 years ago ...

Time magazine's Man of the year 1956 was honoured to "Hungarian Freedom Fighters" and they certainly deserved it. For that year today, until Nov 10 , set off a chain of events which is now known as the Hungarian revolution. Lives were lost in the cause of freedom. 50 years on, freedom is no longer in question. IMHO, what the country needs is unity, to face the economic challenges ahead for better future.

Read more at Budapest DP and on wiki

what's for breakfast?

Going to the Sunday market can only mean that we craved for a dosage of Lángos (pronounced Langosh). It can be too rich as breakfast for some but this stall that we patronised serves one of the best langoshs around, the dough feels lighter, a bit crunchy and less sinful for the conscience. If ever I start a food biz. back home, this would definitely be on my menu ;)

Remember the name, okay? 'cos you should really try it if you visit Hungary. Meanwhile, a more delicious photo here.

Yesterday

Jenny of Sharon DP inspired me to take long slow walks at the park, to try to capture the autumny colours. As you can see green is still the dominating colour, so I'll return as often as possible to capture the changes. Although in chilly weather the park was actually filled with joggers/runners; hence, I chose this calmer scene at the river side for you (best viewed in larger version, click on photo).

ps. be back later to read your posts.

Tracing 2

-at the wwII memorial-

My thoughts :-
Could he be searching for lost family/friend? Perhaps he'd wish that he'll never find the person's name in this list? If he does see the name, wouldn't it offer some kind of closure? Or may be I have too much time on hand to be wondering about this?

I have been wanting to photograph this memorial for a LONG time. However, as no one pays attention to it, it will be a plain sight. Last week, I chanced upon this man and "click", i think it adds a deeper emotion to the photo. Anyway, I wish you an enjoyable weekend ahead! :)

Window to my world

I mean literally.. this is the scene from our balcony at 7:36am (missed the sunrise by a few mins.) The air is crisp and clear, so clear that you'd even hear people's conversations from quite a distance away, seriously ..lol! May I see the window* to your world tomorrow?

*again literally

Wonderland

"Mums" are selling everywhere together with wreaths in preparation for All Saints Day. I think this nursery did a great job with the display, nearly all passers-by pause to take a moment to check around. They didn't forget to include a small number of carving pumpkins as children are learning to celebrate Halloween in recent years.

Birds, birds, birds and birds

sometimes I think the population of pigeons are higher than the humans in this town. *blank*erase*what about this?* pigeons are having a great time soaking under the sun ..*blank*erase*..*still blank*

I can spend hours tweaking photos, see what I come up with, you like? or you'd prefer the original? That said, writing is really not my department! As you can sense, this is one of those "block" days. I'll just leave you with these birds, they are a big part of our daily life :)

Who's that girl?

The weeds are as if dancing in the air with the spot light shining through. Automatically my knees and elbows went on the moist grass, in an akward position to bring you this photo. As I wore dark colours I'd like to think I blended with the landscape. Also because someone past by and didnt even notice me. lol!
Now, care to share any embarassing position you put yourself into just to take that one photo?

About the statue :-
She's seated on a bench outside the library with a book on her lap, I named her Missy Read.

Strictly Ballroom

I never missed BBC's Stricly Ballroom on tv , except that this time I get to see ballroom dancing live at our own back yard (own stadium). Dancers around the country meeting yesterday for Hungarian Standard Dance Championship. We're proud to have organised the event.
See photo gallery

wish you a Happy Sunday!

Standing not too tall

Photo : Decades ago, the fire observation tower was the tallest building .

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Since land is still a plenty in our town, development tends to go horizontally. Offices sit on 1-2 floors buildings. Flats/apartments range from 3, 5 to highest of 10 floors. This might sound unexciting to some. I, myself prefer metropolitan lifestyle, but I have to admit this way of life is definitely a better one. What about you? which do you prefer?

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Enjoy your weekend everyone!

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Inspired by Denton & Bob

The other day Denton was showing us a rather fancy a million dollar house, which lead me to dig out this photo in the vault.
For our money, properties start from no less than 6 millions*. That will get you a basic one-room flat, older flats like these. They look a bit worn out, right? just imagine they are the character building of Spain, see and compare with this .. me, going through Bob withdrawal syn.

* 6 mil = affordable 22,538.41 EUR or 28,204.84 USD

Did we skip autumn?

"mama says its cold outside that I shouldn't catch the cold, I must dress-warm . I didn't care about the jacket though, all I want is my cute pink hat!, see? "

No one told me!! I was freezing out half an hour ago! So, I'm telling you ;)
Have a cold free day!

First impression

Preparing for DP is like doing homework for me. The routine is on the night before publishing, search online for more info. on the subject. Well, I didn't do my homework last night, and this morning I was searching high and low without any result. Anyhow, this mosaic mural is the first public art I noticed when I visited szentes for the first time in 2004, it remains my favourite til this day. Do you have a fave. art mural in your city/town?
For another view, click here

Path to home

we've walked on this path dozens of times. Needless to say we're already numb with its surroundings. However, this evening light changed the whole setting that its worth sharing with you. I must say I'm seeing lots of potential in this autumn season..... Sorry, Jazzy! I know how much you miss summer, believe me it'll be back in no time :)

Tracing

My knowledge on the town's past is as good as yours. That said, on occasions, when I do write about the history, it gives me a kind of satisfaction when doing the research (googling!!) , understanding things deeper as well as journal it down in DP for those who are interested.

The plaque you see is possibly the only trace of the existence of Jewish community in our town until about 1960. The memorial can be found outside the town's library which was formerly a synagogue.


For my future reference and anyone's who's googling ;-)
chronocology of events
1868-1872 blue print - completion of synagogue by architect, Knábe Ignác
until 1960 - the synagogue become vacant
1967 - town hall acquired the building for 3.6mil Ft
until 1992 - remained vacant until the retoration work to the roof began
1996 - town hall decides to use building for librabry
1998 - a new library was established
total cost of restoration 150mil Ft

Geography

"Plain country, large like the calm sea" our great poet Sándor Petőfi

The vast flat land, the Great Plain (Alföld) of Hungary occupies nearly 50% of the country. We're located at the southern part of the great plain. My photo may not do justice to the vast beautiful country......

after all I took this right out side Tesco :D ...seriously, I'll try to capture the vastness in the future

Street scene

On occasions you'll have pupils on an outing, they walk in long line lead by their teachers,..some in pairs, some holding hands "chirping" away. Mother hen leading the chicks crossing the zebra, that's what I imagine. of course, seeing them always make me smile.

if you'll excuse me, I got to go and be back to check on your photos in the afternoon.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Headlines delayed (Pt. 2 of 2)

.....continue from part 1

...after taking shots of the flowers, I moved away to my right, not bothering what's going-on on my left side where the 'garbage' truck was. I saw some other interesting subjects, so, I captured some shots in case I might use it for DP. After some minutes, I decided to return to my original waiting place, to my complete surprise .. this was happening

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the assumed 'garbage' truck was actually fire engine!!! In fact they were 2 of them!! plus a police car! The whole rescue troop were about 5meters (17ft) away while I was snapping photos of flower?! what's wrong with me?! Thank goodness I'm not a reporter..geez -_-

Apparently the tenant of the flat forgot to switch off the gas. Luckily no one was hurt, thanks to our efficient Fire department.

There you go folks, small town headlines ;)

-the end-

Headlines tomorrow (Pt. 1 of 2)

..dont know why, i didnt add staturation, somehow the yellow seems fake

while waiting outside the accountant's office yesterday, as usual, I didnt waste any time and started looking for photo opportunities. With nothing else on offer, this flower will do for my flowers' collection. As I was concerntrating to snap some macro shots, I heard some kind of truck pulled over on my left side, but I ignore it without even taking a glimps,thinking its the garbage truck.. ...to be continued

Every photo tells a story

what story you may asked
isn't it obvious?

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the autumn story begins..

despite no rain (yet) and the occasional summery afternoons..

mother nature has been working secretly at the town's nature's reserve,

where the signs of autumn are the most evident.

Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda

Life is full of "shoulda, coulda, woulda" (should haves...). Dont you think? For instance last Friday, I should have gone to the "Get out and move" Day with someone that speaks local. That way, I could have asked -via the friend- the meaning behind this graffiti from the artist himself, in which case, I would have been able to explain it to everyone here. I promise the next time, ok

BTW, this was the graffiti competition part of the day.

The bear is staying

The bear, that's the nick name me & partner gave the mayor, ever since we realised that he was the bear mascot during one of the carnivals back in March. Well, yesterday we had our local election and he has been re-elected as the mayor of our town. So, I guess will see more of the bear in future.

ps. pls excuse the fuzzy photo .

DP Theme Day - Taxis

When I was composing the taxis' theme day in my mind, I wanted rain in my photo... I got rain! I thought rain added "drama" into the otherwise plain taxis. Don't you think?
Given that what i've written about taxis back in April is still valid, am gonna take a short cut by just copy & pasting it here again ...
"Unlike the taxis in Edinburgh , ours are plain as can be. There are no regulations that say taxis must be of certain car model. The only standardisation are the stickers on the doors and the usual light box on the top. Hence, taxis here can be 4 wheel-drive or even station wagons."

Click numbers below to get to know others' taxis around the world :-
1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 -7 -8 -9 -10 -11 -12 -13 -14 -15 -16 -17 -18 -19 -20 -21 -22 -23 -24 -25 -26 -27 -28 -29 -30 -31 -32 -33 -34 -35 -36 -37 -38 -39 -40 -41 -42 - 43 - 44 - 45 - 45- 46- 46- 47- 48- 49- 50- 51- 52