Multiplicative Functions and Foreign Films

We started the day off with breakfast as usual and a slightly later session of class, where Prof. Hanson taught us about multiplicative functions and their properties.  Afterwards, everyone went their separate ways for lunch before meeting up at the Renyi Institute of Mathematics in the afternoon.  Andras, the leader for our walking tour last week, was there to greet us; we watched the film A Hidember (The Bridgeman) - the story of the life of 19th-century Hungarian aristocrat Count Széchenyi, whose name became synonymous with resistance against the then-ruling Habsburg Monarchy - followed by a brief discussion of the film.

Andras’ passion for Hungarian history was evident, and he did a fantastic job entertaining our questions about Szechenyi.  Andras made clear the valuable economic and social reforms Szechenyi brought to Hungary, such as constructing the first bridge between the cities of Buda and Pest, founding the Hungarian Learned Society, and promoting the use of Hungarian (rather than Latin or French) in Hungarian Parliament.

Károly Eperjes as Count István Széchenyi; Irina Lachina as his wife Crescence.

Once the film was finished, the class split once more, with some students returning to the hotel and others going straight to dinner.  We fell in the latter, going with Miranda, Megan, and Kali to a restaurant down the street from the Renyi Institute for some traditional Hungarian cuisine.

Yum… dinner in Budapest.  What we have here is a fine specimen of rabbit with bread dumplings.  A little on the fancy side, costing roughly 2,400 forint-- the equivalent of a whopping $10.

The evening ended with many of us settling down to our usual activities: working on homework, Skyping friends and families, and/or drinking too much hot chocolate.  Some of us ventured back out to walk to the Pest side of the city for some tasty chimney cakes - should you ever find yourself in Hungary, they are more than worth the price.  Otherwise, though, it’s business as usual for us… hard to believe our final exam is in just a week!

Needless to say, the memory of Vienna is still fresh in our minds.  Everybody did their own thing for the two days that we were there; as for the two of us, we spent a great deal of time with Professor Berliner and other students, checking out the local museums, an open-air market near the hostel, a concert or two, some late-night gelato, and - of course - schnitzel. Here are some of the highlights:

After the three hour train ride, several of us had collective hankering for traditional Austrian food. The restaurant we found did not disappoint, you could say that it really had its schnit together.

That is one big pile of schnit(zel).

After eating all that schnit on Friday, Saturday morning we were in the mood for something a little more refined. We embraced Austrian cafe culture by making a brunch-time visit Cafe Sacher.

One of our favorite experiences in Vienna includes eating at the Sacher Cafe, home of the world-famous original Sachertorte. The cake was phenomenal--truly deserving its reputation. Not only is the presentation beautiful, but eating this delicacy was probably the best 25 seconds of my life. The poor thing didn't stand a chance.

Here's where we went later that evening:

This is the hotel we stayed at in while in Vienna. Not. It’s actually the Habsburg Palace, which was home to the Habsburg Dynasty during much of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. It now houses several museums and a  national library. The building is even more impressive in person.

Needless to say, our visit to Austria was fun--but exhausting. Strangely enough, returning to Budapest almost felt like we were coming back home. I think we are really starting to get to know the city and feel comfortable living and studying here. Here are a few pictures from daily scenes around town:

Budapest: where there is no such thing as "too many street musicians".

What is this shiny-looking thing? Well this is the Great Market Hall, housing both souvenirs and food vendors. It’s convinently located just across the Danube from our Hotel, which is to say yes, Mom, I have been eating fruits and vegetables.

Of the 9 bridges in Budapest, the above - the Liberty Bridge - is the closest to our hotel.  Pictured in the background is the Gellert Hotel, which is also home to one of Budapest’s famous thermal baths.

We wish everyone back home a good afternoon (and hope that those of you in the Northern Midwest are surviving the winter) as we wrap up our day in Budapest.

Sziasztok,

Ian and Colin