Mankind is my business!

Zdravo, this is Allan again.  Adding to the list of things Macedonians do better than the US must include the operating of their small retail shops.  Or, more specifically, fishing for customers in a much more relaxed and social way.  Most businesses in the small towns are small businesses.  Often they are small storefronts that sit beneath apartments or homes and the store is owned and run by the person living above.  So in many cases, it is a very short commute for the store owner.

My shirt shop.  Just opening up.

It is also common that many stores offer the same or very similar items, even if they are in close proximity.  For example, in my 6 minute walk to work, I pass 13 stores that sell either clothes, shoes or clothing accessories.  Now for the fun part.  Owners of these stores, instead of scheming like Scrooge on how they might prevail upon the competition,  appear to take a more relaxed approach to capitalism and coffee is the way this is accomplished.

When the chair appears outside the store it means that they are open.  It is early AM in this shot, before the adjacent shopkeepers set up their own chairs in a retail power-cluster.  

It s a common sight to see store owners sitting outside, drinking coffee, smoking and chatting with the adjacent store owner for long periods.  The coffee is always in real cups, no insipid plastic is allowed.  Local cafes are kept busy supplying these small groups with coffee, and waiters can be seen carrying trays of coffee down the street to a group of owners who are discussing kids, family, politics - pretty much anything but business.  They have the time as there are relatively few customers.  Should a customer appear and disrupt this reverie, the store owner will take a temporary leave and come into the store.  At times the store keepers are in the group across the street, so it is not always easy to figure out where the person is that can help.  It is not unusual for a store to go out of business.  Should that happen, the windows are covered over with newspaper, painters work like crazed monkeys, and voila! - - a new store opens usually selling the same things, and the cycle resumes.

OK, the gathering has begun.  The owners of these 3 adjacent women's clothing stores have staked out their spots.  Actually, the last store with the brown door is my barber.  He walks to get his own coffee and does not keep up with women's fashions.

So I think that this coffee-fueled form of capitalism is far superior to our own version.  The small town MAK approach of drinking coffee and socializing until the money is all gone really is more civil.  If, for some reason, a shop should close, there is another one next door where the coffee is hot, the goods wait patiently for purchase, and the shop-

keepers keep up with all the news.  I like this method, and we know all the shopkeepers.  You need to come over for coffee, and perhaps a shirt.  Ciao - - Al

Buda is bedda, but Pest is best!

This is Allan, again, and zdravo from Gevgelija!    Kathy and I recently had the pleasure of taking a quick trip over a long week-end to Hungary - Budapest exactly.  This city now ranks right up there as one of our favourites and should be on everyone's bucket list.  Here is why we think that:  (you can skip this part if you are a hater of history - for those that are NOT HATERS, read on):

Budapest has much of the same jumbled history as much of this area, of early tribes, Romans, Byzantines, various Kings, Ottomans and a repeat of the cycle.  But it also has had big doses of Celts, Slavs, Ajvars, Huns and many more I am leaving out.  Things finally settled down in 1526 with the Ottoman's crushing defeat of the Hungarian army at Mohacs, resulting in a couple hundred years of Turkish rule.  Folks are still sensitive to that, and are gratified that the Ottomans were finally shown the door in 1699.  Not much is left of that time except for some baths - which I'll come to in a moment.

Buda and Pest remained separate cities with a shared history until they just decided a corporate merger would improve efficiency and lead to greater shareholder satisfaction (nah, they were really the same city divided by a river, and bridges made them one locale).  This occurred in 1873, but the city is far, far older.  What resulted is an amazing place of spectacular architecture, beautiful bridges, and lots and lots of baths.  It is home to about 1.8 million people, most of them tourists.  Here is what we saw and enjoyed:

 Our B&B was wonderful. A 1732 apt in the old town of Pest.

First Bath - Gellert.  Nicest bath with plenty of
stained glass, statues and hot water.

Gellert.  The iconic luxe bath.  View of the inside thermal bath.  Below,
Kathy gladly swimming laps outside and demonstrating what happiness looks like!

We hiked up Buda Hill.  People don't exist unless they are in a selfie.  So - Kathy and I proving we exist..  

A statue of the Duke of Lorraine, the hero of the Battle of Buda.  Battle dress was a bit more frilly during those times and his horse apparently has seen a snake.  He won the war, in any event.

A church at the top of Buda Hill.  It was not open, but beautiful.   

Here is King, St. Stephen, patron Saint of Budapest.

Here is St. Stephens right hand, preserved in a very fancy box in the cathedral.  We saw no other parts of St. Stephen which we appreciated as it was before lunch.    

Fishermans Bastion at Buda Castle.  A wonderful recreation of exuberant defensive architecture. 

Kathy stands guard in the castle.  She wast pretty vigilant until dinnertime. 

I was never vigilant, and appreciated the local pilsners at dinnertime.

Classic shot of the Hungarian Parliament.  This place is probably visible from the moon and incredibly beautiful. 

"Chain Bridge" over the Danube.  One of several monumental bridges over the river.  All had been destroyed during WWII, but restored to magnificance!

View of Schezchany Baths.  Huge, opulent and confusing.  Most tourists, including us, spend the first 30 minutes trying to figure the way out of the changing room.  Many, many baths, pools, saunas, steam room, massage, cold pools, and fortunately for me, a grilled sausages and  beer stand.  

One of the many heroic statues of early Hungarian Kings.  They had the best head gear, the largest horse flesh and are looking earnestly for the best goulash.  Moustaches were apparently all the rage, just like now, though they were more conspicuously armed, then.  

Another shot of the Parliament, just a portion.  More impressive at night, if that was possible

This is a shot of our favourite bath - Rudas.  It is one of the few Turkish structures left and has been excellently restored.  This is a image from the web as no photos are allowed,  The light comes in from the colored glass in the ceiling.  Amazing.  Four baths of different temperatures on the perimeter, and the circular central bath.  The rest of the building contains new spas, saunas, relaxation rooms, and just when you thought is could not get any better, a rooftop hot pool with a view over the city.  What is not to like?  At Rudas we met Emily, a Peace Corps volunteer from the Ukraine.  We PC slackers do get around!  You need to stop by and see Budapest for your own bad selves.  Take the waters, try the beer, listen to the unique Hungarian language.  What is not to like?

Al