Strange Hungarian Customs

[Lotsokids]

Cheers mate, lets give lotso kids his thread back.

[craigo]

Cheers mate, lets give lotso kids his thread back.

  too funny, good one!!!

CraigO
90FJ1200

[Lotsokids]

I just learned some tax info:

1. I just got my annual tax bills for my car and the FJ1200. I need to pay about $175 for them both total. Vehicle tax here depends on the POWER of the engine, NOT the type or value of the vehicle. Basically more horsepower, more tax. I heard that the tax is also proportional to the interior space, but I'm not sure.

2. I just had an income tax briefing today. I am not tax exempt here, but "tax compensated." In other words, my company pays my Hungarian taxes. So today the Hungarian tax representative told us about "super-gross." This is great - they charge tax on my gross income PLUS an additional 1.27% on top of my gross income. You know... SUPER gross! What in the world??? They must have seen us coming.

[Lotsokids]

Took my Hungarian driver's test today. I passed, but missed 3 questions. After reviewing my test, I learned that you CAN pass a 4-wheeled horse-drawn cart in a no passing zone, not a tram. Two questions were about motorcycles with sidecars, and two other questions were about horse-drawn carts.

Welcome to the 21st century!

[Lotsokids]

I just saw a 200cc quad for sale for about $1,500. IT'S LICENSED FOR THE STREET!!! License plate, turn signals and everything. Crazy! I remember seeing a guy riding one downtown and thought he was just taking a chance at getting caught. Seems he was legal.

My wife said I should buy it to ride to work. I'm considering it.

Here's an example of a new 250cc for about $3,000:



Here's a Honda "VFR quad"

[Lotsokids]

And more...

The licensed quad I saw the other day



A guy pushing a trailer full of stuff. This is pretty common. They usually take up an entire lane of traffic, not a short distance, either. You don't want to use your car to pull your trailer, right?



Pringles!!! Only $4



Sour lung with bread dumplings on the Pork menu. Mmmmm.
Fried Brains - with rice and tartar sauce... Yum, yum.

[Lotsokids]

Well, here we go with more pictures. Most of the photos I take are on my phone, but even then it's hard to catch some stuff (usually happens when I'm driving). I'm going to take a video on the freeway one day and show you how Europeans pass in the left lane, then do their best to move back over to the right to get out of your way. It's an amazing concept!

Pushing bikes everywhere!





Cart of scrap metal - of course in the middle of the road. Don't use that nice paved area off on the right.





If you are going to carry a bottle of propane, make sure you carry it on your bike strapped down with a couple small bungee cords. That's probably a good time to push it and not ride it!



AND BEST OF ALL... The police ride FJRs!

[FJmonkey]

With dark wind screens, so they can sneak on ya with out your slightest hint of it. Ok...the "Police" decal in reverse might give it away if you can read. It is kind of strange that in a place of walking bicycles and pushing/pulling heavy carts by foot or (God forbid, ride) a bicycle, the police have modern vehicles.

Lotsokids, we are walking the proverbial mile with you in their moccasins. I very much enjoy your reporting of perspective form a place very different from mike. Thanks.

[Lotsokids]

Shifting gears a little...
I've been buying gifts for some older Hungarians that live near me. Every once in a while, I'll get a pastry or drink or something for them. It's fun.

This is the widow lady that got robbed last winter, and my daughter giving her a little gift.



And below are a couple photos of "Gyula." He's an old man that had his right leg amputated because of an infection. He literally sits all day in his wheelchair near the road and watches cars go by. I really have fun getting stuff for him because he has no way to pay me back. That's what giving is all about. We cannot communicate very well, but he nearly comes out of his wheelchair when I pull over to say hello. Yesterday I brought him a drink (weather is getting hotter). He wouldn't let me leave. He had his wife call his grandson to come over and help translate for us. WOW, did I learn a lot. He is 93 years old and a WWII veteran. He fought with the Germans against the Americans. I told him I was retired from the U.S. military. He said after the war, the Americans were very kind to him and gave him chocolate and goodies. I said, "And today you still have Americans bringing you goodies." He started to cry and shook my hand and gave me a big hug. That's priceless!

These are my kids behind him. The stick he's holding is to bang on his window to get his wife's attention (I need to get one of those).



Today I bought him a Hungarian war magazine with info and pictures from 1941. He soaked that up like a sponge...

[racerman_27410]

Great Life lesson there....

Giving for the sake of giving. ... It's not hard to be a good person 

I love History and sharing a conversation (even thru a translator) with that man would have been priceless.

KOokaloo!

[Lotsokids]

I've learned that large Renault vans are CRAP. I took this work van of ours that resembles the pic below to bring a friend to the airport. This thing is an automatic (VERY rare here in Hungary). The problem is that it has a feature that shuts down accelleration while shifting to the next gear. We call it the "simulated manual shift mechanism." It almost killed me twice on the way home trying to pass on a 2-way road. It's a fearful thing when you pull over to the left to pass, nail the gas pedal and the engine feels like it just shut down... all the while you see the headlights of the car approaching getting closer and closer!



Note #2: I didn't get a picture, but yesterday there was a lady carrying nearly an entire tree across her bicycle (not lengthwise, but ACROSS the lanes of traffic!). It was about 15 feet long and stretched across the road, causing us all to weave WAY around her. I should have stopped to get a photo.

Note #3: They LOVE cement here! The telephone poles, houses, and even a few fences are cement.
There are no houses here with shingles on the roof. Most are an interlocking ceramic tile that works very well. Install them once, then replace them 200 years later!

[chapindad]

THANK YOU!  I was crying from laughing so hard and a few of the posts.

[FJmonkey]

Keep em' coming Lotokids, this is great for me. I love this kind of perspective, I was destined to travel but not to have the means or funds. You are one of my proxy travelers to help me experience other parts 'o' the world. 

[Lotsokids]

Keep em' coming Lotokids, this is great for me. I love this kind of perspective, I was destined to travel but not to have the means or funds. You are one of my proxy travelers to help me experience other parts 'o' the world.  

You asked for it...

Hey, I just got my Hungarian drivers license yesterday! It was funny when we signed for them, the lady put 2 pens down on the counter and told me and my wife, "You must sign these documents ONLY with THESE pens!" There's never been a stronger desire for me to pull out another pen from my pocket and sign them.

Also, in my village they have a new weed-eater concept. Forget spending $4 to fill the gas tank in your weed-eater. Here's something WAY better. Just get some goats and tie them to the posts you need edged. Three days later it's nicely trimmed!

This is the sign entering our village:


This is the other side of the street:

[Dan Filetti]

Ohh, I think I want one of those.   Are those the 1 GP (goat power) models?

Dan