Aside from a few million Hungarians and three Harvard professors, almost nobody speaks and reads Hungarian. So English has become the lingua franca that helps the rest of us get around and understand what’s going on. Eva and I, and daughter Suzi, spent eight days in February wandering the fabulous streets of Budapest, cameras (at least iPhones) in hand. Suzi has the keenest eye for capturing the unexpected, including signs and stuff in English, so I want this post to feature only her photographs. Let’s see what caught her attention.

Hot body, cold beer.

Different is beautiful. Sputnik? Haven’t the Russians left town?

Love thy neighbors.

Real girls are real pearls.

Life is too short for a shit bike.

Time cover mural – Hungarian uprising against communism, 1956

Leave it to America to deface anything.

A nice bit of barber creativity

Hair-Nett. Now that’s a good one.

Ka-Pow!

Maybe mr. Goodbar eats here.

Beef Club – The place for carnivores.

Haven for the gluten free crowd.

Can a gluten free bakery really make a go of it? In Budapest, no less?

Just say no to almost everything – except paleo!

Let’s get down to some real food!

If you are throwing an event, they’ve got the stuff.

Maybe all you want for your party is a load of Zing Burgers.

How about a do it yourself kitchen.

Do they serve mEAT?

Yum. Liver, tripe and pig knuckles.

Fine wines – good liver chasers.

If your iPhone is on the fritz, these guys can help you.

If you need to go upstairs use the escalator way upstairs. Huh?

The people who live in Budapest have been through a lot over the years.

Is it time for a beer?

Maybe a Shakesbeer.

How about something a wee heavy?

To chase the evening hungries away, here’s the place.

For the super hungry, here’s a place where you can literally eat your plate. Really. No waste here.

The place for the best coffee. They say so; they must know.

Now for some hot wine – that’s a new one.

Cake is always a good idea.

Time now to wrap up the afternoon and this blog post. Better latte than never.