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Celebrating Christmas in Hungary!

26 December 2015

Introduction I am currently with the family in Hungary. My wife is Hungarian, so my inlaws are Hungarian. And since Christmas and spending time together and eating and drinking are important in Hungary ... Hungary is where we normally celebrate our holidays. Getting there Getting to Hungary is always quite the challenge. It is 900 miles from Amsterdam, and since I have a wife and 4 kids, we usually go by car. An 11 to 14 hour trip through the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Hungary. The good news was that my son has turned 18. So we drove together in two hour shifts. I must say that his help is very much appreciated. Imagine what I did so far ... doing a 12 hour run all on my own. At least now I had some time to relax, and - believe me! - I needed some rest, returning from New Jersey just a few days before and assembling the Amsterdam iStill Center equipent just before heading off to Hungary. What to do there Hungary is a great country for culture (Budapest) or outdoor activities like hunting, fishing or sailing. But Christmas is like an indoors affair. It's about being together with the family. Eating, drinking, and story telling. For three to four days. Preparations? Well, the inlaws usually prepare all the food. Cakes are made up to two weeks ahead of Christmas. The other food, like cabage stew, goulash, duck legs, duck liver, chicken soup, fish soup and numerous salads and side dishes and more is made the week before Holy Night. My contribution? I make sure there is enough likker. Like what? Well, this year I took 2 bottles of Sunchoke Eau de Vie, 2 bottles of rye bread whiskey, and a 20 liter medium toast barrel with 65% all blackstrap molasses rum. We ended up diluting the rum into 27 to 28 liters at 48% ... Pictures Pictures say more than a hundred words. So here are some pictures of the food and drinks and moments we shared over the course of the last few days ...

Cabage stew (25 kilo's) ...