Budapest

Every year Katja jets off to Europe for the Thanksgiving holiday. As a vegetarian, a feast built around a large stuffing-filled bird doesn’t hold much appeal, and neither does the fact that people often spend a good part of the day watching football. Christmas markets, on the other hand, hold a lot of appeal. And, since Thanksgiving generally falls the week of the first Sunday of Advent, they begin to appear around that time. Katja usually travels to Germany or Austria; she’s lived in both countries and has lots of fond memories of the markets there. Last year, however, she decided it was time to discover some new markets, and went to Budapest instead.

Katya stayed at the beautiful Art Nouveau Gresham Palace; not only was it festively decorated for the holidays, it even had its own Christmas market. Although she was tempted to laze away much of the day in the luxury of her hotel (she was on vacation, after all), Katja didn’t want to miss any of the festive markets scattered through the city. She picked up lots of gifts, being most impressed by the numerous stalls selling lovely handmade goods, something distinguishing Budapest’s markets from the increasingly machine-made merchandise-filled markets of many other cities.

Katja devoted much of her time in the city to eating and drinking (thankfully the hotel had a good gym as she didn't fancy returning home too big to fit into her leotards). She has a sweet tooth and many Hungarian desserts include at least one of three three things she really, really loves – poppy seed, marzipan and túró - making her a very happy girl. She wandered the markets in search of sweets containing these ingredients, discovering other tasty treats like kürtőskalács along the way, and keeping warm with mugs of mulled wine.

And, when she needed a rest from waddling around the markets, it was off to the lovely Gerbeaud for coffee and exquisite cakes. But a girl cannot live on desert alone (as tempting as it is), and Katja also enjoyed dinner at restaurants including Central Café and Mátyás Pince. She sampled local cuisine,

and lots of local wine (she was happy to discover many good reds) and pálinka (apricot is her favorite).

Although it was tempting to do nothing but eat and enjoy the Christmas market merriment, Katja always like to get in a bit of culture when she travels. In fact a trip is never complete without a visit to the local opera house, and in Budapest she took in a performance of Il Trovatore at the Hungarian State Opera. She also made her way to the Museum of Fine Arts and the House of Hungarian Art Nouveau, which she rather enjoyed for its cabinet of curiosities meets grandmother’s house kind of aesthetic.

As usual the trip went by much too quickly, but she returned to New York with lots of good memories, a suitcase filled with treats, and these words of wisdom:

Perhaps that’s why Katja often forgets to eat breakfast.

Holiday Adventures

Life has been a whirlwind for Katja since late October, filled with travel and the nonstop activity/festivities that start with Halloween and don’t end until the New Year (or in her case, mid-January). She prides herself on being a cheery sort, but nevertheless has a tendency to feel a bit gloomy when the sparkly Christmas lights start disappearing and the cold weather sets in. That said, she has yet to take down her Christmas tree, which she prefers to think of as a winter penguin tree. As an adult, and one who has never cared much about conformity, she figures she can make her own decisions regarding decor and what’s appropriate.

The rather unpleasant cold weather has made her a bit more of a homebody recently (well not really a homebody, but for her), so she figured she’d reminisce about all of her holiday season escapades. And while Katja is not a big social media girl, she has noticed that these days a lot of people seem to be living their lives online, so why not share her fabulous adventures (not that she's the type of girl to try to make others jealous, she's much too well-mannered for that).

As usual Katja’s more local travel was ballet-centered - quick trips to Boston for the Boston Ballet’s magnificent Swan Lake (she saw it three times), and to Washington, DC for the Washington Ballet’s Tango Soirée fundraiser, held at the beautiful Organization of American States building (Katja might have had a bit too much red wine, not that that would surprise anybody who knows her).

Then it was off to London, the first of three separate European trips in four weeks. What can she say, she’s a jet setter. Not surprisingly the trip also involved some ballet. She doesn’t like to go too long without taking class, and thankfully was able to make it to Dance Works, her go-to studio in London, a few times during her visit. She also saw a Royal Ballet triple bill of works by Brandstrup, Scarlett and Wheeldon.

The cultured girl that she is, Katja has been to opera houses and theaters throughout the world, and she believes that the Royal Opera House is the most civilized place to take in a show. Not to mention that it has a surprisingly good house red wine.

Katja spent most of her time in London hanging out with friends, gossiping, shopping and enjoying lots of wine and tasty treats– including a divine cheese plate at Li Veli restaurant

and a delicious afternoon tea at the Ham Yard Hotel. She was especially pleased by the lovely vegetarian offerings, minus the slight trauma of a salmon sandwich (which she unfortunately bit into) having made it onto the vegetarian platter. But she forgot about that as soon as she started devouring the cakes…

It was then back home for just over a week before jetting off to Budapest for the Thanksgiving weekend…but more on that later, as it’s time for her to head to BAE for class. Even the cold and rather unpleasant post-snow New York streets can’t keep her from dancing.

Katja and Sam

Katja is something of a party girl, always ready for a good night out. She never needs a particular excuse to hit the town, yet finds that having one can add to the merriment, and what better excuse for a celebration than a good friend’s birthday?

It was for this very reason that, one recent Saturday, she rounded up Sam to accompany her to Long Branch. Had she been more motivated she would have taken advantage of what would likely be among the last warm weekends of the year, and spent the day at the beach. But, like most girls who enjoy a good party, she’s just not a morning person, so it wasn’t until early afternoon that they set off to Penn Station to catch their train. While Katja finds travel on the New Jersey Transit to be far from glamorous, as its trains leave rather a lot to be desired, they do, at least, generally arrive on time, which is more than she can say for Amtrak’s.

As soon as they got to Long Branch Katja and Sam made their way over to the birthday boy’s house, and helped make the place festive before he got back from work (it wouldn’t be a party without hats and balloons). That was, however, the extent of their contribution to the evening (besides their sparkling personalities, of course). The birthday boy is a fabulous cook and wanted to be in charge of the evening’s meal, so as soon as he got home he went straight to work whipping up a fabulous vegetarian feast. Not being a high maintenance type of girl, Katja never expects people to cater to her non-meat eating self. That said, she certainly never complains when they do, as it’s a rare treat to be able to try everything that’s served, which in this instance included a tasty fig dish, grilled portobellos, rice salad and grilled romaine with blue cheese.

There were also two cakes, which made her very happy, especially since one was her favorite, tres leches (she happily had some of the Black Forest cake too, it would have been rude not to try everything). And of course no meal would be complete without lots (and lots) of wine, and since it was a birthday dinner, a champagne toast.

After dinner Katja, Sam and their friends wandered over to the bar at the Bungalow Hotel for some fancy cocktails, and then to The Tiki Bar at Ocean Place for some frozen mango margaritas. Not that she needed more sugar after her dessert consumption, but how can one resist a frozen drink at the beach? They then made their way over to Indulge Wine Bar for some dancing, because of course no celebration is complete without dancing, and the birthday boy is one of her favorite dance partners. Luckily Sam was happy to busy himself by drinking more cocktails, so he didn’t get bored or jealous while they strutted their stuff (Katja is not a fan of scenes…she likes to keep her drama behind closed doors).

Although lots of cocktails were had and the dancing continued until the early hours, Katja was able to drag herself (and Sam) out of bed the next morning in time to make it back into the city for class at Ballet Arts. She is, after all, as dedicated to ballet as she is to her late nights.

Katja and Alex

Katja is not particularly the most organized when it comes to planning her travel, so less that a week after her trip to Vegas she found herself back at Newark, traveling out west once again. This time the destination was Los Angeles, where she frequently goes to visit her fabulous friends who call the city home. Although disliking LA seems to be fashionable, Katja has always been a fan of the city, and thinks that those who criticize have never bothered to really explore the place.

Katja generally stays in Pasadena when she’s in town, but this time opted for a change of scenery, and stayed with her friend Alex in the Hollywood Hills. Being the fitness conscious girl that she is (not to mention how grumpy she gets if she doesn’t get her daily exercise), Katya’s first order of business was finding a place to work out, as the Dance Conservatory of Pasadena, where she usually takes class when in town, was too far away. Luckily LA is a city with no shortage of classes, studios and gyms, and Alex is equally concerned with getting in his daily workout, so was happy to help her in her endeavor. Katja was hoping for ballet, but as there was no studio nearby Alex took her to her first ever Pilates class, at Circuit Pilates Hollywood. Although initially she was daunted by the reformer, which she thought resembled a medieval torture device (Katja’s sure she saw something similar as a child in Rothenburg’s Kriminalmuseum), she avoided humiliating herself and actually rather enjoyed the class. That said, she won’t be giving up any of her ballet classes in New York for Pilates.

On the subject of ballet, no trip to the area would be complete without a stop at her favorite dance shop, The Red Shoes, where she always finds great skirts and legwarmers (being a ballet class fashionista requires dedication and constant upkeep).

Lest you start thinking that Katja has become shallow and dull, and that it’s no wonder she loves fitness obsessed LA given how she goes on and on about her exercise routine (and wardrobe), she assures you this is not the case. In fact most of her trip was spent lounging by the pool with friends, catching up over copious amounts of wine, and eating lots of treats (including yummy - and gelatin free! - Swedish candies from Sockerbit that a friend brought over).

And of course there always needs to be some art thrown into the mix, she’s a highbrow girl, after all. Usually Katja checks out the latest exhibition at LACMA, but Alex thought it would be more fun to go somewhere new, and instead took her to Materials & Applications, a small gallery in Silver Lake. They had been lured there by a sound installation, but ended up being much more entranced by Warren Techetin’s La Cage aux Folles – nothing better than art one can climb on and explore.

Katja and Alex also went on numerous frozen yogurt dates (she thinks frozen yogurt should be a food group all on its own), and enjoyed long hikes around the neighborhood, taking in the beautiful views of the city. Sadly the latter resulted in an unfortunate farmer’s tan for Katja, as she was foolish enough to go out without sunscreen (her dermatologist would not be impressed…).

As always, the trip went by much too quickly. Katja was sad to leave Alex and her other friends, but as a small consolation she got upgraded on the flight back. She’d like to say she was able to return home in style, but she’s not sure there is such a thing in domestic air travel. But at least the wine is free, and, more importantly, drinkable, in First Class...

Katja and Francois

Katja is a gypsy at heart (albeit one with an unfortunate fear of flying), always looking for an excuse to pack her bags and set off somewhere. It thus didn’t take much convincing when Francois, her number one partner in crime, asked her to join him on his work trip to Las Vegas. While it wasn’t a place Katja had ever considered visiting, she’s not the type of girl to turn down the opportunity to discover somewhere new. And, while she prefers travel that requires the use of her passport, she figured that even though she wasn’t leaving the country, she was certainly headed to an alternate universe.

Not surprisingly, Katja found Vegas rather disturbing, and the slow moving masses stressed out her quick-paced New York self. Still, she had a fabulous time discovering the city in all its tacky glory. Unfortunately for Francois it was his fourth time in Vegas, so the novelty had long worn off. But then again, he hadn’t had the pleasure of Katja’s company (i.e. a drinking partner) on prior visits, so this trip was certainly an improvement.

Neither Katja nor Francois had any interest in gambling, so instead they wandered the strip, people watching and checking out the over the top décor at the many massive hotels. The Flamingo hotel’s flamingos (among the few real things in the city) were the highlight for Katja,

although she did find the numerous faux sculptures at Caesar’s Palace

and the over the top everything at The Venetian to be most amusing. She had hoped Francois would take her for a romantic gondola ride at the latter, but no such luck. Apparently he didn’t want to give her the wrong idea with so many wedding chapels around.

He did, at least, whisk her away from the madness and riffraff (they’re a bit snobby about the company they keep), by taking her to the Mandarin Oriental’s bar for some rather tasty cocktails and a great view of the city. It wasn’t all sophistication, however, and Katja and Francois admit to having spent the previous evening wandering the strip, jumbo frozen margaritas (with an extra shot – how could they refuse?) in hand. Thankfully the Bellagio has a nice gym, so they were able to work off some of those cocktail calories, as they certainly had no desire to come back to New York Vegas-sized.

The two continued the festivities and cocktail drinking upon their return, with Francois throwing a fabulous tropical themed fete to celebrate his birthday. As usual, there was dancing, drinking and merriment until the early hours. Kata would like to say that one day she’ll realize that late nights and liquid dinners aren’t the wisest of decisions, but at this point she’s come to terms with the fact that she probably never will.

Katja

Katja is a passionate creature, known for throwing herself 110% into things. Some might call her obsessive, maybe even crazy. She prefers to think of herself as dedicated. That said, she readily admits to being a little crazy, which makes her new(ish) city of residence, New York, a perfect fit for her.

It’s Katja’s latest obsession, ballet, that is largely to blame for her recent silence. Although Katja has always been a fan of dance and a regular performance-goer, it was during her last few years in DC that she found her free time largely taken over by all things dance (well, mostly late nights out with her Washington Ballet friends). So, upon moving to New York, Katja decided to check out New York’s substantial adult ballet scene. She had grown rather bored of her seemingly endless daily cardio sessions, and figured that if she enjoyed the company of dancers maybe she should give ballet a try herself.

Katja thus found her way to the Joffrey Ballet School and braved her first ballet class. She was relieved to find that she was far from the oldest (or most awkward) student. And despite the fact that she had no idea what she was doing, she loved it, and made her way back to the studio the following week. It wasn’t long before she was hooked, and soon she was spending much of her time at Ballet Arts, BAE and the Joffrey, trying to figure out how to squeeze in a few hours of work between classes (it’s all about priorities…).

Of course Katja should have known that any activity where she gets to sweat while wearing skirts and tights, her two wardrobe staples, would be ideal for her. That said, it’s legwarmers with which she’s developed an obsession, and she’s amassed quite a collection…she likes to think of herself as the reigning adult beginner ballet fashionista. Katja knows she may never be the most graceful of dancers, but she loves her classes and looks forward to them each day (always hoping there'll be more jumping than turning). She’s also met a lot of great people, along with some rather crazy and bizarre characters, even by New York standards. But then those do make for the best stories…

P. S. Lest you think she’s become too focused on ballet and turned rather dull, Katja assures you she’s still her old party-girl self. Although she works consistently to improve her technique, and certainly has no desire to bulge out of her leotard, she knows a life without treats is not a life well lived. So when she’s not working hard, hoping one day she’ll actually manage a decent pirouette (or proper chaine turns for that matter), she can be found sharing treats and/or drinks (usually too many) with her friends.

Topfi

Topfi fancies himself a jet-setter and takes any opportunity he can to put his passport to good use. He was even more excited than usual for his latest trip, which took him to Munich, as it enabled him to escape to a much cooler clime. He thinks the weather in Washington has just been so uncivilized lately.


A lover of the arts, he was in the city for less than twelve hours before he made his way to the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz to see the TanzTheaterMünchen perform Das Schloß, inspired by Kafka’s novel. Although he had been somewhat concerned as to what awaited him, as one never knows what to expect with German modern dance (and Kafka’s hardly cheery), he most enjoyed the visually stunning performance.


Topfi’s primary motivation for going to Munich was to visit a good friend, and the two of them spent many hours wandering the city’s lovely parks and charming streets (he loves the buildings' architectural details).


One of the things Topfi most enjoys about traveling is trying out local delicacies, and luckily his friend was more than happy to steer him in the right direction (good thing there was a scenic running path along the Isar as he can't have a holiday ruining his figure). He loves German cheese, bread and wine (dry Rieslings are his favorite), and was happy to discover that it was Pfifferlinge season, as he has yet to meet a mushroom he doesn't like (although as a vegetarian he's tired of getting served portobellos). That said, he believes it’s hard to top Käsespätzle, at least for dinner,


as most of all Topfi loves all things Mohn (that would be poppy seed for those who don’t speak German), which Germans do wonders with. He made certain to partake in a daily poppy seed treat, sampling different cakes and slices in the city’s many bakeries; his favorite was a cake from another friend’s local bakery in the neighborhood of Haidhausen, but unfortunately he cannot remember its name.


Never one to stop at one dessert a day - Topfi believes in a sweets heavy food pyramid - he eagerly accompanied his hostess on an ice cream tour of the city, trying traditional flavors at Amorino (yogurt, banana and hazelnut), and more unusual/exotic flavors at Schuhbecks (rice pudding) and Jessas (milk fig).


Of course he did take time out of his busy eating schedule to visit some museums, as a trip would not be complete without stopping by one or two. First on the agenda was a visit to Villa Stuck, once the home of the artist Franz von Stuck.


Although Topfi had been to Munich numerous times, he had never been to the Villa, and was most impressed by the house's ornate Art Nouveau interiors. And Topfi always likes to stop by the Alte Pinakothek to check out its numerous masterpieces. He thinks the manageable size is just right, as one wouldn’t want to overdose on the Old Masters. Topfi also attended a panel discussion – On the Occasion of Ai Weiwei: Art, Dissidence and Resistance - at the Haus der Kunst. He found it interesting enough but was ready to escape after an hour and a half, so he headed to the museum’s Goldene Bar, where he enjoyed a good glass of Sekt and a lively discussion. What can he say, as cultured as he fancies himself sometimes he’d just rather enjoy a glass of bubbly with friends.