Vino Matysak

After Yemi's game we were invited for drinks at Matysak Vinoteca about 6 blocks from the gym on the main street in Pezinok.

Matysak is also a restaurant and wine cellar. It started with a couple glasses of wine in the room that you see above. They sell the wines out of a tap like draft beer is served in the states. It ranges from 1 Euro/Liter to 1.40 Euros/Liter. You can see the spouts in the picture below.

So affordable but the quality of wine is so high. After about an hour the manager invited us to the cellar for a wine tasting...and then the night really started.

The grapes are grown all around Pezinok and then processed in Slovakia. They ship their fine wines all over central and eastern Europe.
The whole atmosphere was really cool. The cellar was freezing you could see your breath. There were interesting authentic wood wine barrels still in use everywhere and the area was locked behind a gate. When we were walking down it looked kind of like a dungeon. He explained all about the grapes in this wine and then opened it for us all to taste. Such a nice guy:) I asked if they had any distribution in the states but their operation is too small to supply the U.S. They produce only 30,000 Liters a year.

After this tasting we went back into the Vinoteca and they broke out some cognac for Yemi and everyone in the room was making toasts, talking and laughing together. I uploaded a video below too but it doesn't show much more than the pictures.

Buda Pest

About three weekends ago I took a little day trip to our southern neighbor Budapest with a tour that runs out of Piestany. I am finally going to give it a worth while blog. The tour itself was a C. Not at all what I had expected but I am still glad I went, I got a lot of cool historical information and it was a stress free experience. Just sit back and ride, plus it was really cheap and we love really cheap!

Budapest is the capital of Hungary. The city is separated in two by the Danube river. One side is Buda and the other Pest. Prague, Bratislava, Vienna and Budapest are the major cities of Eastern Europe and they are graded by the level of restoration that has occurred since the fall of communism. Vienna wins by a land slide and Budapest may be considered to some at the opposite end of that spectrum. I was told that in the last ten years it has made leaps and bounds in the restoration department. To me it seemed just as beautiful and authentic as Prague and Bratislava granted my trip was short.

The St. Stephens Basilica. Finished in the early 1900s this place took my breath away. So beautiful and ornate.
This is Heroes Square, recognizing the reigning of kings from the 9th century to the 18th.
This is a memorial in Heroes Square to an unknown Soviet soldier for liberating Hungary from the Germans during WWII.
This is the Budapest Opera House. Not a great picture but you can get an idea of the architecture.
This is their parliament. It is a replica of the London parliament.

I hope we can make it back their before I leave because it is an awesome city with so much to see!

Also shoot out to my three followers:) I see you Sammy! Thanks for the love.

Hello hello friends and fam:) Just wanted to give a little update. Life is floating by as it normally does. We are in the midst of a serious winter with lots of snow and short days so it has really limited our ability to explore.

Not too much to report. A few weeks ago we did make it to Vienna and the Schonnbrunn palace. Awesome place. Very inspiring. We took the metro and it dropped us off almost right in front of the palace. Then we went on a 2 hour tour of the rooms in the castle. The whole thing only cost 10 Euros/person. I really recommend it if you are ever in the area. We also drank some Starbucks and hung out in Stephans Dom and got some dinner at a restaurant where both Mozart and Hitler have eaten...so they say. Well thats all for now. I heard it's snowmaggedon on the East coast so everyone be careful and stay warm!