Conference tourism
I don't consider myself to be a big fan of traveling per se. I do enjoy to travel and meet new people when I have a perceived 'good' reason to do so; for instance I occasionally take unconventional means to get to conferences. I can also work well while I'm on the road. Wandering around the world with friends is always fun!
Finisterre, Spain. We walked the Camino de Santiago with Daniel Hirt to present in a conference in Oviedo.
Hostel in St. Petersburg, Russia. With Gábor Böszörményi we took the train across Asia to Shanghai, stopping in Beijing to deliver a talk.
Outdoors
My parents first met on a canoe trip and so it became a family tradition to spend one or two weeks every summer on water. I kept this custom ever since, and by now I sailed my kayak on all main rivers in Hungary. The summer weather is unpredictable and spending several stormy days in a canoe is not inherently pleasant, but you can get to know people way much better after three such days than after hanging out with them in a bar for three months. I love to be on water!
Dani Hirt and Mike Tamir on a canoe trip in the Szigetköz.
Dropping by the famous Pelican Bar with Balázs Kovács on our way to Cuba.
Cycling is a daily hobby and means of transportation regardless of the weather conditions. When it gets nicer I also go out running roughly every other day with my friends. My longest run was a semi-marathon (in a Vibram FiveFinger), but I definitely want to prepare for the marathon sometimes!
What I enjoy the most is hiking in the woods with friends on summer weekends. For many years I was participating in the surviving competitions organized by ELTE, which was lot of fun.
Somewhere in the middle of Mongolia. When you want to find the closest ford you are blessed to bump into these motorists.
New Years Eve view from a look-out tower on the top of Csóványos.
Mountaineering is one of the high points of my summers. Being on the same rope creates a very special trust-relationship, where it is not enough to be closest friends with someone, but one needs to have full knowledge and trust of the others capabilities. I love both the physical and the mental aspect as well as the thrill to conquer the most beautiful peaks one can imagine. Mountaineering is an important practice in rationality; one needs to know exactly when one should give up pushing ahead. We failed several times to reach the top, but never regretted the decision to turn around.
Charlie has several photos of our three most recent trip; you can access them here: 1 2 3.
Catching up near the top of Grossvenediger, Austria.
Balázs Lerner prepares for attacking Palon de la Mare.
Argentine Tango
I got into Argentine tango during my visit to Iceland. One night, after a tiresome hike in the mainland, I was wandering in the streets of Rejkjavik and saw people pushing away the tables in a cafe. After watching their dance for an hour I knew I want to learn it, and I keep doing that ever since. This captured moment tells all about what fascinates me in dancing tango.
I'm grateful to all my partners and teachers in Budapest, Pittsburgh, and Buenos Aires for our shared experiences. I'm most fond of memories of classes I took with Oscar Casas, Alberto Dassieu, Maxi Gluzman, Robert Hauk, and Susana Miller. I'm told my style falls closest to milonguero in the tango de salon spectrum; I love the music and the connection and care less about fancy figures. Although it's always a unique experience, social dancing is slowly becoming as natural part of my life as eating ravioli.
Finals of the II. Amateur "Tango de Salon" National Championship. Eszter Mórocz and I secured the bronze prize (b category).
First sheet of the score for Di Sarli's "De qué podemos hablar."
