Local residents from the village of Holloko, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in northeast Hungary, celebrate Easter with the traditional "watering of the girls", a fertility ritual rooted in Hungary's pre-Christian past.

There are several different types of pig species (or, if you will, sub pigs). The bearded pig is one I’d certainly hate meeting in a dark pig pen. The Indo-Chinese warty pig is another ominous-sounding swine. In all, there are over two billion pigs on the planet right now (and if they’d ever join forces with monkeys, we’d be in big trouble). Most of the pork we eat comes from the generic domestic pig (or sus scrofa domesticus) and, thanks to mass breeding, its offerings have taken on rather bland notes. Not that we’d know it unless we began eating another species of swine. And, in fact, some restaurants around the country are letting diners do just that.

Reuters reports that Kosztor Sandorne, a Hungarian thief also called “Flying Gizi,” was arrested while in the process of breaking into a house in Hungary. Sandorne “earned her nickname because she liked to flee her crime scenes by taking commercial flights” the article reports.

But here’s the thing. She’s 83 years old. She’s been on the police’s radar since the 1950s. These days, she takes the train instead of flying, “since train travel is free for pensioners in Hungary.”

Recently a report in the UK stated that upwards of 50,000 jobs at hotels and restaurants are in jeopardy there. Why, pray tell? “Surliness and shoddy service.” Of course, this is not endemic to the United Kingdom; it’s easy to find cranky hotel staffers just about anywhere.

During my 2008, I managed to maintain a zone of pleasantry around most of my hotel staff interactions (special commendation must be given to the staffer at the Hotel Császár in Budapest who refrained from laughing at me after I traipsed through the lobby in impulse-purchased Hungarian swimsuit to use the thermally-heated outdoor pool. In January). Alas, this is not always the case, and dealing with cranky staff after all the effort of travel can cut the legs out from any vacation.

Anyway, to counteract the problem, the British tourism board intends to launch a $10 million campaign promoting Britain’s qualities as a “value destination.” Might we suggest: “Britain: who cares if they treat you like dirt when it’s dirt-cheap” as the tagline?

Travel with a DIY streak seemed to be on the minds of travel editors near and far this weekend. The Washington Post turned in a piece on top hostels, as chosen by readers, and the Houston Chronicle and Boston Globe both headed for the hills, with pieces on hiking between the mountain refuges of Norway, and up a newly opened, limited-access trail on Mount Saint Helens, respectively. The London Times’ editors took it upon themselves to vet the Good Hotel Guide’s picks for the top 10 independent small hotels of the year, and find out if they’d earned the accolades.

On a slightly different note, the SF Chronicle did a nice job of combining news and travel coverage in a special section on Mexico, that looked at the post-hurricane redevelopment of Cozumel and Cancún, and the truth behind recent reports of violence and unrest across the country. This excuses them for laying on the “Mystical Mexico” treatment a little thick in a piece about the tradition of brujeria in Veracruz. The LA Times also did their part for informed tourism, with a piece about Art Nouveau architecture in Budapest, which dispelled the idea that the recent protests should prevent anyone from visiting.

Budapest
- “Budapest, so Nouveau” (LA Times)

Hiking
- “Hiking hut to hut” (Houston Chronicle)
- “Moon walk” (Boston Globe)

Hostels
- “High on Hostels, From Farmhouses to Chalets” (Washington Post)

Hotels
- “Small wonders” (Times of London)

Mexico
- “The magic of Los Tuxtlas” (SF Chronicle)

- “Protests, passion part of Mexican culture” (SF Chronicle)

- “Winds change Cancún’s course:
Resorts renovated after Wilma steer clear of spring-break image” (SF Chronicle)\

- “Cozumel rebuilds, new ports sought” (SF Chronicle)

World attention has been focused on Budapest since demonstrations, including occasional rioting, broke out on Monday in response to the revelation that Hungary’s Prime Minister, Ferenc Gyurcsány, had repeatedly lied to the public about the state of the economy in order to win reelection. Major media outlets have, of course, been playing up the more violent aspects of recent events, but the NY Times is now running a video report stating that the protesters have been largely peaceful, with the exception of a few bands of right wing nutjobs and soccer hooligans.



Also today, Gridskipper has an interview with Erik D’Amato, the editor of Budapest-expat blog Pestiside, who pooh-poohs the idea that the country is in the grip of chaos: “No. It’s no big deal. 5 cars burned compared to like 1,700 in one night in Paris. Even if you adjust for population, it’s like 50 to 1. The headlines should read: COME SEE A REVOLUTION WITHOUT THE UNPLEASANT DEADLY SIDE-EFFECTS.”

Pestiside’s coverage of events is definitely worth a look for their local (and thoroughly jaded) view on things, for example yesterday’s point-for-point comparison of this week’s demonstrations with the 1956 uprising against the Soviets, or their mid-week roundup of events which was tagged with the headline: “Your Uprising is, Like, So Two Nights Ago.”

Albania
- ‘Albania’s ancient history surfaces’ (LA Times)

Monemvasia, Greece
- ‘Next Stop: Monemvasia, Greece’ (NYT)

Budapest
- ‘Budapest Is Stealing Some of Prague’s Spotlight’ (NYT)

Lake Tahoe for Foodies
- ‘Wine, and art, to flow freely at Lake Tahoe’ (SF Chronicle)

Holistic Mount Shasta
- ‘Soaking up Shasta’ (SF Chronicle)

Semi-Affordable SF Hotels
- ‘Cents and an S.F. sensibility’ (LA Times)

Newfoundland
- ‘The Age of Argument hits the outports’ (Globe and Mail)