Budapest, Hungary: Vitamins are locked up here.

Between living in Boston and Martha's Vineyard, visiting Brazil, visiting family here in Hungary, I thought it might be funny to start a blog called "Where is Éva?" that is all about my travels and getting settled in to different places and cultures.

Today, I went to a raw food potluck. I was the only "all raw" person there. At least they have one of those here! Buuuut, there were only three of us! The last potluck had about 15 people, so this was surprising for me. We talked about how many people here are unhealthy and how crazy others seem to think raw food is.

We talked about vitamins and probiotics. I don't take supplements, but I do like to have some probiotics and fermented food to keep the intestinal flora active in my stomach. When I was in the USA, I had no problem finding these things. Here? Vitamins are locked up! Seriously. I was in a pharmacy the other day because my pinkie toe was so bruised it turned purple. I thought maybe I should tape it up or something. They suggested a cream, and I noticed the cream and Vitamin C were both in the locked case.

Crazy.

The women I met with today were asking me about where I got my probiotics. I still have some from the USA. They sighed, suggesting it might not be so easy to find them here. This started a whole conversation about the vitamin situation.

Since I don't supplement and don't really find supplements necessary, I shrug my shoulders at this. But it reminds me how easy some things are in the USA. I guess! (Not being unpatriotic here, just not decided if supplements maybe SHOULD be at the recommendation of a pharmacist now that I'm thinking of this...)