Planet Berlin: Taste of a Hungarian childhood
The water polo goalkeeper Lázsló Baksa heals his homesickness with his own delicatessen shop in Charlottenburg.
Two lives
One minute in the pool, the next behind the deli counter! Every athlete is well advised to have a second career to fall back on after their professional sporting life ends. László Baksa, goalkeeper for the Hungarian national team and for Wasserfreunde Spandau 04, Germany's undisputed water polo champion, also runs a Hungarian delicatessen.
Preserving the past
"As a young boy, I went shopping at my friend Sanyi's store every day before school, and Sanyi was always very friendly with people," Baksa recalls of his childhood in Budapest. At that time he would not have believed that he would miss the smell of the products so much, that after relocating to Berlin, he would open his own "Hungarian pantry" — with the help of Sanyi.
Which salami?
Many Borsó customers of course want to know about the salami. Baksa's response is that there are dozens, some derived from woolly pig, elk and wild boar. But the deli counter displays a cornucopia of Hungarian meat products, including bacon and smoked hams. All are sourced from small producers in Hungary.
Fine wine
Wine has been grown since antiquity in the area that is today called Hungary. When the country was part of the East Bloc, its local wine production suffered as emphasis was put on quality over quantity. But contemporary Hungarian wine growers have gladly left this reputation behind. The quality and variety of wine produced in Hungary today is attested to by Borsó's packed wine shelves.