Magyar News, 1997. szeptember-1998. augusztus (8. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

1997-09-01 / 1. szám

A ROLLERCOASTER RIDE BETWEEN

TH€ PAST AND TH€ FUTUAC

by Joseph F. Balogh

In the back of one’s head many second thoughts flourish when one is boarding an airplane. One of these is the concern of being packed in with a bunch of strangers. If you are lucky, those sitting next to you speak a language that you are familiar with. In my case as a lightning rod I had my son. Our problem only lasted till we got to the airport. We hardly looked around when we bumped into the Miklós family. Joseph, Valeiy and Tünde. Last time we met was at the Cafe Budapest Dinner Dance organized by the Pannónia Club. They, then, were preparing to go and visit Hungary early this summer. I, at the same time, had no idea that I will be going too. As we discussed the plans for their exciting vacation, the events of the dinner were going on. They started to draw the raffle tickets for the prizes. The last and biggest prize was provided by Elizabeth Hanak, owner of the Global Travel agency. This was the best of all prizes one could ask for. It was a MALÉV ticket for two. with the destination to Hungary. Naturally everybody had their hopes high but tried to play cool. When they called the winning number there were sounds of disappointment roaring through the hall except for one family that was asking to hear the number again. This was the Miklós family. They won the prize. Now. at the airport they were boarding the MALÉV plane with us.

We really had a great flight and, as 1 told the flight attendant. I was very impressed with the flight, the comfort the cleanliness, the food and the service. Somehow I was expecting things from the "good, old” bad times that still lingered in the back of my mind. I will definitely fly MALÉV again. Coming back a couple of weeks later I reaffirmed my opinion with the joy of added on entertainment. Though we hid the option of watching some new movies on the screen, we chose the little girl in the seat in front of us. She was a couple of days short of her first birthday and was travelling with her mother back to Chicago. During the nine-and-a-half hour flight, with just a few pauses for a short nap. this baby had our undivided attention. Her name was Dalma. but I called her Miss Kovács. I saw her name on the passport, she had her own with her picture in it.

They say that the first impression is always the strongest. The Budapest airport was just the same as any other, but the ride to the city posed a few questions. There were some familiar images, specially as we were getting closer to the Danube. Besides there were also other images that were familiar, but from an other part of the world. These were the billboards lining the

Page 4

road. They were advertising drinks, cars, electromc stuff - and all this in English. The products were American, Japanese. German and God knows what. One could see such billboards along 1-95 in Connecticut. I was hoping to see a Hungarian sign preferably about a Hungarian product. I was out of luck. 1 asked my friend, Sándor Hodosi who drove us to the hotel, where are the Hungarians. He just shrugged his shoulder. It took a few days to come across a Hungarian board with a Hungarian product. This was for the "Hclia D”, a face cream. To see it. was a double joy. My wife uses it. she received it from a friend of Swedish!!).

At the planning of the trip there seemed to be a choice of hotels. I opted to go to the Hilton on the top of the Castle Hill. By that time it was all booked and I ended up in the Marriott right across the river. Stepping into our room, first we were taken in by the terrific view. Right in front of us was the Danube, the Chainbndge (Lánchíd), Castle Hill, and all held together in the background with the Three Peak Border Mountain (Hármas Határhegy). And that is where the sun set every evening. Exquisite sight. Later on we found the Marriott a better place for us. not just because the view, but because the hustle and bustle was right around the comer. The hotel itself was really five stars, one can't ask for any better in America. It seemed to be an island giving us the comfort we are used to and the pleasant service one could only expect from Hungarian hosts.

We felt very safe in the whole area either looking for friends at the hotels down the street, or just mingling with the tourist crowd a block away. At some places, as garages or bars, we passed groups of people who seemed to belong there, talking Russian or in an unknown language. They didn't look like tourists, but they were there all the time. In the beginning we were aware of them, having heard about different maffias from foreign countries but we personally never encountered any problems. Maybe Justin with his muscle-man appearance was a deterring factor.

I was very pleased to notice that devoted people were doing a terrific job at national cultural institutes. Though we also noticed that a lot more governmental or community support was needed. The very people who come from foreign counties and find accommodation in hightech. high class hotels find a noticeable difference yvhere they go to see the outstanding exhibits and other cultural activities. We

visited a few, not as much as we would have liked to. On a beautiful day our friend Balázs Tóth packed us up and drove us to Szentendre. There we first started out at the Skanzen. This is an open-air museum where historic quality, mostly peasant, buildings were collected and set up the way they usually are in the villages. In Connecticut we might compare it to Stuibidge Village.

This brought back many memories of my childhood. Naturally I took it very personally. I felt that it was a tribute to me and to all the people whom I knew, to the János bácsi-s and the Mari néni-s. Our experience with other institutes were also very impressive. We received a royal welcome at the Royal Castle. This is where, among others, the National Széchényi Library is housed. Here, beside selected publications, one could find all Hungarian language editions, also the many written about Hungarians. This is where the Magyar News comes in. Kinga Karajos, who is in charge of materials like ours, was our hostess and gave us a tour that kept us amazed. Over a quarter million feet of shelves and numerous cabinets carry the precious collections. The reading area seats 700 people who have access to 80,000 volumes they may take of shelves without assistance. Part of the library, fortunately, occupies the floors that used to be Regent Horthy’s residence. Every inch is covered with the most perfect maible. and it shows the quality of luxury'. The rare pieces, as the first book printed in Hungary, also the first Hungarian book are protected by security and environment controls. It was a great feeling to see such care for the Hungarian culture, past and present. Mv greatest surprise was when Kinga Karajos handed me a note telling me that somehow a copy of last years Magyar News cannot be located. She also wants us to replace it. I considered it an honor to have this problem. First to notice a copy missing, then to request a replacement went far beyond what I ever could think of.

The National Archive was an other place I had to stop by. The elaborate paintings on the walls and the ceiling was overwhelming. I had seen it many times before, but now. I related to it differently. I couldn’t get it out of my head that the war could have destroyed this all. Not just the building. the paintings, but all the precious, historic quality contents. Just the thought made my stomach sink.

Similar things were rolling around in my head when we went to visit the National Museum. I missed the glamour of the wide steps leading up to the exquisite exhibits. The exhibits they have there are pheome-