William Penn Life, 1976 (11. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
1976-10-01 / 4. szám
Bicentennial Tour Laying of wreath at Statue of George Washington — Budapest. (Continued from Page Nine) Hotel Marina, a group of thirty or forty found one of the most friendly csárdás in the area where they enjoyed a good time until the closing hours of the morning. On Monday, August 23rd, we visited the famous Abbey at Tihany, atop a mountain overlooking the Balaton. By noon the weather cleared, therefore, we were able to enjoy the sights of this ancient church and abbey. In the afternoon we spent the time visiting in Balatonfured where we saw the famous clinic for treatment of patients with heart condition and the hospial where heart machines were sent through the efforts of the Hungarians in Cleveland. In Balatonfured we wanted to visit the museum of Mór Jókai, however this was closed. We did see the museum to Blaha Luiza who was known as the Hungarian Nightingale because she was instrumental in having all stage plays produced in Hungarian. In those early years the popular language of the theatre was German and she was the one who insisted that for the benefit of the people the plays be in Hungarian. In Balatonfured too, an opportunity was given to us to enjoy the bathing in this largest inland lake in central Europe which is the mecca for the weekenders in Hungary. It was amazing to see how weekend houses were being built all around the Balaton and also the camping facilities provided for those who want to spend some time at this famous lake. In the afternoon we headed towards Veszprém and from Veszprém to Szekesfehervar where we were to spend the last evening of the land tour. We were National Secretary Stelkovics extending greetings. quartered at the Hotel Alba Regia which without a doubt is the nicest hotel in Hungary. As with many of the cities we had visited on this tour, we became cognizant of the fact that over 2,000 years ago the Romans had already lived in this area and almost every city had ruins that showed how the Romans had lived here. In Szekesfehervar we were privileged to visit St. Stephen’s Church where the pastor was most gracious and explained the history of the area, as a matter of fact he was so impressed with our group that he offered Assistant Pastorship to Father Nyeste if he would stay. This being our last night out, we certainly enjoyed the gypsy music and the dancing which followed. On Tuesday, August 24th, after breakfast we were originally scheduled to see and visit a plant in which they manufacture television sets, however, the plant was closed for vacation, therefore arrangements were made to take us through the plant where they make Ikaras buses. It was quite an interesting tour and we had an opportunity to see at first hand how the Hungarian worker in a factory earns his living. Our sixth day land tour of the Transdanubia area ended with everybody being quartered at the Hotel Szabadság. Several members of the tour remained in Budapest for one, two or three days, then slowly everyone took off to visit their relatives in the villages and towns throughout Hungary. Only Mrs. Elizabeth Messinger and Mrs. Anna Cisinsky and National Secretary and Mrs. Stelkovics spent all the time in Budapest. During our two weeks stay in Budapest we had an opportunity to visit all the famous landmarks that we have heard so much about. One morning National Secretary spent time with the officers of the Magyarok Világ Szövetsége. Members of the William Penn official family and the officers of the Magyarok Világ Szövetsége had a dinner at the Citadel in Budapest which is one of the old forts atop Mt. Gellert in Buda overlooking the city of Pest. On the day before our departure for the States, the officers of the William Penn had as their guests the officers and tour guides at the Duna-Continental which is the newest and most modern hotel in the city of Budapest. On Tuesday evening, September 7th, at the Hotel Szabadság there again was a dinner for the entire group. On behalf of the William Penn Association, National President Charles thanked all of those who had any part in making our visit to Hungary such an enjoyable and memorable occasion and Secretary Dr. Zoltán Szabó extended his good wishes to all of us for a safe return to the United States of America with the hope that in the fuure they could see other William Penn Tours coming to Hungary. On the morning of the 8th of September, 1976, we had our final breakfast in Hungary and then packed to leave for the airport. After a long and tedious checking in of our baggage and the going through our last passport and visa check, we were able to board our Pan American 727 jet liner and head back for the good old U.S.A. It was a bright, sunshiny day and again the balcony of the airport was crowded, more so than upon our arrival and there were many tearful farewells because only the Good Lord knows whether or not the relatives and friends will ever see each other again. As our Jet took off from the Ferihegy (Continued on Page Fourteen) 10
