William Penn Life, 1987 (22. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1987-09-01 / 9. szám
Page 4, William Penn Life, September 1987 Memories of Hungary Travelers found the Association’s Hungary Tour was worth each step Our Hungary Tour ’87 travelers paid a visit to the Hungarian csikós (cowboys) at Saripuszta as part of their journey through the Transdanubia region. Here, the group enjoyed a horse show, viewed the driving of a herd and even climbed on board horse-drawn buggies for rides around the grounds. The William Penn’s Hungary Tour ’87 was highly successful in many respects. Participants from California to Connecticut, from Washington to Florida, and numerous states in between gathered at the JFK International Airport for our overseas flight. The flight didn't seem as boring and tiresome as previous flights, possibly due to the friendly nature of our traveling companions and the spaciousness of the Pan Am 747. It is always a pleasant experience to see the multitude of people at Ferihegyi Airport eagerly waiting to greet the American visitors. The unexpected incident of a few of our travelers’ luggage being misdirected en route was most unfortunate, creating an inconvenience to those involved. However, in the true fraternal spirit, those who had, shared. A dress shirt, pajamas, toothbrush, trousers or whatever, was happily offered to those in need. The inconvenience was soon taken in jovial stride. Though some of the sights on the land tours have been visited by several of us during previous William Pennsponsored tours, it is always an exciting adventure to re-visit them and notice something we may have missed the first time. The Castles of Fertőd and Sarvar, the horse shows at Saripusta and the Hortobágy, the simulated peasant wedding at Nemesvamos Csarda and Mikofalva, the Abbey of Pannonhalma and Tihany —these are just to mention a few. And, of course, who could complain about taking a refreshing dip in the delightfully cool Balaton during the 90-plus temperature. These are but a few of the many pleasant memories we will share. However, they will be surpassed by our thoughts of those we have shared them with. The camaraderie was definitely at a high level. Special thank are in order and extended to all who participated in making Hungary Tour ’87 successful: my fellow travelers, the National Officers and Board of Directors, National Director William C. Kohut, Imre Balassa, John E. Lovász, Joli Varga and Zoltán Kozari. What follows is an account of our tour as told by one of our traveler’s. For those of you who could not join us on our tour this year, we hope her story will bring alive the enriching experience we shared in Hungary. Albert G. Kertesz National Director By Mary Andrews , Pasadena, Texas Last year, when the William Penn Association planned to sponsor a tour to the southern part of Hungary, I thought of going. But, sad to say, I changed my plans after the Association withdrew its sponsorship of the tour. Therefore, when the William Penn decided to sponsor a trip again this year to the northern part of Hungary, I made up my mind to join, and 1 am so very glad that I did. JFK was a hustle, but by asking for directions I finally found my way to the gate from whence my plane would leave for Frankfurt. The William Penn had been kind enough to send us orange luggage tags, and I saw a lot of them displayed on other folks’ personal carry-on luggage. But since I did not know any of them, I hesitated to introduce myself. And then what a thrill to pass through the check point and onto the Pan Am clipper. Such a big, shining bird. My seat companions were friendly, and the meals we received were delicious. I tried to sleep, but I guess I only dozed. In Frankfurt we did have a lay-over, but it was not at all irksome. Frankfurt has such a large airport; so much to see with all the shops and people. It was interesting to see the board where the departing flights were posted. As the time for our departure drew near, the whole board would change. Computer wizardry! What a thrill when we flew into Hungary. At the airport we walked through crowds of people, some I assume were there to meet relatives and others just curious to see folks arrive from the United States. With our luggage we were loaded into chartered buses and driven to the Hotel Hungária where, after receiving our room keys, we were able to relax until it was time to get ready for our boat ride on the Danube. Touring Budapest On the way to the boat, we saw so many things, so many cars (mostly little compacts), parks, many old beautiful buildings. People thronged the sidewalks. It was still light, so we could see the buildings along the shore as our boat glided along the shoreline. The Danube is wide where we boarded, but not so wide that we could not see both sides of the river. Our dinner was delicious with good Hungarian cooking and fine gypsy music. For entertainment we heard a wonderful soloist, then charming girls dressed in embroidered costumes danced with a carafe of wine balanced on top their heads. We passed under the famous Chain Bridge which was then undergoing renovations. We learned that Budapest is, in a sense, two cities with Pest and the business district on one side and Buda and the houses and apartments on the other, hilly side. After a good night’s rest, we took a tour of the city by bus. We visited Hero’s Square where there’s a beautiful monument with two arched wings situated on a large open square. We also visited George Washington’s statue, which was given to the City of Budapest by Hungarians living in the U.S. National Director Kohut laid a wreath at this moving monument. We then crossed the Danube to Gellert Hill and to Castle Hill where we visited St. Matthias Church and the Fishermen’s Bastion. In the afternoon I took a walk. I came across small stands with candies and cookies for sale. At the corner, if you wanted to cross the street, you had to walk down stairs, cross under the street in a tunnel, and then go back up some stairs on the other side. Back at the hotel, I bought some post cards and stamps to let the folks back home know we arrived safely. The next day we left the hotel and traveled by chartered bus to Gyor and Pannonhalma, where we stopped to see the Abbey. The Abbey has such beautiful friezes on the outside walls as well as a magnificent altar inside. After some shopping in Gyor (where, incidentally, I bought myself an exquisitely embroidered blouse), we went to Fertőd to see Prince Esterhazy’s Castle. It was so very large, painted a yellow color, with a fountain and horseshoe staircase in front. We were asked to tie felt slippers over our shoes to protect the floors and then taken on a tour by a very nice Hungarian gentleman. We were told the story of how Prince Esterhazy liked the entrance gate so much that he ordered that the hands of the gate’s maker be severed so he would never make another one like it. I did not like that story as much as the one about the cherubs on the horseshoe staircase. On going up they seemed to turn to look at you, welcoming you. On leaving they looked at you on your way down as if to say "Good-by.” We reached Sopron in the evening where we had dinner at the Hotel Sopron. We learned we were very near the Austrian border. I thought West Germany had acres of grapevines, but here in Hungary, on our way to Sopron, we passed acres and acres of vineyards. No wonder we were served both red and white wine at each lunch and dinner. On Sunday I went to a nearby church to attend Mass. The church organ pealed out and we heard the most beautiful voice sing the Ave Maria. Later we learned that voice belonged to an opera singer who had came to sing at the church in order to exercise her voice for a performance that night. It was beautiful. We left Sopron and headed for Szombathely. On the way we saw fields of white poppies. Our bus stopped in front of a thatched roof house where we saw a stork’s nest on top of the chimney. The proud daddy stood on the rim of the nest over which peered the little heads of his two offspring. Churches, castles and Balaton In Szombathely, we learned that the Romans once occupied the area. Hence, giving the name to our hotel there, the Hotel Claudius. Across from the hotel there was a beautiful lake with a footpath around it where we could see couples strolling in the cool evening air. In the morning we left for Sarvar where we visited the Nadasdy Castle. The castle grounds were beautiful, but we were not allowed to take pictures inside. Our lunch that day was very enjoyable, and as with all the meals we had in Hungary, the servings were plentiful, so much at times that we could not eat it all. After lunch we drove to Balatonfured on Lake Balaton, the largest fresh water lake in Europe. Our------------------------------------------ Continued on Page 5.
