William Penn Life, 1987 (22. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

1987-09-01 / 9. szám

September 1987, William Penn Life, Page 5

Dr. Jeno Rande, general secretary of the World Federation of Hungarians (far right), chats with Hungary Tour ’87 travel agent Imre Balassa and National Director Albert G. Kertesz during the "Farewell Dinner’ ’ held the last night of the tour at the Hotel Hungária in Budapest. Also pictured in Mrs. Kertesz-Several members of our Hungary Tour '87 group relax in the pleasure of each other’s company during the "Farewell Dinner”. The dinner marked the end of two weeks of nearly constant touring of Budapest, the Transdanubia region and sections of Northern Hungary.

Continued from Page 4.--------------------------------------hotel room had a balcony from which we could see the lake and people resting on chaise lounges around the water. The lake itself was full of boats and sailboards. Unfortunately, I did not have a bathing suit, so I had to satisfy myself by sitting on the bank and dangling my feet in the lake.

The next day was visited a 1,400-year-old church in Tihany. We were able to go shopping in the afternoon and in the evening took a ferry ride across Lake Balaton to the thatched roof Nemesvamos Csarda to enjoy a traditional peasant wedding. Some parts of the wedding, such as people jumping over burning candles, I did not understand. But it was exciting to see the dances. Some of our group even danced the Csardas.

The following day we left for Saripuszta where we enjoyed seeing horses jumping over rows of huge truck tires as part of the horse show. We watched with fascination as the csikós (cowboys) cracked their long whips, sometimes while standing on the side of a horse lying on the ground. The crack of the whip sounded like a pistol shot. I even took a ride in a buggy drawn by two horses.

From here it was back to Budapest and the Hotel Hungária. In Budapest, we had a chance to rest after our five-day tour of northern Hungary. I discovered sidewalk cafes and pastry shops that are not to be missed. Some of the shops may seem like a "hole-inthe-wall”, but the salespeople are very friendly.

In one shop we bought pretty embroidered pin cushions. The saleswoman wanted to know what we called them. We told her, and she wrote it down in English. She said she would remember it so she could tell other American tourists whs* they were.

Going North

In the morning we left for Gyongos. Along the way we crossed the Tisza River. We saw fields of camomile, the herb from which camomile tea is made and which is also used for medicinal purposes. In many of the small towns we passed through, the houses were close

to the street with very narrow sidewalks but were surrounded with such beautiful iron fences, each more intricately designed than the other.

We took a walk to a field where we were served cold grape juice and shown some marvelous horses. We visited the Shepherd’s Museum where clothes worn by the different shepherds were on display. Later we took a buckboard ride during which we saw lots of geese, with longhorn cattle and sheep. We stopped at a small house on the pmszta (prairie) that had a thatched roof and a well sweep (a long pole used to draw water from the well). Then it was off to Debrecen.

Debrecen is a most beautiful city. Since it was Saturday, and the stores closed at 1:30, we did some more shopping. I found a beautiful bottle of Tokai wine to take home. It wasn’t white or red, but a tempting amber color.

Once on our way again, we had lunch at the Hortobágy Csardas in Balmazuyvardos. One of our fellow travelers reminded us that it was the Fourth of July. We all stood at our tables and sang the "Star-Spangled Banner”. Then some of our other companions sang the Hungarian anthem. At that moment we all felt proud of ourselves.

After a tour of the city of Miskolc, we drove to Tapolca, Lillafüred, Diósgyőr and through Bükk to Eger. We spent two nights in Eger at the Hotel Uj Eger. The hotel was nearly a resort. Each room had a balcony surrounded by walls to look like a heart, as well as a minibar, radio and — on request — a television. There were two restaurants plus service on a terrace on warm days. The hotel also had a game room, gymnasium, swimming pool, sauna, solarium, massage parlor, ping-pong tables and tennis courts. One could even go horseback riding, if so desired.

Since the next day was Sunday, I went to Mass. Some of our fellow travelers toured the caves of Csepko, but on learning it was quite a walk, I did not go, fearing claustrophobia. In the evening we attended another peasant wedding in Mikofalva. Since the elevation was higher there, we were told to wear sweaters in order to stay comfortable. After dinner we

Dr. Jeno Rande, general secretary of the World Federation of Hungarians, explains the significance of the Association’s Hungary Tour '87 to a Hungarian radio interviewer.

followed the bride’s mother to the groom’s house, then went to the bride’s house. We joined the dancers out in the yard and watched sleek, well-fed cattle coming home from the fields not fazed at all by our dancing.

On Monday we left for Salgótarján to visit a factory which produced hand-blown glassware. It was really something to see the men, stripped to the waist, holding those long glass-blowing poles with a lump of molten glass on the end. They would blow into the pipe, put the glass in either a pail of water or the furnace, blow into it again and slowly shape it into a pitcher or wine glass. When completed to his satisfaction, the worker would cut the object from the pole. A woman wearing gloves and using a pincér tool would then carry it away. From that room we went to another where they were painting and etching the glassware. When we completed our tour, each of us was given a small tumbler with violets painted on it as a rememberance or our tour. We thought that was very nice.

Budapest, then home

In the afternoon we returned to Budapest. We attended a farewell dinner at the Hotel Hungária where we had the opportunity to say good-by to the members we wished to remember. We did not stay late as we knew we had to finish our packing. Early in the morning, after we had coffee, we were on our way to the airport and home.

At this time, I would like to make a few comments. To take a trip like this is not at all worrisome. I traveled alone, but before I left I was introduced by mail to another woman who was also traveling alone. The two of us shared a room on the tour. Since each room was equipped with twin beds, we had no problems.

We also learned quite a bit. For instance, we bought post cards as soon as we arrived. We told the saleswoman we wanted enough stamps to send the cards to the United States. Either she did not have enough or did not know how much we needed, since our first cards did not reach home until after we did. We later talked to a woman who had stopped at the post office and she told us how much postage was necessary.

The drivers on our tour buses were very helpful and considerate. On one of the buses the guide spoke Hungarian and on the other the guide spoke English, so you could take your choice. Both guides spoke their respectively languages fluently and were ready to answer any question. I rode on the Hungarian bus and found it to be quite helpful with my Hungarian speech, which I had been forgetting.

All in all, looking back on the trip now, I feel very fortunate and am glad that I decided to go. We walked a lot, climbed hundreds of stairs up and down, got sore feet from tramping on cobblestones, strolled through fields and scaled steep hills. But each step seemed worth it. We saw beautiful altars and painted ceilings in churches and castles, viewed priceless objects in museums, saw original music scores by Hadyn, ate delicious meals and drank the wines of Hungary. The trip left many fond memories.