Reformátusok Lapja, 1968 (68. évfolyam, 8-12. szám)

1968-10-01 / 10. szám

10

REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA

Visit To Hungary

On our recent trip to Hungary, we overheard two comments, one at the beginning, and the other at the end, which seem to summarize rather well such a trip.

We heard the first comment in Amsterdam as we were waiting to hoard the plane for Budapest. Someone in a group behind us said to the others, "When you arrive in Hungary, you will want to kiss good old mother earth.” This is an expression often used by those, who having migrated from Hungary many years ago, arc returning there for a visit. It is an expression of deep emotional feeling.

LIpon arriving at the Feri Hegy airport on the outskirts of Budapest, we went through customs without any difficulty, and were courteously received. The first evening we spent in Budapest's newest hotel, the Hotel Budapast, a circular building which rises eighteen stories high. The following day we went out into the villages (Réde, Nyarad, etc.) by car. Our first impression as we entered the first village, was the feeling that we were entering an entirely new world from the one we know. There were the rows of humble, modest, houses with unpaved streets, and no sidewalks. Instead of automobiles, we saw people coming and going with bicycles. However, we found something else: warm, loving hearts, as a large host of relatives welcomed us.

The village, as we saw it, was most picturesque with its houses behind high boarded or picket fences, or other enclosures. They appeared to be neat and clean, with the front of the house facing the yard rather than the street, as houses do here in America. In each vard we saw a covered well, the source of water for all purposes, no doubt for generations of families.

We also noticed that there were many new homes in the villages. One of our relatives said, that since people can no longer buy and own land, as in tbc past, they build new homes instead, with modern conveniences, which are lacking in the older homes, larger and more adequate rooms, attractively painted, with finished floors. Some of the older homes are built on ground level, so that the floor of the house is the dirt floor. There is no central heating system as such yet, but they do have small individual gas heaters in each room. And above all, the new homes have inside bathrooms.

In the middle of the village stands the recently renovated church where services arc well attended on Sunday. However, it was quite surprising to see that there is no floor in the church, other than the dirt floor with the exception of the center aisle. The pews rest on the ground with just a plank or board between tbc pews on which people walk as they take their places in the pews. Nor is there any kind of heat in the church in the winter, so that, as someone pointed out, when the weather gets real cold, frost forms on the inside walls. So, people must be warmly dressed when they go

to church. However, it was heartwarming to see the large number of worshippers.

We had the opportunity to travel the full length of Hungary, from one end to the other, by train, as we went from Győr on the west to Nyírbátor on the east. All along tbc way we were able to observe the countryside, as well as the towns and cities and were able to note the number of new buildings being constructed, both individual family homes, and multiple high- rise apartment buildings. We saw many new, modern, business establishments, department stores, even self- serviee food stores, which seemed to be adequately stocked.

1 hanks to relatives, we were able to get around to see many historic places, such as the great university town of Debrecen, the Hortobágy, the famous plains of Hungary. Lillafüred, where members of the working class are rewarded with two-weeks vacation at government expense, and Lake Balaton, a famous swimming resort.

Our last ten days were spent in Budapest where again we stayed at the Hotel Budapest. Monday and Tuesday of that week were national holidays, in observance of the establishment of their new form of government under the present constitution. Part of the celebration consisted of a great fireworks display on historic Gellert Hill in Budapest on Tuesday night, which we were able to see from the 18th floor terrace of the hotel. It was that night that another display of might took place when Russian and other troops entered Czechoslovakia. Not having a radio and there being no television set in the hotel, we didn't hear about it until later \\ ednesday morning. However, there was no disturbance of any kind in and around Budapest. Nevertheless, there was some concern on the part of some tourists, who decided to leave the country before the border was closed down. We understood that the airport w as closed dow n lor tw o days. However, since our flight back to the states was not due for another few^ days, we hoped that nothing more unexpected would happen while we stayed on. When we finally did leave, our plane out of Budapest w'as late in taking off, so that we missed our flight in Vienna. It was while we were waiting to board another plane, along with a large group of other travelers, that we beard the second of the two comments mentioned at the beginning. Someone in the crowd happened to say that this plane was going all the way to New York, whereupon another person said, "These are the best words I have heard today, ‘New > ork,’ and when we arrive in New York, that will be tbc best thing that can happen to us!”

So, it is a great experience to go traveling, to see one s native land, or the land of our parents, as was the case with us, with all the love and emotional feeling that goes with it. But then, it is good to get back home again. Rev. Emil Varga