fall break, superlatives and other adventures

Hungarian for the day: Jezus Krisztus, nagyon hideg van itt! Jesus Christ, it's cold here!

Life in Szentes continues to go pretty well. Over the past couple of weeks I've been lucky enough to do some great traveling around Hungary. Unfortunately, having not been paid yet I couldn't afford to roam far and wide on my Fall Break, but that was ok because my friend Tim was in town and, both of us being broke and worn out, we just sat around the apartment relaxing for the first half of the week. It was nice to sleep in repeatedly and take the time to study a lot of Hungarian and get some stuff done around the apartment. Our choice to shun interaction from the outside world was encouraged by the fact that my washing machine was (well, is) on the fritz, and Tim, who is on a tour of Europe by motorbike, was even more desperate for a way to do laundry than I was. Well, my landlady/boss didn't respond very quickly (read: still over two weeks later hasn't responded) to my pleas for washing machine maintenance, so we just sat around wearing our last remaining outfits (gym shorts) for a few days until Taylor returned from his trip to Debrecen and we could get some much needed sanitation done at his place.

On Thursday, after some laundry, we decided our hiatus from the world of the living had gone on too long and we set out to do some sight seeing. One of my private students had recommended to me that I visit the tiny village of Opusztaszer, a place not far away but hard to get to because it's a bit off the beaten track. Taylor had rented a car in order to visit Debrecen and was looking for suggestions of where to drive, so Opusztaszer seemed like the perfect match - nearby but not something we could easily get to without our own set of wheels. The village of Opusztaszer itself is nothing to see, what's special about it is the large outdoor museum of Hungarian history and culture located there. This unlikely location was chosen because of its unique importance in Hungarian history, and to understand this we need to take a trip back in time. Hungarians, as their charmingly beguiling non-Indo-European language suggests, are not from 'round these parts. Linguists theorize that these Ugric-speaking Magyars (as the Hungarians call themselves) originated from somewhere near the Ural Mountains. They were a wandering people, and the hodgepodge of different language traits mixed in to Hungarian suggests that they wandered far and wide for a couple thousand years. Eventually the itinerant Magyar tribes descended upon the Carpathian Basin and decided to stay here. The leaders of the tribes pledged allegiance to Arpad and hence the Hungarians had both united and found a home. The year was 896 AD, and the place was Opusztaszer. Our day there was very pleasant. The weather was beautiful and sunny, and though it's been quite frigid here for a while the temperature mercifully made it up into light jacket weather. The museum is a strange combination of weird Hungarian stuff, ranging from reconstructed ancient Magyar homesteads to Hungarian tractors through the ages. Though the connection between Arpad's accomplishments and Hungarian agriculture seem tenuous to me, it was an interesting place and a pleasant way to spend the afternoon. One of the coolest exhibits is the huge panorama picture of Arpad's conquest that was commissioned for the 1896 celebration of Hungary's 1000th birthday. Unfortunately the no photography policy in the panorama building was strictly enforced.

Sometimes translations here are (hilariously) lacking. "The garden of ruin" described in the sign references the ruins of an ancient monastery.

Traditional Magyar dwellings. The architecture gives away some of their Eastern heritage.

No joke - we found this primitive but awesome bowling lane in one of the traditional Hungarian farmsteads.

The Great Plain stretching out behind the garden of ruin.

Our drive back to Szentes on the back roads of the plains offered some beautiful, if flat, views.

The next day we decided to roam a bit more before Taylor and I were due in Budapest for a meeting of the SOL organizers and teachers. Eager for a little escape from the flatness surrounding us, Tim, Taylor, Sara (the French lecturer) and I jumped in the rented car and drove up to the Kekes, the highest point in Hungary located in the Matra mountains. Our trip up to Matra seemed like it should have taken longer because it took us clear across the country, but at just over 3 hours (even after getting lost on the way in Szolnok) the drive was a reminder of the relative closeness of everything in Hungary. We made it to Kekes with plenty of time to go for a nice long hike. At just over 1000 meters, Hungary's highest point is not so impressively high, but it was still nice to look at the "mountains" in their beautiful fall colors and go for a nice long walk in the woods. Once we'd had our fill of the great outdoors we drove Sara to Budapest to meet some of her French friends and then headed north to our next destination, Esztergom. This was a trip of superlatives, we'd seen Hungary's oldest settlement and its highest point, and now we were headed for Esztergom where we were to find Hungary's largest church.

Sara, Taylor and I about to start our hike on Kekes.

The view from the top of the other Matra mountains.

Esztergom is a beautiful small town on the Danube, which serves as the border with Slovakia here. The area has a rich history dating back to the Celtic tribes and then serving as a Roman fort. Marcus Aurelius allegedly finished writing his Meditations in this fort while he was serving in the military in the fight against those ornery Germanic tribes. It is one of the oldest Hungarian cities and was Hungary's capital before Buda or Pest were really on the map. It was here that Hungary's first Christian King, St Steven, was crowned, and even after losing its title as Hungary's first city it kept its importance as the home of the Hungarian Catholic Church. We arrived long after dark and drove around looking for lodging and food. This turned out to be a bit more labor intensive (and expensive) than we'd thought it would be, so we decided to forgo exploring the impressively glowing Basilica until the next morning. This was unfortunate because on the clear night and with the huge floodlights upon it the Basilica was more beautiful than we would get to see again. When we got up and out the next day we the fog was so thick that we couldn't even see the humongous Basilica that we knew to be there. We spent the morning walking around the pleasant cobblestone streets of Esztergom and then had a nice time up on the hill shared by the huge Basilica and the ruins of an old castle. The fog eventually lifted, but only for about the last hour or so of our time in Esztergom. Still, we had a really nice time touring the quaint little town.

Where is it?

Aha!

The inside of the Basilica's enormous dome.

Scenic and quaint Esztergom from the ramparts of the castle ruins.

Just as the day became absolutely gorgeous (albeit freezing) it was time to go. Taylor and I were due for our meeting with SOL, the organization that sent us here. We made our way back to Budapest along a road that runs beside the Danube. It was a beautiful drive and soon we were back in the big city. We dropped off the car at Hertz and began walking around Budapest. My last visit to this fantastic city was in some seriously dreary weather, and though it was still beautiful, blue skies and sunshine really made it something spectacular. We weren't particularly in a rush to the SOL meeting so we decided just to walk all the way to the meeting, halfway across the city. Tim tagged along with us until we were near the meeting and then he split off to do some exploration of his own. Taylor and I arrived to the SOL group just in time for an excursion up to the Citadella, a memorial on top of Gellert Hill that offers great views of the city. Though we had done this on our last trip to Budapest, we had done it at night and I was happy to take in the view in the afternoon. We had a really great time hanging out with the SOL people. The organizers are extremely kind and they treated us to a huge dinner (for Hungarians do not know of any other kind of dinner) and lots of great conversation. After hours around the dinner table talking some went to bed while others went out to a bar on Moskva Ter for a few beers and more discussion (mostly bitching). It was cathartic for Taylor and I to talk to the other SOL volunteers from all around Hungary who had stories of bureaucratic woe and student struggles that actually made ours seem pretty tame. It was also nice to hear that we weren't the only ones who hadn't just fallen into a nice social group and that loneliness was something that everyone moving to a new country alone goes through. Some of the other volunteers are much worse off than Taylor and I, indeed we're lucky at least to be able to hang out with one another. We've vowed to visit and be visited by some of the other SOL people so that should offer some good times and good travel opportunities in the future.

The view from the Citadella as afternoon turns to evening

The next morning we were up early for discussion with the SOLers. We sat around the Education Ministry's guest house all morning and then Grenville and Kati, the SOL organizers, provided us with a light lunch. After that the team dispersed and most people were off to their respective Hungarian towns. I decided to stay in Budapest for a while because it was such a beautiful day and Tim was out and about. I met Tim beside the river and we spent the afternoon walking around and I showed him what I could of Budapest. Eventually, however, it was time to face the facts. It was getting dark on Sunday evening and the last bus to Szentes was leaving and my precious break was over. Sigh - back to school.

Certainly my most extreme picture of the Parliament building

My first week back from break was a good week. Having looked forward to the excitement of the Oct 23rd and Fall Breaks for such a long time it was a bit depressing to look at how far away my next break - Christmas - is on my calendar (7 weeks). At least I like the job most days. Tim spent the week on the internet at my apartment trying to plan the logistics of his trip, which he is hoping to take beyond Europe. The week progressed quickly and then on Friday night I made a humongous pot of hearty stew to fend off the freezing weather and the wintry mix precipitation and had a tiny dinner party with Taylor, Sara, and Tim. We had a nice time feasting and letting Tim try his first Hungarian palinka. The next day, once the remaining palinka had left our systems, Tim and I headed down to Szeged to sightsee for the weekend. Though this was my fourth time in the city it was my first time to really look around because during my first few visits all I saw was the walk between the bus station and the Immigration Office. We had arranged to couchsurf in Szeged and it turned out to be perhaps my favorite experience with couchsurfers yet. We stayed with a really nice guy named Zsolt and his girlfriend Kata who took us out to an artsy little cafe/bar where we met a big group of their friends. Szeged is a university town and the assembled group really reflected that. It was great to be with a big group of outgoing and funny people. They were sympathetic to my poorly-suppressed frustration with a few of the aspects of small town Hungarian life, having for the most part come from small towns in Hungary themselves, and made me extremely happy by encouraging me to start coming down to Szeged any weekend I wanted to. The next day couchsurfers did right by us again when we met Julianna, a student at Szeged who for various logistical reasons we didn't get to stay with but who still offered to come out and show us around. Tim and I went to the New Synagogue to wait for her, which was perhaps the most beautiful house of worship I've seen in Hungary yet. The inside was absolutely spectacular, and we were even lucky enough to have someone playing the organ as we walked around. Unfortunately my camera's battery ran out right after I took the first picture of the inside, but hopefully that picture of the ornate cupola will give you an idea of how nice the synagogue is. Right after we left we met Julianna, who took us to a nice cafe where we sat with her for a long time talking. She spoke flawless English, having spent over a year living in New Zealand, and was exceptionally kind. After a few strong Hungarian coffees Tim wanted to get his last bit of traditional Hungarian food before moving onwards to his next stop, Romania. Julcsi knew just the place, a tiny little restaurant called 90C, named after the bra size of the two buxom Hungarian babushka owners/cooks. The food was certainly delicious and again the conversation was wonderful. Afterwards we walked around for a bit before Tim had to hit the road and I felt 24 unplanned classes calling my name all the way from Szentes. Returning to Szentes was nice, especially because I got to reflect on the fact that my weekend in Szeged had given me a few new friends in Hungary.

The Dome Church is perhaps Szeged's most famous monument

The C stands for vitamin C! This useful vitamin was discovered by a Hungarian professor at the University of Szeged, Albert Szent-Gyorgyi.

The beautiful cupola inside Szeged's New Synagogue

Julianna and Tim outside of the University's School of Arts building. The statue commemorates the 1956 Revolution. It was in this building that the first revolutionaries gathered and started the revolt against the Soviets, about a week before revolution fever took Budapest by storm.