A day of bizarre

As the last Saturday of the program, today's schedule included a trip to Kutna Hora.  A little over an hour outside of Prague, Kutna Hora used to be the second largest city in the Czechlands and was incredibly wealthy in the 13th and 14th century thanks to nearby silver mines.  In 1318, due to the black plague, there were 30,000 bodies recorded in the cemetery and in following centuries as the town and churches grew, the cemetery grounds were exhumed for building expansion.  The bones were stacked around the church for many years, until the 18th century when they became the material used for decoration.

The entire time I was in the ossuary, all I could think was that the kids at school would totally dig this!

We were back in Prague around 3:30 and had a completely free evening, which was fabulous.
David Černý is a Czech artist that is frequently considered controversial.  He has a number of sculpture installations around Prague and they are the kind of pieces that completely catch you off guard when you first approach them from around an unsuspecting corner.  He is well known for painting a Soviet tank hot pink, for example.  At the entry of the Franz Kafka Museum (which I plan to visit on Monday) is this work...

I don't know it's actual name.  I've only heard it referred to as the peeing statues.  It is mechanized with the pelvis portions, and other parts, swiveling side to side.  Supposedly you can send a text message to a given number and the sculpture will "write" out your message.  Now that would be my recommendation for anyone considering a unique proposal!  I'm sure someone has already thought of it, but can you imagine?!?

They said it wasn't possible

As many of you know, my favorite book is Gone with the Wind and in 1997 I started buying copies of it in the languages of countries I've visited.  I never dreamed that purchasing a book in Hungary and the Czech Republic would be such an adventure.

It was almost half way through our time in Budapest that I finally made it to a bookstore, and when I inquired at the information desk was told that they were out.  I asked to have the title written down and inquired at a few other nearby stores with no luck.  It was suggested that I visit Museum Street with the antiquarian bookstores, at which point I went online and found that it wasn't even in publication and no copies were available on second market.  It was only my speculation, but I thought perhaps during the Communist era American novels might have been taken out of circulation.  I wouldn't have time to hop from one antique bookstore to another and decided not to bother.  A few days before leaving Budapest, I was out and about by myself and passing by the House of Terror (museum of Nazi occupation and Communist regime) when I noticed a used bookstore across the street and walked in.  I pulled out my slip of paper inquiring whether he had this title in Hungarian, was told to head upstairs to the loft and pulled this copy off the shelf.  I told the salesman I should at least ask how much it was, but honestly didn't care, at which point he opened the back cover, shrugged and sheepishly replied that it was 1,200 HUF.  That is $5.50!!  It was mine and my day was made!

I honestly thought the Czech Republic would be a cinch as I already had the title in Czech (thanks to Sandy P.'s mother-in-law).  I also noticed on a Google search that the movie had another title, so I wrote them both down.  While at the mall I waltzed into the Palace of Books, pulled out my other slip of paper and was informed by the 20-something clerk that they didn't have it.  I asked which title I should be looking for and was coldly told, "It don't exist in Czech."  :'-(   Today while at a pedegogical bookstore I thought I'd give it another try...pull out my slip of paper asking if either title is available and he said it didn't exist.  They only had Margaret Mitchell's book North and South in Czech.  Well, she only wrote one book! So, here it is...and for the time being my collection is complete!

There's only eight program days remaining.  People are getting tired, tempers are a little shorter than at the start, but there's also more laughter associated with the exhaustion. 

Praha

First off, for those wondering, my foot and ankle are much better.  When I was settling into my hotel room Saturday evening, I found an extra pillow and light-weight duvet in the closet and rolled them together for the foot of the bed.  I've been sleeping with my foot elevated (as best I can anyway as I tend to curl up in my sleep) and Sunday morning was the first time in almost two weeks I could see my left ankle bone.  It was quite exciting!

Praha is a very different kind of creature than Brno or Budapest.  It is crazy full of tourists and there is more English heard here than anywhere I've been in the last month.  I was stopped twice on the street today alone, asked if I spoke English and whether I knew where such-and-such was.  Over our lunch break today,  I ran to the train station to buy my ticket to Germany for August 7th, and on the way back to the meeting point for the afternoon lecture I was approached by a couple probably in their late sixties.  (Read on with a strong New York, Jewish accent...not for me, of course)
Man:  Excuse me, excuse me, do you speak English?
Me:  Yes
Man:  Can you tell us how to get to the Hotel Continental?
Me: (looking at the map in his hands and up at the corner street signs) Umm...we're at this intersection right here.  Continue in the direction you were heading and turn left at the next street.  It should be 2-3 blocks towards the river.
Wife:  Ask about the Great Synogogue!
Man:  What if we wanted to see the Great Synogogue on the way?
Me:  Then turn right here...
Man:  Thank you so much.  And your English is excellent by the way.
Me:  Thank you, but I'm from Minnesota.
Man:  Oh, we figured.
Me:  ???   Well I've only been in Prague three days myself.
Man:  And you've already learned the language so well!  Good for you!
Me:  ????????

I think because it has become such a tourist city, Praha has this really bizarre mix elements.  Across from the Municipal House, an amazing art neuveau theater, was the following banner:  ballet?  opera?  Michael Jackson tribute?  There's something for everyone I guess...

Brno: A study in contrasts

Today we left Brno in Moravia and arrived in Praha (Prague) in Bohemia.  When I first arrived in Brno I thought I'd be "toughing" out the week after the splendors and pampering of Hungary.  In fact the first morning as Rod and I walked to mass at the Peter and Paul Cathedral, we discussed that Brno seemed more sterile and industrial (even though it is a university town) than the highly cultural Budapest.  Rod referred to it as more "Eastern Block" feeling.  By the end of the week, it was clear that we couldn't have been more wrong and again, few of us were ready to leave.

First of all we all fell in love with the Martins, or as everyone started to affectionately call them, Martin 1 and Martin 2.  Martin 1 (Glogar, on the left) met us in Budapest and traveled with the group by train to Brno.  Martin 2 (Vašek, on the right) safely delivered us to Praha today by bus.  We were supposed to take a train again, but after experiencing the luggage fiasco of 16 Americans it was thought better of to rent a minibus and trailer.  I am still amazed how quickly one becomes attached to people in these situations, as there was a real emotional tug saying good-bye this morning.


There were a few day trips outside of Brno that were enjoyed.  On Wednesday we went to southern Moravia to Břeclav to visit a gymnasium, the european equivilant of a prepartory high school.  In the afternoon we visited the summer château in Lednice, owned by the Lichtensteiners.  It was clearly stated at the ticket window that no photography was allowed.  Many places allow you to purchase a photo permit, but that was not the case at the here.  When the tour guide began her introduction she said, "No where in the château is photography permitted, but as I know tourists, if you must take a picture please make sure your flash is turned off."  Well, that opened the flood gates!  I decided to be a rule follower until we arrived at the library (which I still was not taking any pictures of) and she pointed out the spiral staircase.  This was a picture I had to take for my dad!

This oak staircase is probably 25-30 feet tall and carved out of a single tree!  It is free standing with no supports, joints or nails.  It was spectacular!

Our last day in Brno (oh yeah, that was yesterday!) we traveled about an hour north to a girl scout camp.  The Czech Republic has a strong tradition of scouting and currently have a youth membership of 50,000 (in a country of 10 million total population) and 70,000 former, alumni scouts.   We spent the morning with a troop of girls between the ages of 11-15 in their very rustic camp.  They stay for two weeks in the summer.  I had the opportunity to try out their facilities which certainly wasn't as comfortable as the outhouse at the cabin, but not as primitive as I had feared either. 

So there you have it...Brno afforded me to the chance to go from the château to the shithouse in less than 48 hours!  I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Seeking advice

What would you do if your foot and ankle looked like this??

About three weeks ago, after visiting Hortobágy national park in Hungary (traipsing through the fields and having a slight allergic reaction to the horses) and sitting on a tour bus for three days, my ankle was slightly swollen.  It went down but not back to its usual size.  The last two weeks have been incredibly hot and humid.  This week, both feet and ankles are swollen and puffy, the left more than the right.  It isn't painful, but I'm walking constantly (and this is not an optional activity) and my skin is starting to feel tight.  It is also butt ugly!  Everyone says it's from salt or MSG consumption, but I don't think I've been getting any more than usual in food.  Also, I've been drinking lots of water, but only mineral water is available which would contain additional sodium but again not drinking water doesn't seem like a helpful solution.  Let me know if you have any ideas of how I can get rid of this!!!

It's all in the details

So I've said farewell (for now) to Hungary and Budapest.  It was a bittersweet leaving as we were completely taken care of and had such a wonderful time.  Friday evening there was a dinner boat cruise along the Danube with a number of people associated with the Fulbright Commission to send us off.  Everyone had a wonderful time.

Huba Brückner, director of the Fulbright Commission in Hungary is in the center next to Carridy and Annamaria Sas, our everlasting caretaker, is pictured with me on the right.  These two people, especially Annamaria, are responsible for the amazing experience we were all able to have in Hungary.

Saturday morning we had a 9:30 am train to Brno, Czech Republic.  The sea of luggage swamped the hotel lobby and the Czech representative who came to Budapest to travel with us to Brno realized there would be issues with the 16 American teachers.  Many people in the group claim to have traveled internationally before, but I think they are lying.  We were booked into first class train compartments, which was unexpected but greatly appreciated.  The train traveled through Slovakia, stopping in the capital Bratislava and arrived in Brno roughly four hours after leaving Budapest. 

The Czech Republic is dividing into two general regions, Moravia and Bohemia.  If my understanding is correct they are very different from each other.  It would be like if the US were made up of Minnesota and Louisiana.  Brno is the largest city is Moravia and Prague is the nation's capital and hub of Bohemia. 

It's been very hot in central Europe for the last couple weeks, mostly in the high 90's with high humidity.  When we arrived at the hotel in Brno in six taxis (remember all the luggage??) and it was learned that the hotel had no air conditioning, the proverbial "It" hit the fan.  It did not make for a comfortable transition to the Czech Republic.

A welcome reception was hosted for us at the Abbey of Old Brno.  Gregor Mendel, the father of genetics, was the abbot of this abbey, and on these grounds is where he did his famous experiments growing peas and figuring out how dominant and recessive traits are passed along through genetics.  After touring the Mendel Museum, a private organ concert was given for out group in the basilica, followed by dinner.  As we walked out into the covered courtyard after the concert, the skies opened up and poured rain.  It was wonderful the way the heat was finally broken.

In our first two days in Brno we've had sessions on Czech history, education and language (which is incredibly more difficult than I could ever have imagined!).  While on a walking tour of the city center yesterday, this plaque on the side of a building was pointed out to us.  František Poupé was the brewmaster of Brno who is considered responsible for truly figuring out how to brew beer.  The plaque says he lived until 1805, and obviously beer was brewed before the 18th century, but I guess he really tweaked the secret.  Ironically, his last name, Poupé means Bud.  Could this be the origin of the most globally recognizable Czech beer, Budweiser??

No complaints

Except one...tomorrow is my last day in Hungary! :-(  Saturday we board a 9am train for the Czech Republic.  Tomorrow I will have to say good bye to some very special people, but as it was pointed out during our pre-departure orientation, the direct translation of good bye in Hungarian is actually "until I see you the next time".  I already know that I will return to Budapest again.

In our final remaining days in Budapest, we've really done our best to make the most of the time.  Last night Carridy, Karen, Rod and I returned to the cafe at Fisherman's Bastian, which I believe I wrote about in one of my first posts.  Once again, we were the only people in the cafe, so we ordered bottles of wine as the string trio simply played around our table. 

Karen is so completely enamored by Attila, the violinist, that when she kept saying she was bringing her husband back here, we strongly advised against it...John might not appreciate the way Karen gazes at Attila!  A few of us also attended some folk dance houses/lessons and tested out our new moves.

Today was our final day trip outside of Budapest.  We visited Szentendre, an 18th century town with five Orthodox churches alone, which is now an artist colony-type village.  We saw loads of Roman ruins and went to the medieval royal palace in Visegrad.  On our way to dinner at the Renaissance Restaurant, we walked past the tower that Vlad Tepes (more commonly known as Dracula) was held prisoner for ten years after having killed some traveling Turkish emmisaries.  The Sultan wanted to start a war with Hungary over the deaths, so King Mattias had Dracula arrested.  The Renaissance Restaurant was exactly as advertised.  We needed a king and queen of the table.  Rod became king by default, he is the only man in the program, and everyone seemed to not only walk past the queen's throne, but gave a wide berth around it, so I sat down.  Can't say it was a real upgrade from my previous princess status (king and queen didn't even get served first!) but I did have nice arm rests.
I guess I'll now have to figure out a way to work up to empress or goddess...

As promised...

I guess I'm not the only member of the group who has posted on their blog about the hot highway helper.  Elisa had an impressive number of photos (and I just heard that Karen K. took a video...gotta get my hands on that!) but most of Elisa's pics didn't turn out real well.  As you can see from the middle photo, it was about 7pm and the sun was setting.  She was complaining that she kept getting a halo around him, to which I said that seemed appropriate.  It wasn't a halo, but a giant light blotch completely covering his face.  There are quite a few kindergarten teachers on this program, and Rita  has been taking pictures of a little folkart doll she bought in various locations, like a Flat Stanley.  She was able to add a photo to her "People in our Community" collection.

This evening a few of us went to the local mall.  There has been quite a bit of shopping done by some people and they've already discovered they need another suitcase to bring goods home.  Shipping home has been looked into, and in Hungary anyway, it is a really expensive option.  While at the mall, I went into the Bijou Brigitte jewelry boutique and found another pair of my favorite earrings that I bought four years ago in Frankfurt and were in the jewelry roll that went missing from my luggage between Mpls and Newark!  I picked up a couple other pairs of earrings and now feel more complete. 

Unexpected adventures

It was brought to my attention that a whole four days had passed without a post and I guess I now have followers anticipating updates with bated breath. ;-)  We returned Saturday evening from a three day trip to western and southwestern Hungary and our hotels didn't have reliable Internet access.  Today was the only free day during our three weeks in Hungary and I packed everything I could into it.

On Thursday, after visiting a thousand year old Benedictine abbey, we were supposed to visit the site of the Pan European Picnic.  I remember watching this event on television news as a kid, so maybe you remember too.  It was 1989 and for three hours Hungary and Austria planned to come together in a field at the border, as a sign of bringing down the Iron Curtain.  It was highly publicized and when the date arrived, more than 900 East Germans had gathered and streamed over the border into Austria and on to West Germany.  Within a few weeks of the Pan European Picnic, the Berlin Wall came down. 

Here's where our adventure started.  We arrived at the marked turn off for the memorial site to find the road closed.  Not a problem, there is another road about a kilometer further that also includes a border crossing post and we can approach the memorial from the other direction.  That border post is also closed, so Gábor, our master bus driver decides to take the tour bus off-roading!  Through wheat fields and narrow rutted paths in the woods, we eventually reach a point too narrow for the bus to pass.  We decide it's time to walk (while Gábor figures out how to turn the bus around) and while we stay on the path, we come out to a ridge overlooking a beautiful landscape in the middle of nowhere.  Retracing our steps to the bus, we reverse our illegal border crossing and stop at the prison to ask how to reach the Picnic site.  The prison guard says the road isn't really closed, but the local residents have put up their own barricades, so our guides and the Fulbright director simply took them down.  The bus was filled with the famous American nervous laughter and the Hungarian phrase (that I like to translate closest to "Oh shit!") "Hoo-ha".

Friday was when we were able to see Lake Balaton, or the Hungarian Sea.  It is landlocked lake, but still has a slightly salty quality due to all the minerals and springs in Hungary.  This is where most Hungarians vacation, families have weekend homes and during Communist times people were able to meet from East and West.  Aside from the ferries that cross at the narrowest point and police boats, no motorized vehicles are allowed on the lake, which leads to the beautiful sailboats everywhere. 

Saturday we were in Pécs.  It is the Cultural Capital of Europe this year, so there was loads of renovations and work being done on the city, highlighting all its unique features.  We visited the catacombs discovered to be the earliest Christian burial tombs in Europe, dating to the 4th century.  Late afternoon we headed back to Budapest and about an hour outside of Budapest the bus overheated.  We spent an hour and a half on the side of the highway trying to cool the engine and refill the radiator.  A really hot highway helper stopped and Elisa had her camera at the ready.  I'm still trying to get those photos from her and will share ASAP.  Trust me, it'll be worth it. ;-)  On our first day, Andrea, our tour guide, said that Hungarian men are known to be ranked as the best husbands, combining romance with shared responsibilities of home and family.  I will say that I've seen many attractive Hungarian people...

If anyone has the opportunity to see a movie called Gloomy Sunday, I'd recommend it.  Set in 1930s Budapest it is about the composer of a song called Gloomy Sunday.  The song became popular as the Nazis were starting their occupation of Hungary and there was supposedly a rash of suicides throughout Budapest among people either playing the song or in possession of the music or lyrics.  It became known as "Hungary's suicide song" with hundreds of suicides in just a few weeks.  I saw the movie the week before leaving, and intrigued googled it and read in Wikipedia that the story was just urban legend.  Well, we've been in two cafés so far with gypsy bands playing and taking requests.  Both have known and played Gloomy Sunday and claimed the story is completely true.  As we returned to the hotel Saturday evening, Andrea also mentioned that one of the cafés we'd visited near our hotel is where the song was originally played in the 30's and also attested to its accuracy.  I just thought that was pretty darn cool!

Attempt #896 on the wine video

I haven't really tried 896 times, but that is the year that the Magyar tribes settled in the Carpathian Basin and conquered the lands to be known as Hungary.  I did attempt to upload the video many different times and ways though, that it felt like 896.

Drinking the bull's blood

I've been trying to post my video for the past two days with no success.  I guess there is a known issue with uploading videos on Blogger recently, and it simply spins and takes forever, so I'll have to wait and share the video when I get home. 

We had a three day weekend in northeastern Hungary, visiting the cities of Debrecen and Eger, the national park in Hortabágy and the quaint, little village of Hollokö.  In both Debrecen and Eger there are universities that have the most amazing libraries!  I also don't know why my Eger university picture won't load, but the ceiling is this amazing trompe l'oeil painting that looks like a gothic cathedral when the ceiling is really flat.  Their collections include works from the 15th and 16th century and they are simply on the shelves.  A few of the greatest treasures are under glass, but let me say that the smells in those rooms were equally amazing! ;-)  Nothing like catching a high off old books.

Eger is also in one of Hungary's 21 wine regions.  Saturday night we had dinner in the "Valley of Beautiful Women" where they had more than 100 wine cellars along the road.  At dinner, we tasted three wines of the regions which were served from a large glass pipette (just like what you might remember from chemistry class), and the waiter would also serve directly into the mouth after filling your glass.  That's what the video is...!  In the video I'm actually drinking sweet red wine, but the bull's blood had been just before that.  Eger is famous for a siege fought and won in 1582 when the Turkish army of more than 40,000 attacked Eger's 212 soldiers, laymen and women.  The Hungarian's won with some ingenious warfare tactics.  They also combined all the wine available in barrels to sustain the fighters and when the Turks saw the red stained beards of these men fighting with unending vigor they figured they must be drinking the blood of bulls for the strength.

I am having such a great time and learning so much.  It is hard to believe that a week of our time in Hungary has already past and I'm already starting to worry that I won't get in everything I want to see.  Who's up for a return trip to Budapest with me, in the near future???

Right up my alley

I'm sure some will find this post title irreverent, and to those I mean no disrespect, but there are so many aspects of Budapest that correspond to my personal interests that when I experience one more it is exciting for me.  Budapest is a city of monuments.  On our city tour the first day, this monument was pointed out to us and Karen B. and I decided to go back on our next morning walk to see it up close.

Hungary was not exempt from the Holocaust, but for a variety of reasons most of the Jews living in Budapest were not deported to concentration camps unlike the Jews of the Hungarian countryside.  Adolf Eichmann was even sent to Budapest in 1944 to organize the Final Solution in Hungary.  But when the Russians were approaching to liberate the city, thousands of people were rounded up (Jews, Catholics, Homosexuals, etc.), brought to the banks of the Danube and simply shot and thrown into the river.  These metal shoes on the river bank commemorate that event.


And one more for my brother...near this monument was an old guy fishing.  When Karen pantomimed that she'd like to take his picture, he grinned, put down his gear and jumped up.  We were afraid he had misunderstood and thought we were asking him to take a picture of us.  But he ran over to a pillar and starting pulling on a rope, at which point we realized that he had caught a fish and had it in a net.  He was very proud of this fish, and very proud to tell us he was in his seventies.  I was very proud to have understood the number seventy in Hungarian by this kind (and toothless) fisherman on the river!