SUSAN SCOGGINS: 10 DAYS IN HUNGARY - DAY 2 TOO MUCH TO TELL - by North Carolina Artist, Sue Scoggins

Monday, June 16, 2014

10 DAYS IN HUNGARY - DAY 2 TOO MUCH TO TELL - by North Carolina Artist, Sue Scoggins

Jo(yo) napot!
I know I said I would post on Sundays but there is just too much to tell.

Let me begin with NEVER-LEST TRAVEL TIP # 2. Never eat an entire bowl of Hungarian cherries lest you break out in little red blisters on the rims of your eyes and inside your nose and throat. Ouch!

Today, Pat, Julie's husband was our tour guide. We met some friends from a Viking River Boat Cruise around 9:00. Pat's goal was to re enact "trains, planes, and automobiles" by giving us extensive training on buses, trams, and subways. We saw the most marvelous architecture in the Opera, Liszt Academy Concert Center, Dohany Street Grand Jewish Synagogue, and Matthias Chapel. We walked through the most extravagant coffee houses I've ever seen and finished it off with a bowl Hungarian goulash and a Menza beer for lunch under an umbrella in Franz Liszt park. Truly unbelievable beauty and workmanship has filled my brain.

There were two highlights. First, after touring the Grand Jewish Synagogue, I went into the back courtyard which was a memory cemetery. This Synagogue stands in the Jewish Ghettos where many Jews died of hunger and cold during WWII. There, stood a beautiful sculpture, commissioned by Tony Curtis, an American actor who was a Hungarian Jew. Over 400.000 Hungarian Jews were murdered by the Nazis. Each leaf of this willow tree had inscribed the name of some of the victims. As I was studying the sculpture, a group of people (tourists) gathered around and broke out in Hebrew song.

Second highlight, the most endearing part of the day, was when I was on the bus headed back down the cobblestone road from Buda into the city of Pest. (pronounced Pesh) The road was particularly curvy and there was no slowing down on the curves. Thinking I'm invincible, I decided not to sit. My standing became the ultimate "hang on for dear life to a vertical green bar" challenge. On curves, I found myself grabbing the handle bar on the door too. When stopped, this beautiful elderly Hungarian woman carefully got up from her chair, tapped me on the arm and cautioned me not to hold onto the door because it would swing open. (At least that's what I think she was saying.) She staggered back to her seat and I said, kuszanam, smiled and placed both my hands on the vertical bar. After the next curb, she got up again, pleading with me to sit. "Please, please." in English. So I sat with her and we became best friends.

Clearly, she was worried that I would fall out that door into the street. As we tried to understand each other we laughed at our communications skills. As we started up again, she pointed out every building and I'd say, "beautiful, beautiful." And as we passed Szent István-bazilika , she held out the cross from her neck and said, "Catolic. Hungarian Catolic." I smiled and tapped my heart. I wish I had asked her name. I would have followed her around like an excited puppy dog if I could have. She asked if I was English. I said "yes". Then I corrected myself and said, "No. I'm American." She said, "I've been there. Babysit." I could have "talked" for hours. But, she then got off at her stop and said, "bye. bye."