Sylvia, Karoline and Kristoffer Vass all lived at Holden Village when we did in the Fall of 2009. Zoltan had to stay in Szeged for his medical practice, but he came and joined the family at Christmas. We so enjoyed them at Holden, and it was a real treat to be able to visit them in their home in Hungary. Check out a map and see where Szeged is - down on the Romanian border in south central Hungary.They have a beautiful home they have worked on over 20 years. We enjoyed some time on the balcony over their yard, and then were treated to a superb Hungarian meal of chicken paprikash. A wonderful start to a wonderful trip.
On Saturday morning, we headed out to see Szeged. We boarded the tram near their home, which is also by the remains of a chapel that was destroyed in the communist era. Sylvia told us about the neighborhood project she is heading up to rebuild the chapel. Later she showed us a picture of the chapel in it original glory. They want to have the place be what it was again, and make the whole property a lovely park. Sylvia said there is a lot of enthusiasm in the neighborhood and in the city for the project.
We got off the tram in central Szeged. We had a very thorough tour of all the historic buildings and areas. It was really fun to have Karoline and Kristoffer's perspective. Szeged is a very comfortable and safe city for the children, and Karoline gets on the tram with her friends after school and hangs out downtown, often at McDonalds! We also stopped for ice cream at a popular Szeged place. It was Saturday, and there were loads of people - lots of families - just enjoying the sunny weather. Sylvia told us that it will be sunny now is Szeged until October!
We walked along Szeged's river, the Tisza. It often floods, and there have been disastrous ones many meters high. They showed us the high water marks along the edge. After a flood that destroyed much of the city in 1879, they built a huge levee that protects the city from the floods.
At the end of the afternoon Zoltan joined us at a restaurant famous for its Hungarian fish soup. It was a delicious - kind of like cioppino with lots of paprika and fresh water fish. We also had a delicious noodle dish with cheese and cottage cheese. Yum! Earlier in the day we learned about the local salami, Pick. Larry and I bought some to take along with us.
On Sunday we started off by going to the farmers market. We bought fruit and flowers, and Sylvia ordered their ham for Easter. On the way out Kristoffer said we needed to have some Lagos. This is a kind of fry bread served with cottage cheese and cheese. It was really good! Here's a picture of Sylvia and Kristoffer ordering our Lagos:
We then traveled by car some 30 km out of Szeged to Opusztaszer and the Hungarian National Memorial Park. This is an amazing and huge area with displays celebrating Hungarian culture and history. Most impressive was the panoramic painting of when the Magyars first settled in the central Carpathian plain over 1000 years ago. We also enjoyed an exhibition of horsemanship, with impressive work with bows and arrows. And we all ate delicious old-fashioned candy! The whole place is a wonderful area, and we were happy to have seen it, and especially to have such excellent tour guides as the Vass family. Here's a picture of Zoltan, Sylvia, and the tourist by the monument marking 1000 years:
We stopped at a local restaurant featuring regional food and had another great meal! There was a violinist playing in the background - very good - accompanied by a kind of xylophone. We headed home after a long day, grateful for this opportunity to see a part of the world we might never have seen if it weren't for Holden Village! Here we all are in their beautiful home:
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