Zagyvarékas 2009
This year again we visited Ica's birthplace, Zagyvarékas. The village is a quiet place away from the hustle and bustle of the capital city Budapest, just about one hundred kilometers away. We also stopped by Ica's Godfather uncle Pista, who is 94 years old and whose mind is as sharp as a razor. He has installed a neat new fence around his house that surprised many of the village inhabitants. He was captured during WWII and was taken to Siberia by the Soviets, where he spent 7 years as a POW in a forced labor camp. Teca is about 70 years young, widowed and has a beautiful and nicely furnished house . She kindly allowed us to stay there overnight. She is very active around the house and garden. She grows all the needed vegetables, potatos, onions, carrots, parsnips, tomatoes, cabbages, etc. She has apple- pear- and walnut trees and some grapes and lots of flowers. She raises chickens too and finds time for the two grandchildren. She also manages the events for the Reirement Club in Zagyvarékas. These people are very industrious and hard working and self reliant. They deserve everything they got. The trip by train was novel, (haven't traveled by train since 1962) and enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the countryside. Being over 65 it cost me nothing for the ticket, Ilona paid only about 2500 forints (about $15) round trip.
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Nagyoroszi, Drégely castle, Slovakia
High school classmate Gyuri invited us for a weekend barbeque, along with Árpi, also a high school mate, to his house in Nagyoroszi, about fifty kilometers north of Budapest. We had a nice barbeque, chicken and pork shishkabob, plus two huge steaks on Saturday afternoon. I introduced the "screwdriver" which they didn't know before, and we washed it off with beer. Later in the afternoon we took off for the ruins of Drégely castle, a Hungarian stronghold during the Turkish invasion in the 16th century. The fort is at about 1600 feet and we got lost downhill. It was a bit scary because it was getting dark and we had no water, no fire, no maps, no telephones. It was not until we walked about three miles to the nearest highway in pitch dark and another mile on the highway before Gyuri's son picked us up. We were cheered up when we caught a glimpse of light and the sound of music, which was coming from a house where people were frolicking. They gave us water and offered food too when they found out that we were lost. They also allowed us to make a phone call to Gyuri's house. The moral of the story is that one should never go on even a short (e.g. 10 miles) trip in the wilderness without water, fire, maps and telephones.
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We had a good night's sleep at Gyuri's house and on Sunday morning we drove to the border crossing to Slovakia. Since both countries are EU members, there was no customs office, we could drive straight through. This was the first time we ever went to "Felvidék" which is now Slovakia. The store clerk at the gas station spoke fluent Hungarian and was very friendly. We stopped at Ipolybél for directions and were greeted in Hungarian before we could say "hello". (They noticed our Hungarian license plate.) Next we stopped at Ipolyszalka near a church to rest. It was Sunday morning about 10:00AM when we heard organ music playing inside the church. It was the Sunday morning mass. The folks were singing in Hungarian and the priest was celebrating the mass in Hungarian also. I recorded part of it on video and it was very moving to me. After the mass we met this nice old gentleman, Imre bácsi, who was 82 years old. We talked with him for about an hour. He told us interesting stories and he asked us to say hello to our countrymen in Hungary and America. We gladly oblige him. From Ipolyszalka we went to Párkány (Sturovo), where we enjoyed a good lunch and the scenery along the Danube. There is a new bridge here built in 2001 called the Mária Valéria Bridge that was destroyed during WWII. It connects Slovakia with Hungary between Sturovo (Párkány) and Esztergom. The view of Esztergom from Párkány is breathtaking. It alone was worth the trip. I recommend it to everyone.
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