Trip to Szolnok and Lake Tisza #1

I am trying to learn more about water management in Hungary and I got an amazing education last week from the Director of the Middle Tisza Water District.  The Hungarians take flood management seriously, as well they should.  I will never look at a floodplain the same way again--as he pointed out things to me on maps or on the ground, I remembered similar things from the Dayton, Ohio area.  Yesterday, I went to Pecs here in Hungary and as I went along, I saw the management in the landscape.  It looks pretty natural most of the time.  The one hydropower dam Hungary has is at the artificial Lake Tisza, which gets a great many birds during migrations.  (Well, Hungary has one that could work, but they are no longer interested in it). The Tisza is also a pretty river.  I liked how the district, following national rules and good solid, management put a few explanations up for the public and also name spots after famous Hungarian writers or notables associated with a part of the river.

Szolnok is an industrial town. Like so many in Hungary, it fell on some hard times after the end of the Cold War.  But it is coming back through new investments in the town, the emphasis on water management, and new jobs coming in.  One of the newest projects in town involves a pedestrian bridge and raising the levees to better cope with sometimes higher floods than in the past. The bridge is shaped like a mayfly--which hatches in vast quantities in late June.  There's also a funny statue in their honor.

Here's a view of the new embankment work in the city. Keeping the trees is very important.

De la Motte Mansion Noszvaj, Hungary

I will continue with the travels from the trip to Eger.  We left Eger and saw a wonderful mansion, the De la Motte, built in the late 1700s.  What's really special about it are the frescoes and the use of trompe l'oeil to get 3D effects.

The Front of the Mansion

A highly stylized Roman God

3D look in the entrance way

I believe this is supposed to be Mercury

View to the back with a painted medallion

More 3D

There was a bird room. I want one.

Seriously

wine tasting

                       Here I am checking the color and clarity of one of the wines by holding it up to the candle.                                           Photo by Prof. Melendez (U of New Mexico) I quite like the photo.

Eger is a wine region of Hungary--and the Hungarians make some very fine wines. They are justly proud of them; so proud that they drink over 80% of what they produce.  We had a very pleasant wine tasting experience in one of the wine caves that has been carved into a hill. 

Basilica of Eger

Later in the 1500s the Turks did take the town (and got well into Budapest).  The ruled it for 91 years, in fact.  Photo of a minaret below. The remaining photos are of the Basilica; Eger has an Archbishop.

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Minaret

The Castle/fort of Eger

Eger is famous for the locals having fended off the Turks, under the castle captain, Dobos.  Women fought bravely along with the men to accomplish this.  They were greatly outnumbered by the Turks, but they had ingenious ways of figuring out where the Turks were tunneling in to blow up the wall (a drum with little stones on it that would vibrate--very effective low tech monitoring equipment.  Then, they would countertunnel and blow up the Turks on the other side, etc.  There is a famous red wine made here called Bull's Blood.  The story goes that Dobos was observed by the Turks drinking red wine and it flowed over his beard.  The Turks commented that he must be drinking blood, to which they added that it must be the blood of a bull.   I took lots of photos here, but will spare you too many.

Entrance

The hero, Dobos

A modern addition--very large statues of the citizens in the castle who fought off the Turks.  Here's the tribute to the women.

Inside (the castle dates to the 1200s, as I recall)

This isn't clear, but they were able to move cannons to do some serious damage to the Turks with cross-fire.

Views of Eger

From the top of the roof at Esterhazy College, one can get some nice views of Eger.

Oops...this is from the main square of Eger

Eger--astronomy

Count Karoly Esztherhazy was also interested in the growing field of astronomy and set up an observatory.  I don't have photos of it, really, but there is a wonderful camera obscura (imagine putting up a kind of periscope on your house and having it project images of the surroundings in full color

Camera Obscura--the brass things maneuver the lens on the top of the building.

on a table in a darkened room--we 21st century sorts were delighted and laughed (it was partly for amusement in the 18th c) when the guide folded a card and put it across a road.  Cars would appear to go nearly straight up and down.

The photos are of some of the equipment. 

Telescopes

This device (quite large) allowed the astronomer to measure angles between stars and other objecs.

Close-up of one telescope--still works, we looked through it.

Helped find Noon and other times.

Fulbright trip to Eger--library at Esterhazy CollegeI

The Hungarian-American Fulbright Commission arranges a monthly visit to someplace in Hungary for both faculty and student Fulbright scholars.  This gives us a chance to learn more about where we live and to make new connections.  This month it was the city of Eger, population about 60,000.  It is a lovely town in one of the wine regions of Hungary and its primary architecture is Baroque, though there is an old castle on the hill, which, famously in the 1500s fended off an attack by the Turks--even the women fought.

Some of us attended one day of a conference on the Internationalization of Higher Education at Karoly Eszterhazy College.  Here is a link to that college: http://old.ektf.hu/ujweb/index_en.php?page=59  .   The main speaker was Hans de Wit.  I found his morning presentation to be very interesting.  We also heard a fine talk on how Esterhazy College does intercultural training for outgoing Eszterhazy students and incoming international students.  The next day Fulbrighter Dr. Gabriel Melendez, who is teaching at Esterhazy, gave a talk on the "celluoid curriculum"--what we learn (often stereotypes, but not always) about race and many other topics just through films.  Then we did a tour of the college and the town of Eger. 

Here are photos of the College's original library room (largely closed except to experts needed the old documents--the College has more modern facilities, of course). It was developed in the last quarter century or so of the 1700s.

I think this would do for my library. Love the book ladder.

Part of the ceiling fresco

The bolt of lightening from heaven is striking some evil books.  It is odd for a library to do this...on the other hand, US libraries often pull books that the local community thinks are bad.

Conference and Boat trip on Danube

I went to a conference on the Danube. It was a mix of scientists (natural, social and historical) and artists. I like that combination.  In some ways I think the best way to change how we think of ourselves relative to nature will be driven by the arts.  Science has information and deep insight, but unless one is a scientist, it does not inspire reflection and action.  Art seems to do both.  Yesterday, we took a boat ride up the river to Szentendre and back.  On the ride, I listened to James Prosek talk about his work. He is a brilliant scientific illustrator--did a book on trout, a funny book where he makes hybrid animals including some with tools like drills on the grounds that we only save useful animals, other fishing books. More recently he's come out with a book on eels.  I really need to read that book.  He said he originally had 1000 pages of manuscript from his travels to learn about eels, but cut it to 250.  He didn't think people could stand 1000 pages worth, but maybe, he joked, "I can do Eels More or Eels 2."  A fine day, yet again.  Photos below.

Ropes  I've only really sailed on larger ships like used on Lake Superior. It was interesting to be on a low river boat.

Margit Bridge Detail

Me, a little chilly that day, but I'm happy.

Fall color on the way up the river.

Lake Balaton

Last week I was invited to a birthday party--for a very lively 92 year lady!  It was held at the family's summer cottage on Lake Balaton, Hungary.  This is a very large, but shallow, lake and it's quite lovely.  It has been important in Hungarian history and is also special because of the many summer memories people have of being there.  I can tell you I enjoyed a day with 18 energetic people ages 4-92.  I forgot to ask if I could post pictures of people, but here are some of this special place.  What a memorable day!  I'm very thankful for the kind invitation to share in a family event.

Music and the Zeneakademia

I love classical music and being in Budapest is A) perfect for this purpose and B) overwhelming.  I do believe I could find something every day to attend.   I've been to a recital at the the main music school.  It was of young violinists.  It started with children I'd guess were about 10 and they were surprisingly good.  It ended with young professionals--perhaps they are getting advanced degrees.  It was a joy to see how the young people developed: first some fingering and tone, then the tone improved and the the fingering got more complex, then (around High School age) I saw that they were developing their musicality. By the end, with the professional performances, it was all there, musicality, technical brilliance, individual style.  I loved it.

I went to the main concert hall to listen to Yevgeny Sudbin, a pianist. Frankly, I had never heard of him, but now I will go get his recordings. I knew I was "out of date" on the new leaders in music.  He was astounding to me.  At one point he was playing Chopin, suddenly I felt my late Mother's presence.  If so, angels must enjoy listening to him.

Main concert hall-Zeneakademia

And, I learned how the Hungarians appreciate a performance. Apparently no matter how fabulous the performance, Hungarians do not give standing ovations. They will shout now and then when a piece is over, but they use collective rhythmic clapping to express high approval.  And, lucky for us all, that incessant clapping got us two encores!

The setting for the Sudbin's concert, the Zeneakademia, was very nice, too!  I can hardly wait to go to the Opera House, Erkel Theater and the other music venues.

Detail from the lobby

Looking towards the stage

Lots of glitz!

Ceramic detail

A pleasant meal

I come from a small town with rather few restaurants and even less variety of restaurants--I DO appreciate the ones we have at home, of course.  Here, without even trying, I've had Belgian, Hungarian, Mexican, pizza and in all kinds of places, big and small; expensive and not.  Not to mention Fulbright took us to a place that serves renaissance style.  So, Budapest and beyond is amazing on the culinary adventures count.  At home I seem to live on sandwiches with juicy Hungarian peppers, tomatoes, and goat cheese. Yum.  I find, normally, I eat very little meat, though meat is big with Hungarians.

My husband and I enjoy a first meal in Hungary at Biarritz.

I was trying to look "queen-like"  Um...  Maybe it's the paper hat.

Now, Dr. Maloney did a fine job of looking regal.

Young Ladies of the court

Gooseleg (amazing), venison. I probably already gobbled up the delicious red cabbage and apples.