Day trip to Szeged

Over the weekend, Milt, Rick and I decided to explore some of the towns and villages of the area. Early Saturday morning, we did what the locals do .... took off to chug along on the bus to Szeged! It was such a beautiful relaxing day, as we meandered along the wide boulevards of the city, exploring the museums, churches, historical monuments, a bucolic walk along the Tisza River, a pastry and cappucino stop along the way .... (of course!! :) ..... at a local cukraszda, and yes, another one where the proprietors knew Milt well! Milt is well known for his sweet tooth ..... cukraszdas (pastry shops) are his favorite "restaurants" :) Later in the day, we came upon another favorite stop of Milt's, to savor a bowl of goulash for lunch, one of the best I have yet had in Hungary! The sun was shining, plants and trees were in full bloom ...... a view to sink into, like no other .... Children playing, lovers loving, couples walking hand in hand, a diverse cross section of ages, all flush with a happiness that was contagious ..... yes, spring was in the air, happy people everywhere ......... we ambled along, soaking up the ambience of this most charming city, Hungary's fourth largest, in what has to be my favorite season of all!! Szeged, a city well known for it's free thinking university and accordingly, all around, are statues, music stores, theatre troupes, advertisements for concerts of all sorts ..... a slightly intoxicating energy prevails ..... Aaah, life is good in Szeged, Hungary :) CSODALATOS!! (translates as either wonderful or excellent or both :) ) .....

Scenes around Hodmezovarsarhely and Liszt Ferenc School ...

Faces of my various students at Liszt Ferenc Middle School .... love these children!!

Andrea, one of the teachers in the middle .... can hardly tell as she could pass for one of the students!!

Livia, a student we give private lessons to in the afternoons. She is on the right in the robe.

A few employees at City Hall that we also tutored one afternoon.

Choir Concert at Liszt Ferenc

My adult students at Tesco .... rather than a boring evening class at school, I took them on a "field trip" there for tutoring :) .... they did rather well, calling out items and prices!

My home away from home in Hodmezovarsarhely.

Synagogue .... street scene in front

Outside classroom one day .....

Some of my adult class .. Marika, Eniko, Sandor, Nora and Steve/Istvan

Weekend Market .... brooms anyone?

.... or daffodils?

First day in Hodmezovarsarhely and our lunch stop .... Rick in hat and Milt ... my team!! Spring was happening and we were quite warm as we sat, enjoying our sandwiches outside.

Alive and thriving in Hodmezovasarhely ...

Szia from back country Hungary! How best to describe this charming town and my first week on the last volunteer stint of this most incredible sabbatical year??? After a hectic first week, I am beyond exhausted ...... I just walked back from the Liszt Ferenc Middle School where I teach/help with English in grades, 4, 5, 6, and 8. In a few hours, Milt, Rick and I have a meeting at the town hall with employees wishing to practice their English and later this evening, we also teach a two hour adult English class ..... so am attempting to at least post something resembling a blog entry while I still have some energy reserves to draw from :) ..... at the risk of repetitive dialogue, I love Hungary!! (I know I say this about every single country I have been to!!) I adore Hodmezovarsarhely even more ...... it took me all week to get the pronunciation correct and even now, I still slip up. It helped to break it down into sections .... as many Hungarian words are strung together, a single word can actually be many words in one .... sounds somewhat "singsongy", like a poem and quite lovely ..... so, Hod means beaver ..... Mezo refers to meadow or plains and Varsarhely is market place ..... ie. Beavermeadowsmarketplace :) and pronounced "Hohdmezzovarshahheh" ... the trick is to say it as quickly as the locals!! There were many beavers here at one point but they have in recent years been moved to another village after the diversion of the Tisza River. For expediency, I will shorten the village name to "Varsarhely" as Milt, our local Global Volunteer host does .... Milt is from Sarasota, Florida ..... has been the Global Volunteer Hungary host for many years and behaves pretty much like a local and indeed has as many friends here as he does back home! We cannot walk fifty feet without someone greeting him like a long lost relative!! He is a total delight to be around ..... just a ball of energy and cheerfulness. He may be 73 years old, but you swear you are spending time around a goofy 25 year old ..... there is not a grumpy bone in his body .... he makes me laugh with such regularity that my tummy muscles are tightening up!!! ..... way more fun than situps :)!!! So, to backtrack to last week ........ Rick Kapka and I met up in Budapest on Friday to get to know each other a bit, shared family history etc. and counted our lucky stars that we both have spouses supportive of our independent natures ..... Rick's parents were both born in Hungary ..... Hungarian was spoken in his home throughout his childhood, hence he is fluent in the language (a big bonus for us!) ..... the theory is, that Hungarian, Estonian and Finnish people share many similarities and that thousands of years ago, we migrated to these European countries from a tribal region of Mongolia ..... so here we are comparing notes of this sort, in Budapest on a lovely spring evening enjoying a glass of local wine at a streetside cafe ..... what were the odds of a woman from Canada of Finnish heritage and a gent from Kansas of Hungarian descent, volunteering for the same two week period, to work in the wee village of Hodmezovarsarhely, in back country Hungary??!! ...... The synchronicity of life ...... ever interesting!! We did and still do wonder why there were only two of us here ..... where is this community of volunteers we had both expected?? ..... Perhaps the economy has stymied travel for many Americans ..... we are not sure, but after the initial disappointment, realized we now have an opportunity not available to a large group. We are both the sorts to see the glass as half full, squeeze the lemon and enjoy the contents :) On Saturday morning, Milt, driver Emerc and Rita, our municipal government host from Varsarhely picked Rick and I up from a prearranged spot at a Budapest train station .... It was a two and a half hour drive to Varsarhely and our home for the next two weeks .... I have simply been in a constant state of amazement at my good fortune in the people I meet! ...... it has become obvious that I must either be beyond easy to please or darn lucky ..... it doesn't matter where my feet tread, I am inundated with good people everywhere!!! I have stopped questioning and have adopted a thankful attitude for the many 'people blessings' in my life ..... this is a quick post as I need to shower and head for the meeting at the city hall, about a twenty minute walk from the little Hotel Fama that is my home for two weeks .... It is more of a B&B than a hotel .... a very warm, welcoming home ..... will get back to more stories and some pictures postings on the weekend hopefully .... Horray for some free time :) ..... Visohntlatasro ... love to all.

Scenes around Budapest ... both Buda and Pest

View of parliament buildings and the Danube, from Buda castle district

Szechenzi Thermal Baths where I soaked in healing spring waters ...

Cobblestone streets of the Castle district ...

Fishermen's Bastion and inside beautiful St. Matthias Church

Parliament Buildings of Hungary

Enjoying my first bowl of Hungarian goulash! Labyrinth under Castle district

Church Concert at St. Stephen's Basilica ... a real mix of composers, included Mozart, Vivaldi ... wonderful acoustics

Fountain outside my hotel in a peaceful square where many sit and enjoy a lunch and exposure to sunshine ... spring has arrived in full swing! Lovely dome inside the Basilica

View from outside basilica

Szia from Budapest ...

As has become my habit when switching cultures, I indulge in some down time .... sleep in, do a walkabout after breakfast, read, eat, enjoy a massage and not much else. Have not been around much television lately, so have been catching up with news and a few movies as well ......... liked Social Network ..... was ready to strangle the Mark Zuckerberg character when he betrayed his buddy ..... but the news, goodness .... the 24/7 coverage is bringing out the ridiculous in newscasts ..... CNN is the worst of the lot ..... goodness .... analysts, analysing analysts, analysing analysts ........ such idiocy!! Romantic an image as traveling to many different countries presents, the reality at times, can be anything but ....... an immersion into the vastly differing cultures can at times, be internally overwhelming, hence the required emotional downtime ..... Rarotonga, Mongolia, India and Vietnam keep springing to mind as places I could easily hang my hat for longer than a few weeks, but to be totally honest, every country presents it's own brand of beauty .... much like trying to pick out your favorite family member, or favorite friend ..... impossible to do! .... all form a part of our global community and like a fine stew, come together as something to be savored, precisely for the differences each brings to the table! ..... the culture, the people, the chaos, the serenity, the scenery, the crazyiness .... all of it!! ..... I plan on returning and perhaps, should they show an interest, taking my son Tim or niece Jennifer, or anyone interested, along with me for some volunteering next spring .... Sarah and Rob, be forewarned, I may not morph totally into the kind of grandma who knits and babysits ....... I am more likely to whisk my granddaughter away with me to a volunteer posting when she is old enough .... 6 is old enough, is it not??? :) ..... So, back to Budapest, home to some of the finest Gothic, Baroque and Art Nouveau architecture in Europe! It is a feast for the eyes ..... so, emotions intact, feet rested and well massaged (... enjoyed a most rejuvenating foot massage on day one!) ..... Hungary is known for it's many spas, healing waters and therapists ..... off to explore today so look for picture postings in a few days if not sooner ..... I meet up with my volunteer group on Saturday and am so totally looking forward to working with children again, as well as participating in a mini community! Viszontlatasra everyone.

Beautiful moments in Crete ....

I chose to spend my last day in Southern Crete, strolling barefoot on a deserted beach a few kms. from Plakias. Rolled up the pant legs, to walk in the cool waters of the Libyan Sea, refreshing and invigorating on tired feet ..... My early morning musings had revolved around thoughts of what a wonderful world it would be, if we all reacted from our heart's best intentions. As I walked, I kept noticing heart shaped rocks everywhere .... extraordinary.... I gathered a few to leave behind a circle of heart love .... okay ....... perhaps imagination may be required to find the heart in some of these stones :).... when I returned to my room later that day, I found my scarf, shaped into a heart on the bed ..... the kind touch of Lily, who cleaned and replenished my room towels daily. Sweet! .... little heart reminders finding me everywhere that day :) The rest of the pictures are some of my favourites from the South. Must say, the Crete people are a different breed of Greek .... sturdy, abrupt, not exactly overly friendly .... physically, I cannot help but think of the term "strong as bulls"!! It is no coincidence, that Greek hero, famed statesman, and prime minister for a term, Eleftherios Venizelos was born in Crete!! A story I heard upon arrival in Hania from Marguerite who runs Casa Delfino in old town Hania, and later confirmed by others as I travelled around southern Crete ..... was of a particular group of Cretans living in the hillside villages of the Sfakion area .... no one would dare tell me the actual name of the villages ..... the Cretans are very clanish and protective of each other! A few years ago, after growing weary and impatient with the regular visits of government tax collectors ... (stubborn sorts, of course they refused to pay!! .... the Greeks in general, are notorious tax evaders and if only a fraction would pay their taxes, Greece's national debt would be history!! ... or so I hear :) ..... now, back to the story ...... A few days after the arrival of the official, the folks of the area decided to send a rather brutal message to Athens ..... a donkey ambled it's way into a little village, with the knife wound riddled body of the bureaucrat slung over it's back! As an aside, their knives are a source of pride for the Cretans and indeed all over the island, beautifully hand-crafted ones can be purchased in specialty shops .... but wow .... a rather strong message .... I was hesitant to believe this story at first, but after many experiences dealing with Cretans over the past few weeks, I am inclined to think differently! .... I would not mess with them!! They are not at all like the Greeks one finds on the other islands or mainland Greece! Being rather an abrupt, stubborn sort myself at times, (I blame my Finnish clan heritage for that :) ..... I can sort of rub shoulders with that sense of stalwart independence, but wow, the violence, not!! .... needless to say, no further bureaucrats have ventured to the villages in recent years!!

My private little cove :)

Scenes from my hike around Preveli Monastery .... up a high steep road to the top of the mountain!

Rethymno Fortezza

Breakfast view! Yes, I have Greek salad for breakfast .....

Outside patio at the Avli, in old town Rethymno where I hung my hat a few days

Agli Gallini

Family enjoying Sunday brunch on the beach in Rethymno .... I walked past them early afternoon, was gone a few hours and they were still sitting there .... nice to see people relaxing and not scurrying and hurrying.

Hania harbour

Old Turkish mosque left over from conquest days ...

Aahh .... gotta love the smiley ones!