Adding Spice to My Life

Once again, it's raining here in this small city on the Austro-German border, at the foot of the Alps.  Flowers are dying, leaves and chestnuts fall to the earth, blanketing the ground with a colorful layer of decay.  Warm jackets and scarves are worn, the scent of wood-burning stoves fills the cold afternoon air, softly lit rooms along the way illuminate the sidewalks below, and Gluhwein, a traditional warm cider, has begun to be sold in the market.  Autumn seems to have escaped this corner of the world, and the days rapidly grow colder, and darkness falls earlier each day.  And, as the seasons change, so, too, do the people switch from being outdoor adventurers and al fresco diners to concert and museum goers and almost permanent residents of their favorite tavern or café, occupying the same table each visit, surrounded by friends, sharing laughter, memories, and warmth.  It's a rather beautiful transition, I must say, and one I think that often occurs unnoticed.

This past weekend, I found myself hours away in an exotic nation, exploring a culture for the first time.  Hungary shares an intimate history with Austria, having been joined in the double-monarchy, ruled by members of the Habsburg family from the mid-19th Century through the First World War. It's another country steeped in history, and with its own rich traditions.  Its landscape and general feel is very different from that of Austria, and is immediately discernible upon crossing the border.  It's a remarkably flat country, covered in the very grain fields that earned Hungary's reputation as the breadbasket of Central Europe.  Hungarians are generally poorer than Austrians, having suffered tremendous losses to its operational power in the Treaty of Versailles, existing under the tyrannical pro-Nazi Horthy regime during the war years, and a mundane existence under the subsequent communist regimes.  Though the Iron Curtain collapsed nearly 25 years ago, Hungary is still marred by its recent history, though, its trying to resurrect itself to the prosperous state it once enjoyed before the Kingdom disintegrated.

My journey began Thursday evening with a train ride to Vienna after a day of class and teaching. An early departure brought us to the quaint city of Eisenstadt in Austria's easternmost and most economically burdened province of Burgenland.  After a guided tour of one of the few remaining Austrian synagogues and a walk through the former Jewish ghetto, we set out for St. Margarethen im Burgenland, previously a checkpoint between the East and West.  In a historical event, the Austrian Fulbright Commission met with its Hungarian counterpart on the Austro-Hungarian border, marking the first time the two educational organizations held a joint event.  Our location was significant because it was the site of the Pan-European Picnic, months before the end of the Cold War, where the border was temporarily opened.  One of the men with us was actually the ranking Hungarian representative at the event, and gave an emotional account of the day's events.  In one particularly poignant part, he told us of how a motorcycle carrying a couple and their two children sped towards the checkpoint with utter fear in their eyes, not knowing whether they'd make it to freedom in the West, or be stopped by the guards for not having proper documentation.  As they approached, the guards turned their backs, as if they were not aware of what was about to happen, and eventually allowed hundreds and hundreds of Easterners escape to Austria.  I cannot imagine the world as it must have been then - living under a regime so terrible that you were literally locked in your own country, risking being shot on any attempt to leave.  Seeing those who lived through it reflect on the moment they gained their freedom, as I did with this Hungarian diplomat, can make your knees quiver.  There is such emotion, such pain and such joy, in their eyes that you can't help but appreciate the freedom that we enjoy.

The next day, we toured Sopron just inside Hungary.  A quiet, small city, but not really memorable.  From there, we were invited to join the Hungarians on a tour of the Archabbey of Pannonhalma, a Benedictine monastery over 1,000 years old, and final resting place of the heart of Archduke Otto von Habsburg, the son of the last Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, Karl.  Then, onward to Budapest, the capital city and co-capital of Austria-Hungary.  We arrived after nightfall, and wow!  The city is absolutely magnificent, with all the major buildings and residences illuminated, separated by the Danube.  A West Point history professor took us Austrians under his wing and guided us through the city's metro system, showing us some of the city's highlights along the way.  We ended up having a nearly 5 hour dinner with him, talking about Hungary's fascinating history, sharing lots of laughs over a great meal.  Then, it was off to our hostel.  Being new to the whole hostel thing, I didn't know what to expect.  It was fine until about 4am, and then the toilet decided to start flushing continuously (every 11 seconds, in case you were wondering).  Well, I guess 4 hours of sleep was enough!  I was the first to take a shower in the morning, and...it...was...freezing.  I shivered in a corner, splashing water onto myself, and then, just about as I was going to turn off the water, it became scalding and I literally jumped out of the stall!  The morning was spent site seeing, though, and boy, there are some impressive things to see in Budapest.  And, while that may be, I ultimately found the city to be  a bit grim.  The rain didn't help, but so much of the architecture is a remnant of the unstable post-war regimes that ruled the government.  The brutalist style buildings were oppressive, and everywhere.  Not being economically prosperous, many structures are in disrepair, and there is a tangible feeling of great struggle in the air.  Life in Budapest mustn't be easy, and it doesn't seem like a very happy place to live.  It has its moments of grandeur, but overall, it has a lot of work to battle through before it can stand on par once again with western Europe's cities, a testament to it's troubled recent past.

The food in Hungary is awesome, by the way - and they give you SO much!  Having lived in Austria for a month now, I had nearly forgotten what spice was like, but Hungary sure fixed that.  Paprika is in everything, and especially because the weather was dreary, it was a welcome ingredient.  In this one restaurant, we were served bread and something that looked similar to bruschetta, except that it was made of ground hot peppers.  My mouth was on fire until the next course came, but so good!  Goulash, palacsinta (meat-stuffed crêpe), stuffed cabbage, mmm!  Before the long train ride home to Salzburg, we ate at the famous Café Gerbeaud, which is Hungary's answer to Austria's Café Sacher, where I ate the same cake and dessert wine that my father had in that very place 42 years ago - after having heard about it for so long, it was so satisfying to have experienced it myself.

In preparing for my classes this week, I received word that 1 of my classes is cancelled, and in 3 of them, the teacher will not be present and I'll have to "entertain" the Kinder.  This will be fun.