Anniversary of October 23, 1956 Hungarian Revolution

Hungarians visit and decorate the graves of their loved ones around November 1st, All Soul’s Day. Many Hungarians visit the Municipal Cemetery in Budapest on or about October 23rd since that day is the national holiday in Hungary that commemorates the 1956 Hungarian Revolution.



To get to this cemetery we took tram #28 to the end of its route. Forming a solid line along the tram route for several blocks as we approached the stop we saw lots of tombstone and monument dealers.



After the gravestone and monument dealers there were lots of flower stalls. These flower stalls also stretched for several blocks before the cemetery gate.



People use mostly fresh flowers but you see a few silk flowers here and there.



Businesses such as these surround the entrances of every cemetery in the city and since this is the largest cemetery in Budapest, this one is no exception.




In this picture you can see the cemetery entrance in the background.

We went through the gate with the many others who were there that day. (We visited on Saturday, October 25th.)



We had to walk to the very back of the cemetery to view the 1956 revolution graves and memorials. We passed many graves in this large cemetery.



As we walked we noticed that nearly every grave in this very large cemetery was decorated. Most of them had fresh flowers on them.

We saw many visitors taking away wilted or dead flowers, sweeping or raking the area around the grave or just sitting quietly near a grave.



It seemed that the majority of the visitors drove to the cemetery and there was considerable traffic as cars waited for an opening to turn into or out of the main stream of traffic.



The guide books were accurate with their estimate of a 30-minute walk to the back of the cemetery to the plots where the 1956 revolutionaries were buried.

To get to plots 300 and 301, the plots where the 1956 victims were buried, we certainly noticed that these plots were in the very farthest corner where the government officials thought they would not be detected.

We were happy to see any signs for plots 300 & 301 since the road became very quiet and secluded. There were occasional cars and a few folks walking along with us.



Many thousands died during the revolution and thousands more were arrested, tortured and later executed.

The bodies of the leaders of the uprising were buried in secret mass graves at the very back of the Budapest Municipal Cemetery on the southeastern edge of the city.

Of these thousands, some are honored with their pictures displayed at the cemetery.







Hungarians began placing flowers at this remote spot in the 1970’s.

In 1990 after the fall of Communism, the bodies were reburied with a state ceremonial funeral and memorial markers were placed to mark the site.





Notable is the grave of Imre Nagy, who was the prime minister of Hungary in 1956. He was arrested, tortured and shot to death after a bogus political trial in 1958.



We had seen videos on TV of the current Hungarian prime minister and his wife bringing flowers to his grave on October 23rd.



Most of the victims who were not killed during the revolution were arrested, tortured and executed later and have a 1958 date of death listed on their tombstones.



We couldn’t help but notice that there were several women and young people among those whose pictures were displayed at the cemetery.

Student Living

The dormitory where the students live is located on Temesvar utca on the Buda side of the Danube and a little south of the center of the city. It's operated by Karoly Gaspar University and is named for the Hungarian Bethlan Gabor. Everything in Budapest has bars and locks and so does the dorm. We need to enter a code into the pad near the door in the gate.



The restaurant across the street is the Saint Florian, named for the patron saint of firefighters. There is also a coffee shop a few doors away, but most of the street is a quiet spot. The dorm is in the middle of the block with a tram stop on the nearest corner.



The yard inside the fence is large and full of trees. As you face the dorm the classroom where we had the Hungarian classes and where the Calvin classes are held is on the top floor above the entrance. The student rooms are on a dedicated hallway to the left of the front door on the ground floor.



This is the coffee shop that is just down the street. It is a favorite spot for the students.



This is one of two of the four-person rooms that half of the girls live in. They are very large with closet space, a bedside stand and a desk for each person. The kitchen and bathrooms (with a washing machine) are across the hall.



The guys have a separate apartment with a kitchen, laundry room, bathroom (with shower) and a large bedroom for the three of them. They enjoy their own kitchen, washing machine and space.



Then the remaining eight girls live in the girls' apartment at the end of the hall. There are two bedrooms (one with four beds and one with two beds) with doors and an alcove where two more students sleep. It also has bathrooms, shower, a washing machine and a living area. The living area has three extra beds that are used as couches to relax on while studying, desks, bookcases, and a TV.



These students are sitting in the opposite end of the common living area of the apartment. There is wireless Internet. We've had some difficulty with the strength of the signal and adding routers has helped a little. However, the programs that are most often used today take a lot of band width and the service seems slow.



The kitchen in the girls apartment is the largest with two refrigerators, tables, stove and cupboards. Both apartments as well as the interior of the four-bed rooms have been newly remodeled. The hallway, however, remains poorly lit and reminiscent of the Communist era.



The students are welcome at our apartment every Wednesday night. We usually have soup and bread. It always turns out to be a nice time to visit and relax.



Here's Paul at the stove checking out the soup. I think it has his approval. Everyone brings a hearty appetite and sometimes there are leftovers to take back to the dorm.



For the first three to four weeks the students attended a compressed Hungarian language class. The class met for several hours most days of each of those weeks. Here we are with our language teacher, Ms. Kati Fugedi. This picture was taken at the last class in late September. Kati has the white jacket on. It was amazing just how much Hungarian we all learned. It turned out to be very helpful in Budapest.



One of the English speaking churches that the students have attended is St. Columba's Scottish Presbyterian Church. This congregation is jointly sponsored by the Presbyterians and the Hungarian Reformed Church. One pastor is Scottish and one is Hungarian. You can check it out at www.scotskirkhungary.com



This church has a practice of serving lunch to anyone who wants to stay after church. At one of these lunches several of the Calvin students volunteered to prepare the lunch for the next week.



These students were very hot that September Sunday. The kitchen area is very small and the stove could have been faster!



The reports were that the lunch was very good and much appreciated.

Parking

Hungary seems to be trying to accommodate cars that are much larger than the streets were originally designed for.



It is interesting to see how the parking spaces are painted onto the sidewalk.





Went streets don't have painted spaces, drivers seem to adapt by parking wherever there is room.





In addition, they do not appear to have rules about parking near a fire hydrant.

Students at the Market

I have been very delinquent in posting to this blog. I started this one in September and now it is nearly one month later. I have also heard from many of you that the more photos that I can include, the better. I want to tell you about our first outing connected with our Hungarian class--our trip to the market. It was a fun time at the market that happened at the end of the students' first week here on August 28. We had all learned the Hungarian words for vegetables, fruit, 'how much does it cost?' and had learned how to count so that we could purchase items and make change.



This market is just a quick ride from the students' dorm on tram #18 on Fehervarti ut.



It is a very modern building and when you enter you can either go down a few steps to the lower level that has several sections or up an escalator to the main sales floor.



This picture shows the top two levels of the market. The top level sells ready made foods that you can have for breakfast, coffee or lunch. On the middle level you will find all sorts of fresh produce, poultry, meat and fish.



On the lower level there are two separate grocery stores and many meat, vegetable and pastry vendors and are open longer hours than the stalls on the second floor that close about 3pm or 4pm.

These shops are more permanent and seem to be thought of as lower quality or less fresh than those on the middle level. But still, if you arrive at the market after 4pm, you can still find a great variety of produce, eggs, cheese, etc.



You go up an escalator to the middle level which is full of all sorts of vendor stalls and shops--vegetables, slaw, flour, meal, nuts, honey, fruit, paprika, chicken, duck, goose, fish, etc. Everything you can think of is there.

The second floor is a feast for the eyes and the appetite. The center section has mostly fruits and vegetables. Also available are beans, nuts, honey, eggs, and paprika. You can see the meat shops along the side.



You can often find vegetables packaged ready for soup making--carrots, parsley root, onions, celery root, etc all in one package.

The parsley root is the long white vegetable in this package and is commonly used in soups and stews. It looks and tastes similar to what we would call a wild carrot in the US.



This is another vegetable that is commonly used in Hungarian cooking--the celery bulb. I think it's very interesting that one culture uses the bottom of a vegetable and another one uses the top!



Here are celery root and parsley root together.



These students are deciding what to buy. Their assignment was to speak only in Hungarian to make their purchase.



You can also buy flowers and paprika from many vendors. That's paprika in those large plastic bags. Hungarians use a great deal of paprika. Many times the red color in a dish is due to the paprika instead of tomatoes.



Along the side, near the meat cases, are shops that sell slaw and pickled items. Somethings on menus you will see "winter picklings" listed as a salad or appetiser choice.



Now to the meat! The pork is really the best. They have lots of it and it dominates most restaurant menus. It is beautiful and fairly inexpensive, as food goes, and comes in the same cuts as in the US.

The cuts of beef are more of a mystery and make you wonder exactly where this meet came from! Also the beef that I have purchased has been so tough that now I just use pork in any recipe where meat is needed.



While I love fish, the fish in Hungary is not all that attractive. The only way I have found that it really tastes good is if it is fried. And I rarely order it since fried fish here tastes just like fried fish anywhere. It's good, but there is so much else to enjoy that I won't be able to have back home.



This is carp. You can see how it is scored to allow it to be cooked with the bone left in it. Again, I haven't been too eager to try carp.



Here is Corwin's favorite food. He especially likes the way the chickens still have their feet. In addition, there are all sorts of extra parts available--liver, heart, gizzards, etc.



Then on the upper level (another escalator) is an area of shops selling ready made foods for lunch or snacks. Here you can buy soup, goulash, fried fish, desserts.

Our last assignment was to order (in Hungarian) and taste some typical Hungarian foods. These students are eating langos (pronounced langosh). Langos are a bit like elephant ears--big pieces of fried dough. They can be ordered with any number of toppings--cheese, ham or sweet toppings like strawberries.



The seating is at long tables with benches. Everyone sits together--wherever you can find a seat. Here are some more of us eating langos and palancinta. Palancinta are crepe-like ultra thin pancakes. They fill them with all varieties of fruit filling, jam, or turos (similar to ricotta cheese or cheesecake like filling) and roll them up for easy and delicious eating. Our Hungarian teacher, Ms. Kati Fugedi (in the black striped top), is expressing her approval of our choices and use of the Hungarian language.