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In between appointments one day we walked past the statue of
Ronald Reagan. Hungarians revere him and
are grateful to him for helping them regain their democracy when he said, “Mr. Gorbachev,
tear down this wall!”
(An aside: Some of you might like this comment made by Reagan,
“There is nothing as good for the inside of a man as the outside of a horse!”)
(An aside: Some of you might like this comment made by Reagan,
“There is nothing as good for the inside of a man as the outside of a horse!”)
Jó napot mindenki!
(Good day everyone!) Blossoms are
out in Budapest, and sometimes when we walk past them, the smell is so
refreshingly spring. Birds are
singing. Buds are coming on the
trees. We are told that we must watch
carefully, because on a warm day trees will suddenly be green! It will be beautiful. Daylight Savings Time started today. It must be spring.
This week we continued visiting – two foundations that helps
children who were born prematurely or who had trauma at birth and have delayed
motor skills. The first one was started
by a woman who has been doing this for 40 years. She has written the ‘curriculum’ so to
speak. We asked her if her methods were
known outside of Hungary and that very day someone was presenting her method
and the statistics at a conference in Germany that now show most of the children
who have attended her ‘school’ are at normal status. We also met with a school who helps children
with their speech and communication, a school for mentally disabled children
and the director of the children’s cancer foundation. All have fascinating stories, many needs and
are serving and caring in most Christlike ways.
We are waiting to hear from several of these foundations so that we can
submit projects, and waiting to hear if the ones we have submitted will be
approved. In the meantime, we keep
visiting and learning.
Here are a few fun things in Hungary that are different than
in the US:
There are little pékségek (bakeries) all over – in fact several to a block, some right next
to each other. Here is one selling loaves
of bread that weight 3 kilos or 6.9 pounds!
Some items come in different sizes and shapes: This 1.5 liter bottle is what people carry
around to drink – either water (‘gas’ or ‘still’) or soda. Eggs are always brown, small and only come 10
in a carton. The common napkin at any
eatery is one-fourth of what we are used to – and one-ply.
Baking items mostly come in packets – yeast, vanilla (I did
find a tiny bottle), baking powder and baking soda. The Shake Shake is the only way I’ve found
malt powder to use in my bread sticks recipe.
Spices also mostly come in packets, i.e. nutmeg, thyme, black pepper and
paprika.
On our Saturday P-Day we took an excursion to visit
Parliament. Any photo we could take of
this magnificent gothic building would not do it justice, so we’ve included some
‘commercial’ photos. The Parliament building is a landmark in Budapest. It is the largest building (691 rooms and 29
staircases) and the tallest, 96 meters (which represents the nation’s millennium
from 896 – 1896). It is one of the
oldest government buildings in Europe; completed in 1904 (construction took 19
years).
This model was made a few years ago by a Hungarian
family. It took them 3 years to build
and is made with over 100,000 matches.
This is a section of the carpet in the Reception Room where
we were standing. It was made by
Hungarian women using the Turkish method – meaning that when you walk on it,
the knots get tighter – or in other words, it does not wear out. Turkish rugs have every right to be expensive! This carpet is 70 years old (the original was
burned in a war); the one on the other side is 120 years old; they are all in
one piece (23 x 7 meters) and are the third largest in Europe.
Beautiful stained glass windows all throughout the building.
On the window sills outside the meeting chambers are these
brass fixtures, each space with a number.
These were to hold the cigars of the representatives. They each had a numbered space. If the session was boring they could come out
and continue smoking. If they stayed and listened to a whole speech and came
out and nothing was left of their cigar but ashes, they might say “that speech
was worth a Havanna.”
There are two identical Chamber Rooms. One is always in use; the other can be used
for conferences and tours. Currently there
are 386 representatives, but elections are coming up and they will be changing 199 elected officials.
Looking up at the ceiling of the Dome Room.
The guards move their sword and head and do a
little two-step every 5 minutes, change places every 15 minutes and change
guards every hour. Other than that they
do not move a muscle. Well, one of them blinked
when Stan asked him a question. The Holy Crown has been used in coronations since 1000. It has had an adventurous history, much like
Hungary. It was lost, found, buried,
stolen and turned up in Ft. Knox, but has now been displayed here since
2000.
Standing on columns around the rooms are sculptures of kings,
rulers and only one female Queen to rule in Hungary, Maria Theresa. She reigned for 40 years, loved children (she
had 16) and was the mother of Marie Antoinette.
Who knew?
Too much history?
That’s it for this week. Tonight
we hosted our first senior missionary couples dinner at our apartment with 3
other couples who are close by:
President and Sister Smith, Elder and Sister Felsted (YSA couple) and
Elder and Sister Bagozzi (office couple).
(Forgot to take a picture.)
We love you all. We
send our best wishes and blessings. We
are so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives. We are grateful to be serving in
Hungary. We look forward to hearing from
prophets this coming week. Have a great
week.
