Life Through American Eyes: Summer Vacation in Hungary

And loving it!

For those who are wondering why Hungary…Steve’s mother and her family arrived in the US in the 1920’s and there was still lots of Hungarian spoken around the house when he was a little boy. He’s been curious about his Hungarian language skills. Many years ago we were in Budapest and enjoyed the city. So, we thought we’d see other parts of the country this time. Turns out he understands a lot more than he can say but he’s picking up more and more vocabulary every day.

However, our banking skills leave a little to be desired…We needed more Euros so went to an ATM. We requested 100 Euros and out came 100,000 – Wow! Didn’t know we had that much money!!! We’re rich, we’re rich!!! Uh-oh, those aren’t Euros. What are they? How about some Hungarian Forints? Didn’t have a clue how much these were worth; had to go back to the hotel and get online and check with a currency converter. OK, we’re finally ready to spend a little money… In our defense, in Germany the ATMs give you Euros not German Marks so we thought it worked the same way in Hungary because they are both EU countries. Turns out we needed the Forints anyway because many places don’t take credit cards or Euros in Siofok!

Reliving the 1950's at Lake Balaton

Lake Balaton is lovely. Sandy bottom, shallow water for almost a quarter mile out from the shore, peaceful, sailboats, swans, ducks, uncrowded, water not too cold. How could you not want to spend a few days here relaxing and unwinding after a busy and sometimes stressful semester. That was our first two days here. Our hotel is a 10 minute walk to the lake, a 10 minute walk to the City Center, and a 10 minute walk to McDonald’s. We love it when a plan comes together!

Windy Day at Lake Balaton

Oh, before I forget – we only needed one GPS to get here and arrived without any dramas. Happy travelers are we!

After two sunny days in Siofok, we had to ask ourselves, “What to do for two rainy, cold, very windy summer days at Lake Balaton?” We went to the Egg Museum! Yes, that’s right, the Egg Museum: a small place with beautifully decorated eggs in the Eastern European tradition, along with replicas of several Fabergé eggs. In addition to the painted eggs, there were also eggs with carved patterns in the shells. We have no idea how this is done as English was not spoken here.

Back to the hotel for the umbrella so we could continue to explore. Hooray! We found the boardwalk, or promenade!!! It’s made with paving stones here, not wood, with lots of shops, restaurants, and video arcades; a fun way to spend a rainy, windy, and cold afternoon.

Next day, Herend Porcelain. Herend is about an hour from Siofok and we spent a very pleasant day there. The museum has so many beautiful pieces from its 185 years of making porcelain. And on the tour we learned why Herend Porcelain is so expensive: it is a very labor intensive production process. They have a 3 year training program for their 1700 employees. Of these 1700, over 600 are painters. If you buy a set of dishes or a set of something else, and you want to replace broken pieces, if the original painter is still working for Herend, they will use that same painter for your replacement pieces!!! It can take up to 8 hours to paint one plate, depending on the pattern. And some of the large vases or figurines can take a month to paint. And that’s not counting the time it takes to produce the vase or figurine and prepare it for painting!

160 years ago, Queen Victoria ordered a set of dishes with butterflies and peonies. This is now one of Herend’s signature patterns and comes in many variations and color combinations. A new, modern style of this pattern has also been created and a set was given to William and Kate as a wedding gift.

Another signature pattern of Herend is the scaled design, or fishnet design, on the VH figurines and ornaments. This began in the 19^th century and continues to be a big seller for them. The Herend porcelain zoo now contains over 400 pieces. And every year it becomes more colorful using gold, platinum, and blended colors.

We enjoyed seeing how they made the porcelain pieces and how they are put together and prepared for painting. And to watch the painters is to watch pure talent!