What a grand day! After three capitals, with their magnificent palaces, cathedrals and promenades, we headed to the more rural environs of central Hungary. We were scheduled for a full day of sights and entertainment, plus local wines and cuisines, and it all proved enjoyable and informative. And exhausting. Frances is napping before supper, as I start this draft with but one eye still open.
Kalosca is a town of 18,000 and has the feel of even less. It’s located near the eastern bank of the Danube, in the “Puszta”, the Great Plains of Hungary and an important agriculture region of the country. The first part of our tour focused on the cathedral and the historic library of the archbishop of Hungary.
The original library was destroyed and its contents confiscated by the conquering Turks, but the library was rebuilt after that time. It’s an impressive collection of medieval and renaissance era books. (Only two of the original collection were ever returned by the Turks. Apparently, repatriation of pilfered cultural artifacts only works in one direction.) As a random aside, I always thought a tour of the world’s magnificent libraries would be a fantastic endeavor.
The Cathedral of St. Mary is the fourth to occupy the position since the first was constructed starting in 1001. That first one was quickly outgrown, but the second was destroyed by the Mongols and the third by the Turks. The cathedral’s history reflects the turbulent history of this part of the world. The current one is of a beautiful and, for this region, rare Baroque design.
A special treat was an organ concert in the cathedral. The organ has 6,000 pipes and the acoustics of the church accommodate the sound well. We heard pieces by Bach, Vivaldi, Mendelssohn, Franck and at least one other. (Outside the cathedral is a statue of the composer Frank Liszt, shown two pictures above and at least the third we’ve seen this trip. Apparently he is the “Washington slept here” equivalent in this area of Europe.)
We then again boarded our buses and were driven to a large farm where we were entertained in several ways. The first “show” was dancing, performed by a young Hungarian couple in traditional costumes.
The next feature was to visit the farm’s paprika museum. Maybe every good cook knows, but I had no clue this pepper (originally from Mexico) is a major agricultural product of Hungary. Apparently the summers are hotter than I would have thought.
After a snack and a large glass of wine we moved to stands to watch a show of horsemanship. The highlight was watching one rider, standing on the back of two horses (a foot on each, obviously), drive a team of ten horses, all only loosely tethered, at a full gallop. I understand the current record is twenty horses at once. I hope any horse fans reading this (Alice?) are impressed. I was.
We’re now back on board. I’ll try to finish this write-up and add photos. It’s time for supper, but I feel like the last two meals are still with me. Somehow, I’ll find a way.
Tomorrow we have two stops in two different countries, Croatia and Serbia. The Danube flows on, whether we’re ready or not.