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Published: April 27th 2006
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First: I've added pictures to the last few journals, so please go back and check them out!
April 26, 2006
Things are definitely winding down. Our general mood can be described as demure…in fact we all took an afternoon nap. The day’s goal was to revisit Nagy’s childhood home and school, as well as a library she remembers frequenting that displays our family’s crest in the stained glass window. We also were able to locate A-ma’s (Nagy’s mom) home where she was born and raised. It was nice to stroll around town and relax and just enjoy the sights.
The first stop was the 17th century library, which we were surprised to find, had been relocated. The windows obviously remained, but since the library is no longer in use we had to do a little sweet talking to get inside. The experience was well worth it since the tiny space was spectacular. Dark stained wooden bookshelves lined the circular room and reached two stories high on the first level with a balcony of more bookshelves high above. Frescoes line the walls above the uppermost shelves and one entire wall consists of the stained glass coats of arms. I’m
Hanging out in the Courtyard
This was just a beautiful space near the Library
sure it was once a spectacular place to read, study, or research. The complex where the library is located is a government building. We were told that square behind the library was used to hang the prisoners (long ago) that were kept in the adjoining buildings. Nowadays the square is used for concerts in the summer since it has exceptional acoustics.
Next we found Ama’s home. Apparently the street names had changed so this was a little confusing. In the end we were successful and also pleased to see the building is in excellent condition. The only difference was that the once landscaped courtyard is now a parking lot. We photographed the site heavily and moved on.
The road names near Nagy’s home had also changed but she was beginning to recognize the streets now. We quickly found the building and again photographed it heavily. These buildings are still upscale apartments so we didn’t even attempt to go inside.
Since the next stop was Nagy’s elementary school we took the same exact walk that Nagy and Sulu took some 70 years ago. When we arrived we were all pleased to see that the school is still in
use, but now exclusively for boys. When Nagy explained to the director who we were he happily arranged for us to have a tour. Nagy seemed please to see that very little had changed. We were even shown the chapel that Nagy attended so many years ago. At the end we were given contact information for a group of women around Nagy’s age that went to the school. They still live in Budapest and have a monthly meeting. The director thought that perhaps they might have information or pictures from the years that Nagy attended the school.
Tomorrow we plan to do a few touristy activities, like pedicures at Gellert and more shopping at Herend. So I think this will be my last entry.
In Conclusion, I believe that we accomplished an incredible amount on this short trip, but we could do so much more if only we had time. We will continue this research, but right now we need to process all that we have accumulated. The video film adds up to about eleven hours and the editing alone is a huge job. Also I think that there is a great deal we can do from the
U.S. such as contacting museums around Slovakia to perhaps find the portrait of Geza Foldvary and other items taken from Mana Manor. We have a list of things that we would like to do—I’m sure that this will not be my last trip to Hungary. Eventually we will have a film and a scrapbook to contain all that we have learned—hopefully soon! Wish us luck, I think the hardest part is about to commence.
I just want to say thank you to my mother-Catherine Barnes, because (and I think that Liz and Nagy would agree) this trip would have been impossible without her. The energy and drive that she brought, as well as her experience in research, was essential in every capacity of every day. She also planned this entire trip, which in itself was an 8 month process. I’m not going to go into the financial facets, but Momma I want to say thank you and I love you.
I also want to say thanks to Nagy and Liz, this was a wonderful bonding experience between the ladies of our family—And I love you both very much.
Nagy thank you for being you. Thank you for
sharing your story. You are my role model in ways that are too numerous to mention.
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kate
non-member comment
oh katie i have tears in my eyes - this blog read like a lovely romantic novel. thank you for letting me read it! Travel home safely :)