Dance for Kathleen

I miss you every Wednesday night, Kathleen, when we go to a different "dance house". You would have been professional at this one. This was an Irish dance a couple of weeks ago. It is somewhat similar to contra dance and of course you must have grown up with it. Smile!

Now, this is something more unique. A gypsy/Roma (the PC term) band playing at the dance last night. In the very right side of the picture you can see my favourite Roma instrument which is a special milk jug that Romas use not only for keeping milk but also as a percussion instrument. It sounds great!

These dances definitely go into late night, as you can see and if you dance through the whole night, it's better than a workout in the gym. Let's do a couple of these dances when we meet again soon, shall we?

Sissi's Achilleon

Empress Elisabeth, the empress of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, also known as Sissi, spent the latter years of her life in a palace in Corfu. She had the palace built by an Italian architect, near the village of Gastouri with the hero Achilles in mind. She chose to live here alone, that is without the company of her husband Franz Josef. She spent most of her time here reading philosophy, Greek literature, studying old and new Greek, praying, meditating, writing poetry and keeping herself far away from everything that she did not agree with during her active life in the Empire. She was one of history's most fascinating women, not only intelligent and extravagant, but a couple of decades before her time. This freedom-loving and extremely sensitive person had a hard life. She was both a fairy-tale-like princess and an extremely liberated modern woman. During the early period of her life, she lived the life of most little girls' dreams. Empress Sissi , the last queen of Hungary, has a special place in my heart and visiting her palace in Corfu was an unforgettable experience.

One of the cupolas in the castle. The fresco shows Jesus before Pontius Pilate. Another distinctive "story" where you cannot avoid feeling pain and hurt.

The main statue in the garden is the statue of Achilles, showing him in the most vulnerable position in his pain, dying from Paris' arrow wound to his heel. The statue faces skyward and to the sea as if he is asking his mother the goddess Thetis for help. The symbolism is of course obvious as the Empress sought to remember her son, Prince Rudolph, as if he was asking for her help. The statue is so remarkable and so sad that I did not want to show it to you from the front. You have to go there, sit on the bench of tears and you will feel Sissi's pain after so many years. I know I had an overwhelming feeling come over me there in the park that is hard to describe. Now, you followers, can only enjoy this statue from the back, which is more lighthearted and even pleasant for the eyes.

All these beautiful statues of Gods and Goddesses in the parks. Here is my little goddess with the Goddess of Music and Poetry.

And here is one of the gorgeous sea panoramas from the castle. You can spend hours there and still not have seen everything. And Sissi's spirit will definitely follow you around and make you want to be like her.

Corfu 2

98% of Greeks are Greek Orthodox and they take their faith seriously. They have beautiful churches and they are all filled on Sundays, although some of them are not very difficult to fill, since they can only fit five to ten people. They also have so called ecclesias on the side of the road everywhere, so that people can stop and pray anytime they are on the road. The patron saint of Corfu is St. Spiridon, who according to legend protected the country against the enemy a number of times.

Is the water blue enough? Our boat stopped about 200 yards from the shore of the Blue Lagoon and we had to swim to the beach. I was so proud of Kamilla, who swam to the shore and back. The water was 6 meters deep. She was the only child under the age of 12 who did it. Way to go Milli!

And here is a broader picture of the Blue Lagoon. It is NOT the place where the famous movie was filmed.

Corfu

Corfu is the second largest and greenest Greek island on the Ionian Sea. The island is not only breathtakingly beautiful, but steeped in history dating from the beginning of Greek mythology. The weather is perfect in the summer with an average temperature of 36 Celcius (88 F), after a very rainy winter, that makes everything luscious green.

We stayed in Messonghi, on the south-eastern part of the island, where the water temperature is perfect, and the sea is crystal clear. This picture was taken from Captain Mantos' boat Konstantinos. I told him that I would mention him in my blog, especially since he managed take us out on a boat tour the only day in three years when the wind was so strong that we came home by bus after the boat was tossed and turned by the choppy water. We took on so much water that there started to be more water inside than outside.

Syvota Cave. Syvota was the possible landing place of Odysseus, and might actually be the historical Ithaca, right next to the cave of nymphs. According to the legend, if lovers swim through this cave, they will stay together forever. But you really need guts to do that, and the water there is ice cold, so nobody in our group chose to try it, not even honeymooners.

Our pebbly, sandy beach was pefect for long walks and of course swims. Oh, I will miss swimming in the sea! It is a fabulous feeling when you only see the sea and sky and get lost in your thoughts . . . , almost like meditation but you are actually moving and loosing calories . . . what a combination.

More to come about Corfu in the next couple of days, including the legendary Blue Lagoon.

Corfu

I am on Corfu, one of the Greek islands. Pictures and comments are coming on Friday.

Trains

Kamilla loves taking the train in Hungary. She says she loves that she can stand up and play and make friends. she is doing neither here. Personally, I really enjoy reading on trains; I am making up for a lot of lost time from driving here.

Kamilla calculated that by the time we go back to the States, she will have had 24 train rides this summer.

Budapest 3

Vajdahunyad Castle in City Park.

Vajdahunyad castle from the other side; today the Museum of Agriculture.

The statue of Anonymus: his face is hidden in the monk's hood symbolizing the fact that the identity of the 13th century chronicler is unknown, as even today we do not know more about him than that he worked at the royal court. His work "Gesta Hungarorum" written in Latin contains the Hunnish-Hungarian legends and the history of the "Magyar Conquest." Kamilla and I are holding his pen, since according to the legend, if you touch Anonymus' "style", you get inspired for writing for life.

Hungarian women

My mom at the age of 29. ( like me now?)

My niece ,who is smarter than beautiful, if that is possible.

My little Cinderella

A gourgeous young friend with an old soul.

These are the most important and most beautiful Hungarian women for me.

A quote from the local paper inspired me to create this post. It says, "9 out of 10 expatriates polled believe: Hungarian women are the best reason to live in Hungary." And most people really believe that Hungarian women are beautiful. I had known this before, but after coming home I realized that Hungary has actually started marketing this fact. I saw several commercials emphasizing the beauty of Hungarian women, and it is even part of the slogan and picture montage of our national image which circulates throughout the European Union. Well, we either do not have much more to be proud of or it must be so. Personally, I really hope for the latter.

Here is a link for an article written by an American expat about this in a rather entertaining style and from an Anglo-Saxon perspective.

www.syl.com/articles/notjustanywomenhungarianwomen.html

Budapest 2

Heroes Square is a millenial monument that was built in 1896 to commemorate the arrival of the Hungarians to the Carpathian Basin. The niches are decorated with the statues of kings, governors and other famous figures of Hungarian history. In the middle of the square is Archangel Gabriel, the symbol of the Roman Catholic religion.

Downtown Budapest. The building on the left is the Central European University. In the background is St Stephen's Basilica which is dedicated to Hungary's first king, St. Stephen. It is the largest church in Budapest. It accomodates about 8,500 people, and it has attractions like the Holy Right Hand (St. Stephen's mummified right hand).

View from the Buda Castle on the River Danube.

Hello Budapest!

The Buda Castle District is a UNESCO heritage site. This is where you can find the historical castle of the Hungarian kings , the Royal Palace, Matthias Coronation Church and other exiciting buildings. Some were built in the 13th century.

The Fisherman's Bastion got its name from the guild of fishermen which was responsible for defending this stretch of the city wall during the Middle Ages. It is a viewing terrace with lots of stairs and walking paths.

Kamilla standing in front of the bronze statue of St. Stephen I, the first Hungarian king. She loved the Buda castle, and said it was like being in a fairy tale. And you can actually go inside the palace not like in Disney World.