Until Next Time....

We had an early departure from Gagy today. It was harder for me to say goodbye this time.

The group goodbye photo: Ani, Rob, Sone, Maureen, Csilla, Michael, Magdika, Zoli, Jaffray, Udit, Istvan, Edit, and Mihaly.

Then it was back on the road for a quick stop in Sighisoara/Segesvar, where we reconnected with our guide Csilla Kolcsar and her husband John Dale. While I accompanied John on an errand to their hometown of Targu Mures/Marosvasarhely (which I'd never visited), the rest of the group explored the UNESCO World Heritage site of Sighisoara. It is a perfectly intact medieval walled city from the 16th century with nine towers, cobbled streets, burgher houses and ornate churches.

Charming square of shops, museums, and sidewalk cafes

We watched the drummer strike 11 times at 11:00 from this massive 13th century clock tower.

It also happens to be the birthplace of Vlad the Impaler, the "real" Dracula.

We all met up for a farewell lunch at Castel Haller on the way back to Cluj/Koloszvar, where we said so long to John and Csilla. We had one final fabulous dessert before climbing back into the van with Csaba.

The final sweet of a trip filled with sweet things (edible and not).

Tomorrow is the travel day as we return to Arlington. Everything went way too fast. We are looking forward to sharing our experiences here with everyone back home, as well as keeping in touch with all of our dear friends old and new in Gagy.

Contributions from Maureen and Michael.

Prayers

Sunday started with the church service. Zoli performed the service, of course, and Attila played the organ. He had a surprise too---as they did twice as many hymns as usual. Four in Hungarian, and four in English! As we experienced last Sunday, the hymns in the services here are slow and sedate. I don't think I've ever sung "Come Sing a Song With Me" slower. Zoli had some gifts to present to First Parish that I will dutifully deliver home, and I read a letter from Marta to their congregation and delivered a gift as well (Buddhist "ting sha" cymbals to end the silent prayer). There was social time after the service outside (with some observers watching from above).

Coffee hour (minus the coffee)

The storks---some say they deliver babies, but Csaba says "we prefer to make them ourselves."

The host families and a few honored leaders from the church---the ex-minister of 23 years Kibedi Pal and the lay president Mihaly Pal (no relation) and his wife---had a group lunch with us afterwards in the neighboring town of Szentabraham. At the lunch I presented them with a certificate notifying them that they will be the Giving First recipients for September.

We ended the afternoon with a 3-hour horse cart ride up to the ridge above the town. Instead of coming right back down the way we came, we continued on the "road" all the way down to the other side of Gagy. The deep ruts and puddles and debris of the "road" made for more of a carnival ride than a bucolic Sunday outing. Between Maureen's nervous laughter and Rob's acerbic comments about it being more like torture, or riding a mechanical bull (not to mention a few prayers), we made it back safely.

Gagy from above (with the road up visible too)

The day came to a conclusion with a surprise from Csilla Nagy and boyfriend Oli, who bought two Chinese lamp balloons (or lampoons) for us to launch at dark. The first one was a big success (and it landed next to Rob's host's house), though the second was a dud.

Rob, Anna-Maria (Rob's hostess), Zoli, wife Magdika, and Maureen's host Istvan launching the lampoon.

Post by Maureen and Michael

Unitariusok Talalkozoja Szejkefurdo (Unitarian Meeting at Szejkefurdo)

We were outside Szekelyudvarhely today (with temperatures of 95 degrees F and above) at the annual Unitarian Meeting. The gathering also honors Orban Balazs, a Hungarian noble from the 19th century who documented the history of all the villages with Szekely heritage (the Szekely were one of the seven original Hungarian tribes that settled in Transylvania). Orban left his lands and belongings to the Unitarian Church when he died, including Szejkefurdo, the site of the meeting.

There was a service, a Unitarian communion, some speeches (including a few words by yours truly), a parade to Orban's burial site with laying of wreaths, a picnic, traditional singing and dancing, and general socializing. A number of people from Gagy went with us, including Mihaly Pal (Gagy's lay president), Eva Acs (the treasurer), Eva Tamasi (Eva Acs's mother), Csilla Nagy (and her boyfriend Oli), and Attila Laszlo (Gagy's 17-year-old organist from the nearby village of Szentabraham).

The entering procession

Me giving the shortest speech of the day

Maureen and Csilla Nagy enjoying kurtos kalacs (chinmey cake)

On the way home, we stopped in Szekelyudvarhely (Magdika's home town) at a fantastic sweet shop and ate amazing pastries and ice cream.

Part of the selections

Csaba (our driver and backup translator), Mihaly, Eva, Eva, Attila, Maureen, Jaffray, Rob, and Michael (clockwise from left) at Cafeteria Alexandra.

Memorials, Folk Art, and Buffalo Cheese

After breakfast with our host families, we visited the site of the former city of Bozodujfalu, which was flooded during Ceaucescu's reign to build a power plant (that was never finished). There was a moving memorial  garden that depicted, with beautifully-crafted , individually-designed 6-foot-high wooden posts (each engraved with the family's name), every house that had been there laid out exactly as they had been in real life. We also drove by the remaining walls of the Bozodujfalu Unitarian Church on the shore of the lake.

Memorial to the lost city of Bozodujfalu.

What remains of the Unitarian Church

Next was the Straw Hat Museum in Korispatak.  The photo speaks for itself!

Our guide (with Zoli translating) at the Straw Hat Museum.

Then we went to the picturesque and very old village of Enlaka, where Zoli was the interim minister for a year. We had lunch at Alpar Dancs's guest house, which is a converted barn. We ate on the ground level and the upper level has been renovated to include attractive lodging in the hostel style for tourists (the village sees a number of them).  

Lunch in Enlaka

The village Unitarian church was next on the itinerary, where we were met by the new woman minister Timea Nagy-Matefi, who gave us a short history of the church. It has an imposing exterior, complete with an outer wall for defenses. Inside, there has been much renovation over the years. The ceiling is a grid of individually-designed  wooden panels, some with floral and other patterns, others with inscriptions. It felt a very inviting church for worship. Outside in the cemetery, there still lives a huge linden tree from which the warning bell was rung when the Turks invaded and burned the whole village in 1661. It is at least 600 years old.

Enlaka Unitarian Church (exterior)

Rev. Nagy-Matefi inside the church.

The amazing ceiling panels of the Enlaka Unitarian Church

We also saw the impressive collection of Veronika Kocs preserving traditional costumes, dolls, and weapons from local villages.

Dolls and traditional embroidered pillows from the Kocs collection

We finished our day's outing with a visit to the eco-friendly buffalo-cheese dairy created by a former physics professor and national lay president of the Hungarian Unitarian Church, now retired. We were given a generous sample of multiple delicious varieties (along with the obligatory palinka, of course). We then headed back to Gagy.  A full day it was!

Edit Sanduly and Gabor Kolumban present their special buffalo cheeses

The source of the buffalo cheese

Posted by Rob Meier

First Day in Gagy!

      We left Sibiu This morning, passing through several picturesque towns on our way to Gagy.  We had to meet Zoli and our host families (the Nagy family, the Simo family, the Borbely family, and Zoli) in a neighboring village because the community center in Gagy is undergoing renovations.  We were greeted warmly and had a delicious lunch of meatball soup and Weiner schnitzel.

A Warm Welcome

     We then spent some time with our host families before meeting at Zoli's to see his church and get introduced to the village.  

Zoli tells us about his church

     We then took a walk around the village and got a taste of village life.  A man saw us admiring his garden and invited us for some polinka.  

We drink polinka while admiring a garden

We took in the scenes such as the ones pictured below and acknowledged to Zoli that life here is different from life in Arlington.  We are all charmed by the village and its people.

Scenes from Sibiu/Seben/Hermannstadt (depending on if you prefer one of Romanian/Hungarian/German)

We had a leisurely day today to enjoy the sights and sounds of Sibiu. We visited museums, walked the ramparts, saw craftsmen demonstrating woodworking and ironworking techniques at the Guild Towers along the old town wall, climbed the Council Tower, shopped at folk art and second hand stores, and had more great meals. Below are some moments from the day.

View of the Large Square (Piata Mare) from the top of the Council Tower

Children playing in the Piata Mare fountain

Michael, Jaffray, and Rob on the "Liar's Bridge" at the end of Piata Mica (Small Square)

Archway between Piata Huet and a smaller street below. The entrance to the absolutely charming restaurant (the Weinkeller) where we ate lunch is just through the archway on the right.

View from our table on the small patio under the grape arbor at the Weinkeller. The archway is at the top of the stairs.

The Carpenters Guild Tower on the City Wall. If you look closely you will see volunteer carpenters demonstrating old working techniques at the base of the tower.

An ironworker/smith specializing in guns (an Arquebusier) working at the base of the Potters Tower (not sure why he isn't at his own tower).

From the Sublime to the Ridiculous

On Tuesday, we left Deva and visited the fairy tale medieval castle of Janos Hunyadi, a famous warrior and father of the renowned King of Hungary Matthias Corvinus (Corvinus is the Latin version, named after the raven on the family coat of arms). 

Hunyadi Castle

There is lots to see at this amazingly preserved castle. It is every kid's dream of what a knight's castle would be like. 

Jaffray and Maureen exploring the defenses

We had a lot of fun climbing up towers, taking in the Knight's Hall, and even experiencing the decidedly creepy dungeon.

Display in a dungeon cell

Reminders of a more recent past aren't too far away. Just a few hundred yards to be exact, where the skeletons of communist-era mining and factories make for quite a contrast.

View of crumbling industrial plants and mining facilities from the ramparts of the castle.

There are lots of souvenirs for sale outside the grounds, including ones inevitably featuring Vlad Tepes---whom the infamous Dracula is supposed to be based on (he was a contemporary of Janos Hunyadi). Jaffray was surprised, but the vendors swore to her that it was true (although portraits of Hunyadi and Tepes look suspiciously similar).

After a lunch break, we headed to Seben/Sibiu, the European City of Culture for 2007. Zoli took his leave and headed back to Gagy to prepare for our arrival on Thursday, and we checked in to a hotel directly across from the amazingly scenic old city center. Sibiu is a German Saxon town, and the architecture is charming:

The "eyes" have it

You never know what you are going to see. At dinner there was a quite the tableau to take in: from brides and grooms getting photo opportunities to dogs riding on bikes. More pics and stories from Sibiu tomorrow!

Contributed by Jaffray and Michael.