Author Archives

• Why Eger means so much to Hungarians: Geza Gardonyi’s The Eclipse of the Crescent Moon

  By Julie Callahan on October 16, 2014 • ( 2 )

  

  Mention Eger to a Hungarian and expect some amount of fawning, “You’ll love it, make sure you visit the castle.” My friend, Szabi, told me, “Julie, if you are going to Eger, you must read The Eclipse of the Crescent… Read More ›

• Barnabás Fehér – The Keeper of the Mád Synagogue: Nearly 70 years later, a Catholic man honors his murdered Jewish friends

  By Julie Callahan on October 12, 2014 • ( 8 )

  

  Barnabás Fehér was napping on his outdoor swing as we approached his home for our appointment to visit the synagogue. A cluster of fruit trees shaded him. Come late summer, these trees will produce a harvest from which he augments… Read More ›

• The Characters of Mád, Hungary

  By Julie Callahan on October 7, 2014 • ( 11 )

  

  Mád, Hungary is little more than a dab on the eastern Hungarian landscape – a tiny town among hundreds of time worn villages sprinkled across rural Hungary. We came to Mád to visit the beautiful and distinctive baroque synagogue. Little… Read More ›

• Three Years Abroad – Our Anniversary of Moving to Central Europe

  By Julie Callahan on September 22, 2014 • ( 8 )

  

  Three years ago, on September 22nd, our flight touched down in Vienna. With four suitcases between us, the driver met us at the airport and whisked us away to Bratislava, Slovakia – our new home. Pat was particularly excited. He… Read More ›

• The Curse of a Wanderlust Soul

  By Julie Callahan on September 19, 2014 • ( 8 )

  

  Staying put doesn’t come naturally to me. I don’t view this as a blessing or a curse, just a fact – similar to the facts that I have green eyes, I’m tall, and I sleep with the Thomas Cook European… Read More ›