Yesterday, I opened my computer. Then I typed. To paraphrase Truman Capote, I was typing, not writing. Eventually, I gave up and took a walk. One might think I have something to write about. In the past three weeks, we… Read More ›
Central/Eastern Europe
The Valley of the Beautiful Women: Eger, Hungary
Pat ran ahead to take photos, so I wasn’t surprised to learn the raucous laughter emanated from a troupe of women aping for his camera. All wore matching, blue, calico smocks over bleached white blouses which perfectly matched their frothy… Read More ›
At Last My Dreams Come True – A Hungarian Pig Killing
Warning: Pigs did die in the making of this blog and fairly graphic photographs follow. If this makes you squeamish, I’ll see you back here next week. A young man in my conversational English class, Matej, looked up and smiled…. Read More ›
Komárom, Hungary – Komárno, Slovakia: It’s like a Gershwin song
When I was a kid, my mother would sing old songs. One of my favorites was a Gershwin tune: You like potato and I like potahto You like tomato and I like tomahto Potato, potahto, tomato, tomahto. Let’s call the… Read More ›
Why Eger means so much to Hungarians: Geza Gardonyi’s The Eclipse of the Crescent Moon
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 ›
The World In Between 