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These mugs greeted us at the airport, in cammo. They were the best and funnest
hosts one could hope for. That's Dani (Donny) on the left, and Sanji (say Shawnee and it's close enough).
Dani is a priest - a youth minister - in the Reformed Church of Hungary, and Sanji is his sidekick.
Sanji and I became pretty close - I rode in the front seat of his van, and we tried to talk. Think
of the friendliest guy you've ever met, and then make him a cute teddy bear, and then you've
got Sanji.
As to Dani, I think our interpreter Andras (say Andrash with 'a's like in tawny) said it best, when he
said "I think Dani is very Reformed".
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The 'burbs on the far outskirts of Budapest. Granted, I took this picture, because the houses were
tiny, but it isn't too far from typical.
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Dinner in Tata on Friday the 5th - with 5 hours to go before bed. We had the place to ourselves
at first, and then Dani had arranged a pair of musicians to come in and play. They played the
violin and something that looked like a giant dulcimer on piano legs. Some of it was traditional
Hungarian music, and some of it was 60's lounge music.
The meal was lavish. Three types of wine and a fancy pork cut with a risotto-like side.
It was to be but the first of 117 meals involving pork. It was delicious, as were all meals,
but I'm afraid I was too tired to truly enjoy it.
One side note: I don't know if we just had safety-conscience host/drivers, or if the laws
are such that you don't dare, but our boys adopted a "lips that touch liquor, shall never
touch the wheel" stance. If a drive was upcoming, they wouldn't take a whiff.
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The goulash BBQ on the wine hill outside of Csurgo (say Churgo). This is Lazlo, actually one
of many Lazlos, pinching the little noodle-dumplings into the pot. Lazlo is the priest/director
of the boarding school in Csurgo. He is immortalized in our hearts for two quotes; "I don't speak
such good English, but I use it well", and, after spilling a little goulash on his expansive
sweater, he pointed to the stain and said "the menu".
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Practicing for the first concert.
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Typical scenes while driving around. It was kind of like Wisconsin, with grapevines. There were
vineyards everywhere - in the villages, people would fill their backyards with grapevines,
out in the country, whole hills would be covered.
I know, I know, neither picture shows grapevines, but that doesn't mean they weren't all over
the place.
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This was our home-base, a villa in the vacation capitol of western Hungary, Balatonfüred. The
Reformed Church owns it, and it's used as a retreat center. The rooms were dorm-like, with two
or three beds in each, and each with a private shower and toidy.
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Here is the view from the third-floor balcony (every floor had a balcony, including the first,
because it was built on a hill). The lake is about one long block away. |
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We had just pulled in to the villa, and took a walk exploring. A nice passerby snapped our picture
for us.
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These are our adoring fans in Pápa that John wrote about in
his email. Being a small camera, it doesn't take in
the whole scene; filled balconies and side galleries. Greg is standing here with us, but he
spent much of the concert working the aisle as far as the mike cord would allow.
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If a camera was aimed at Sanji (Shawnee), "Karate" Sanji would immediately take his place.
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We toured Lake Balaton on a lake cruiser - it was the most expensive thing we did the whole
trip, and it cost about $160 for 12 of us. The day was cool, but it was a beautiful ride.
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The boys in their new Vikings caps that Greg gave them. That's András on the left. And
of course, since we were on the road, Dani and Sanji's beers are props; you can see their
glasses of ginger ale on the table in front of them.
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Greg took this pic of kids in Gyor (say Dor, but with a slightly gutteral D). It was just so
cute that I included it here. You can see my balding head walking away from the camera in the
background.
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Outside the Bishop's big ol' cathedral, years ago, the Ark of the Covenent was dropped during
a procession. Since they couldn't allow anyone to thereafter step on the spot that the Ark
had touched, this statue thing was built in the middle of the street.
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We're hanging out before the concert in Gyor. That enormous crown is the baptism font. Fortunately,
being kind of like Presbyterians, they didn't care that we set the thing behind the wooden wall
during the show. It was simply too big for us to see around.
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I just liked the view here in Gyor.
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The beautiful building in the top picture is the City Hall. Then you turn 90 degrees, and the ugliest
apartment building I've ever seen is right there. The communists didn't go in much for
attractive designs, and so the cities were a combo of beauty and ugliness side-by-side.
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Greg's second TV interview in Hungary. The first was after the concert in Pápa, and this one
was before going on in Tata. At first, I think András was pretty nervous, but Greg was cool
as a cucumber.
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Singing the last concert. This was Dani's home church.
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The gang - the one new face is Ildi, András' wife. She was with us most of the trip, and on
this night had sung a song with the CL7 as her Pips.
Aren't Dani and Sanji the best! This picture captures them perfectly.
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Goodbye to Hungary, this was on our last day. We're high on a hill over Budapest, at the old castle
of the King.
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