Zsolnay

Heather: Pécs is noted for the very unique type of ceramics that has been produced here for over 100 years. This is a statue of  Villamos Zsolnay in the main intersection leading to the center of town. The factory that was established in the late 1800's brought wealth and fame to the Zsolnay family and to the city of Pécs until after the second world war when it was nationalized under the Soviet regime.

This fountain is one of the beautiful examples of the unique work of the Zsolnay factory. The ceramic work is very durable and colorful. The special glaze that gives this work its rainbow sheen was developed by the Zsolnay family and is world famous even today.

The company has recently been revived and refinanced by the city and private investors. There are extensive renovations being done to the factory itself and it still produces many beautiful objects both practical and decorative.

One of the enduring products of the factory is the colorful tiles that are used in roofing. This is the roof of the Mátyás Cathedral on castle hill that was re roofed in 1970 using the Zsolnay tiles. Japan is one of the main importers of these beautiful tiles. 

Good Bye Elderek Tracy és Johnson

Heather: We have had the privilege of working with great  missionaries here! We have fun with them at Family Home Evening, enjoy an occasional lunch on the tér, and are always sad when they leave us for other fields of labor. Elder Tracy was a great leader here and he played the piano for our Church meetings. We miss him but we are sure he is appreciated in Győr. Fortunately Elder Crandell is still here and is filling Elder Tracy responsibilities very well -- he is a hard willing worker!

Elder Johnson's bright smile has gone to cheer up Szeged and we miss it here. He was only here one transfer and that was not long enough because he is such a good guy and easy to like. He and Elder Mullen were a good match and did a lot of good work together. We are glad that he is still in our Zone so we will get to see him at Zone Conferences.

The past few weeks have had some lovely days but they are getting very short and the color has left the hills, so we say goodbye to Summer fun. I tried to capture as much of the last color as I could to help get through the dark days of winter.

This is, Laci, my favorite virág bácsi. He grows his flowers in his garden in a village outside of town. He cuts fresh every morning and brings them by bus in  big bucket to sell at his designated corner of the city. I think he must have a huge garden to match his huge heart.

Elder Crandall, Elder Galland (Provo, Utah) Elder Mullen, Sister Rollingson, Elder Bennion (Ogden, Utah)

November Transfers

You may think you've seen this picture before. It has become tradition when we get new Elders, to do our favorite haunt, the TEX-MEX Eterem. Two new faces have arrived in Pécs. Elder Galland is our new "Greenie". When this photo was taken he had been in Hungary just 48 hours. Elder Bennion is no stranger to us as we have worked with him before when he served in Kaposvár. Elder Bennion will likely be finishing out his mission with us as he goes home in march. Elder Mullen serves as District Leader and Elder Bennion will be serving as Komlo Group Leader. We are priveleged to work with such a dedicated group of fine young men.

Count Our Many Blessings

Liptai Éva is baptized in Kaposvár by Elder Swieger. Elder Proctor is on the right.

Pécs Elders are on a roll with English classes. Close to 100 are attending the Wednesday and Saturday classes. The Komlo meeting room was also filled to capacity.

Gofri Est (Waffle Night) attendees receive a cooking class presented by Sister Rollingson.

One of our Friday activity nights featured "Ball Room Dancing Instruction". Elder Mullen (in rear) was our instructer and is shown here teaching the Cha Cha.

More Castle Crawling / Visegrád

Norm: It was a perfectly gorgeous day, the sky was blue and we were surrounded by good friends. The senior missionaries of the Hungary Budapest Mission were on the loose and having a great day exploring. Location: Northern Hungary,The bend of the Danube. The Castle: Visegrád. It is located on a high picturesque hill overlooking the river and was started during the reign of Béla IV in the mid 1200's.

And would you believe they had a small panoptikum (wax museum). This scene depicts the feast from an economic summit in 1335 in which a treaty was signed between Hungarian King Károly Róbert, the Czech and Polish royalty and the traders of Western Europe.

The castle was well fortified and finally besieged during the Turkish invasions.
It was held by the Turks for several years until blown up and badly damaged in 1702
by the Hapsburg Emperor Leopold.

Heather: Restoration has been on going since the 1800's. The glory of former years is slowly coming back to life. Visegrád is a spectacular peice of Hungarian history that we were privilaged to enjoy!

Day of the Dead

Heather: November first is a national holiday in Hungary. It is called halottok napja -- day of the dead. It is a holiday similar to our Memorial Day where people gather in family groups to visit and decorate their ancestors final resting places. The holiday is connected to our Halloween in that it is the day after All Saints Eve. But it is a much more meaningful and important event than our celebration is.

Families spend days buying flowers and candles to take to the cemetery. Then they spend the day decorating the graves of their departed loved ones. Almost every grave has flowers on it. Some are very lavishly decorated but all are done with care and devotion. This pictures is of the places where the remains of those who have been cremated rest. The Pécs cemetery is huge, well cared for and very beautiful especially in the spring and fall.

Norm: This World War I memorial is dedicated to the many Hungarian soldiers who valiantly fought with the Central Powers of Europe against the Triple Alliance.

The CCCP (Russia) was allied with the forces that prevailed during World War ll. This memorial is surrounded by hundreds of graves of the young men who died for that cause. This memorial is one of very few places in Hungary where the Red Star is allowed to be displayed as it is symbolic of the latter dreaded Soviet occupation.

Autumn Day Trip

Heather: Tuesday was a very pleasant day so we decided to take a short day trip to Órfű and Abaliget 2 small resort towns about 25 km from here. Órfű has three small lakes in a very picturesque valley. As we drove through the town we could see why it is a popular place in the summer -- it even has a water slide! Our next stop was Abaliget where there is a very nice cave that has a small river running through it. We have been in many caves in North America but not one with a river running through so this was a unique experience.

The fall color was just at it's peak and I had to take pictures of every new scene. This is the little lake that the river from the cave runs into. It was a perfectly calm morning and that made fro great reflection pictures. I wish Charlie was with us with his good eye and really good camera! The forest was lovely on both sides of the road. It is too bad that we can only get 4 pictures at a time on our blog!

I had such a good time making Norm stop for every spot of color or interesting views of green fields with islands of waving grass and weeping willows. I love the beautiful country side near the Mecsek mountains. We had a great day together.

Party Week

Heather: Our week started with a celebration of Norm's 70th birthday. Since it was a mile stone event, I decided to have a fun party. All our FHE group was very excited about the idea and Gabi sent invitations out via Facebook in magyarul so Norm did not have a clue. Sunday Maja and Gabi told me to expect about 30 people. Well, that was beyond my expectations and the capacity of our little lakas! But we got busy and prepared for the fun. The buzzer for the down stairs door started to sound at 5:45 and didn't stop until 6:30. Norm could not figure out where everyone was coming from! Gizella brought bubbles and streamers, the Elders brought the birthday crown and root beer. We had a riotous evening! More than half our guests were non members which really pleased us both! We were really overwhelmed by the support and love we felt from our Friends here in Pécs! How blessed we are to be here!

Norm: One of the game highlights at the Kaposvar Branch Halloween party was the mummy wrap. We made sure the Elders were always the victims. Elder Swieger was not entirely comfortable with the idea. Some 25 people attended.

Judging the completed pieces of art. In case you don't recognize any one, they are Elders Johnson, Tracy, Crandall and Mullen.

The winning team. This was a YSA event in Pecs, with about 25 kids having a blast. We also did a balloon relay, cup cake decorating, pumpkin carving with all the pizza you could eat. Fun was had by all.

Modern-Day LDS Pioneers - Growth of the Mormon Church - 7/8

Trabant

No I don't drive one....I've never driven one....nor have I ever tried to fit in one, but since my arrival in Hungary, I have been intrigued by this little car.

TRABANT "The Commie Car"...... available in coupe, sedan or station wagon was produced in Communist East Germany starting in the 1950's

SPECS.
Engine: 2 stroke / 2 cylinder
H.P.: early models - 18 hp
Top speed: didn't exist
0-60: hasn't happened yet.
Capacity:
-4 persons and a very small dog
-or 1 large dog and 3 persons
-or 2 persons if the dog is driving
Later models used the Wankle rotary engine.
Bodies were wood framed with a plastic/cardboard-like composite skin. You won't find a rusted Trabant, but rumor has it that pigs acquired a taste for the material and some of the cars met their demise in this manner. "Honey...the pigs just ate the car".
Customers waited on lists up to a year long to buy one and about 3 million were produced. A surprising number of Trabants are still used as chief transportation by many Hungarians today. Trabants have definately become a symbol of Hungary's by-gone era.
With the fall of the wall, demand for the government monopoly produced car evaporated. The company failed along with the political regime. The people now had a choice and that choice was not for a Trabant. Many Trabants were abandon by fleeing emigrants and could be had for free to those who remained.
Although still cheap today, they are acquiring their own collector status.
They are smokey.... they are stinky.... they are slow, but should you pass one on the highway, smile....snikker if you must....but give a little salute; I think the little car deserves it.

The 1956 Hungarian Revolution

Norm: Today was a holiday and celebration day for Hungary. A day to remember the initial wedge that was driven into the Soviet captivity and occupation of Hungary referred by the Soviets as "The great example" .....co-operative farms, nationalization, rearmament and forced industrialization that depressed the country to poverty levels of the war years.

Reenactments such as this were replayed today throughout the country. The 1956 Hungarian Revolution was led by Imre Nagy. Outcome was particularly brutal and many where gunned down in the main square in front of the Budapest Parliament building. The revolution then spread throughout the country. Note the hole in the flag with the Hammer and Cycle symbolically removed.

Nagy was executed in 1958 and became the revolutions principle martyr. Some said the revolution was a failure and the Hungarian people were once again the losers. Maybe so, but it did inflict a serious blow to the prestige of the Soviet Union and it is the opinion of many that some harsh regime policies against the people were eventually relaxed.

The presentation by this local dance group was excellent. It was dramatic and particularly moving, bringing Heather and I both to tears.