I love this time of year, the chill in the air reminds me of my winters spent in Hungary. I was born in Gyor, Hungary which is on the eastern side of Hungary; this is where I call home. We generally travel home every three years and it’s always been in the winter. This is why this time of the year reminds me of a place I call home.
The architecture inspires me to take photos over and over again, sometimes I feel like a tourist in my own country. It doesn’t bother me because the photos hold timeless memories for me. Walking the cobbled-stone city streets all bundled up with a cup of hot herbed-infused red wine, a traditional Hungarian winter-time beverage, keeps me warm despite the bitter wind chill coming from the Danube river, which passes straight through the city. I can feel it right now as I’m typing this, I miss home so much.
There is however one place I visit almost every day when I’m out in Gyor’s city streets, a 656 year old Roman Catholic Church. The primary denomination of Christianity in Hungary is Roman Catholic; there are as many churches there as Starbucks here. Alright, that might have been an exaggeration but churches are everywhere in Gyor! The one I visit the most was originally built in the 1100s, parts of that foundation still remain today. However, the church was demolished (unknown why) in 1241, then it was rebuilt in 1256 (where is still stands today) and went through three minor renovations from 1460-1480, 1635-1645, and 1912-1914. The architecture in breath-taking with hand-painted ceilings and walls, gold accents, marble columns, and unbelievable wood trim. This place to me is the most beautiful place in the world. 
It’s not just the city though that holds beauty. I have family that live out in the country, where they grow their own vegetables and raise livestock. Venek, the town, or more like a village if anything, is composed of maybe fifteen homes, a small connivence store about half the size of a classroom, a bar, and one more thing... you can guess it... A Church! But what I love about Venek is that it’s surrounded by seemingly endless countryside. The Danube river also runs along the side of this town. Here you can collect stones out of the Danube which may have traveled all the way down from the Black Forest in Germany; that is where the Danube river begins. The forest is called the Black Forest because it’s so dense that at night the moon can’t even shine through. The stones could have very easily traveled down the Danube to Venek.
There are not enough words in a day for me to explain how much I miss being back home, especially since we always travel in the winter. I hope to venture back again when I graduate. Since I’m living out of the house and pretty much on my own, I have to come up with the finances to travel back and have all my bills paid because when we go we don’t just go for a week, or two weeks, we go from three or four. I recommend everyone going on their JBIP to soak in as much as they can about wherever you go. It could be a life changing experience, it always is for me.
Krisztian Martin
Krisztian, fantastic writing and extremely descriptive! Your home sounds like a beautiful place! I remember when i went on my Euro trip how i could not put my camera down. The architecture really is breath taking over, and like you said, churches galore! I too appreciate the cool brisk climate that you talk about. Being from Canada, i am very used to it, and it too reminds me of my days back home. I wish you all the best and a safe trip on your next journey back home.
ReplyDeleteAwesome way to describe your home country Kriztian. While reading this post, I actually felt like I was right there bearing through the cold weather, down the cobbeled stone streets, with a cup of warm wine in my hand. It sounds like a very fascinating place to go see, and experience. I would like to visit eastern Europe once in my life time. I feel as if western Europe gets all the hoo-rah yet people forget that the other half has it's own history to stand on.
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