We found out from a Calvin email that the Calvin Band was going to be touring Eastern Europe for a couple of weeks, including a concert in Sarospatak. We rearranged our schedules so that we could be in Sarospatak on the Thursday prior to Pentecost to hear the Calvin Wind Ensemble. Before and after we had a great time meeting the Calvin students, as well as several students from Sarospatak that had gone to Michigan as a part of the Pannonia Exchange Program.
The Calvin Wind Ensemble played a variety of music from Hungarian as well as American composers.
Tiffany Engle and the Calvin Ensemble at the Sarospatak Reformed Seminary Chapel
Hanging out with the Calvin and Sarospatak students afterwards.
On Friday we met up with Dénes and Petra and their 18 month old Samu. We walked around Sarospatak and enjoyed the beautiful weather and the beautiful city that seems like a village.
St Erzsebet Church in Sarospatak (where Orsi and Zoli had their wedding).
The Sarospatak Castle
Dénes, Petra and Samu
The Reformed Church in Sarospatak
The Next morning the men got up early (5:30 a.m.) to go fishing on the "dead part" of the Bodrog River (where the river turns back on itself and leaves a kind of lake). Only one fish was caught (not by Jack) so we stopped at the store to buy more carp as well as getting some out of the freezer, since fish soup was planned for supper.
Meanwhile, the women went to the Piac (market) in Sarospatak to buy the rest of the food for the weekend since all stores would be closed on Pentecost Sunday and Monday.
Here are some of the fruits and vegetable that were available.
Jack helped Dénes Sr. in making fish soup in the bogrács outside. They used not only the fish but also the roe and the milt. It was the best fish soup that we have tasted.
That night we went to the Hercegkút Wine Cellars located just a few kilometers from Sarospatak. There was a special "open house" event where for a nominal fee you could get a booklet of tickets that allowed you to taste wines from 18 different cellars all located on the same hill. These cellars are dug into the hill composed of rhyolite for storing the wine that is produced by grapes grown in the region (mostly white wines). Most of these cellars were privately owned and the wine was not normally sold in stores. It was a beautiful night to enjoy the people and the wine. We had a great time and slept soundly that night...and the wine helped Jack pass a kidney stone the next day!
Hercegkút Wine Cellars is a part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Dénes, Éva, Petra and Jack in the first of many wine cellars
Sunset view from Hercegkút
The next day we enjoyed a yearly festival in Sarospatak commemorating St Erzsebet who was the daughter of King Andrew II of Hungary. She was born in the castle in Sarospatak in 1207. She was married at the age of 14 and widowed at 20. She then became one of the first members of the Order of St Francis, relinquishing her wealth to the poor and building hospitals and herself serving the sick. She was later canonized by Pope Gregory IX and is now known as St Erzsebet (Elizabeth)
Minstrels playing their old world instruments at the St Erzebet Festival
Children's game: Hit the turning figures with walnuts with a sling shot. (the bicycle turns the figures)
Comedic troubadours on stilts
Actors in period costumes (1200)
The festival included a wonderful parade that the whole city of Sarospatak participates in by dressing up and walking along side as the parade proceeds from the castle to the town and back again to the St Erzsebet Church for a ceremony that included horn fanfare and beautiful singing.
There was a special ceremony at St Erzsebet church after the parade that included a women's choir and the singing of a beautiful ballad about St Erzsebet's life. You can hear part of it on the video below.
After the singing there was a dove release.
At 6 p.m. it started raining as if on cue and the festival was over. We went back to the Dienes' home for supper with the Dienes family, including Fani, Dénes' younger sister.
On Pentecost Monday, we made American pancakes for the Dienes family and then said our good-byes Dénes had a full program planned for our last day together. We first drove to Füzérradvány, near Pálháza (about an hour drive from Sarospatak).
When we arrived we were surprised to find out that there was another festival. This was being celebrated by Slovakian Hungarian's making derelye (jam pockets). It was so fun to watch and to hear Slovakian being spoken all around us.
This group was accompanied by an accordion playing man. The women were all singing traditional Slovakian songs while they made their derelye.
Traditional Slovakian costumes
After watching the women preparing the derelye, we walked to the biggest tree in Hungary located in the Füzérradvány garden.
From there we drove a short distance to get on the narrow gauge train to Kókapu
It was an open air train filled with lots of families enjoying the beautiful day.
Here are Dénes and Samu enjoying the scenery
We had packed a picnic lunch that we enjoyed at Kókaput Lake.
A half an hour after we arrived we hopped back on the train for the return trip.
Here is a view of the Hungarian countryside from the train.
Before catching our train back to Budapest, Dénes and Petra took us to a beautiful restaurant and wine cellar called the Sárga Borház Csárda. After we ate, we hiked up the vineyard hill behind the restaurant to see the view.
From there we went to the train station at Szerencs and took the train back to Budapest.
It was a wonderful weekend with wonderful friends! Thank you Dénes and Petra!
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