What it takes to get a classroom ready

So today I meet up with Feri, the school's technician, to go shopping for a TV, DVD player, and carpet. He has a car, so the plan is to go to Tesco, the Wallmart-clone here in Tata for the first two, then to a store in Tatabánya for the carpet. Berci is along to help with communication issues.

So we get to Tesco. TVs are on display, but none is on. Feri wants to look up the specs on a TV that is on display. No manual. OK, so we get a clerk to open up a box of a new set and we look over the manual. Then they hook up a dvd to the tv so we can check it out. But we are informed that the dvd player is pretty poor quality, so the images we see may not be very good. A program starts up and we can see what the set is like. So we ask to see the image on a TV next to that one. Fumble fumble, but then on comes set #2, and the image is pale, washed out. OK, we want set #1, good deal. And we get a DVD player to take along with us.

Off to the checkout. Total is 160K.. wait, only supposed to be 140 K, what gives? Double check. OH, there is a mistake. What, is this not the same TV we looked at Yes, but the price posted is for model number 350D, not 350C. Unfortunately the more expenisve model was on display but it was posted with the less expensive price. I look at Berci and he knows what I am about to say, but I say it anyway. Typical Hungarian.

If I had any servicible knowledge of the the language I would be calling for the store manager and telling him in no uncertain words about my displeasure. Berci tells me to chill, the people are apologetic. Ultimately we wind up with a satisfactory TV and we are on our way to the carpet store.

It takes only a few minutes of discussion and looking around till we find what I want. It is a carpet that is designed for hallways and corridors, very often used in movie theaters. There is a built-in sound-absorbing cushion under the weave. Also they will be able to do it to our size and add a seamed edge to it so that it will look nice.

They want 50% down on the order, but I don't have 20K on me, just 16K. Fine, they will take the 16K as deposit, delivery will be in a couple of days to the school.

So after we got back I went to Hajni, the finance manager, explained the situation to her, promised to bring her cash tomorrow AM so she would have it on hand to pay the carpet folk when they make the delivery.

Tomorrow I am doing another mini-train/bike trip. This time to Komarno, the Slovakian town just across the Danube north of here. One of my students will meet me at the station on his bike, and we will cross the bridge and go into the town together for a look see, a stop at a cafe, whatever.

Gotta remember to bring my camera again.

Off to Pannonhalma

Typical Hungary. The bus station in Györ is an open area with something like 20 different bus stops, each with a clear number (1 thru 20) but absolutely no way of knowing which stop is which. And no central schedule board. And, this being Sunday, no information office open. If you don't already know , you're not supposed to know. Obviously. But I recalled from my reading of some online trip advice that the bus to Pannonhalma started from stop 11. So I looked at 11, and the bus had a LED sign that said something like Gibberish Gibberish PANNONHALMA Gibberish Gibberish, so I went aboard and only one minute later we were off. Good timing.



So the bus stop was in the residential area at the bottom of the hill, and I started off to climb the hill up to the abbey. It wasnt all that far, maybe a mile or so, but it was definitely steep. Probably another one of these ancient volcano cones. I paused halfway to take some photos with a plum orchard in front of me.









Anyway I manage to the top, get in with a tour group that is starting off (Hungarian language, but I am given a brochure to help fill in the gaps), and we tour the place. Mostly 18 19 20th century stuff, except for the church itself. There remnants of 13th century in the form of walls, a few vauls, some carvings. The place was sacked by the turks in the 1500s, nearly all of the parchment manuscripts were destroyed, but the monks saved two documents, including he charter for the abbey dating to 1002, and an earlier document which, though it is primarily in latin, includes about 60 Hungarian words, mostly place names, which is the oldest known written document to contain evidence of the Hungarian language. But we dont get to see the originals, only facsimilies.
























After the tour I got a cup of coffee, sat and relaxed a bit, then strolled around the grounds, making a circl3, enjoying the views in every direction. After a while I strolled back down the hill, ultimately found the train station, returned to Györ, and reclaimed the bike.

Around 4 15PM Iwent back to the Old City, plopped down at an outdoor table on the main plaza and had a very leisurely beer and pizza while I watched kids from 2 to 15 cavorting in the ground level fountain--one of those newer installations that has about 20-30 nozzles that shoot blasts of water at various heights--from just a few inches to about 10 feet-- with a complex pattern of discharges that surprises and delights. There were two girls about 10 years old that were doing this topless--almost but not quite yet candidates for training bras, and one little boy still in pampers who would run up to a stream of water, clap his hands three or four times and stamp his feet at the same time, run away about a yard or two, and then come back for more. There were dozens of families out and about, some at the umbrella-shaded tables like me, some off to the edge of the plazy in the shady area. The ice-cream stand was doing a very brisk business.

By this time I had begun to realize that my legs were tired from the walking and riding, i was glad to go back to the station, get on board and head home to Tata. I snacked on fruit and cookies for supper and by 9 30 was already in bed.

Barking dogs woke me at 3 45. OK, time for a bathroom trip and then a surprise. NO COLD WATER. HMMM. Cant flush. OK. Well at least I have some water in the Britta filter pitcher that I can use to make tea and coffe. And there is hot water, so I can fill up a bucket if i need to and pour the water into the toilet.

Taking in the countryside

Two undertakings, back to back. Well, the former was not really an undertaking. It just involved biking to Baj (pronounced BOY) about 5 miles outside of Tata. It was an invitation to join Friedbert and Monika for Kaffee and Kuchen at their home, along with three other members of the choir from the earlier trip to Celldomölk. Misty and spritzy, but no downpour, so I was fortunate. Monika had baked Zwetschgenkuchen, using the recipe of Friedbert's mother. The conversation was mostly Hungarian, me catching enough words to know the topic of conversation, but not the gist. Then every ten minutes or so Monika would translate enough so that I was not totally in the dark.

Baj is a German settlement, you see the names on the war memorial in front of the church, and they are all Wagner, Schmidt, Herzog, etc. Friedbert also mentioned that their property, which measures something like 50 feet by 300 feet, is laid out in a fashion typical for the German settlers, with the house to the front and a mini-farm in the rear. Only he just has grass and three chickens, as opposed to the vineyard to his north and the corn/veggies to his south.

The house is charming, updated with new flooring and a modern Ikea-like kitchen setup that Friedbert did on his own (he has the tools in his workshed, the radial saw, the drill machine, etc etc), very bright and airy. It consists of Kitchen-Dining area, two generous bedrooms, a bath, and a small guest room. They also have a patio at back, and their view is to the hills immediately behind them, a very peaceful setting.

We ended the afternoon by singing. It started with a round of a Hungarian farewell song, then we reprised the Glory Halleluia of our 4 July trip, I demonstrated the proper tempo for the Hungarian Hymnus (should be done like a Bach chorale, not like the dirge that is performed indigenously) and we did various rounds... O wie wohl ist mir am Abend, Frere Jacques, Row row row your boat, and a Hungarian drinking song that says in essence i will drink till my teeth rot in my mouth and the grape seeds i swallow start to sprout in my stomach.

Sunday, yesterday, I did not blast off at 6 am like I had planned. Woke up at 2 and couldnt get back to sleep till 4, so i took the train at 8:30 instead. Which was fine. Rain had stopped and I had a dry bikeride to the station, got my tickets no problem, had only minor difficulty carrying the bike up and down two flights of stairs to get across the tracks to the platform, and enjoyed the trip across the countryside, past fields of corn and sunflowers till we made it to Györ, where at 9:30 people were still not really up or out, so the old city was pretty much empty but basking in strong sunshine, which I used to my advantage in taking photos.

THE OLD TOWN

GYÖR

So I biked around for an hour or so. No rush, just enjoying the city, the river, the ducks, the fishermen, the families starting out for strolls. I mosied back to the train station, locked up the bike along with another dozen or so parked in front, and headed for the bus station.