Udvarhey, quick first few photos

This fence really struck me at first glance.  I have since seen a couple more like it, but this one is in the best shape and has a gate to match.

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So on the bus to get here from Marosvár (aka Tirgu Mures) we made a pit stop in Szovata, a resort town/village about 35miles north of here.   I got a coffee, then came back to the bus.  The woman in the photo asked me for a couple of lei /about 60cent/  i said yes, but only if i can take a photo of you and your dress.  She agreed, so I fished out my walet to get two one-lei bills, and she immediately spotted the 5-lei bill that I inadvertently pulled with the others and grabbed it before i knew what was going on.  Let that be a lesson to me. What kind of lesson, I dont know, but I am pretty sure there is one to be found.  Anyway, the pic turned out pretty good, so I really can't complain too much. And it is a good story as well.

 Picture on the wall in my bedroom. Typical local handicraft, rather frozen in time. But the inn presents itself as a "country/traditional" establishment, so it goes with the overall theme.

Local cultural center, mainly auditorium plus a few offices. The letters under the pediment read Casa di Cultura / Művelődésiház

Orthodox church about 400 yards from where I am staying, on route to downtown.  Big, but I honestly think it is totally empty. I have yet to see a single sign of life there, no billboad with times of services, etc. The goldish windows are solid, icons painted on them. The pic was at sunset, hence the glowing. The one in the middle behind the flag (n.b. ROMANIAN orthodox church! Romaian flag) is plain glass.  I also liked the fence around the property.

 So before asking the question or giving the answer I am going to give a translation of the text on the front of the white church in the above photo.  "Az egy isten tisteletére" = To the honor of the one God.  Every one of the churches  that belong to this particular faith tradition has a similar inscription, the key word being EGY = one, sole.  This part of the world was particularly involved in the Reformation, the result being that a shift took place toward the more tolerant position that allowed for freedom of conscience, the main proponents of this being Hungarian Unitarians.



Below is the interior of the local franciscan parish, a delightful place of not too heavy baroque. I went to Sunday mass a week ago, got there 10 min early, standing room only.  Music was mostly gregorian chant, but no choir and weak audience participation.  Words are powerpointed onto a screen, no hymnals. Certainly no 4 part harmony. This is also a no wine stick out your tongue region. I guessed I could do without the wine (doctrine of concomitance), but I stuck out my hands and it seemed not to be too much of a problem.

 So one other thing besides fences is gates. Big, carved, wooden.  The one below has a Beware of Dog sign that totally ruins it, but i took the pic anyway because this gate is the best one in the immediate neighborhood.  The next two are pics of a different gate , just showing details.

Another gate, this one of metal, with a traditional sun motiv.  In cities with minority Hungarian populations, some shops have signs with this sun symbol and the word "tessék", which essentially means "please go ahead"--  in this case, please go ahead and speak Hungarian in this shop if you would like to.