Christmas in Budapest

Christmas has settled over Budapest. Lights are strewn over the streets, small craft huts have bloomed over the city, and hot, sweet wine steams up from every corner. School has let out and a month long beak ensues. I have returned back to breathing which has been helped by a long weekend of looking around the Christmas booths, checking out communist statues, and watching clips of Godard movies all which have helped center me.  I have spent my first week of “freedom” finishing up papers and doing bits of research on my thesis but tomorrow I will runaway to Florence for a week for holiday celebrations with Alexis, Robbie, and Alexis’ mom. I am sad not to be with my family but being with good friends in Florence is pretty amazing runner up.

Visit to Pomaz

Last weekend I went on a class trip to visit a local archaeological site that  my professor, Dr. József Laszlovszky, is currently excavating. It is in the village of Pomaz which is inside the Pils Hills just a short train ride from the center of Budapest. The adventure started off right when more than half of our group, lost in chatter, went right past our stop. We got off at the next town and as we waited for the next train back, we wisely laughed and came up with scenarios  of settling in the village and starting a commune. Then we upped the ante and created new mythologies. So, if you go to Hungary make sure to include the holy dogs of  the stop after Pomaz, they are quite sacred and amazing.  

Dr. Laszlovszky walked us through the archaeological history of the site including the debates around which monastic order the site had been, the various configurations that have been conceived of its layout and how various archaeologists have both helped and destroyed elements of the site. The current thought is that this area was a Cistertian industrial complex that  potentially specialized in glass production. The church you will see in the pictures below was the center  and workshops were built around it. A few weeks ago, as they dug pits to set up protective covering for their work,  they uncovered a cemetery site. An unexpected find. However, as winter approaches and the ground freezes excavations will have to stop but in the summer they will  continue to  excavate and make a detail plan for these bones.

It's surprising how much of ourselves we leave behind and what these material objects reveal about the communities that leave them . On the train ride home I wondered what it means to leave a material trace.  What stories will be created with our coke bottles and cellphones. What beauty will people find in our rubbish?

The remnants of the Cistertian Church

Sometimes you dig into a cemetery

 Medievalists know how to have fun!

Creepy

Piles of excavated stones

Beautiful landscape and former fishpond!

Learning is always better with hot spiced wine!

Dr. Laszlovszky showing us some remains of the glass industry. Learning happening behind his right shoulder.

Stuff!!

All Soul's Day

The beginning of November was especially marked this year by graveyards. My trip to Milan was the start of a trip to see the spaces of the dead in my Budapest home. Of course, this curiosity was sparked by the importance placed on this holiday of All Soul's day. In Hungary and other parts of Europe all Soul's day is a national holiday and people come out in small droves to clean and to pay respect to the dead. On my way home from the airport, I was surprised to find  flower shacks that appeared along the way and people coming onto the bus with pots of flowers. Kerepesi cemetery is one of the most famous in Budapest, filled with poets, protesters, actress politicians and other notables. In the evening people come out and light candles and the cemetery is filled with tiny lights, sometimes a single candle at the base of a grave and sometimes larger gathering of candles. Names of streets and stops along the metro were transformed as people stuffed flowers and flags and candles at their monuments. Kids walked with their parents, excited to light the candles and wander around in he dark. There was something calming to walk around as the light faded and the candles began too glow. It was so peaceful I decided to come back in the daylight. It was even nicer in the daylight, trees turning color and shedding their leaves everywhere. 

 

The grave of Blaha Lujza a famous actress the "nations nightingale" from the mid 19th to early 20th ce

Fall in the cemetery

Tomb of Ferenc Deak a statesman who negotiated a treaty with the Hapsburg Court. I knew him better as the main square and metro stop that i go to almost every morning.

A funny kind of photo shoot...Always a few Goths to be found in a cemetery!

Milan!

FOUR DAYS OFF...a responsible student would make good use of this time to catch up on studies and get a head start on projects. Yes, a good student would do that but I had to get out of dodge and quick. After two months of living and breathing school, the break was my time to remind myself about living. What better way than to run away and  meet a good friend in Milan. 

My first time in Italy, Milan was a strange and therefore wonderful place to explore.Milan is the second largest city in Italy, it's financial heart and the fashion capital. You would think this city would be incredibly svelte. Although the people were dressed well, I found a city large and gritty and I fell a little bit in love with its delicious treats and its beating pulse. We wandered on the streets, eating chestnuts and looking an hard to fathom Gothic cathedrals and finding delicious places to eat Italian snacks.We holed up in libraries doing work (ok still too nerdy to totally take time off) and see incredible art exhibits including a special show of the art of Artesima Gentileschi. What a babe.

Here is a few glimpses into my trip.

Our hotel room which was sweet and had a little balcony.

So many people on bikes!

Alexis and I at the Royal!

In trying to find the public library to work in you some times just find pretty churches.

Duomo!

Creepy yet important relics on display.

We made our way on an  epic walking tour to the  Cimitero Monumentale di Milano

Sadly, that is just when my camera died (ha) 

But I was able to take these last few photos.