My 1st Trip to Communist Hungary with Husband Pieter Part II - Budapest

There we were, on October 22, 1984 in Budapest at the Congress Centre, which was high on a hill on the edge of Buda.

We had quite a nice room and we ran into lots of colleagues and friends from all over the world.

Pieter's Campbell Soup colleagues Lung-Chi Wu and Frank Gabell also had arrived by plane from the USA. 

Budapest, Hungary

We were around 14:30 at the Congress Center

HOUSE OF AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVES (translated from above card and mind you, this was all state owned, the entire congress center! That's Communism...)

Number 225/2 (room and 2 keys)

Departure date October 28 (but we left on the 27th...)

Check out, please leave before 10:00

Baggage and storage of valuables is available at no charge

Finally

Saturday

Meal Time (which was all left blank...)

We both followed Dutch business friend Piet Theeuwen (from Theeuwen Compost then and now Walkro), driving into the center for strolling around and seeing some shops.

Finding a good restaurant to eat,  which would be Belgrado with Hungarian music. Pieter's colleagues who had joined us in our car, loved it!

A very good first evening in Budapest, the Paris of the East!

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HEROES' SQUARE with Archangel Gabriel standing on top.

On Tuesday, October 23 it was a date which Budapest for 28 years never forgot.

The day to remember that in 1956 the revolution started and that the Russians knocked down brutally on November 4th in 1956. 
Soviets Crush Hungarian Revolt (1956) | A Day That Shook the World

As a little girl, I remember that we prayed for Hungary with Catholic nuns, our teachers... It made a very strong and lasting impression on me and the adults were talking about war again, they all feared the Russians would invade further.

In 1984, Hungary had 11,000,000 citizens and 2,500,000 lived in Budapest.

Their salaries were very low and most people had to have 2 or 3 jobs for making ends meet.

Rent was usually 1/3 of their salary in 1984. State loans for 35 years at 2% interest, after their own initial capital. 

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From the Heroes' Square I also went to the Matthias Church 

Greetings from Budapest is written on the card...
The Matthias Church was used as coronation Church by Hungarian Kings and it dates from 1015.

Check out the Matthias Church's Roof Tiles and the Holy Trinity Statue here click it through.

St. Stephen's Basilica

Greetings from Budapest is written in Hungarian on this card...
Budapest is really a marvelous city with its Buda and Pest embankments.
Top left you see the famous Fisherman's Bastion in neo-Gothic and neo-Romanesque style.

To the right the letters ANSP are visible, guess that is the Hungarian Air Navigation Service Provider.

It also gives you an idea of the cars from 1984, lots of Trabants during the Communist era...

We got to see 8 bridges from which 7 got destroyed during WWII and needed to be restored.

While I was out with the Ladies, Pieter was seriously attending the lectures at the International Congress.

At that time, there were translators and you could opt for languages to listen to.

In Hungary they speak often German so that made it easier for us.

But for English speaking attendants, it was not easy...

Pieter is seated in the 3rd row from bottom and he's the 3rd from the left.

His two Campbell Soup colleagues were seated 1st and 2nd from the left.

We met for lunch after we got back around 13:30 and we went with the two American colleagues shopping in Budapest. Traffic is a disaster... Stinky cars, no clean emission at that time!

We parked and I wrote the name of the street down for all, with question in German for direction, so they too could find their way back, by asking if needed.

We ourselves could ask it verbally...

Shopping on foot and Frank came back with a red Hungarian rose for me; very sweet!

Not easy for finding our way back in the dark. With asking in German, English with Hungarian replies - what a language!

By the way, Hungarian is only related to Finnish and Estonian...

But we made it back to our Congress Center and Hotel.

Here I'm on the balcony with the red rose I got gifted from Frank...

We had to get ready for the official reception with cold buffet.

We met with several colleagues/friends from The Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia (at the time!), Bulgaria, Russia and Hungary...

It was an interesting day, till 22:30...

Stay tuned for more...

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Thanks for your visit and comment!

Related link:
Driving to Communist Hungary with Husband Pieter Part I - Mayerling | previous post by me
Budapest: The Best of Hungary click to go to my Pinterest for EDUCATIVE video

Driving to Communist Hungary with Husband Pieter Part I - Mayerling

With only 17 days in-between the MGA Conference in Manchester, England, we again departed from Atlanta, USA for Europe on Wednesday, October 17 of 1984.
This time we both would be driving all the way from The Netherlands to Budapest in Hungary for attending yet another Mushroom Conference.
We started out in our Talbot rental car from Timmermans in Horst, The Netherlands and drove by turn.
First day we made it till Mayerling in Austria in 1,100 km or 683 mi.

After a very good night at Hotel Helenenstüberl, we of course had to visit in the morning the hunting lodge where Crown Prince Rudolf killed his mistress and then himself... See full Youtube movie in two parts below post.
The above post card's lower left corner shows the original 1889 Imperial Hunting Lodge.

That's me pointing to the house number 3 on the wall with Mayerling on it as well.

Feeling so happy for having been at the place from a historical movie I watched...
Though not happy because of the tragedy that took place here!

I'm standing somewhere to the right on this building, you can still see the carved statue above the door.
 It looks like some changes have taken place in over 34 years!
Click here to see this photo on my Pinterest.
What I have gathered is, that at present the Sisters Carmelites live in Mayerling click link.
It is only 5 minutes away from the Cistercian Abbey Stift Heiligenkreuz which dates from 1133 and is located in the Vienna Woods.
We need to go back for a longer time to enjoy all the above!

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We went on our way after visiting Mayerling, as we had to cover still quite a stretch and not all was Interstate at the time during Communism in Hungary!
No problems at the border and we continued via then Interstate E5 via Magyaróvár to Budapest.
Now Magyaróvár and Moson have been merged and it is called Mosonmagyaróvár.
We enjoyed seeing the impressively large agricultural areas but not so much the poor villages.
We stopped alongside the road to buy grapes, pears and in a village we changed money and bought quark, yogurt and pure fruit juice.
We arrived in time in Budapest around 14:30 at the Congress Centre having done now a total of 1,500 km or 932 mi.

Pieter's Campbell Soup colleagues from the USA had arrived by plane and Lung-Chi Wu is standing next to me and Pieter on the right (for the viewer), Colleague Frank Gabel made this photo.

Stay tuned...
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Thanks for your visit and comment!

Related links:
The Crown Prince aka Kronprinz Rudolf Part1 full Youtube movie
The Crown Prince aka Kronprinz Rudolf Part2 full Youtube movie

Husband Pieter's 1974 Visit to Esztergom, Hungary during Communism

During the Fall of 1974, Pieter and his best friend Harry Hollander did drive from The Netherlands, through Germany, Austria into Hungary, with wives and adopted daughter Liz.

For many years Pieter had scientist friends in the mushroom business in Hungary but for them it was nearly impossible to get out of the country for attending any meeting or lecture.
Any conversation, they had to do inside his friend Imre Koronczy's car; out of fear that inside a restaurant they could be 'listened to'... 

On a terras with the Esztergom Basilica in the back.

The largest Church within Hungary.

Hungary's Largest Church-Esztergom Basilica and Treasury (With Facts/Figures) click link for more info via video.
József Cardinal Mindszenty was the Prince Primate, Archbishop of Esztergom, cardinal, and leader of the Catholic Church in Hungary from 2 October 1945 to 18 December 1973.
More about him in a later post...
Esztergom was the Capitol in the 13th Century and the residence for the Royals.

Múzeum Cukrászda Espresso

This seems still to be in operation on address: Batthyány Lajos út 1., Esztergom 2500, Hungary

Right on the Danube River and that is also the border line with Slovakia.

Back in 1974 during communism, there was ONLY local produce on the market!
Such as here the Jonathan apples, pears, grapes.

Hungary is known for its Paprikas and also Tomatoes.
In the US they say bell peppers...

Imre Koronczy was Pieter's scientist friend whom he helped often for sending him an official invitation so he could attend important lectures outside of Hungary. His wife then was not allowed to travel with him; out of fear they would never return  back to Hungary...
Right at the bottom of this screenshot, google search for Imre Koronczy, Budapest, you can also read my husband's name P.J.C. Vedder with the title of his English book: Modern Mushroom Growing, first printed by Educabook in The Netherlands and next by Stanley Thornes, Cheltenham (England)...

Very meaningful relationship and by the way, Pieter's adopted daughter got to travel a lot with her Daddy!

Next is about a trip we made together, also by rental car driving from The Netherlands...
Stay tuned.
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Thanks for your visit and comment!

Related link:

Our Historic Christmas in Italy - END of Romania's Communist Dictator | previous post by me

My 2nd Trip with Husband Pieter to Budapest in FREE Hungary | On my 2nd trip we did visit this Estergom Basilica