Quick update

I didn't have as much time tonight since returning from Eger to write a detailed post, but I wanted to give you a peek at the great weekend in Hungary's wine country.

First, the terrain is reminiscent of northern California with rolling hills and patchy vegetation. Certainly the climate is different (much colder winters and cooler summers than northern California) but it still works for grape growing).

I hope to provide more details tomorrow, but here are a few shots to hold you over.



Emily, Chad and I pause for a picture. In the background you can see the wall of Eger's Castle. This defensive fortress allowed the Hungarians to withstand Turkish soldiers in the 16th Century.











Oh, look. Here you can see a Hungarian soldier (the man on the left) dealing a blow to a pair of Turkish invaders (I don't know the two women in front, but I waited for what seemed like an age to get a picture with as few as two people in front of the statue...at one point there was a woman actually riding the horse)

The Egerites withstood a Turkish attack for 39 days in 1552, turning away 40,000 Ottoman soldiers with the strength of just 2000 men, women and children holed up in the castle, shooting arrows, throwing rocks and pouring hot out on the Turks. About 40 years later the Turks came back and that time easily defeated the Egerites.


From left, Juli, Chad, Emily and I sample our first Eger wines (Inside, two middle-age Hungarian men had obviously been there a while as evidenced by the volume and quality of the Hungarian songs there were belting out).




By the way, I have moved into a new flat. This one is owned by the school and will cost me near nothing over the next two months. The previous flat, while okay, ended up costing a lot more than first thought. I'll get some pics of this new place posted soon.