We had a two-hour layover at the station before our train to Zagreb;  B and I walked around the neighborhood and chanced upon this street in a rather rundown section of Budapest near the garment district. I am not sure who this Muranyi was or why a street was named after him (I assume it…

I thought you might enjoy this musical welcome that we received when our Fulbright group went to the Reformed Collegium in Debrecen during our recent monthly meeting. Have a great day! Thanks for tuning in and best regards, Marcsi

Having spent 48 of my 54 years in the US,  I chose to call my blog Americanmagyar.  Bernard asked me if I felt more American or more Hungarian.  Since I have been here, I have felt my European and Hungarian roots rising to the fore.  But it has not always been that way. I grew…

Spring came to Hungary while we were away.  It is amazing what a difference only one week can make. As we took the train back to Debrecen, we observed the orchards in full bloom.  I could see the new growth on the grape vines and the greening of the fields.  Trees that had only begun…

On our last full day in Croatia, we spent the morning walking around Diocletian’s Palace in Split. The Roman Emperor, known for his persecution of Christians, built his retirement palace there between 295 and 305.  According to our travel bible, Lonely Planet, the palace contains 220 buildings and some 3000 inhabitants within its walls.  In…

Bernard and I disagreed on what I should call this blog. He wanted to call it “stepping into history.” By the end of the post, perhaps you can decide which one of us was the most right (since neither one of us is wrong). I don’t know quite how to describe Croatia or the Dalmatian…

I loved traveling by train when I was a student in Switzerland years ago—it’s one of the reasons why we invested in the Eurorail passes even though you can travel fairly inexpensively all over Europe using the deep discounted airlines. When we went to the Berlin Conference, most of our contingent of Hungarian Fulbrights booked…

It has been a life-long dream of mine to live and work here. When Bernard and I first heard that I had received the Fulbright, we were very excited about going to Hungary and learning about my native country from the inside out–by living and working here, experiencing the day-to-day life that tourists simply miss…

I’m not a business person, I’m a historian.  Nevertheless, even to my untutored eyes, it seems that Hungarians could do a better job of promoting themselves and their businesses.  There are so many beautiful and interesting places to see  in Hungary, sometimes it boggles the mind. But, the Hungarians don’t always make it easy for…

There are spring festivals in every city and town in Hungary. In Pecs, on just about any evening during the festival, you can choose between a variety of concerts: classical, opera, blues, and jazz. There are plays, dance recitals, photo and art exhibits, and all kinds of special programming. When we met with Zsuzsanna Nagy,…