Samstag

My last full day in Austria. I spent today with my cousin, Reinhard, and his family. Reinhard spent the summer at my mother’s house back in 1991 while working and learning English in Minnesota.

After visiting and catching up a bit, we traveled to Eisenstadt, the capital of Burgenland. We went to the Haydenkirche (Hayden Church). I remember visiting this church on one of my first trips to Austria (a long time ago) but I was happy to see it again.

On the front side is a small chapel. 

View of Eisenstadt, and another look at the outside of the church.

On the backside you can enter the church. There was a baptism taking place, but it was just ending and the family was taking pictures.

We paid homage to Joseph Hayden. He is buried in the church.

From there we went to the Landesmuseum Burgenland. A lot of history in this small museum dating back to the Romans, when they occupied this area.

What was especially interesting to me was this street near the museum. This was the Jewish district.very old homes. Many of these people played a role in building the Esterhazy Palace in Eisenstadt.

This post is significant. There used to be one on the other side too. The chains would be drawn across the street on the Sabbath so that no traffic could travel through the neighborhood.

After our time in Eisenstadt, we traveled wo Weiden am See to have a late lunch at the restaurant on the lake - zum Fritz. Another delicious schnitzel. I forgot to take a picture.

Another day comes to a close. We arranged to zoom with my mother tonight so that she could visit with some of the cousins. Tomorrow, I begin my journey home.

Freitag

Friday! When I went to bed, we had nothing planned. When I woke up we had a full agenda! Another cousin came to visit and spend the day with us. We set our for the Esterhazy Palace in Fertod, Hungary.

I visited this palace once before, many, many years ago. It was in bad condition. Hungary did not have the money to restore its former beauty. They have since received money from the European Union and it is quite beautiful inside and outside. I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

After our visit to the palace, it was time for lunch. Back into Austria, to Pamhagen, to Schnitzwirt. We had delicious Wiener Schnitzel for lunch.

It was a beautiful day, o w rove to Podersdorf to walk down to the lake and enjoy the beautiful scenery. It was a bit windy too, and as a result, there were several windsurfers out on the lake.

In Austria, you drink a cappucino in the afternoon. In the nearby town of Gols, there was a delightful bakery with sweet treats and coffee.

Our final stop of the day was in Halbturn to see the palace there. When it was first built it was intended to be a hunting lodge!

Birthday treats in the evening to celebrate Ilse’s birthday.

Donnerstag

Today was another great day! We traveled again to Hungary to visit the Lace House in Hegyko and the Lace Museum in Hoevej - both in Hungary.

Our first stop was the Lace Museum. If you have followed my blog for a long time then you know that several years ago I met Mrs. Szigethy to see her lace and learn how it was done. Mrs. Szigethy died a few years ago, but her daughter maintains the Lace Museum in Hegyko, Hungary to honor her mother’s memory. I have a lot of pictures to share!

Take a close look at the picture I am pointing at. Do you recognize anyone in this picture? :)

Behind the Lace House is now a garden with all kinds of herbs. Some of them were blooming.

Behind the herb garden is a barn that houses all kinds of antique farming tools and equipment.

There is a house behind the barn that was for sale and they are renovating it. Perhaps it will be another exhibit in the future or just a place for guests to stay.

It was just a short walk to the Schnapps factory. It was warm inside and it smelled really good. It seems like a very small operation, but they supply schnapps to all of the restaurants in Hungary and have won many awards. I tasted one of the apricot schnapps!

After visiting the Lace House, we went to a neighboring village to have lunch. The Burgermeister restaurant! It was my lucky day - they had diet Pepsi! I had Cordon Bleu for lunch. The portions were so large; Martin ate some of my lunch.

We traveled then to Hoevej, about 14 miles away. My maternal grandfather’s father (my great grandfather) was born in Hoevej. Mrs. Szigethy was also born in Hoevej. This is where the Hoevej lace is made.

We stopped first to visit a woman who makes beautiful Hoevej lace. I may have met her once, but we mostly know each other via Facebook. Her mother also makes Hoevej lace. Her home was beautifully decorated with Hoevej lace everywhere.

After our visit we went to the Cszipke Muzeum (Lace Museum). Here, the work of many women from Hoevej who have made Hoevej lace is displayed.

While I was there, the Vice Mayor came and took a picture. I can’t imagine that they have visitors from America very often. Maybe I will be in the newspaper!

Sadly, our day had come to an end. It is about a 40 minute drive back to Tadten and we wanted to get back before it got dark. What a wonderful day!

A few more pictures -

The church in Hegyko (the Lace Museum is next to it.) Behind it is a school that has been renovated.

Delicious treats, including Linzer and Kipferl.

A phone booth in Hoevej!