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| The Primatial Basilica of the Blessed Virgin Mary Assumed Into Heaven and St Adalbert |
Daniel took me away from the city to Esztergom.
The city is 28 miles northwest of Budapest where the Danube snakes west toward Austria, forming a natural border between Hungary and Slovakia. From the tenth to mid-thirteenth centuries, Esztergom was the country’s capital and is now the center for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese. Not much of a shock, then, that the highlight of our trip was a visit to the city’s church, which is also the tallest building in Hungary—The Primatial Basilica of the Blessed Virgin Mary Assumed Into Heaven and St. Adalbert.
I prefer to simply call it The Basilica.
Thinking of my post-college tour of Europe, feeling—like so many others—absolutely over-stimulated, and honestly quite bored of all the churches, I now have a new admiration for them. The grandeur of their marble floors and towering walls, the gold trimming and detailed artwork, is awesomely beautiful—though I can’t help but comment that the opulence is also ridiculously contradictory as a religious statement.
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| View from the dome. Slovakia is across the Danube to the left. |
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| My favorite: Esztergom’s train schedule back to Budapest |
Coincidentally, I found myself a couple of weeks later in St. Stephen’s Basilica for an evening concert, Ave Maria. It was the ideal night for it. The organ made the floors tremble while a raging lightening storm flashed surreally through the glass dome high above the altar. Listen to the pieces here!
Although this country is gorgeous and full of fabulous and kind people (particularly Daniel’s friends), I have discovered an element of life here I don’t think I will ever get used to. I’ve read expat interviews in English magazines, as well as heard from others I’ve met, that Hungarians don’t smile enough. I absolutely agree. It’s like the lady at the bakery thinks I’m an idiot for grinning at her in happy appreciation for the fresh loaf of bread I just purchased. Smiles are not contagious here, which is clear from the cold stare I usually receive in return.
So it cracked me up when my Hungarian residency paperwork could not be processed because my smile was too big in my digital ID photo. Even the computer frowns upon such apparently indecent expressions of good cheer, and I was forced to again wait in line and retake my picture. And although I attempted a “smaller” smile, the clerk told me to stop showing my teeth altogether.
Whatever.
Read Amrit's full blog article at http://www.amritchima.com/Amrit_Chima/My_Blog__Whatever_That_Means/Entries/2011/7/31_Entry_1.html
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