The last two days have been so full, so extraordinary, so awesome that I have to break down the experience into a few different blog posts as I process the experience of traveling northeast from Budapest to the Tokaj region of Hungary to visit the region of my maternal ancestry. In this first post, I will simply show you some of the places we went, then later, give you a sense of what it was like to search for records and evidence of my ancestry.
For this research project, we hired a Jewish genealogist and tour guide named Karesz Vandor. I can’t speak highly enough about him, the depth of his knowledge, his facilitation, his enthusiasm and his kindness. He made this visit possible and special.
So first, here we are at the Hertz desk, renting a car.
The drive north is about two hours. Karesz drove, and we stopped along the way for coffee and to discuss a plan of action for our visit.
The area that the Friedman family comes from is quite agricultural, even today, and is known specifically for wine-making.
Here we stopped for lunch and to look at the vineyards.
The restaurant at the vineyard was very pretty and the food was exceptional.
Traditional catfish paprikas with curds and noodles, kind of like lasagna. We paired our meals with two of Hungary’s unique white wines. I really enjoyed the Furmint variety.
My favorite dessert of the whole trip so far, makos bobajka cake and custard and poppyseed topping, and poppyseed ice cream.
We spent the rest of the afternoon in Vamosujfalu, where my great grandparents lived. More on that in another post.
In the evening we arrived at the r40 guesthouse in the town of Mad. Mad is one of the most important locations for the Hasidic movement and has a restored synagogue that dates back to 1795. We visited the synagogue and the adjacent museum.
Torah is read in the middle of the room, rather than in the front
The rabbi’s study
The ark
R40 Guesthouse was my favorite place to stay so far. It was not as grand as the hotel in Konstantz, but it was a homey country-style inn with lots of room to meet with Karesz and talk about family heritage, politics, and life.
The entryway. Note the year 1794 on the top.
Breakfast room
Sitting room for guests, with a wine fridge. We tried some Harshlevalu wine in the evening. Not my favorite, but John loved it.
I loved the bathroom tile
And the seltzer bottle lamps next to our bedside.
And in the morning, the red leafy vines.
Even a place to sit on the porch.
Other than delicious meals and car time, however, we barely sat, as you will soon see…
