Its Been Awhile!

Please forgive my hiding from you lately. Its not that you haven't been on my mind, I've just put off writing for the next day, and then the next, and then the next. Things have picked up steam and I seem to have less time than earlier in my residency. Three weeks ago I signed up for docent training at the Hungarian Museum of Fine Art. It is a time commitment - about 8 hours of lecture and study a week - but I love it!  Also, I'm leading an after school Art Club with middle and high school students in Diosd (a small town just south of Budapest.) This doesn't sound like a lot, but believe it or not, it basically eats up three days of work.

Also, to my happy surprise, the Hungarian Multicultural Center has decided to host an "end of residency" exhibit of my work at the Medosz Budapest on December 1st. So, I'm working like a mad woman getting pieces created and ready for display.

On Monday I decided to take my "artist within" for a little feeding, so I went to Margaret Island for a quiet walk. Margaret Island is located in the middle of the Danube in the middle of Budapest.  Its a natural "central park." The entire island is a covered with trails, a fountain, a soccer stadium, a huge swimming pool, a hotel, a zoo, etc.

One of the interesting stories about this island is that in the 12th century, King Béla IV was trying to repel the Mongol invasion and promised God that if he succeeded, he would give his daughter to His service.  He was successful and in turn sent his 9-year-old daughter (Margaret) to the island to live in a nunnery for the rest of her life.  (This sounds awful, but after the visiting this gorgeous island, it doesn't seem half bad.)  Margaret lived on the island until the end of her life - she died at age 29.  Here are a few pictures of what remains of the nunnery.

St. Gellért!

This is a statue of St. Gellért, an 11th century, Italian missionary invited to Hungary by King Stephen to convert the pagans to Christianity. The pagans weren't too keen on the idea and stuffed him in a barrel and rolled him down this hill and into the Danube at the bottom. 100 years later the people of Budapest felt terrible about it all and created a exquisite manmade waterfall as well as a gorgeous monument to him on the hill of his death.  Today the entire area is called Gellért Hill and hosts a wonderful art nouveau hotel, thermal baths, a citadel, and a church in a cave.

I've been in Budapest for awhile and yesterday I finally found the time and willpower to climb the hill and see it all for myself.  The hill is crisscrossed with scenic paths and benches to view the city on the other side of the river. What a perfect day weather wise - its a bit cooler here than in South Carolina, last night it got into the 30s. One of the trees outside my little apartment is bright orange and the leaves are starting fall.  I'm SO grateful to be here!

Two final photos from the top of Gellért Hill.  The first shows the Pest side of Budapest with its dense blocks of apartments, shops, and churches.  The second shows three of the five main bridges of Budapest.  This is looking north towards Vienna.  Come and see!