Fishes, Vicious, Wishes

Well the conference is over and I’m in the Aggtelek Nemzeti Park (Aggtelek National Park) for two days. Sándor, who works for the park and who also attended the conference, drove me up here today. We stopped by a grocery store on the outskirts of Miskolc to pick up some food for me for breakfasts and dinners. As we got farther from the city the villages became smaller and smaller. The nearest village (where Sándor lives) is inside the park and has a population of 200. We drove by the last horse-drawn cart in town. This sure is a different world! I’m staying in the hotel in the park, which is in the Swiss style and is absolutely beautiful. Since it’s the off season I am the only guest here now, so I have the whole place to myself! For the next two days Sándor will take me around the area to see several bat roosting sites, including some in caves, mines, and churches. I can’t wait!

 

The view from my hotel room in the Aggtelek National Park.

 The entrance to the hotel.

Now for a recap of the conference. It began on Friday afternoon with a fieldtrip to two caves in the Bükk Mountains. I joined 15 other participants in front of the main building of the university and we headed off on a small bus to the first cave. The entrance to the cave was quite a hike up a big hill, and I was exhausted by the end of the climb! The forest was very much like forests in Ohio or other parts of the US. It felt and smelled much more like home than Australian forests. Once at the entrance we learned about the cave and the bats that occupy it. Most of the others spoke English to some degree, except for several of the older folks. However, the presenter spoke in Hungarian first and then someone translated into English. We learned that there used to be thousands of Miniopterus schreibersii (of which the Southern Bent-wing Bat is a subspecies) and Horseshoe Bats (Rhinolophus sp.) in the cave, but in the 1980s some vandals disturbed the cave and the Miniopterus never came back. Now there are only a few bats in the cave. We got to go inside and look around (without helmets because as the leader said “This is not America”). The second chamber was very large and beautiful, with the highest point at 21 meters. We saw several bat species: Miniopterus schreibersii, Mediterranean Horseshoe Bats (Rhinolophus euryale), Greater Horseshoe Bats (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum), and Mouse-eared Bats (Myotis myotis). My first glimpse of European bats!

 

  A horseshoe bat (not sure which species).

 A horseshoe bat wrapped in its wings and sleeping.

 Miniopterus schreibersii!!!

The second cave we visited was much smaller and narrower, but we still saw several bats. Inside the cave there was a slippery step down, and one of the men in the group offered me his hand to help me down. All the men also hold the door open for the women, and even open and close the car doors for them. It’s such an old-fashioned/European thing to do!

After our two cave visits we had dinner in a cute little restaurant in the mountains. The food was delicious! We had chicken schnitzel with ham and some yummy cheese, fries, and rice, and for dessert we had a traditional Hungarian dessert called palacsinta, which is like a crepe filled with nut paste and covered in chocolate sauce and icing sugar. I was already stuffed when that came out, but there’s always room for dessert!

 

The cute restaurant where we had dinner before mist netting. 

Once we were thoroughly stuffed, we headed off to mist net for bats. We joined several others who had already set up a net in front of a closed-off mine entrance. We waited and waited in the chilly night and finally caught two male Bechstein’s Bats (Myotis bechsteinii). That was definitely the highlight of my day.

 A Bechstein’s Bat (Myotis bechsteinii), my first European bat catch.

Saturday was the official beginning of the conference. It opened with a welcome drink, a.k.a. champagne at 10:00 in the morning. Good thing I had eaten enough breakfast! Then the presentations started. Most of the presenters spoke in English and then someone translated into Hungarian. I was a bit nervous because I had been told there would be no translations, so I had not budgeted translating time into my talk. My talk was the last one before lunch. I was surprisingly not nervous at all, and rather enjoyed having my talk translated. It makes you slow down and gives you time to think about what you are going to say next. I think it went well but I was glad to have it out of the way so I could relax for the rest of the conference.

 

Opening the conference with champagne and bat cookies.

We ate lunch in the student buffet and then drove to Lillafured, a very cute touristy town, to take a guided tour of St. Istvan Cave. Our guide spoke in Hungarian and someone from our group translated into English. The cave was absolutely beautiful. The main chamber had a 20 meter high ceiling and a stunning “waterfall” formation, as well as other cave formations like “cave bacon”, stalagtites, and stalagmites. In one chamber was a pond called the “Wishes Pond.” I couldn’t understand what the translator was saying, and thought he said Fishes Pond, and then Vicious Pond, before I realized he was saying Wishes Pond. Ahh the joys of English! St. Istvan Cave is used as a therapeutic cave for bronchitis patients. The park and the local hospital have a partnership and patients are brought into the cave twice a day for therapy. The environment inside the cave is perfect for bronchitis patients: the air is cool with nearly 100% humidity and no dust or particles. What an interesting therapy! Six species of bat use St. Istvan Cave. Apparently the White-nose Syndrome fungus (Geomyces destructans) has been found on bats in this cave. Yikes. I definitely won’t be wearing anything I had on in any other caves!

 In St. Istvan Cave.

On the way home from the cave we stopped at an ice cream place in Diosygor, which in the summer has about 70 flavors and apparently has the best ice cream in Hungary. I got the flavor that was voted/chosen the best flavor in Hungary: apple and poppy seed. It had chunks of what tasted like apple pie in a vanilla base, plus poppy seeds. Very very delicious! 

  So many flavors to choose from!

Our final activity of the evening was a DVD about the bats in the region. It was in Hungarian so I had no idea what they were saying, but the videos of the bats were amazing (one video showed a mother Horseshoe bat giving birth upside-down, and another showed an older pup hanging from its mother’s fur and grooming itself). After the DVD I went with Sándor and a couple from Austria into Miskolc to get dinner. We ate at a nice restaurant with traditional Hungarian food. The most expensive thing on the menu was about AUD$16, and what I got (soup with a baguette and onion rings) was about AUD$4. Nice! We had a great conversation about bats (of course) and then headed back to the university.

Today we listened to the poster presentations and then had the closing celebration, with an assortment of Hungarian and French finger food. I had a wonderful time at the conference, and enjoyed getting to know everyone. It was a small conference, with about 30 people in total. The others were from Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, Germany, and Transylvania. I was the only one from outside Europe. Today when we were all saying our goodbyes, one of the others asked me what had drawn me to a small conference in Hungary all the way from Australia. I replied that I saw it as a great opportunity to meet some European bat researchers and see what kind of research is going on in the area (and also to travel to a new place!). I would not have been able to attend without the help of the Cybec Foundation, which provided a small grant to cover the costs of attending, so I must give them a big “Thank You.” After attending this conference, I have become even more interested in attending a conference that focuses on ecosystem services and bats and incorporates social sciences and policy. I’m going to have to see if there are any conferences coming up that I could possibly attend!

  Just to prove I was actually at the conference.

Note: Hungarians drive on the right side of the road. I have learned that only a few countries drive on the left side. So to all those who have told me that Americans are crazy for driving on the right, you are wrong. Most of the world does drive on the right!

Several Hungarian words I have learned:

Hi = szia

Thank you = köszonöm

Twenty (my room number at the university) = húsz

 

Miskolc, Old and New

I have been in Hungary for two full days now, and it’s been a busy two days. Yesterday and today were my only chances to tour around and see the city and the sights, since the bat conference starts tomorrow (Friday) and I leave for the Aggtelek National Park on Sunday after the conference ends.

Wednesday was a PERFECT day for touring. When I left around 11:30am it was a bit cool out, but by the mid-afternoon it was gorgeous: sunny and in the upper 70s. My goal for the day was to walk around the city and see what there was to see, and to look for some souvenirs. I took the bus into the city (it’s about a 15 minute drive from the university to the city center) and then walked from there. The area around the center has an older feel to it, with many cute shops and lots and lots of bakeries. I grabbed an ice cream cone for 170 HUF (Hungarian Forint), which equates to about AUD 66 cents. Because all the flavors were in Hungarian, I just picked one that looked good. It was called Mák, which I later found out was poppy. It had a strange taste (sweet with a little bite), but I enjoyed it.

 The Miskolc city center. 

A beautiful building façade.

 

 Looking down a pedestrian path.

 It’s funny how they still have stop signs with the English word “Stop”.

For lunch I grabbed a baguette/sandwich from a bakery, which cost me 470 HUF (or AUD$2.06). Food around here seems pretty cheap! I have no idea what things are or how to pronounce anything, so I’ve been doing a lot of pointing, nodding, and smiling. It’s very weird not to be able to make small talk. That’s something I enjoy doing and I’m not able to do it here. I can’t even understand what people around me are saying. As I mentioned before, it’s like I’m in my own little bubble. Some people do speak some English, but many of the shop owners and workers don’t seem to speak any, at least from what I’ve encountered. I’ve also realized that I have no idea what I’m looking for in terms of souvenir shops. I don’t know any Hungarian words so the shop signs could have in big bold letters “Souvenirs!” and I wouldn’t know. I was very careful to look into every shop window to see if they had anything I wanted. It was definitely a day of window shopping! I found a nice porcelain spoon with Miskolc written on it for my spoon collection, and a few other trinkets. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to find any real souvenir-type shops, so that kind of shopping might have to wait until Budapest (I’m hoping I’ll have enough time before my flight next Wednesday to go to the main market and shop a little).

While strolling along the streets I kept my eye out for any attractions to visit. I ended up going through the Theatre History and Actors’ Museum, which cost AUD$1.76. I was the only person there so they opened it up for me. It was neat to see the history of theater in Miskolc. The guide book had an English translation, so I could at least understand the exhibit. 

 
Puppets used for the production of Aladdin. 

 A lovely costume. 

After walking through the old part of the city I got to the newer part, where there was a McDonald’s, a grocery store, and other more modern amenities. I went through the Miskolc Plaza, which was like a mall with all the big chain stores like H&M. I stopped at a grocery store to buy a few food supplies so I don’t have to go into the city every time I want food. In the evening a small thunderstorm rolled through, which was so awesome. I don’t think I’ve experienced a thunderstorm the entire time I’ve been in Australia, and I really miss them!

 They’re everywhere! Apparently they’re also called “McReggeli” in Hungary.

Today, Thursday, was not such a great day for touring. It was rainy, cold (in the mid-50s), and miserable. However, I was determined to go see the Castle of Diósgyőr, a Gothic castle built in the 14th and 15th centuries in the place of a castle from the 12th century that was the engagement present of the queens for centuries. After Skyping with Chris (my favorite person in the world :P ), I headed off for the castle. It took me a 20 minute tram ride from the city center to get there, plus a few minutes walking down a beautiful tree-lined street in the town of Diósgyőr. By the time I got there both my feet were soaking wet. My left shoe for some reason now has a leak in it, and I accidentally stepped in a puddle while taking a picture. Despite being sopping wet, I enjoyed the castle tour. I was the only person there (it must have been because of the rain) so I had the whole place to myself to look around. There were several exhibits inside the castle, including an exhibit about the history of the place and a weaponry and armory exhibit. It was really neat to think I was standing where kings and queens had stood before.

 

The Castle of Diósgyőr.

 Inside the castle. 

  

 

 The view of Diósgyőr from the top of the castle.

 A reproduction of one of the counts’ child-arm. The upbringing for a knight’s life began very young (at about 7 or 8), but only the aristocrats’ children had the possibility to get used to the uncomfortable armor this young. A knight’s equipment was very expensive, usually about the yearly income of a village. 

(Note: I'm sorry about the line spacing of the next three paragraphs. Blogger is being glitchy and I'm tired of trying to format it correctly.)

After my tour, I walked through the small town around the castle. I had passed the American Burger Bar earlier and decided to have lunch there to see what their take on American burgers was. I ordered the Texas burger. Again, I could not read what the ingredients were so I chose based on the name. Since I’ve been to Texas I figured I had something to compare it to. Other choices included the Las Vegas Burger, the Philadelphia Burger, the Arizona Burger, and the Tennessee Burger, to name just a few. The Texas burger was quite delicious. It consisted of a burger, red kidney beans, corn, tomatoes, cheese, sour cream, and ketchup on a ciabatta bread bun. Very yummy!

 

With a full stomach, I headed back to the university and walked around to get my bearings for the conference tomorrow. It's a beautiful campus, with many trees and open green spaces. It's about the size of Ohio Wesleyan (it takes about 15 minutes to walk across campus). The buildings are relatively new for the area; I think they were built in the 1950s. In many of the buildings there is not much lighting, or at least they don't keep all the lights on in the hallways. Everything seemed a bit dark.

 

 

An interesting painting inside one of the university buildings. 

 

I'm getting really excited for the start of the conference tomorrow. We meet at 1:00pm to head off on our field trip to the Bukk Mountains, where we will mist net for bats and learn about other bat study skills. I'm really excited to see some European bat species! It's supposed to be a relatively warm (upper 60s) and dry day, so we should get some bats. I give my presentation on Saturday, so wish me luck!

 

 

The Beginnings of a Hungarian Adventure

I’m in Hungary!!! I’m sitting in my room at one of the dorms of the University of Miskolc, about two hours from Budapest. I can hear the loud music thumping in rooms above and below me and I can hear students talking. I feel like I’m right back in the college scene. I also feel like I’m still moving, which makes sense as I’ve been on a plane or other mode of transportation for the majority of the past 48 hours. And those 48 hours have been quite long and tiring! I haven’t slept a wink during that time and I’ve had some interesting adventures!

My mind is swimming with so many thoughts and experiences already, and it’s a bit hard to concentrate because I’m so exhausted. However, I wanted to get this post out tonight so the memories are still fresh in my mind. Then it’s shower time (I feel so gross) and bed time. I cannot wait for that!

So my journey began at 12:45pm on Monday, September 17 (Adelaide time) when Chris dropped me off at the airport. He saw me off through security and then I proceeded through customs/immigration. Then I boarded my plane to Kuala Lumpur, the first of three flights for the trip. On this flight the attendants came around with cups of beer asking if we’d like any. It was a standard beverage on offer. That was a bit weird! I did not partake of any alcohol, as I figured I’d be tired enough without it by the end anyway.

My next flight was from Kuala Lumpur to Amsterdam, which was a much longer flight than I expected. It was 12 hours long. Of course I was sandwiched between people in the very middle of the plane. I HATE middle seats. I love window seats. Unfortunately none of my seats on this journey were window seats. It made me realize just how important that is for me when I travel. A big part of why I enjoy flying is because I enjoy looking out the window and watching the landscape change, and then watching as we descend into a new place. Without that the journey seemed quite boring and tedious. Because I didn’t have that to spice up the trip, everything seemed a bit harder. I had to go through TONS of lines throughout the trip, and let me just say that these lines were nowhere near as fast as lines in the US or Australia. I spent most of the time during my layovers standing and waiting. Not fun.

 Imagine my surprise when I walked into the bathroom stall at the Kuala Lumpur airport. I’ve never seen a pit toilet in a place like an airport!

While waiting in the Amsterdam airport for my flight to Budapest, I swear I heard my name called over the loudspeaker. The announcer called my name and told me to report to a certain gate because the flight was waiting for me. The weird thing was that the flight was to Frankfurt, which I was definitely not going to. I spoke with an airport staff member and she told me to ignore it. I’m pretty sure there were two Kristen Lears in the airport that day!

After an hour and a half flight from Amsterdam to Budapest, I collected my bag and made my way out of the airport. I debated whether to get an airport minibus shuttle directly to the main train station in the city (where I would get a train to Miskolc) but I decided not to. Despite being exhausted, I wanted the challenge of finding my way there myself on public transportation. I probably would not have done this before Sarah’s visit, but after finding our way through Melbourne on public transportation I’ve gotten a better (although not perfect) grasp of how it all works. So off I went, first on a bus from the airport, then on two Metro lines, and finally an intercity train to Miskolc. I ran into an Irish couple traveling through and the lady remarked that she was impressed that I was doing that alone and that she admired me. Wow! I was really proud of myself for taking that step out of my comfort zone. Of course it took longer to get to the train station than it would have if I had taken the airport shuttle, but I’m glad I took the hard route. I rewarded myself with ice cream while waiting for the train. It was a perfect day for ice cream: sunny, warm, and slightly breezy. While waiting for the train I people-watched, which made me realize I really am a foreigner here. I speak no Hungarian whatsoever, and many of the older people here don’t speak much, if any, English. It was a bit of an isolating feeling, especially since I am traveling alone and have nobody to talk things through with. I’ve done a lot of watching other people to see what they do in certain situations. Even though I can’t read some of the signs I can still pick things up from others. I’m taking this as another learning experience. It made me realize how “easy” I have it doing a Fulbright in Australia. I can’t imagine having done a Fulbright in a country where I don’t really know the language.

My brief look at Budapest. The buildings are old and beautiful.  

 

Inside the Budapest-Keleti train station.

As the train pulled out of the city (by the way, they drive on the right side of the road in Hungary) I watched the scenery change from graffiti-covered walls in the city to fields and fields of farming. I even saw some bats flying around along the tracks! Most of the little villages we passed were quite dilapidated. Miskolc is relatively large, with about 170,000 people, and from what I saw of it while passing through today it has both old and new aspects. I’m looking forward to exploring it tomorrow after a good night’s sleep. When I got off the train a nice young lady helped me get on the tram and to my bus stop. Her name was Ursula, and she is a PhD student studying linguistics. She offered to help me without me even asking, which was really nice. She rode on the tram with me so I’d find my way. What a great gesture!

I arrived at the university around 7:00pm and checked into my room at the “Uni-Hotel”. They gave me my key and I went and started to settle in. About 20 minutes later a security guard came to my room and said something in Hungarian, which I didn’t understand. She called the front desk and I spoke with them on the phone, since they speak English. Apparently I was not supposed to be in that room, and instead in another building entirely. I had to pack up quickly because the real guest was there and waiting. I was so frustrated. I was exhausted, thirsty, hot, and now I was being kicked out of my nice room. I had to haul my crap up the hill to another building, where the attendant spoke no English and said I didn’t have a reservation. Luckily a student overheard and came to my rescue. She translated for me and eventually we got things sorted out (I did have a reservation but the guy hadn’t seen it). She helped me get a towel since I didn’t bring one (I had specifically asked the conference organizers if towels were provided and they had said yes). After much stress and craziness I’m finally settled in. I’m not sure how easy it will be to go to sleep, because although I’m super tired there’s also the blaring music from other rooms, including the one right next to mine. Thank God I have good earplugs.

Okay, it’s now 9:45pm. I’m off to shower and go to bed. Nothing sounds more appealing than that right now. I’ll try to update on my adventures while here, but no promises. Don’t worry, if I can’t do it here I’ll write all about it when I’m home! Wish me lots of fun!

 

Being a Tourist in My Own Town

On Sunday I joined my friend Amber and her family and about 60 other citizens of Naracoorte in being tourists for the day. The occasion was the opening of the two new town entrances. In keeping with the Naracoorte Caves entrance and the fact that the caves are a big tourist attraction, the new entrances focused on the megafauna found in the caves. The north town entrance, where the opening ceremony was held, was a steel sculpture of the skeleton of a Diprotodon (Giant Wombat). The southern entrance was two steel sculptures of the skeletons of two Thylacoleo (Marsupial Lions).

About 60 people gathered in the BEAUTIFUL weather for the unveiling of the Diprotodon. The local Scout group (not to be confused with Boy and Girl Scouts in the US) and several key Naracoorte citizens helped pull off the sheet covering the sculpture. It was neat to be part of a significant local event like that.

After the unveiling everyone piled into their cars and drove out to the caves for afternoon tea and a free cave tour. Amber and I stopped at the Thylacoleo sculptures to get our picture taken. Then we headed out to the caves. The café was crowded with everyone wanting the warm homemade scones with jam and cream (yum!). One (of many) things the Caves Café does well is making delicious unique food, made with local and often home-grown ingredients. Their scones are one of my favorite things. The café also has an attached gift shop, which is going to be my downfall as I prepare to go home. There are so many neat things in there, like bat paraphernalia and local arts and crafts, that the temptation is just too much. But I figure I’ve been living here and been a part of this community for over a year, and my time here has been one of the most special times in my life, so I don’t feel too bad getting a few nice things that I will cherish forever. 

Waiting for the unveiling of the Diprotodon (known as the Giant Wombat) sculpture.. 

In front of the Diprotodon sculpture.   

 Amber and me with the Thylacoleo (Marsupial Lion) sculptures. 

 Welcome to Naracoorte, Home of World Heritage fossil caves.