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.

November 1: The Day I Return to the US

It’s official: I’m going home on November 1. I’ve booked my plane tickets home and now just have to figure everything else out, like how to pack everything, how to transfer money from my Australian bank account to my account back home, etc. Also, I’ve been having a bit of bad luck with some plans falling through. The first thing is that the people who had agreed to buy my car when I leave have changed their mind, not because of my car or anything but because by the time the girl (who is now 14) can start driving in two years she’ll have a lot of money saved up and can buy a “real” car. I completely understand their decision, but now I’m left with less than two months to find somebody to buy my car, and I’m out of the country for two weeks during that time. I’m resorting to telling everyone I know that I’m selling so they can keep their ears open for anyone expressing interest in a cheap car. I’ll also be posting For Sale signs in the two local grocery stores, as well as putting signs up inside my car. I had really been looking forward to having an easy sale and not having to do all that stuff, but I guess now I’m left with no other choice.

The other thing that has fallen through is the continuation of my project once I leave. The person who was going to come out for the summer and continue taking emergence counts has said they can no longer come for the whole summer, only for two weeks. It’s good that they can still come for part of it, but I really really don’t want this project to fizzle once I leave. I will be training three members of the Friends of Naracoorte Caves in how to run the cameras and analyze the counts, but they won’t be able to take counts as regularly as they should be taken. Hopefully I and the park manager can figure something out before I leave. My research has shown that regular monitoring (as in several times per week) is needed to get an accurate population count at Bat Cave. If we want to be able to make accurate population estimates and determine how the species is doing over the years, regular monitoring over several years is needed.

On a happier note, I’ve been thinking about what I’m looking forward to once I get home. Some of the things I’m looking forward to (besides the obvious of spending time with friends and family) are:

1. Making and eating those Pilsbury cookies that come in tubes
2. Chipotle!
3. Having legitimate dill pickles
4. Eating at the Ethiopian restaurant in Columbus where my college roommates and I frequented
5. Snow!
6. Graeter’s Black Raspberry Chip ice cream
7. UDF Hot Fudge Sundae (with nuts)
8. Confetti cake
9. Toaster Streudels
10. IHOP (Cinnastacks pancakes)

Very simple things but things I’ve realized I miss, or at least miss having the option of them. I know I’m going to be extremely sad to leave Australia, but I am getting excited to go home, especially the closer it gets. It will be nice to be home for awhile while I apply to grad schools. I think the time home will (hopefully) help me clarify whether I want to go to grad school in the US or Australia. There are lots of great opportunities in both places. I guess I’ll see where my heart and mind take me!

Playing Farmer For a Day

On Thursday Tom and I went to visit Dannielle’s emu farm, about 45 minutes from Naracoorte, to play farmer for a day. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t the best: it went from being warm (mid-70s) and sunny on Monday to WINDY, rainy, and cold (low 50s) on Thursday. Luckily the rain held off for most of our visit, so we could still go out and experience what it’s like to be a small farmer. Dannielle’s family has over 200 goats (and their kids), about 100 cattle, about 15 emus, and 200 sheep. All the animals roam around different paddocks on their quite-large property.

When Tom and I arrived Dannielle took us to see some of the kids (goat babies) first. When she called out to them they perked up and came running while making the funniest yelling sound I’ve ever heard. These goats were “pet” goats (a.k.a. they won't be sold and eaten) so had become attached to Dannielle. So cute!

 Dannielle with three of the “pet” goats.

Then it was on to feed the emus. Compared to the emus Sarah and I saw at Cleland Wildlife Park, these ones were very tame and friendly. They came right up to eat out of the bucket.

 Feeding an emu, with a goat wanting some too.

When the emus (and goats in the emu yard) had had their fill, we headed off on the quad bike down to another paddock to see the herd of goats. They were quite curious little buggers! On the way back in I got to have a go at driving the bike. It was a manual so my shifting was a bit off, but it was still a blast!

 

One of the curious little goats checking out the quad bike.

 

The next item on the agenda was feeding the cows in the paddock. This required picking up some bales of hay with the forklift (Dannielle’s dad did that part), driving the ute out to the paddock, and hand-feeding the cows. Dannielle’s family hand-feeds the cows from a young age and teaches them to come to the ute for feeding so that the herd is calmer and more manageable. Plus it’s fun!

The three of us (Dannielle, Tom, and I) stood on the back of the ute with the hay while Dannielle's dad drove us out. The wind was quite intense and by the time we got out there my ears were numb. When we drove out into the paddock, Dannielle yelled for the cows to come, and come they did. All 20 or so of them gathered around the ute and gladly took the hay out of our hands. They were a bit skittish if we moved quickly, but for the most part very friendly and calm. One, named Bubbles, let us pet her. She was amazingly soft, much softer than I remember cows being.

Tom and me riding on the back of the ute on the way to the cow paddock.

 Hand-feeding the cows.

 Petting Bubbles the cow.

On the way back to the house we stopped briefly to feed the goats and another group of cows. We also stopped to feed and water a cow that was paralyzed in the back legs after giving birth. Apparently it’s not uncommon for a cow to get paralysis after birth. Most of the time they recover, but sometimes they don’t. I hope this one (which Dannielle and her family nicknamed “Bitch” because she’s quite grumpy) recovers soon.

 Attack of the hungry goats!

We made it back to shelter just as the rain rolled in and the skies opened up. The goats hate the rain so they all ran for cover as soon as the first raindrop fell. We relaxed inside for a bit and had some hot Milo (a malted barley drink kind of like Ovaltine) while listening to Dannielle’s dad regale us with his hog hunting adventures. Hogs are a big problem here like they are down in Texas, so people go out hunting them. He showed us photos of their hunt and their kills, and boy those hogs are huge! I definitely wouldn’t want to cross paths with an angry one. During these types of hunts people also try to kill rabbits, foxes, and cats. These animals have destroyed the Australian landscape and led to the decline (and in some cases demise) of numerous species of native Australian animals. Rabbits and foxes are often in plague proportions and they do need to be culled, as “sad” as that may seem.

Before Tom and I left we had one more thing to see: the shearing shed out back. Dannielle’s dad said he had seen bats in there recently, so of course I wanted to check it out. We looked in the cracks and crevices and finally found four roosting Lesser Long-eared Bats (Nyctophilus geoffroyi) snuggled in the folds of a hanging burlap bag. That find made my day complete.

Playing farmer for a day was a wonderful experience, but I don’t think I could live the lifestyle fulltime. I love animals, I love being outdoors, but I prefer wildlife and wilderness to farm animals and paddocks. Farming is a hard lifestyle and I admire those who do it. Hats off to Dannielle and her family!

 Lesser Long-eared Bats roosting in the folds of a hanging burlap sack.

 Unrelated to the post but share-worthy: a Crimson Rosella that flew into the glass door of the bunkhouse. It was stunned for awhile but eventually well enough to release again.