Esztergom is a beautiful city in northern Hungary, thirty miles north-west of the capital Budapest. Lying on the right bank of the river Danube, which forms the border with Slovakia, Esztergom was the capital of Hungary from the tenth until the mid-thirteenth century when King Béla IV of Hungary moved the royal seat to Buda.
Its cathedral, the largest church in Hungary, is 118 metres long and 49 metres wide with a reverberation time of more than nine seconds. Its stunning copper clad dome, forming a semi-sphere, is situated in the middle; it is 71.5 metres high inside, making it one of the tallest domes in the world.
The huge crypt, built in Old Egyptian style in 1831, is today the resting place of late archbishops, among others, József Mindszenty, famous for his opposition to both Nazi and Communist rule.
I wander the town a little before heading to the river bridge; the Mária Valéria Bridge, of incredible construction, joins Esztergom in Hungary and Štúrovo in Slovakia, across the River Danube; the bridge is some 500 metres in length. Since its opening on 28 September 1895, the bridge has been destroyed twice.
First, on 22 July 1919 by a detonation at its first pier on its western side but the bridge was renovated in 1922 and completely reconstructed in 1926. Second, during World War II, retreating German troops blew up the bridge on 26 December 1944 along with other bridges near Esztergom. Decades of intransigence between the Communist governments of Hungary and Czechoslovakia meant that the bridge was not rebuilt until the new millennium, finally reopening on 11 October 2001.
My WizzAir home is scheduled for 19:30 hrs which gives me time to meet up with my great friend, František Dorna; I first met ‘Frank’ a number of years ago; an extraordinarily kind and generous man and a wonderful trumpet player. His talents have no bounds, including being a multi award winning vintner. Frank lives in Nána, a small village just outside of Štúrovo in Slovakia.
We enjoyed a catch-up breakfast of sausage and bread before a tour of his vast vegetable garden. And then, we headed to his micro-vineyard (today’s picture); here is like paradise on earth, the vineyard rising steeply on the back slope of the Mužla hills. The vista from the top; the colours determined by the season of the year; spring-time, bright yellow rape fields; summer, the greens and browns of the vineyard and the farmers’ fields; the vivid reds and oranges of autumn; the frost white days of winter. I never tire of visiting my ‘paradise on earth’.
Frank and I sat and talked before heading home for lunch. A car journey to the Ezstergom station for the 14:35 hrs to Budapest Nyugati, arriving 15:39 hrs. Only a brief encounter but a very special and kind friend.
From Budapest Nyugati, I retraced my steps to the airport; Metro 3 to Kőbánya-Kispest station; from there, the 200E bus to the airport. I looked at my watch; it was 16:55 hrs; I was sitting in Departures at 17:10 hrs; no nonsense. We boarded Flight W6 2217 on time and began to push-back on time; crack, snap; the pilot spoke; ‘I’m sorry, the tow-bar on the push back truck has ‘snapped’; we must wait for a new one’.
A short delay; away we went; home; tired, yes; a head filled with memories, yes.
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