Sept 30 -- Kalocsa, Hungary

This morning dawned cold and misty. We bundled up and headed out on a trip into the interior. Our first stop was the Paprika Museum, hosted by a very energetic old woman. This is where most of the paprika in the world comes from and there are at least 7 varieties, unlike the one or maybe two we see at home.

Our next stop was a village house museum, where we were treated to an exposition of traditional dance and local handicrafts. One woman was using an old Singer treadle sewing machine to create lacy centers in fabric that had strategically placed holes cut into it. She stitched back and forth across the hole twice and then zigzagged narrowly down the two lines of stitching she had just created. It must take forever to do the entire piece. They also displayed lovely hand embroidery on the lacy pieces. We visited a home typical of the old times – there were only two windows on the front and one main chimney because homes were taxed based on windows and chimneys. There were 3 rooms all together. The center room was the kitchen with a chimney. The other two rooms had heating enclosures that vented sideways to the central chimney. The walls of the ‘parlor’ were covered with the same types of colorful floral designs we saw on the embroidery. 

Our last stop was a Hungarian horse farm that also featured some of the unique animals of Hungary: grey cattle with long horns like the Texas variety, and curly haired pigs. They put on a horse show that included their use of a jointed whip. The riders had very loose pants and sleeves and all but the horsemaster rode bareback. The horsemaster’s saddle was not attached with a cinch, just sat on top of the horse. They demonstrated making the horses sit like dogs and then lay down, as well as showing their expertise with the whip. All this would have been much more enjoyable if it hadn’t been raining and windy. We were served unimpressive wine and WERE under roof, but it was mighty cold!

After lunch, the boat set sail for Croatia and our next stop.