I’ve always considered the WACRA conference tours as a very special cultural and educational
experience. Perhaps you’ve been on a tour arranged by a travel agent. Or maybe you took advantage of
a tour arranged by an alumni organization or corporate sponsor. You may even have chosen to venture
off on your own seeking an international adventure. But I suspect, if you have ever taken a WACRA post
conference tour you will agree that it is a well- planned experience of discovery in terms of culture, cuisine,
people and geography. This year’s optional post conference tour of Hungary and Slovakia was no
exception. We came to know a historic land of the Danube river that was beyond our expectations and
certainly beyond anything we had read about in pre-conference brochures.
 
Thursday, July 6, 2000
We’re up early! The 7:00 A.M. breakfast at the Grand Hotel Hungaria in Budapest is a feast to behold. I
have sampled just about every item on the buffet on each of the days we’ve stayed in the hotel. But, this
morning is the beginning of a special event, the WACRA post conference tour. I settle on a full breakfast
of soft-boiled eggs, sausage, juice and rye toast at a special reserved table in the hotel’s grand restaurant.
The conversation at the table is spirited and stimulating. We’re all looking forward to a visit to the Eger
Valley. The Eger region is one of Hungary’s main wine-producing centers and the home of the
internationally famous Egri Bikaver (Bull’s Blood).

The luxury motor coach departs the hotel on schedule. There is plenty of room to stretch out and a wide
expanse of window to enjoy the Hungarian countryside. Our guide is well informed, has a good command
of the English language, and responds intelligently to our questions. This is an opportunity to reflect on a
successful WACRA meeting, enjoy the company of newfound friends, and experience the real Hungary.
The full day excursion to Eger includes a tour of the city’s main sites, an organ concert in the cathedral, and
lunch and wine tasting in the famous “Valley of the Beautiful Woman.”  We are told that every Hungarian
school child knows about Eger. In 1522 the women of Eger fought alongside 2000 soldiers in the castle and
in a heroic struggle managed to repel an attack by Turkish forces six times their strength. We all enjoy the
organ concert and visit to the cathedral, have an opportunity to shop in a delightful array of stores and have
lunch in a splendid restaurant. The food is wonderful. The wine tasting experience exceeds our
expectations. All the women look beautiful to me after the Bull’s Blood.

It is a long trip back to the Grand Hotel Hungaria in Budapest. I am seeking  solitude that night in the
Pizza Hut near the train station. Others enjoy sidewalk cafes in front of the hotels along the Danube. Still
others dine at Café Gundel, one of the grandest restaurants in this beautiful capital city.

Friday, July 7, 2000

We’re up early again. This time it’s not only to enjoy a lavish breakfast, but to make sure we’re properly
checked out of the hotel and our luggage is brought to the lobby. As usual, I’m one of the first on the bus
and promptly occupy a front seat. I don’t want to miss a thing during our departure from Budapest to
Visegrad, Esztergom (Danube Bend) and Györ. The guide points out a nudist beach, some remnants of
Soviet occupation in an abandoned military installation and post war housing projects constructed by the
Communists. The housing projects are similar to those I’ve seen in St Louis, Chicago, or Detroit. The guide
believes that the apartment buildings negatively altered the weather in Budapest. I find the sights on this
part of the tour especially interesting. We shop the rest of the morning away in the picturesque Artist village
of Szentendre on the shores of the Danube river.

Lunch this day is at the Renaissance Restaurant in Visegrad, Hungary at The Danube Bend. The Danube
Bend is the name given to the part of Hungary that lies along the Danube river to the north of Budapest.
The sight of the bend in the Danube river is certainly impressive and ranks, we are told, among the most
beautiful environments in Hungary. In the middle ages, Visegrad used to be a Royal Seat and had lively
court-life. At lunch we are invited to participate in the magical times of the Renaissance era. The waiters
serve us with a royal feast of venison soup, turkey legs and wonderful chocolate mousse desert served on
earthen crockery while musicians play lute music. We all are given crowns to celebrate the superb lunch.
I have fine photographs of two of the tour participants in full royal garments provided by the restaurant.
Following lunch, we appreciate the natural beauty of the area by visiting a fortification high in the hills over
looking the Danube. I seize the opportunity to buy a magnificent carved wooden eagle from one of the
artists who is demonstrating his craft at the location.

In the afternoon we visit Esztergom, a small town of 29,000 inhabitants. Esztergom is the most important
ecclesiastical center of Hungary, being the seat of the Archbishop of Esztergom who is also the Primate
of all of Hungary. The cathedral is monumental and impressive and is the largest church in Hungary. It
stands on a hill overlooking the Danube and beyond that of Slovakia. I am particularly impressed with the
guide’s lecture on the history of the area, the visit to the crypts with the tomb of Cardinal Mindzenty who
resisted the communists, sought refuge in the American Embassy where he spent years before he was
allowed to leave the country. And I am impressed by ... the unique WC. The keeper of the WC has filled the
rooms with bouquets of fresh picked flowers and provides an immaculate environment. For a change I am
glad to pay the fee.

We arrive in Györ as evening approaches. We stay at the modern Hotel Raba, dinner is at the Restaurant
Vaskakas, a short walk from the Hotel. It rains heavily! (The first and only time during the entire conference
including the pre- and post tours). I’m not an umbrella man, but for the first time I am glad I brought one
along. The evening meal is an interesting experience. We rearrange tables to accommodate our friendships.
We toast WACRA a number of times. We enjoy the food and the conversation. When we return to the hotel
the power is out, but no matter, most of us have splendid rooms and spectacular view of this city in the
center of Kisafold (Little Plain) at the junction of three rivers, the Danube, Raba, and Rabca.

Saturday, July 8, 2000

We’re up early, the power is back on, the sun is up on a beautiful day, and the hotel breakfast feast is
laid out before us. After breakfast we depart for Bratislava, Slovakia. Bratislava is on the north bank of the
Danube and at the foot of the little Carpathians. Crossing the border into Slovakia takes what seems forever,
but finally we are permitted to enter the country. Following money exchange, we meet a local guide who
gives us extended insights into the history of the area. We tour the castle, have lunch at Hradniha Vinaren,
a restaurant on the castle’s eastern terrace. Following lunch, we have a walking tour of Bratislava and tour
the palace. The rooms are magnificent and we are told this is the location of many secular weddings. One
is just concluding as we enter. Many of us want to shop even though it is a Saturday and late in the day.
Many of the shops are closed, but I am content to “people watch” with others in the square. There is a fine
assortment of lifelike bronze statues, including one of Napoleon sitting on a bench. Several people are
taking pictures. I watch with great amusement as a local tough enjoys sitting directly in front of the statue
discouraging others from taking photographs.

We depart for Vienna via an alternate route because of weight restrictions on the road. We cross the
Hungarian border again. It’s an easier passage this time and we arrive in Vienna for the last overnight at
the Hotel Alexander. The evening is free. I spend it enjoying dinner with friends in a popular restaurant.
As participants in this WACRA post conference tour we came to a deeper understanding of the land of
legends and history. Our experiences ranged from elegant and sophisticated to remarkable and charming.
As with all of the WACRA conferences, the post conference tour gave us another opportunity to develop
contacts between professors, policy-makers, professionals and business executives on an international
level and to experience and learn about the culture of other countries at the same time.

                                                                                                James W. Camerius, Northern Michigan University