The Great Hungarian Plain (Alföld in Hungarian) stretches from the Danube to the country’s eastern border. The Hungarian puszta (the word puszta means empty, bare, grassy plain) is a distant relative of the prairies, pampas and steppes - one of the most popular tourism destinations in Europe. This flat expanse occupies well over a third of Hungary’s entire area and is approximately the same size as another, more well-known, flat territory - Holland.

Painters and poet have been captivated by the vastness of the Alföld, as exemplified by Petöfi’s verse below. Travelers in bygone times also often recorded the spiritual-like-feelings they experienced when faced with the ocean-like extend of the plain. Join the optional dinner program at the Tanya Csárda in Lajosmize, on Wednesday, July 5, 2000 and discover the peasant, horse-breeding way of life with its folk traditions, which, together with the romantic isolation of much of the area is the charming attraction of the Alföld. Departure from the conference center at the Central European University by bus at 17.00. Price per person $65. Separate pre-registration required. (See registration form).