From the 16th to the 22nd of august 2015 the POLJANCI were on tour in Hungary. The first stop was Budapest. After a sightseeing-afternoon, we enjoyed the town on the Danube. In the Zwack-destillery, one of the biggest in Hungary, we got to know some of the different Palinka-products and could even taste them. The night was spent in the Puszta in the famous lodge „Gereby kurija“, a wellness-resort with swimming-pool , excellent restaurant and different sports-activities. At the horse-performance with the tipical „csikos“ in the Puszta we could ride on horses and go by carriage. In the little town Kalocsa, which lies in the sunnniest and hottest part of Hungary, we visited the paprika-museum and got to know how paprika is planted, dried and ground.
An old Hungarian proverb says that if you have salt and paprika, you don’t need any other spices in the kitchen. Although paprika was imported from America, the Hungarians were the first to grind paprika so that it can also be used powdered. In the museum we could also see Hungarian folk-costumes, agricultural equipment and spiritual vestments. Before we arrived at the festival, we also made a boat-trip on the river Theiss, the longest river in Hungary. From the 18th to the 20th of august the POLJANCI took part in the „XII. international folk-festival of Saint Steven“ in Abony and Kecskemét. Altogether 11 groups performed in different places. An enourmous number of spectators came to see the programme. The groups came from Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Austria and Hungary. Traditional folk-dances and folk-songs were presented. As most groups performed to music form the tape-recorder, the POLJANCI got an enormous applause becausse the dancers were accompanied by our tamburica-orchestre. The POLJANCI also performed at the 81st famous „Hirös het“, the „Famous week“ where vine-producers from all over Hungary came to Kecskemét to present their vine, famous Hungarian specialities and typical Hungarian handicraft. The beautiful young POLJANCI were so much liked that even the lift didn’t want to let them. Young men had to help them out of the lift.
On our way home, we visited the famous town Tihany with ist famous cloister and enjoyed swimming in Lake Balaton. The last stop was the famous porcelain manufactory Herend. The whole journey was interesting and enjoyabel so that the POLJANCI are already looking forward to the next festival.