Eger: Day 1

Eger, Hungary. The site of a three day site visit most graciously hosted by the Carpathian Foundation (www.karpatokalapitvany.hu, www.cfoundation.org). Eger, most famously known for its red and white wines as well as the Castle of Eger, boasts a very gorgeous downtown in addition to the fact that it's located next to the "Valley of the beautiful women." The perfect place to explore the nonprofit sector while enjoying some of the many wonderful things that Hungary has to offer.

Monday morning. 6:30 A.M. Full of flawless smiles and laughter, our little group proceeded to head to the train station to catch a 7:00 A.M. train to Eger from Budapest. A two hour train ride, our group spent the majority of the trip learning new Hungarian words and planning how the next few days would unravel. There may have also been some sleeping involved... Finally, we had arrived and were greeted with some amazing views...


As we walked off of the train we were met by a member of the Carpathian Foundation in Eger. Mrs. Boglarka Bata, or Bogi as she preferred to be called, gave us an extraordinarily warm welcome and along with her very kind husband brought us to the headquarters of the Foundation there in Eger. After a brief introduction between the members of our little group and the Carpathian crew(Aniko Magyar and Norbert Havasi), we were headed to tour the city.

Our first stop was the Castle of Eger. Perhaps one of the most famous castles in all of Hungary and home to over 400,000 visitors annually, the Castle of Eger gains its reputation as a symbol of Hungarian independence due to its role in the historically significant Siege of Eger. On our guided tour which included a private tour of the castle's museum we learned a great many things regarding the history of the castle and the history of Eger as a region. When the Ottoman Turks invaded Eger in 1552 a small army of 2,000 defenders from all parts of the Eger region were able to hold off an invasion force of over 40,000. After over a month of constant cannon fire, the Turks withdrew from Eger marking October 17th as a day of pride and celebration in the nation of Hungary. Concluded by a presentation
concerning the castle and its supporting projects (Friend Circle of Castle of Eger) which center on bringing together local nonprofits, we were ready to move on.

After a quick stroll through the center of the city we all sat down for lunch. After having a delicious meal and getting to know the members of the Carpathian Foundation a bit more we continued our tour of the city which included a quick visit to the Eger Minorite Church. Soon after this, the group visited the Civic House in order to further understand the role the Carpathian Foundation plays in helping local groups, organizations, and people. The Foundation is the member of the Carpathian Network operating within Romania, Hungary, Poland, Ukraine, and Slovakia. The Network was founded in 1995 to support the growth and stability of the Euroregion. The Carpathian Foundation–Hungary’s mission is to improve the quality of life of the communities living in the Carpathian region, preserving and utilizing the social, economic, ethnic, cultural and environmental values of the Hungarian part of the Carpathian region.

This meeting was followed by a quick tour of one of the many wine cellars of the region. Located directly outside the Cathedral, this particular wine cellar included a linguistically talented tour guide and an atmosphere that can be described as highly reminiscent of the Chamber of Secrets. Many Harry Potter jokes were made during this wine cellar tour...


After a long day of touring and learning, the members of the Budapest group 2011 and the members of the Carpathian Foundation, now lifelong friends, sat down together for a nice dinner in the Nice Women's Valley. The long day was now winding down, but this was still only day 1...