Rose-Adams Hungary 2025

 Thursday morning at 6am Budapest time, we took off in an A330 for Frankfurt and thence on an A340-300 for Dallas. The meals on Lufthansa were superb. Personally, my day was 25 hours long, awake. But we are home, happy, and ready for more (after we rest for few days). I snapped this in the lounge just to demonstrate that they are all still praying. Who to, I wonder?

Tuesday was expended driving from Graz to Budapest, a nominal 2-1/2-hour trip that only took 9 hours (traffic delays, missed turns, stoppages on the highway, etc.). But on Wednesday, we had our reward: lunch with our dear friend Szidonia Majaros, at a genuine traditional Hungarian restaurant in downtown Budapest. I had veal paprikash—superb!!

 Sunday and Monday we spent resting in a nice hotel in Graz, Austria. So, not many pictures. But this one is notable—an Irish Pub! (Pssst, we’re everywhere!)

 Because we sometimes encounter the weird and wonderful. I snapped this unusual sight: a chicken coop with solar panels. Who knows what they power?!

 On Saturday, Ellen and I drove from Salzburg to Ljubljana in Slovenia. The amazingly dramatic trip through the mountains was marred by a one-hour stoppage, during which I snapped this pic of where we had been: But otherwise, it was beautiful drive. In Ljubljana, visited the center of the city and saw city that was pristine—no trash, no litter, no graffiti. Modern, clean, and prosperous was the impression I came away with. When we left to drive to Mirabor for the night, I saw this rather eye-catching design for a church:

 Friday, we went into the old part of Salzburg and walk around a little. The whole are is under the shadow of the fortress. This is the Church of St. Cajetan, completed in 1696 (As an American, I never know how old anything is in Europe). An imposing structure. Kajetanerkirche Lunch nearby—a surprisingly good pizza! Traditional transport—used a lot longer than cars have been!

 We stopped here Thursday noon. Charming and delicious.

 Ellen and I drove from Tokaj with David Gier, stayed one night in Budapest, saw our dear friend Balazs Vegh in the morning, saw our pianist friend Adam Szokolay at lunch, and drove from Budapest to someplace in Austria, through heavy traffic and long construction delays to spend the night. Whew! Then Wednesday we drove to Salzburg to meet Andrjez Turkanik for lunch. Great time. Now we are relaxing at the Gastagwirt hotel in Eugendorf outside of Salzburg. Absolutely beautiful.  Here are some photos of the area: View behind the Gastagwirt View of the Wallersee The tiny town of Neufahrn View of the countryside 

My friend Jerry would not let me forget to post a picture that proves Tokaj has everything. Look carefully. It’s the Tokaj Yacht Club. Nothing more to be said.

 Here are a couple of interesting snaps in Tokaj:

 Thus we come to the end of the Crescendo Summer Institute for 2025, having renewed old friendships and made new ones. The presence of the Lord was felt throughout. The Godly leadership created a warm and uplifting atmosphere. I know that many hearts were touched. I hope that those who followed this blog will have an increased appreciation for Crescendo's mission and work.

The Gala Concert, marking the end of CSI this year, took place Sunday afternoon and presented the CSI orchestra performing Brahms' Symphony #4. It was wonderfully exciting, especially in the highly resonant synagogue building. As an encore, they played the third movement again--very energetic and very happy. The kids played well, led by the faculty.  

 On Sunday morning, there were several church services available in Tokai, all in Hungarian. For those of us who have not mastered enough Hungarian (that would be all the non-Hungarians at CSI), there was the option of attending the International Service. The Speaker was Bishop Rob who gave a wonderful sermon followed by communion.  

Saturday evening featured the Opera Scenes, which turned out to be a wonderful program of both dance and opera excerpts.  

 An impromptu Switzerland day observance:  Beat Rink speaking to the final Tune-IN Saturday morning:  Christian Radelhof:  Jeff Leigh -- Praise team:    Claudia Michaelsen -- Prayer team:  Dancers!  Iris Fiona Nikolaou:   Dr. Jim & Mary Jeane Kraft -- Trombone and triangle:  Our saxophonist --Praise team:    Andrea, our mistress of ceremonies for Tune-INs:  Brad Cawyer:  

  Ellen's student, Remy Sisman, performed Bach's Gigue from the third suite of unaccompanied violin works. Well done, Remy!  

 

 

      Ellen's favorite place  

 The Crescendo Choir, Tom Chevis, director,  began the Friday Tune-IN with a motet from Thomas Tallis and another contemporary work. The CSI Choir sang great.   David Gier and Christian Studler spoke.  David read from 1 Cor. 12 about the body of Christ, the Church, and spoke movingly about how Crescendo seeks to nourish the differing gifts.