European Division Convention
The trip we have been waiting for, Cassi and I waited for Deluxe Taxi on the morning of Tuesday, May 11, we had waited an hour. After many phone calls, a large taxi van arrived. We had wanted to get to the airport early since we had no seat assignment from Salt Lake City to Paris, even after several attempts by Delta’s website and phone. When we arrived, the Delta kiosk would not check us in, then our bag was too heavy, so we had to transfer some of the gifts into the other bag, then they still couldn’t give us a seat assignment for Salt Lake to Paris, not even a boarding pass, this worried me. They said to ask at the gate. After many denials, the gate agent finally asked a supervisor and the supervisor was able to get us seat assignments for both legs.We boarded the plane and our seats were in the bulkhead. This was okay for a short flight from Las Vegas to Salt Lake. Even thought we left late, the flight to Paris was a continuation of our flight number, but on a different plane. They held the flight and we boarded late. The seats were again in the bulkhead and had very little leg room. We were not going to be comfortable for a 10 hour flight. From the look of things, our layover in Paris had been reduced due to the late departure.
We took off going north toward Canada to go north of the volcanic ash cloud over Iceland. This volcano had affected many flights to and from Europe a month earlier.
We settled in, me reading my John Grisham book Ford County and Cassi reading her J.D. Robb novel. We were served chicken and pasta for dinner. Then we watched a movie titled Leap Year. I was able to sleep half the flight, which was unusual for me. Cassi, not so lucky. We were served a light breakfast near the end of our flight. We only had 20 minutes before our flight was to leave from Paris to Budapest. We walked quickly following the signs through passport check and then from the B terminal to the D terminal. The Paris airport requires you to leave the secured area and then re-enter through security at the next terminal. Cassi only had her purse, so while I unpacked the laptop and the bag of liquids, Cassi headed toward the gate. A lady who had followed us was stopped at security since she could not show her boarding pass from Paris to Budapest, I waited for her to be redirected, then managed to pass security and re-pack and run toward the gate. Cassi was waiting and indicated that we were safe. We were among the last to board this final flight of the day. A young couple with cowboy hats had been on the same flights as Cassi and I. I believe they were from Hungary.
We arrived in Budapest and followed the signs to baggage. It was Wednesday afternoon around 3:00pm. We waited as many bags arrived, ours were not there… we stood in line and described the bags and were told that there were two more flights from Paris that night, but the bags would not be delivered until the next morning once found. We left the baggage area and found Hungary District Governor Ference Stadler and Adrienne. Adrienne was holding a Civitan logo sign. Ference only speaks Hungarian and Russian, so Adrienne was our translator. We rode in Ference’s Suzuki, he called “Suzi”.
The two hour drive to Szeged was brief, but Cassi and I were quite tired of sitting. We dozed slightly until we arrived a
t the Tisza Sport hotel. The hotel room was small, with a large picture window and a balcony with two chairs. Two twin beds were separated until we slid them together. We had brought a change of clothes in our carryon and changed quickly and went downstairs, where Ference and his daughter Eva met us. We went in “Suzi” to the outdoor restaurant and had Hungarian Goulash (one of many types of Goulash we would taste this weekend). We then had “pancake”, but it was more of a crepe. One had cottage cheese inside, another with chocolate sauce on top. We met many Civitans from Hungary and Germany and Norway; and reacquainted with many familiar faces including current Civitan International Senior Director Svenn Manum and Synovve, incoming International Director Hans Jurgen Grethe and Renate, and Aud Aasland.We then went to a theatre and saw the opera “Faust”. The theatre was quite old and ornate. The opera was rather difficult to understand in French with Hungarian sub-titles. Both Cassi and I are interested in reading the opera to understand better. The stage effects were very manual, but effective with platforms dropping from the ceiling and then propped up perpendicular to the stage. The stage also turned in multiple ways.
We walked back to the hotel and slept. The next morning, we ate the breakfast that was included. We had scrambled eggs which tasted different than we were used to. They also had sausage, cereal, cheeses, bread and cold cuts. Coffee was quite good and juices were plentiful.
We then took a walking tour to downtown Szeged and a tour guide told us stories about the different buildings and sites along the way. We went over the Tisza River bridge. Then to the Ferenc Mora Museum, then to the Serbian Orthodox Church, a very non-descript church from the outside but beautiful on the inside. Then to the Dom Cathedral with two clock towers and a nice square where we took a break and sampled a free Coke Zero. We were then taken to City Hall to meet up with the Deputy Mayor and other leaders of the Szeged city. Szechenyi Squ
are was across from the beautiful City Hall and the Bridge of “Sigh”, a bridge from the tax building to City Hall. The nickname was due to the sighs people would make as they left the tax building with less money.We left there and headed toward our lunch site, we stopped at a mineral spring where very hot sulfur water that tasted bad but many residents were bottling in empty 2 litre plastic bottles. We passed a spa that had the same mineral water,
then on to Szent Istvan Square and The Water Tower. We went to this restaurant that looked old on the outside, but very new interior. We had goulash soup and then a fried platter of various types of turkey, similar to a corden bleu. We then walked the long walk back to the hotel.We arrived back at the hotel around 3:00pm and the luggage had not arrived. We went into our room and called (via Skype on my iPhone) to the airline lost and found baggage. They stated that the bags had arrived at the Budapest Airport last night. We called the baggage delivery service and they said the bags should arrive in an hour. We dosed off until a knock on the door, our bags had arrived. We only had twenty minutes to change into our business suits for the evening conference and dinner.
We were welcomed with applause at the hotel lobby as the Civitans could tell that we had received our luggage. We walked to a conference building and were entertained
by 
young teenagers dancing and singing Hungarian Folk songs. After a short break, we began the meeting. Welcomes were given and thank yous. Each had to be very patient as the speeches 
were translated in Hungarian, Norwegian, English and German. Svenn presented updates from the International Board meeting including the new Campus Club concept and the 2012 International Convention European site selection. We spoke on new opportunities to sell fruitcake and we passed out sample slices to everyone in attendance. I congratulated them on their service, their expansion with the first Campus Civitan Club and told the story of the 17 year old from Tennessee who had shared that Junior Civitan had saved her life. I played a card game and gave out Las Vegas souvenirs to many winners. I also gave Las Vegas Pens to each Governor, to Svenn and banner 
patches for each district and the division. Hans Jurgen Grethe presented Svenn Manum with the coveted European Award.
After more entertainment from young dancers, we went into dinner. We ate family style, pork and turkey, and had fruit baskets for dessert. We walked back to the hotel after a wonderful evening.
On Friday, May 14, Governor Ference Stadler and daughter Eva, along with Svenn Manum and Synnove, Hans Jergen Grethe and Renate and many others traveled to Zsambek for the charter of the first Campus Civitan Club in Europe. This technical school was a Catholic based school of over 500 of older high school students studying carpentry, brick mason, cooking, sewing and other skills.
Other delegates enjoyed the Szeged Aquapark and Thermal Baths near the hotel.
We enjoyed a lunch prepared and served by the students of the school. It included Hungarian Goulash soup, turkey and noodles and “pancake” for dessert.
Andrea Legerszki and Sister Polly, a graduate of the school took us on a walking tour of the school, an ancient church building that had been destroyed both by the war and an earthquake.
Sixteen Campus Civitan Club members were initiated by European Coordinator and Senior International Director Svenn Manum, and I installed the officers by using the rock speech. I gave them each a rock and a Civitan Rocks theme pin. The new Primo Primmessimo Civitan Klub was official.We headed back to Szeged and after a quick change, went to the downtown Szechenyi Square for the Wine Festival. Over 100 booths had wine and a few food booths. We ate sausage and potatoes and chicken and potatoes and tasted a few wines.
Saturday, the final day of the convention, we boarded buses to go to the Opusztaszer Memorial Park. This was a very interesting walking tour of the history of Hungary in murals, exhibits in large huts and even a horse and “cowboy” performance. Unfortunately it rained most of the day, but the lunch was a highlight with soup, cucumber and sour cream salad and a roast beef dish with potatoes. Delicious.
We headed back to Szeged and some went to a shopping center, some to a Hungarian District Board Meeting and others back to the hotel.
The evening was the
Good-bye Party, we walked to a very old building that had a hall with a stage. A singer with a wide collection of songs, mostly English versions was on the stage. The evening began, with some welcoming remarks from Ference, Svenn and me, translated into Norwegian, German, Hungarian and English. Torgeir Willadssen asked us how we liked this language tossed salad? I called it the Tower of Babel. A buffet of cold cuts, chicken legs, meatballs, potato salad and bread were available, gifts were exchanged and some danced to the music. It was a wonderful good bye party for all who attended.On Sunday, many of the delegates had to catch a 4:00am bus to the Budapest airport, others took a 9:00am bus. After breakfast, Cassi and I began our journey toward Gyor, Hungary. Ference and his wife Eva and daughter Eva were also there to say so long to the busload of delegates and us. Peter Makra, the president of the Szeged Civitan Club rode up on a bicycle with a poncho, and we exchanged gifts, he gave us homemade wine, we gave him Claxton fruitcake as a gift!
Hungary ROCKS!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coming soon, more details about our road trip to Germany for the Germany District Convention. Special thanks to Hille Willadssenn for some of the photos included above.
