People Torn By Fate

People Torn by Fate is a line from the national anthem of Hungary. It struck me that I, like probably many others, know very little about Hungary as a nation and even less about its people. I have only ever spoken to one Hungarian person that I am aware of, and although I sense a great deal of pride in the country, there is also a degree of modesty, associated with one of the smallest and possibly poorest of the European states. It is a fascinating country nevertheless. The great Enrico Fermi when asked whether extra terrestrials existed replied "Yes they do - they re called Hungarians!" I am not sure what he meant but one day I'd like to find out for myself. It is on a short list of places that I'd like to see before i die.

I collected stamps as a child, in fact I still have them somewhere, and I recall being quite fond of the Hungarian part of my collection, being puzzled by the fact that the word Hungary never appeared on them, instead MAGYAR POSTA was boldly emblazoned on the colourful scraps of paper. i never knew where Hungary was, just that it was east of here and west of Russia. I knew that they had good reasons for not liking Russians or Germans for that matter, but even now i am embarrassed by my utter lack of knowledge.

I have been looking things up and to my surprise find that 10,000 Magyars live in the UK. I know that doesn't seem many set against the number of Muslims, but that is still a small town's worth of displaced souls.

Hunga has the biggest lake in Europe within it's borders - Lake Balaton covers 598 square miles - that is a lot of water and a great place to hide all sorts of things. maybe Sadaam Husseins weapons are sunk into it.

I never knew until today that it borders on Austria. To think that I have been quite close to it and never even noticed. How could I have overlooked what is clearly a jewel set in the middle of an increasingly characterless Europe. I have seen something shining there and now i want to see it for myself.