project culTOUR

Mobile phones have become an essential part of our lives; like Navel-strings connecting us to the world. People barely remember those times when cell phones did not exist, let alone the era of regular telephones. I was about 7 when our first landline telephone was installed in our home, and 15 when I got my first cell phone. I can still remember the excitement spreading through me the first time our home telephone was ringing, or the overwhelming joy I felt when my parents got me my own mobile.

Whereas now, in the age when almost every kid in kindergarten carries a phone, telephones have become an everyday necessity, and an indicator of social status. Perhaps this is the reason why I enjoyed this museum visit so much. It was a nostalgic journey to a time when telephones were still a rarity and the subjects of fascination.

The Telephone Museum is located in the Buda Castle district, in the residential building of the Institute of Sociology (Hungarian Academy of Sciences). Visitors can enter the exhibition from the inner courtyard of the building. I kindly advise my fellow museumgoers to wait patiently and ring the bell a few times if necessary. (The guide inside may not always hear the ringing, due to the loud noise the antique telephone exchange system produces in one of the exhibition halls. However,  please rest assured that a few minutes waiting is more than worth it and the experience will make up for this slight delay.)





 The first exhibition hall provides a brief history of the evolution of telephones with a large number of featured items. One can also learn who the real inventor of this epoch-making instrument was, as it turns out, it was not Bell. The primary focus of the exhibition is the work of Theodore Puskás, the man who came up with the idea of the telephone exchange, where any number of subscribers could be connected to any other subscribers with the help of telephone exchange centres.

Thomas Edison acknowledges that Theodore Puskás was the first person to suggest the idea of the central station for the telephone

Visitors can also read private letters and telegraph messages between Thomas Edison and Puskás; see the very first Hungarian telephone book, which was only two pages long; or listen to an exhibition guide on the phone (in English, German and Hungarian), but the best part of the exhibition is most definitely the 85 years old, still functioning telephone exchange station. It was astonishing to see this monstrous machinery, which can only be maintained by technicians nearly as old as the device itself. What is more, we were having a blast when me and my friend could call each other through the central station and have a conversation with almost a century old instruments in our hands. Imagine how many people had used these phones, how many conversations they had transmitted. Now, that is something you do not experience every day!

original station of the telephone exchange staff

The second part of the exhibition is actually a temporary exhibition to commemorate the 120 years of The Telephone Newspaper, the revolutionary and highly successful invention of Theodore Puskás. Visitors can listen to the Telephone Herald in three languages and get acquainted with the history of the talking newspaper.

The pavilion of Telephone Newspaper at the Millenium Exhibition, 1896

This museum offers a great adventure for lovers of history, telephones, or old mechanical devices for that matter. Also, if parents are looking for a place to bring the kids on a rainy weekend afternoon, this is the place to go.

The private telephone of Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary

Tip:
- On Fridays after 3:30 pm and on weekends visitors should enter from the opposite side of the building, 30 Országház Street


Telephone Museum
1014 Budapest, 49 Úri Street
Tuesday-Sunday: 10 am -  16 pm
http://postamuzeum.hu/stores/item/100.html

Endre Ady was, according to many, the greatest and most influential Hungarian poet of the 20th century. And although he is not my favourite poet, even I admit that his poetry, with its symbolic imagery or exquisite use of language, is supreme.

When we arrived to his memorial museum, I was surprised to see that it is not a separate building. The museum itself is one apartment in an old house. We had to ring the electric doorbell, then wait for someone to answer the phone and open the gate to let us in. I did not feel like I came to a museum at all, it rather felt like I visited a friend.

Endre Ady Memorial Museum - first floor

After we entered the building and were walking up the stairs I was thinking about how wonderful it may be to rent a flat in this house, and got immediately jealous of the current tenants. Not everyone can say that they live next to the apartment where this impeccable poet spent his last years and wrote his last poems.

The place itself is not too big, nor is it too small. Although only 3 rooms are perfectly preserved, it does not lessen the experience. The moment I stepped into the blue salon, its simple but sophisticated charm instantly got hold of me. We soon learned from the guide that every single detail in the apartment was designed and carefully planned by Ady's wife, Berta Boncza, also known as Csinszka. In fact she committed herself to create a perfect home for themselves and she dreamed of establishing an environment where her husband could peacefully devote himself to his work. This loving and peaceful atmosphere could be felt the whole time, as if we were taken back in time.

Csinszka and Ady

A portrait of Csinszka by Ödön Márffy

The furniture and style are simple but elegant, however, they seem almost minimalist compared to the splendor of the Róth memorial house we visited the same day. The apartment was not a luxurius residence, it was the private home of a couple. Maybe that is why this place provided a humbling but also a very real experience. Endre Ady, however influential or grand a poet, was a human being like us, who lived in a flat in Budapest, just like we do.

Maybe museums like this are not for everyone, but those who are fond of literature, like the turn of the century atmosphere of old houses, or have 30 minutes of free time in the city center, should not miss this experience.

Why visit?

- great intellectual experience for fans of literature or interior design
- the photo album in the blue salon includes never before seen pictures of Ady and Csinszka
- no crowd
- very cheap (500 HUF), especially for students (250 HUF)

Tips:

- for 400 HUF visitors can purchase a little booklet that includes everything there is to know about Ady (text in Hungarian, German and English)
- foreigners who would like a guided tour should call the museum in advance
- I strongly recommend my fellow treasure hunters to go and have a coffee in Café Centrál ( 2 minutes walk from the museum) , where Ady and other great poets/writers used to meet in the beginning of the 20th century


For those foreigners who have never read Ady before:

Endre Ady: I guard your eyes

 

Miksa Róth, the master of stained glass windows and mosaics, was an internationally acclaimed Hungarian artist who worked for the Imperial and Royal Court. His marvellous creations can be seen all over the world: in Austria, the Netherlands, or even in a dome in Mexico.

Yet, for some reason, a lot of Hungarians ( that included me up until a few weeks ago) have no idea who this person was and what he had accomplished. It may be due to the lack of education in Hungarian secession, or inadequate advertising but unfortunately, Miksa Róth's art gets much less attention than it  would deserve; both in Hungary and on an international level. (Secession : an Austrian school of art and architecture parallel to the French art nouveau in the 1890s).

Exactly a week ago, together with my two companions we set out on a mission to get acquainted with Miksa Róth's lifework. His family's memorial house is situated not far from the Budapest Keleti Railway Station, in Nefelejcs street 26. The place can be found quite easily, except when 3 women (e.g. me and my companions) fail to look up their destination on a map, get off at the wrong station and end up having a long walk amidst the heavy snowfall. Oh well, what is a real adventure without a little exitement? However, I trust my fellow 'treasure hunters' to be better prepared and use Google maps before they leave home. 

Stained Glass Painter of the Imperial and Royal Court

After finding the building, I kindly advise future visitors not to enter right away and have a look at the gate, the plaque and the decorated metal plates on the facade. Even in a snowstorm or a massive downpour, this is a house where every little detail deserves to be noticed and appreciated. At the reception one can already see remarkable works of art, such as a fireplace embellished with mosaics or a card table from the turn of the century. A tiny gift shop is also at the visitors' service, in case they would like to buy greeting cards of their favourite glass paintings.



On the second floor is the exhibition itself, with three huge rooms (dining room, living room, and bedroom) perfectly preserved, and several halls to display Miksa Róth's most beautiful creations. For those who are eager to learn and want to get the most out of the experience I strongly suggest to read every word of the Exhibition Guide booklet, which the museum provides in English as well as in Hungarian.


Though visitors can guide themselves through the rooms easily, I have to remark upon the fact that the enthusiasm and warm welcome we received from the staff was unprecedented and made this visit an unforgettable one. Me and my friends ended up having a long conversation with a lovely museum guide lady, while sitting at Miksa Róth's living room table, in his chairs ( which are absolutely comfortable, if I might add). Now is the time to mention that nothing in these rooms is isolated, therefore visitors can admire the beauty of each and every object, furniture, and painting up close; touch the linens and the old curtains; and let this intimate atmosphere suck them in. Everyone will find something enchanting here: the walls crowded with paintings, the vitrines filled with personal artifacts, the gorgeously decorated fruit bowl on the living room table, or the ink bowl on Miksa Róth's desk, to mention a few favourites of mine. The halls with the paintings provide further pleasure. Those in love with secession will have, without a doubt, a once in a lifetime experience.

Nocturnal Landscape with Lilies

Saint Martin of Pannonia ( the patron saint of my village, Vámoscsalád)

Stained glass window with peacock motifs from the Alpár Mansion

I can honestly say that this memorial house visit was the finest cultural experience that I have encountered recently, including the Cézanne exhibition a few days before.




Why visit?
- stunning visual experience
- no crowd - intimate, charming atmosphere
- cheap

Tips:
- visit the memorial house without further preparation or research, to have an enthralling experience
- leave the exhibition hall on the ground floor for last


Miksa Róth Memorial House
District VII. - Nefelejcs street 26
Tuesday-Sunday: 2pm-6pm



(A big thanks to my friends for accompanying me on my treasure hunt, taking photos and scanning my greeting cards.)
Photos taken by: Dóra Szíjártó