Nyíregyháza

Between 29 June and 9 July we were in Nyíregyháza, Hungary. It was Tristan's second long journey, and he coped with flying just as well as he did on the way to Madison (in spite of significant delays we experienced, courtesy of Sterling Airlines). We do hope that he will remain easy to travel with after he has learned to walk.

The main purpose of the trip was to present Tristan to his Hungarian family and friends, and as such, it was a total success – even though the short time only permitted us to see about half the people we would have liked to. The trip was timed to coincide with my paternal grandmother’s 80^th birthday. She considered Tristan to be the best possible present, and the two spent long hours entertaining each other.

Because of the many social commitments and busy schedule, the whole trip didn’t really feel like a holiday at all. In fact, the only non-family related event was my participation in the christening of my friend Zoli’s daughter Gréta, in Miskolc.

For me personally, it was a very special feeling to be back in my hometown with my son; to walk with him the streets where I grew up, among the buildings that already stood there when I was his age. It felt like a closure and a new beginning at the same time, a start of a new phase in the ever-changing relationships with my roots - and in my life I can’t wait for the time when he will be old enough to take it all in, to listen to my stories and to form his own relationship to the place his father comes from.