Bikal
Friday, November 30 – Puchner Castle
Puchner Castle Hotel is a very neat place to stay. The suite we had was amazing and the bed was the most comfortable one of our trip so far. They have two major bathhouses with mineral water baths. After relaxing in the jacuzzis, we took a bottle of Hungria champagne back to our huge suite to enjoy the room itself.
Friday, November 30 – Family Reunion
We drove to Bikal today to meet our family. The weather was very cold and there were a few snow flurries on the way. We went to our hotel, Puchner Castle, to check in. The cemetery is right around the block from the hotel. In the map:
- The cemetery with Takács.
- Puchner Castle Hotel & theme park
- The store that Flórián’s granddaughter owns.
- The protestant church- there are only two churches in town; 1 is catholic and 1 is protestant.
We walked to the cemetery to see what was there. Our family was putting to rest Charles, who was the youngest son of Flórián and father of Karl. Karl’s father emigrated from Hungary to the UK after the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 since the Soviets were imprisoning, exiling, and murdering people.
Flórián has many grandchildren, including a grandson also called Janos. Janos has three sisters. Klára is the sister who reached out and found our side of the family.
We ate dinner & visited with the family that night.
Tree (all are from Bikal unless noted):
János (I) Takács (1859-1943) married Julianna Tonkovics (1866-1891) in 1885. They had János (II) Takács (1886-1952), Mária (1888-1889), and Mária (1890-??).
When Julianna died, he remarried in 1891 to Anna Kis (1875 Hercegszőlős – 1919 Szekszárd). Their seven children are: Ferenc (1893-1974), Flórián (1895-1972), Teréz (1898-1981), József (1900-1983), Géza (1902), Anna (1903-1981), and Károly (1904-1923).
János (II) came to America in 1910. Flórián came to America in 1914, made money, and returned to Hungary. The family does not know if the two came in contact again.
János (II) changed his name to John & met Virginia Petro (1899 (Joles, Hungary)-1948 (Bluewell, West Virginia). They married in 1924.
Flórián
Flórián is János’ half brother.
Flórián, Wife, Son
Flórián, his wife Katalin, and their son Charles.
Takács Anna 1903
János’s daughter, Anna. She is Flórián’s sister.
Maria
Mária is János’s sister by the same mother – Julianna.
Graveside
Grave
This is where Charles is interred.
Graves
Takács Grave
Unknown Takács
Graves
Family Reunion
After the ceremony for Charles, the family met at the banquet hall for dinner.
Karl’s Speech
Cousins
Blurry picture of one generation of Takács.
Flórián’s Children
Takács
Takács
Dinner
Dinner
Saturday, December 1
We met up with Zoltán, Janos’s son, at the lobby of the hotel and drove to where Janos, my great-grandfather, grew up.
We then went to Klára’s house for lunch. She was so excited and made a ton of traditional Hungarian dishes.
At the end of the evening, we followed Zoltán to Pécs.
9 Zrínyi Miklós
The house my great-grandfather grew up in.
Wine Cellar
The entrance to the wine cellar on the property.
Klára’s House
We had lunch at Klára’s house
Klára’s Backyard
Dinner
Fresh Sausage for dinner
Dinner
And desert, of course.
Dinner
Plenty of homemade Palinka to go around
Before…
Pigs on the farm.
…After
Sausages
Sausages after smoking.