For Full AUDIO VISUAL PAGE - Please click HERE or onto picture or text. Enjoy your visit!
Balaton Steps!
A
Black Hole by the Lake
A
Story from Hungary
There
are certain things in life that can only be imagined as that which
you know them to be. Buildings included. And, so it was that I had
a surprise.
I
was in Alsoors, a small village on the side of lake Balaton in
Hungary, and, whilst walking out to the mole, I noticed that the
disco was closed. In fact, not only closed, but barred and
shuttered as well. It had closed down and I didn't want to
believe what I was seeing.
It
was the same feeling as experiencing a disused theatre or cinema.
Buildings with life are not meant to die and discos are included.
And, this monumental, almost cathedral like building, had, after
all, been the venue for the wilder side of life for thousands of
youngsters as they danced and drank their way through the last of
their youth. Maybe, it was the disco's cloud of sound that spread
out across the lake that caused its demise, or, maybe, it was
no longer “in”. But, what-ever had happened, it was sad. And,
where are the kids going to now? And, what about future generations?
What will they be doing at weekends?
But
then Aranka Acs told me something quite interesting.
When
she was a child, her family lived nearby, and, as only to be
expected, they spent many pleasant days swimming and relaxing in
Alsoors by the lake. And, it was to the canteen that they and
everyone else went for their lunch. And the canteen was the same
building that later became the disco. But, Aranka has no feelings of
nostalgia when she thinks back to the canteen.
The
food was not very good. It was industriously produced and tasted
accordingly. And, being mainly constructed out of glass, the
canteen was unbearably hot. It was not the ideal place for hanging
around and chatting, in fact, it was a place to escape from.
And, so it was, that after the end of the socialist era this
day-time disaster became a night-time wonder. And, it stayed that
way for just about 25 years. So, buildings, too, have more than one
life. And the question is: what is to happen next?
The
choices are many, and they range from becoming an art gallery to
becoming a canteen once again. But, I secretly hope that this
magnificent lake-side palace of glass will once again become a palace
for the celebration of life, a meeting place for the young! There
is, at the moment, a black hole where fun used to sound. It's as if
someone has turned off a heart! Please, someone come and kiss it
awake! The beat that once kept people awake is now, in its silence,
keeping the youngsters away. And, a place without youth is a place
that is dead! The building's still there. Why not open it up and
let it live once again?
Selected
Vocabulary
accordingly
– dem entsprechend
barred
and shuttered – geschlossen
und geriegelt
demise
– Ende
era
– Zeitalter/Epoche
escape
(to escape/escaped/escaped) – entkommen
nearby
– in der Nähe/nahe
gelegen
Diarikom
is sponsored by Mag. Karl Brieber
Wirtschaftstreuhänder
– Steuerberater – Unternehmensberater
..
