Palace
of Glass
On
the waterfront in Alsoors, a small Balaton village in
Hungary, is a palace of glass. And, it was there that countless
young people used to dance and have fun. But, sadly no more. This
once popular disco is now shuttered and barred, and the
youngsters have all disappeared. But, this huge
building of glass was not always a disco, it was something else, too.
And. Aranka Acs, who grew up in a nearby village, told
me the following story.
When
she was a child, Aranka Acs and her family used to spend many long
summer days down by the lake in Alsoors. Lake Balaton was the
perfect place for summer days out. And, it was to the communal
canteen that most people went for their lunch. And, it was this
canteen that later became the disco. But, Aranka Acs has no feelings
of nostalgia when she thinks back to the canteen.
Being
built of glass, the building was unbearably hot, and
people ate and left as quickly as possible. This
palace of glass was not a nice place to linger. And,
the food, too, was not very nice. It was industriously produced, and
the limited choice was always the same. People went
there because there was no where else to go. But, then came the end
of the socialist era and this daytime disaster became a
night-time wonder of good fun and music.
And, it stayed that way for 25 years. So, buildings, too, have more
than one life.
But,
what is the future of this now empty and silent palace of glass? The
choices are many. But, I secretly hope that this
magnificent lake-side palace of glass will once again become a palace
of life. A place for the young. There is now a black hole where fun
used to be and it's keeping the youngsters away. And, a place
without youth is a place that's not living. The building's still
there. Why not open it up and let it live once again?
Vocabulary
ate –
(eat/ate/eaten)
– ass
daytime –
tagsüber
disappeared
(disappear/disappeared/disappeared)
– verschwand
grew up
(grow/grew/grown
– up) - wuchs-auf
limited choice –
begrenzter
Auswahl
linger – weilen
night-time –
nachts-über
shuttered and barred
- geschlossen
und geriegelt
unbearably –
unerträglich
waterfront - Ufer
wonder – Wunder
Questions
Where
is Alsoors?
What
was the palace of glass until recently?
What
was the palace of glass when Aranka Acs was a child?
Was
the palace of glass a nice place for lunch?
Why
did the people go to the palace of glass for lunch?
When
did the canteen become a disco?
For
how long did the palace of glass remain a disco?
