Tour Testimonials

 András és Kathleen

Posted on by Liz

It was a lifetime wish to visit the land my grandfather left over a hundred years ago, a wish I thought would never come true. But circumstances changed and in  2018 we had the opportunity to take the Fall Wine and Culinary Tour operated by Magyar Marketing. Liz Szabo-Vos, the amazing owner of Magyar Marketing, organized and conducted a tour that took us to ancient wineries and fine restaurants,  new wineries and beautiful churches,  large wineries and  palaces, and small wineries and old factories producing cloth and porcelain with time tested methods.  It was a smorgasbord of history and culture. Despite a full schedule, the pace was leisurely with ample opportunity to sit in the park or shop in the numerous quaint shops and markets.  The transportation was always comfortable, the accommodations were very nice, and the local guides were simply great. It was all so well done.

Liz goes above and beyond the call of duty.  Learning that we were also planning to search for relatives, she volunteered to arrange a driver/guide/interpreter to assist us.  As a result, we were able to return to the small village my grandfather left a century ago. We found the house he lived in, the church he attended, and the old cemetery with the names of my ancestors on the headstones. By sheer good fortune we also found my cousin, Bandi, the same age as I, and a complete stranger for 75 years. We are now in regular contact by mail, and we were able to attend his 50th wedding anniversary last October. We have found a whole new family!

András és Kathleen, Virginia

Tour Testimonials

Jen, Michigan

Posted on by Liz

I always dreamt of traveling to Hungary (my grandparents were Hungarian) and my leery mother was going to be my traveling companion. While browsing for paprika on the Magyar Marketing website, I came across their Hungarian tours. I excitedly told my mother about it. She felt that it would be safer than traveling on our own, getting lost and starving. Even though I was looking for an adventure, I felt that this was a good compromise. The trip turned out to be amazing. We traveled to places that we never would have found on our own. My vacations typically consist of bars and shopping, whereas my mom’s consist more of museums and scenery but we found Hungary to be a great blend of both of our tastes.

My mother kept a journal and I was the photographer. While the journal has been passed along to family and friends to read, the pictures are still waiting to be developed.

It has been a long time since I spent over two weeks with my mom. We were both nervous that we would be sick of each other, but the trip was a great way to reconnect. We were still speaking after we arrived home, and we may even consider including my dad on the next adventure.

To experience exploring cultural roots with my mom was an opportunity to learn about my heritage and brought us closer together. The memories will last forever. ~ Jen, Michigan