Spring has arrived in Máriapócs

I thought I'd post some pictures that we took around Máriapócs this afternoon. Today was the first really gorgeous sunny afternoon that we have had so far in Spring, and Daniel and I were able to venture outside without our coats for the first time in months. Iago also had an awesome time as we discovered a cool little park with some small lakes where he was able to go for a swim.

It's hard to believe that we have been living here for over six months already and this is probably the first time that we have posted pictures of the town's famous church. For those who may be unfamilar with the significance of the church, it is known throughout Europe as a place of pilgrimmage for those of the Greek-Catholic faith. This is largely due to its impressive icon - the Weeping Black Madonna of Máriapócs. According to the history books, the icon - a wooden painting of Mary and the baby Jesus - first began to shed tears in 1696. When this occurred, the icon was immediately sent to Vienna, Austria (where it remains to this day), and a replica was commissioned for Máriapócs. 

Ordinarily, this would have been the end of the story. However, the replica icon was obviously not content to play second fiddle to its talented older sibling, and in 1715 and again in 1905, it shed its own tears. This cemented the icon's place in history and Máriapócs has been a popular place of pilgrimmage ever since. In fact, even the Pope visited the town to check out the icon in 1991.

This afternoon during our walk around the town, Daniel and I also visited Pápa tér (aka Pope Place/Square/Park/Space), a memorial park which commemorates the Pope's visit to Máriapócs. It is essentially a large field a few hundred metres from the church and it's the perfect place for Iago to run around off-leash. During today's visit to Pápa tér , Daniel and I came across some bizarre plants growing in the ground. I think they might have been some kind of freaky mushroom. As you can see from the pictures below, they were quite large and most of them were full of a significant amount of fine brown powder. They looked pretty nasty, so I'm glad that Iago didn't seem particularly interested in them.

- Amanda